No problem! Avoidance of cultural diversity in teacher training

Abstract

Research all over the world indicates that initial teacher training, as far as multicultural education is concerned, is grossly inadequate or, in many instances, non-existent. In many cases it is still regarded as a luxury which cannot be afforded in a time of scarcity of resources, or as a contentious politically sensitive area best avoided. Avoidance or so-called ";no problem!"; strategies are often the outcome of teacher training that fails or falls short of addressing issues of diversity in schools. There is much talk worldwide of permeating a multicultural perspective in teacher training programmes. Most educational stakeholders agree on the feasibility of training prospective teachers to teach in a multicultural society. In practice, however, very little, if anything (in some cases), is being done to impregnate existing initial teacher training courses with a pluralistic vision or perspective. Teachers cannot be expected to be effective in teaching multicultural content and working effectively with ethnically diverse student groups without being professionally prepared for this task.


(South African Journal of Education: 2003 22(3): 184-187)