Making a difference: moving beyond the superficial treatment of diversity

Abstract

As populations in contemporary Western societies grow more diverse, the need for teachers to better understand and work with difference productively becomes increasingly critical (Allard Santoro, 2006; D'Cruz, 2007). However, the literature on teacher education shows that historically, teacher education programs have aimed to address diversity with add-on or piecemeal approaches, with little success (McDonald, 2005). Moreover, some authors (e.g. Lortie, 1975) have argued that the predispositions teacher education students bring to teaching are a much more powerful socializing influence than either pre-service education or later socialization in the workplace (Johnson, 2002, p.154). This article explores research and scholarship in this area and argues that we must move beyond the fragmented and superficial treatment of diversity if we are to encourage dispositions in all pre-service teachers that are more closely aligned with a recognitive view of social justice.