Nurturing teachers with a sense of diversity has become an urgent issue in the educational field. However, identifying teachers’ learning needs to enrich their multicultural competency and their anticipation of being multicultural teachers related to their lived experiences has not yet been fully explored. To address this gap, this study reports data generated from questionnaires administered to teachers in Hong Kong who are native Chinese to explore whether their lived experiences of training and practice can help identify the learning needs necessary to help them make sense of being multicultural teachers. Referencing Jokikokko’s (2009) three types of multicultural competency and Peng’s (2005) views on four types of multicultural teachers embedded in the three philosophical foundations of multiculturalism, findings show that teachers’ received training has forced them into being assimilationist multicultural teachers. Their expressed learning needs, however, focused on strengthening their efficiency competency (skills about how to teach) rather than pedagogical competency (knowledge about what to teach) and ethical competency (attitude toward diversity). Their lived experiences of training and practice have shaped the ways they enact their role; these range from being assimilationist and human relations multicultural teachers with conservative views to being liberal multiculturalist teachers. Social action or caring-centered multicultural teachers with critical multiculturalism, however, have not yet been found. Limited concerns regarding ethical orientation competency, which is a core element to nurture teachers to view cultural differences with respect, seem to be a missing paradigm in the existing teacher education programmes which deserves further attention.

Authors:
Jocelyn L. N. Wong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Jocelyn L. N. Wong is a University Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer at The Chinese University of Hong Kong in Hong Kong

See this presentation on the full schedule – Friday Schedule

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