Examining Values and Beliefs About Teaching Diverse Students: Understanding the Challenges for Teacher Education

Abstract

This paper presents empirical evidence regarding the capacity of teacher education programs to influence the values and beliefs of those who enroll in them and offers insight into the conditions that may be conducive to such effects. Our study shows that although teacher education faculty and enrollees across the programs studied subscribe to ideals of social justice and fairness in regard to teaching diverse learners, it is less clear how they translate these ideals into their views concerning curriculum design and implementation, assessment of student progress, and classroom and school organization. Our findings indicate that lay culture norms among enrollees are strongly ingrained and that most teacher education, as it is currently structured, is a weak intervention to alter particular views regarding the teaching and management of diverse learners.