Running

head: IMPROVING TEACHERS UNDERSTANDING OF DIVERSE CULTURES

Article Critique: Improving Teachers Socio-Cultural

Understanding for a Diverse Classroom.

Heather Woodland

24544041

University of British Columbia

Author Note

This paper was prepared for ETEC 500, Section 65 D, taught by Professor Oksana
Bartosh.

Running head: IMPROVING TEACHERS UNDERSTANDING OF DIVERSE CULTURES

Article Critique: Improving Teachers Socio-Cultural

Understanding for a Diverse Classroom.

Lenski, Crawford, Crumpler and Stallworth (2005) state the preparation of new

teachers is inadequate in developing, through their coursework and practice teaching,

an understanding of the diverse cultures that their students represent. Most
importantly, they state the urgency of their work as the current state of recruiting and
preparing teachersis at a crisis level (Conclusions section, para. 1) in reference to the
majority Caucasian workforce which educates within challenging diverse urban
American school student populations.
Approach

Lenski et al. use qualitative ethnographic methods conducted by a group of 28

preservice teachers from a large American Midwestern university. The intention of the
study was for the preservice teachers to record the culture and community of their
practicum schools. The preservice teachers were trained in ethnography and received
ongoing support from researchers. This paper reports on year two of a five-year project
called the Beyond Awareness project.
Main Points

The findings of conducting this ethnographic study by preservice teachers are

that this work is a positive addition to the curriculum of teacher preparation programs.
Lenski et al. confirm their study suggested that participant observation and
ethnographically informed approachescould be key elements to developing more
effective ways to address culture and cultural diversity in teacher education
(Conclusions section, para.2). The background behind their interest in examining this

Running head: IMPROVING TEACHERS UNDERSTANDING OF DIVERSE CULTURES

topic came from a perceived culture clash which existed between teachers and
students.
They reported that past teacher preparation regarding this topic has produced
mixed results. (para. 3) Though some teachers had improved racial attitudes (para.
3) regarding their understanding of others cultures, unfortunately others reported few
or even negative changes (para. 3) in their attitudes towards understanding cultural
diversity. Lenski et al. discuss that preservice teachers must also understand their own
culture. Once they have an understanding of their own culture they can use that
understanding to explore how it relates to other cultures. This process gives the
preservice teachers a chance to confront their assumptions of culture and to look at the
ways in which they could be open to new ways of thinking(Results section, para. 1).
Researchers analyzed three trends among the data collected. The first trend was
the issues with the pre-service teachers understanding what their observations should
be (Discussions section, para. 1). The second trend was that the preservice teachers had
shifted their thinking about diversity to a level where they began planning strategies
for bringing students communities into their classrooms (Discussions section, para. 1).
The last trend was that the written component of completing an ethnographic study for
this research was too cumbersome in combination with the other course work included
in the students program.
My Questions and Concerns

My two most significant concerns with this study and the Lenski et al. article are

the language used and the scope of the article. I was surprised to see the use of white
as a descriptor of the preservice teachers rather than the term Caucasian. Perhaps, I am
used to the term Caucasian as a more politically correct form of expressing a racial

Running head: IMPROVING TEACHERS UNDERSTANDING OF DIVERSE CULTURES

group that people belong to. I also questioned why culture was simply defined through
race.
But having used the term white as a descriptor, I began to question the scope of
the article. The research may simply be American educational research rather than
more general educational research. I may be biased, as the practicum class that I
worked in (in the Delta School District No. 37) was extremely diverse with only three
students who would label themselves as white. My first teaching job was as a teacher
on call for the Vancouver School board. The district educates an exceptionally diverse
student population. Furthermore, my Bachelor of Education through the University of
British Columbia contained courses, which I felt prepared me well for the diversity that
I encountered in my early years teaching and that I was able to appreciate the culture of
my students without simply addressing superficial elements such as celebrations. In
summation, the article was narrow in scope, but one message that it conveyed that I
value is the importance of a teacher and their class to interact with positive role models
from a variety of cultures. Appreciating the culture of each individual in a classroom
must be authentic and should give members of various communities a chance to share
their story.

Running head: IMPROVING TEACHERS UNDERSTANDING OF DIVERSE CULTURES

References
Lenski, S.D., Crawford, K., Crumpler, T. & Stallworth, C. (2005). Preparing Preservice Teachers in
a Diverse World, Action in Teacher Education, 27(3), pp. 3-12 Manassas, VA.