An Investigation of Elementary Preservice and Inservice Teachers’ Preparedness to Educate Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations in Northern New Jersey Schools

Wingard, Cleopatra Judith.

Dissertation

An Investigation of Elementary Preservice and Inservice Teachers’ Preparedness to Educate Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations in Northern New Jersey Schools

Public Deposited

The United States is the epitome of a cultural salad bowl. We are a nation that celebrates our unique cultural identities, while embracing our identity as Americans. Is this dream of inclusivity and academic opportunity inculcated into the American classroom as well? With more than 328 million residents, this country is rich in culture, language, and race (U.S. Census, 2020). As this nation continues to develop economically and socially, the foundation for its success begins in the American classroom. In the United States of America, there is an increase in the number of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse, or CLD, elementary school students. This increase in the CLD population is particularly evident in the metropolitan locations of the United States. The purpose of this study, An Investigation of Elementary Preservice and Inservice Teachers’ Preparedness to Educate Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations in Northern New Jersey Schools, is to explore Preservice and Inservice teachers’ perceptions of their competency to educate Culturally and Linguistically Diverse populations. This quantitative study compared the perceptions of two groups of educators’ competency to educate CLD students in an elementary setting in Northern New Jersey. Participants in the study included Preservice teachers, or undergraduates, and Inservice teachers, or graduate students, in Northern New Jersey. Through a Culturally Responsive Teaching Preparedness Scale (CRTPS), elementary teachers’ beliefs regarding their ability to address: CLD or nonnative populations, as it relates to curriculum and instruction; relationship and expectation establishment; and group belonging formation were determined. Fifty-five respondents participated in this study. This research indicated that Northern New Jersey educators feel prepared to create a positive classroom environment for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse students. However, the respondents indicated that they do not feel confident in the areas of curriculum and instructional needs and parental engagement techniques for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse families. Additional research can explore teacher training practices related to Cultural and Linguistically Diverse education.

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