Antecedents, implications, and professional development of teachers’ multiculturalism

Present European educational institutions are struggling to create environments in which all students experience equal levels of opportunities, representation, and belongingness. Interpersonal biases from peers and teachers, and structural barriers such as mainstream education that does not relate to minoritized students’ personal experiences and frames of reference seem to be at the core of this challenge. The current dissertation tries to respond to this challenge by examining teachers’ responsiveness to diversity in the classroom and how it relates to students’ social and academic experiences. Next, it establishes some important teacher characteristics that are associated with teachers’ multicultural orientation and examines possible positive effects of professional learning in improving teacher responsiveness to diversity. We conclude that multicultural education could contribute to students’ positive peer relationships and engagement with learning and the learning institutions for students from both minoritized and majority groups, albeit with certain contingencies. Moreover, teachers who can take the perspectives of their students, and who are more familiar with and sensitive to issues of cultural pluralism seem to be more likely to adopt multiculturalism in their curricula, instructions, and daily interactions. A prolonged, in-service professional learning opportunity in multicultural education can be effective in improving such teacher qualities essential for teacher cultural competence. Well-trained teachers, in turn, can play a major role in increasing student belongingness, reducing the achievement gap between student, and shaping student success.