Educating Teachers for Diversity: Meeting the Challenge

Send

Executive summary | Table of contents
How to obtain this publication | Related websites

Join a discussion on this book

ISBN: 9789264079724
Publication: 19/03/2010

Educating Teachers for Diversity: Meeting the Challenge explores the concepts underlying diversity in various contexts and the challenges involved in creating an evidence base to guide policy makers. It looks at the need to better articulate the links between initial and in-service teacher education and the necessity of addressing current gaps in our knowledge. Such gaps include how to attract and retain more diverse student teachers and how best to educate the teacher educators themselves. It also examines classroom practices and principles in a number of country contexts. Throughout the volume, issues raised by student teachers, teachers, and teacher educators who participated in an online consultation are used to highlight emerging themes and key challenges in the field.

The issue of educating teachers for diverse classrooms must be addressed urgently. That diversity is an asset for educators and societies in general and that efforts should be made to make the most of this rich resource is an important theme underlying all contributions to this publication. This approach contrasts with the view that diversity is a problem that needs to be avoided, or, if this is not possible, "solved".

Executive summary

Increasingly multicultural societies have an impact on education and student achievement. Educational challenges posed by family background, socioeconomic context and migration status are not only strongly linked to student performance, they determine student performance over and above the school’s influence.* Schools and education systems must therefore seek to overcome such inequalities and at the same time harness the benefits that students and teachers from diverse backgrounds bring to classrooms. A successful school system treats diversity as a source of potential growth rather than an inherent hindrance to student performance. It uses the strength and flexibility of its teachers to draw out this potential, and provides them with the appropriate support and guidance to accomplish this task.

Complete executive summary
(also available in French and Spanish)

Table of contents

Part I: Context, Concepts and Research

Chapter 1: The Importance of Effective Teacher Education for Diversity
Chapter 2: On Diversity in Educational Contexts
Chapter 3: OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) and diverse contexts
Chapter 4: Diversity in education: the importance of disaggregating data

Part II: Preparing Teachers for Diverse Classrooms

Chapter 5: Diversity and Educational Disparities: the role of teacher education
Chapter 6: Attracting and retaining diverse student teachers
Chapter 7: Curriculum Planning and Development: Implications for a new generation of teacher educators
Chapter 8: Intercultural Competence Teacher Training Models: the Italian experience

Part III: Moving into Practice

Chapter 9: From Homogeneity to Diversity in German Education\
Chapter 10: Teacher Education for Diversity in Spain: Moving from theory to practice
Chapter 11: School leader approaches to multicultural education: a Northern Ireland case study
Chapter 12: Classroom Practices for Teaching Diversity: an example from Washington State

Part IV: The Pending Agenda

Chapter 13: Supporting Effective Practice: The pending agenda

How to obtain this publication

Readers can access the full version of Educating Teachers for Diversity: Meeting the Challenge choosing from the following options:

Subscribers and readers at subscribing institutions can access the online edition via SourceOECD, our online library.
Non-subscribers can purchase the PDF e-book and/or paper copy via our Online Bookshop.
Order from your local distributor
Government officials with accounts (subscribe) can go to the "Books" tab on OLIS.
Access by password for accredited journalists