Conversing Online

Abstract

Students from diverse cultures in U.S. public schools often encounter stereotyping from peers and even teachers who do not understand their cultures and backgrounds. For this reason, I was interested in ways to encourage our preservice teachers to reexamine their beliefs about different groups of people and possibly discard stereotypes of cultural groups that are unfamiliar to them. I collaborated with two colleagues from Kansas and Japan to undertake a study to examine e-mail dialogues between three diverse groups of students: White preservice teachers in Texas, Native American preservice teachers in Kansas, and Japanese college students studying English in Japan. Qualitative methods were used throughout this study. Through this semester-long conversation, participants developed a better understanding of cultural diversity in U.S. society and other societies worldwide, and they learned ways to promote culturally responsive teaching. This project was conducted under a Stephen F. Austin State University faculty research grant. Pseudonyms are used throughout this article to protect student identities.

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Jan Guidry Lacina

Jan Guidry Lacina is an assistant professor in the Department of Elementary Education at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. She received a PhD in curriculum and instruction/TESOL from the University of Kansas in 1999. Her professional interests are English as a second language, diversity, and teacher education.