Multicultural Education in a Teacher

Preparation Program: Perspectives from

Three Graduates

Muhammad Abd Hadi Bunyamin
University of Minnesota-USA
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
Multicultural Education in a Teacher
Preparation Program
Abstract: Teacher preparation program plays a vital role to prepare future
teachers with multicultural teaching and learning. This study aims to reveal
perspectives of three graduates from a teacher preparation program in one
public university in Malaysia. I used the interview method to collect the data
about the graduates perspectives on the teaching internship, the
curriculum of the program, and the programs endeavor to teach the
preservice physics teachers about multicultural education. The primary
finding revealed that all graduates agreed that the program puts little
emphasis on the multicultural education elements. The program needs to
prepare their preservice teachers to teach physics by considering the
multicultural dimension of teaching and to provide the model of teaching
with diversity in education courses or in the teaching internship program.

Overview
Teacher preparation program (TPP) is a vital stage for future teachers to be
trained wisely in order to teach effectively for diverse students.
According to Banks (2004), multicultural education could be perceived using
five dimensions: (1) content integration (2) the knowledge construction
processes (3) an equity pedagogy (4) prejudice reduction (5) an empowering
school culture and cultural groups.
Research Questions
How did the graduates perceive the teaching internship as the platform to
learn diversity and equity in physics teaching?
How did the graduates link the curriculum of the TPP with the elements of
multicultural education?
What would be the future steps to be taken in order to improve the TPP
regarding the multicultural education elements in physics?
Literature Review
Tobias (1999) revealed that the teacher preparation programs (TPPs) gave
greater emphasis on the idea of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK)
established by Shulman (1986).
Nonetheless, the scholars had always debated the scope of the PCK, but
lastly, they agreed that two knowledge construct the PCK: (1) content
knowledge (2) teaching strategy knowledge (Van Driel, Verlop & Vos, 1998).

Literature Review
If we discard the contextual knowledge of teaching, how can we expect
preservice teachers to teach students by considering students diverse
background?
AND
Should we reconceptualize the PCK?
Research Methodology
This study is interpretive in nature.
I employed the interview method to collect the data from the graduates
perspective on the teacher preparation program that they had been going.
I got three graduates who studied in the same program, but at different
cohorts.
The first participants, Aisha (not her real name) graduate from the program
in June 2013. She is now waiting to be placed at a public high school to
teach physics.
Research methodology
The second participant is Awani. She graduated from the program in May
2010 and is now teaching at a public high school in the physics subject. She
also has a masters degree qualification in the physics education area since
May 2014.
The third participant (Fahani) is now a doctor of philosophy (PhD) student
who graduated from the program in May 2010. She has a masters degree
qualification in the physics education area since June 2013.
Limitations
The participants are all female. I tried my best to get male participants, but I
cannot reach them due to the limited number of male graduates of the
program.
All participants are Malay. The numbers of graduates among other races are
very limited. It is difficult to get even one graduate. The Malay graduates
form the majority of the program.
The interview was the only method I used. Using other methods like
document analysis or survey could enrich the data of this study.
Data analysis
Aisha:
To Aisha, generally, the professors who taught her during the teacher preparation
program had mainly focused on the aspect of approaches and methods of
teaching. Aisha stated that the program, however, gave less emphasis on diversity
in education or the multicultural education domain of knowledge. To her, none of
the education subjects taught her about the diversity in education. Aisha said that
the internship of teaching at schools could be a powerful platform to prepare
preservice physics teachers with the diversity in education. She suggested the
internship to be made two semesters at different schools. She suggested for
adding the high school physics syllabus into the current curriculum. The courses on
pedagogy should be enriched with the knowledge on how to facilitate the
students diverse attitudes.




Data analysis
Awani:
To her, the teacher preparation program failed to prepare their preservice physics
teachers to really master the content knowledge of physics at the high school level.
She stated that the most helpful course is the Teaching and Learning in Science and
Mathematics. In terms of teaching internship, she believed that the internship was
very good and should be maintained. she suggested to the administers of the
teacher preparation program and the internship program to carefully select the
appropriate schools for the preservice teachers where the schools with diverse
students (like different races and familys socioeconomic status) should be
primarily selected. She recommended the teacher preparation program to give
more emphasis on the education course, likes psychology in education in order to
prepare preservice teachers with the up-to-date issues of education, likes the
diversity and the multicultural issues.


