What Should Preservice Teachers Know about Race and Diversity? Exploring a Critical Knowledge-Base for Teaching in 21st Century Canadian Classrooms

Abstract

Anecdotal and empirical evidence suggest that how teachers construct and interpret issues of race and diversity impacts significantly on their interactions with students from diverse backgrounds. At the same time, research shows that teacher education programs do not pay as much attention as would logically be expected given that many Canadian teachers will spend a good part of their career in racially and culturally heterogeneous settings. Conceptually grounded in critical race theory-a framework with increasing application in education, this paper explores the knowledge-base that preservice teachers require for successful teaching in a pluralistic society. A central argument in the paper is that a deep understanding of, and knowledge about race and diversity (beyond cursory familiarity) should be one of the required outcomes of preservice education.

International Experience in a Non-Western Country, Teacher Habitus, and Level of Inclusion in the Classroom

“…This cross-cultural reflection of my own experiences provided me with an overview of where I had started and how much I had grown in my outlook towards others in terms of socio-cultural understanding, specifically having become more open-minded and less judgemental. Egbo (2011)…”

The lives of teachers in diverse classrooms

“…In addition, in order to advocate for the right to education, the toolkit includes information about unions' positions, funding resources, special programmes and research evidence. Finally, the toolkit presents different examples of mobilisation initiatives, such as work with families, social campaigns and alliances (Education International, 2016 [157]).…”

‘Unlearning Privileges’: Interrupting Pre-Service Teachers Deficit Thinking of Immigrant Students with Origins in the South

“…In addition to linguistic and cultural diversity, the local school board had students from different racial backgrounds. However, many pre-service teachers were reluctant to engage in discussion of race and racism, a phenomenon noted by other researchers (Egbo, 2011;Milner, 2006;Pollock, 2001). Being mindful that how teachers construct race impacts significantly their practice and their interactions with students, I invited student teachers to pay attention to racial discrimination in their field experience.…”