A Descriptive Study of Education Students' Intellectual-Ethical Developmental Stages, Attitudinal Belief Systems, Background Experiences, and Knowledge about Multicultural Education.

Overview & Synopsis

A study investigated the attitudes of teachers in graduate-level inservice education concerning multicultural education. Subjects were 55 students aged 20-55 in a graduate-level multicultural education class. Three surveys with open-ended questions elicited information about personal educational background (including gender factors influencing education, effect of race and ethnicity on education, social contact with peers and teachers of other ethnic groups, and socioeconomic status and educational experience), academic knowledge of multicultural education (including three different conceptualizations), and educational beliefs. The surveys were completed both before and after the course. In addition, students were asked to write a philosophical belief paper and a reaction paper in the course. Results indicate that the students acknowledged the complexity of the interaction of demographic factors in education and in later life. Two patterns in intellectual development during the course emerged: (1) beginning with multiple disconnected concepts and ending with conceptual synthesis; and (2) beginning with simplistic views of major concepts, with dualistic perspectives of multidimensional concepts, then showing growth based on knowledge acquisition and formation of connected networks of concepts. Self-reflection and consciousness-raising concerning educational philosophies was seen by participants as both difficult and beneficial. (Contains 22 references.) (MSE)