Defining and preparing for diversity teacherhood—Chinese Minzu (“ethnic”) teacher education as an example

Abstract

This qualitative study examines how teacher educators in Northwest China conceive of teacherhood and teacher preparation for working with diverse “Minzu” (“ethnic”) students. Based on multiple dataset collected among teacher educators, findings reveal that Minzu teacherhood was polysemic and complex. In their descriptions of how they prepare preservice teachers, the teacher educators presented, for example, aspects of learning to respect students, learning to remove prejudice, and focusing on individuality. These elements show some similarities between Minzu teacher education and, for example, (“Western”) multicultural/intercultural (teacher) education. However, because of the socioeconomic–political specificities of the Chinese context, many elements differed. There are clear signs that effective and consistent measures have been invested in and developed by the teacher educators. The authors argue that global scholarship on diversity in teacher education could be inspired by Chinese Minzu teacher education.