Abstract:
As the field of education world-wide is explicitly striving to make schools
and education available to all children and young persons, classrooms are becoming
increasingly diverse in terms of language, culture, religion, gender, abilities, socioeconomic
status and geographic setting. This rapidly growing phenomenon has
educators trying to grapple with ways to prepare and support teachers to be
responsive to the diverse needs of students in their classrooms.
In New Zealand, cultural diversity is also growing rapidly. By the middle of
this century nearly half the student population will be of Pasifika origin. Those
opting into the teaching profession must be equipped to confront this reality. While
initial teacher education can provide opportunities for student teachers to critically
examine their own beliefs and orientation towards diversity, and also provide a
snapshot of the reality of classrooms through practicum, it is when they begin actual
teaching in schools that the "rubber hits the road".
This ethnographic study explores the beliefs and attitudes of beginning
teachers about student diversity and possible influences of the primary school culture
on their perceptions and practice. Seven beginning teachers were involved in the
study over a period of 6-18 months. Multiple data sources were used and data was
thematically analysed across the settings using a grounded theory approach.
