Multicultural education : the understandings of preschool teachers in Singapore


Autoria(s): Karuppiah, Nirmala; Berthelsen, Donna
Data(s)

01/12/2011

Resumo

For multicultural education to be effective, it must be introduced in the early years and reinforced throughout the school years. It is important for teachers of young children to be equipped with the appropriate knowledge, skills and positive attitudes to promote multiculturalism in their classrooms. This paper reports on a survey involving preschool teachers in Singapore who were participating in an in-service training course. The teachers completed a questionnaire to indicate their understandings of multicultural education and their perceptions of its importance in early childhood education. The findings indicated that the teachers endorsed the need for multicultural education in preschools and the importance of children learning tolerance and understanding of other cultures in the Singaporean context. However, while preschool teachers held positive attitudes towards multicultural education, there was limited understanding of the challenges in implementing an anti-bias teaching and curriculum approach. The implications of these findings for preschool teacher education programs in Singapore and in other countries focus on supporting teachers in developing more critical and deeper understandings of multiculturalism.

Formato

application/pdf

Identificador

http://eprints.qut.edu.au/45903/

Publicador

Early Childhood Australia Inc.

Relação

http://eprints.qut.edu.au/45903/1/Karuppiah_%26_Berthelsen_2011_Mulitcultural_education__AJEC.pdf

http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/australian_journal_of_early_childhood/ajec_index_abstracts/multicultural_education_the_understandings_of_preschool_teachers_in_singapore.html

Karuppiah, Nirmala & Berthelsen, Donna (2011) Multicultural education : the understandings of preschool teachers in Singapore. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 36(4), pp. 38-42.

Direitos

Copyright 2011 Early Childhood Australia Inc.

Fonte

Office of Education Research; Faculty of Education; School of Early Childhood

Palavras-Chave #130102 Early Childhood Education (excl. Maori) #multicultural education #teacher beliefs
Tipo

Journal Article