Data analysis
Fahani:
To her, the teacher preparation program had mainly prepared her to be a highly
positive and credible physics teacher through the courses in psychology, sociology,
and pedagogy. She, however, found that the program faced the tension between
university physics knowledge and education knowledge. The preservice physics
teachers failed to relate the education theories with the real context of education
at schools. She, nevertheless, states that she gained experience of going to school
during the teacher preparation period through the course of sociology. She
suggested the program to provide preservice teachers with several models of
teaching with diversity to serve the future teachers on teaching in multicultural
settings. Regarding the teaching internship program, she stated that the internship
was a good experience for her. Through this internship, she found that there is still
the issue of the gap of races like Malay, Chinese, and Indian.
Data analysis
Four themes emerged:
All of them agreed that the program gave less emphasis on the multicultural aspects of
the teaching and learning with little endeavors to expose them with the issues of race,
socioeconomic status and the contextual knowledge of teaching.
The program gave more emphasis on how to teach for specific subject matter likes physics
by largely looking at the idea of PCK.
The teaching internship program is a promising platform for the preservice physics
teacher to understand and realize the diversity and equity in the education.
The assignments provided by education professors play significant roles to educate the
preservice physics teachers about multicultural dimensions in the education.

Discussion
The primary finding is the reality that the TPP of those three graduates put
less emphasis on the multicultural aspects in the physics education area.
Instead, the TPP gave more emphasis on the teaching approach to the
science and physics in particular, and in the education in general.
The large focus that was given to the teaching approach to science is
actually related to the notion of PCK (Shulman, 1986).
Then, this finding is parallel with a statement made by Tobias (1999).
Discussion
According to Fahani, the participant of this study, some physics teachers
perceived the knowledge of the surrounding or the contextual knowledge
(likes students background and diversity) as a burden.
The equity teaching is one of the five dimensions advocated by Banks
(2004), which is equity pedagogy. The equity pedagogy should cover as
many as possible the aspects of multicultural dimension to ensure that
every student gains an equal opportunity in the learning process.
Discussion
Regarding the teaching internship program, all participants believed that it is
a great opportunity to realize and learn about the multicultural phenomena
in schools and classrooms.
From this finding, I have one question: Should we give more time for the
preservice teachers to stay at schools compared to learning in the college of
education?
Discussion
The time given to the preservice physics teachers to stay at schools may
increase their knowledge and experience on the multicultural education,
but is there any alternative to implement the objective?
Discussion
I think that the alternative is to provide the preservice physics teachers with
more culturally relevant assignments during their study in the college!
The assignments given by education professors should put more
multicultural elements, including the task to relate the connection between
race, culture, language, and social class with the physics and science
achievement among students. This idea aligns with the notion of funds of
knowledge (Moll, Amanti, Neff, & Gonzalez, 1992)
Conclusion
This study divulged that the teacher preparation program (TPP) puts greater
emphasis on the aspects of the subject matter knowledge and the teaching
strategies for the science and physics. It is not a wrong approach, but it
should be enriched with multicultural elements in each part of the TPP.

Recommendation-1
Education professors and science teacher educators should give useful
assignments to the preservice physics teachers on the topic of multicultural
elements in the physics teaching area. The tasks should encourage the
preservice physics teachers to go to schools or students home to investigate
the impact of contextual knowledge to the approach of teaching. The data
like students family backgrounds, social class, race, religion, and language
should be collected.
Recommendation-2
There is no crucial need to extend the period of teaching internship of one
semester. However, the administrators of the TPP should select the schools
which are multicultural in nature, like diverse race, various religions, two
genders, and schools with students with diverse social class.
Recommendation-3
The professors of the TPP should come out with several models and
guidelines of equity and diversity teaching approach for the preservice
physics teachers. This is to assist the preservice physics teachers to teach
considering the students diverse backgrounds.
Thank you ! ;)


MUHAMMAD ABD HADI BUNYAMIN
Email: bunya002@umn.edu
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia