Multicultural Education and Classroom Diversity
Difference or Sameness?
Keywords:
multicultural education, classroom diversity, learner differencesAbstract
With the current increasingly diverse societies, it becomes crucial for teacher educators to provide all kinds of learners with sufficient knowledge and skills to respond to the diversity appropriately and sensitively. Teachers need to be well-prepared to look for the right approach and methods in teaching and dealing with diverse learners. This paper seeks to draw out what we know and what we do not know about the underlying effects caused by multicultural education and diversity in a classroom including the differences in genders, social classes, economic classes, races, cultures, religions, beliefs, and ability. Suggestions, guidance as well as practical teaching implications on how to interact and cope with these diversities in a classroom are to be provided to assist any interested teacher educators in seeking the right balance between sameness and diversity among learners. The author expects that this paper will contribute to the benefits of education and shed light on how to prepare teacher educators and other stakeholders to become more effective in teaching diverse leaners for effective academic outcomes and achievement in education in all levels.
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