Self-Efficacy and Multicultural Teacher Education in the United States: The Factors That Influence Who Feels Qualified to be a Multicultural Teacher Educator

Abstract

A growing body of scholarship in the United States focuses on the “multicultural” dispositions, ideologies, and attitudes that teachers carry from preservice training into classroom practice. However, little attention has been paid to the dispositions, ideologies, and attitudes of multicultural teacher educators—those tasked with preparing teachers to teach multiculturally. This scholarly gap limits understandings of how and by whom this preparation is happening. The purpose of this study, drawing on scholarship about the role of efficacy in educational environments, was to fill part of that void by examining the experiences by which multicultural teacher educators in the United States come to feel qualified to teach multicultural teacher education courses. Results suggested higher efficacy among White and “other race” participants than African American participants and higher efficacy among heterosexual participants than their lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning counterparts. No significant differences across gender or other identities were found. Similarly, no correlation was found between participation in professional conferences, other professional development opportunities, or participation in professional associations and level of efficacy. Implications for the preparation and support of multicultural teacher educators are discussed.