1996/97 PCERII Funded Research Abstract
Research Title: Cultural Integration and Teaching
Research Team:
Research Domain(s): Education
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The growing cultural diversity of school student populations in urban Canada has not been matched by a corresponding change in the ethno-cultural composition of the teaching force. As a group, public school teachers exhibit considerably less cultural diversity than the students which they teach. Moreover, many of these teachers have grown up in communities and in educational settings that are more culturally homogenous than the settings in which they are now expected to teach. At the same time as ethno-cultural diversity is increasing, secondary school curricula and teaching practices are placing greater emphasis on the importance of personal interpretation and response. Ethno-cultural backgrounds and experiences have a significant bearing on assignments like student response journals and interpretive essays. Moreover, the day to day school and classroom dynamics are heavily influenced by cultural understandings and practices.
The overall aim of the research project is to investigate the curricular, pedagogical and educational policy dimensions of the ethno-cultural differences between the secondary education student and the teacher populations in the cities of Edmonton, Regina and Winnipeg. The research will focus both on the policies and practices within selected schools of these three cities as well as on the content of the teacher education programs in the faculties of education of the universities of Alberta, Regina and Manitoba.