Teacher Candidates’ Multicultural Attitude and Self-Efficacy: The Mediating Role of Intercultural Sensitivity

Abstract

The challenges of working with diverse students have made it critical to prepare teacher candidates who are culturally sensitive and can observe the classes through a multicultural lens and integrate these competencies with their self-efficacy. This study aimed to examine the mediation role of intercultural sensitivity on the relationship between teachers' multicultural attitude and sense of efficacy. Two hundred and nine (female: 76, male: 133) teacher candidates participated in the study from a mid-sized state university in Turkey. Data were collected via the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES), the Teacher Multicultural Attitude Survey (TMAS) and the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS). The results showed that intercultural sensitivity fully mediated the relationship between teacher multicultural attitude and teachers' sense of efficacy. As a result, it can be said that teacher candidates feel themselves competent at the level that they can transform their positive tendencies about multicultural environments into behavioral skills.

Keywords

• Teachers’ self-efficacy
• Intercultural sensitivity
• Multicultural attitudes
• Teacher candidates.

Öğretmen Adaylarının Çokkültürlü Tutum ve Öz-Yeterliği: Kültürlerarası Duyarlılığın Aracı Rolü

Abstract

Kültürel farklılıklara sahip öğrencilerle çalışmanın zorlukları, kültürel açıdan duyarlı olan, sınıflarını çokkültürlü bir bakış açısıyla gözlemleyebilen ve bu becerileri kendi öz yeterlilikleriyle bütünleştirebilen öğretmen adaylarının yetiştirilmesinin önemini artırmıştır. Bu araştırmanın amacı, kültürlerarası duyarlığın öğretmenlerin çokkültürlü tutumu ile öz-yeterlikleri arasındaki ilişkide aracılık rolünü incelemektir. Araştırmaya Türkiye'deki bir devlet üniversitesinden 209 (kadın: 76, erkek: 133) öğretmen adayı katılmıştır. Araştırma verileri, Öğretmen Öz-yeterlik Ölçeği, Öğretmenlerin Çok Kültürlü Tutum Ölçeği ve Kültürlerarası Duyarlılık Ölçeği (ISS) ile toplanmıştır. Sonuçlar, kültürlerarası duyarlılığın, öğretmenlerin çok kültürlü tutumu ile öğretmenlerin yeterlik duygusu arasındaki ilişkiye tam olarak aracılık ettiğini göstermiştir. Sonuç olarak öğretmen adaylarının çokkültürlü ortamlara yönelik olumlu eğilimlerini davranış becerilerine dönüştürebilecek düzeyde kendilerini yetkin hissettikleri söylenebilir

Keywords

• Öğretmen öz-yeterliği
• Kültürlerarası duyarlık
• Çokkültürlü tutum
• Öğretmen adayları.

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