Culturally Ready or Not? Pre-Service and Experienced EFL Teachers’ Beliefs, Attitudes, and Self-Efficacy towards Multicultural Education

Abstract

As linguistically and culturally diverse classrooms become the norm across educational contexts globally, the dispositions that English Language (EFL) teachers hold toward multicultural education (MCE) bear directly on the quality and inclusivity of the instruction they deliver. This study investigates the beliefs, attitudes, and self-efficacy of pre-service and experienced EFL teachers toward multicultural education, and examines whether these dimensions vary according to demographic characteristics including age, educational background, class level, teaching experience, and academic qualification. A descriptive survey design was employed with 83 participants, 74 pre-service and 9 experienced EFL teachers from a higher education context. An adapted version of the Teachers' Beliefs, Attitudes, and Self-Efficacy towards Multicultural Education Scale (Yıldırım & Tezci, 2016) was used to collect data, which were analysed quantitatively. Both groups demonstrated notably positive dispositions across all three constructs. Pre-service teachers showed strong agreement with individual rights beliefs (M = 1.66) and high self-efficacy in applying diverse learning strategies (M = 1.38). Experienced teachers exhibited strongly positive beliefs about individual rights (M = 1.38), favourable attitudes toward adopting cultural diversity (M = 1.55), and high self-efficacy in managing (M = 1.55) and understanding diversity (M = 1.48). Statistically significant differences were identified among pre-service teachers based on age and length of studying English, and among experienced teachers according to academic qualification. These findings carry substantive implications for the design of teacher education programmes and continuing professional development in EFL contexts.

Keywords

• multicultural education
• EFL teacher education
• teacher beliefs
• teacher attitudes
• teacher self-efficacy

Kültürel Olarak Hazır Mıyız, Değil miyiz? Öğretmen Adayları ve Deneyimli İngilizce Öğretmenlerinin Çok Kültürlü Eğitime Yönelik İnançları, Tutumları ve Öz Yeterlilikleri

Abstract

Dilsel ve kültürel açıdan çeşitlilik gösteren sınıfların küresel eğitim bağlamlarında norm haline gelmesiyle birlikte, İngilizce (YY) öğretmenlerinin çokkültürlü eğitime (ÇÖE) yönelik tutumları, verdikleri eğitimin kalitesi ve kapsayıcılığı üzerinde doğrudan bir etkiye sahiptir. Bu çalışma, öğretmen adaylarının ve deneyimli YY öğretmenlerinin çokkültürlü eğitime yönelik inançlarını, tutumlarını ve öz yeterliliklerini araştırmakta ve bu boyutların yaş, eğitim geçmişi, sınıf düzeyi, öğretim deneyimi ve akademik yeterlilik gibi demografik özelliklere göre değişip değişmediğini incelemektedir. Yükseköğretim ortamından 74 öğretmen adayı ve 9 deneyimli YY öğretmeni olmak üzere 83 katılımcıyla tanımlayıcı bir anket tasarımı kullanılmıştır. Veri toplama için Öğretmenlerin Çokkültürlü Eğitime Yönelik İnançları, Tutumları ve Öz Yeterlilikleri Ölçeği'nin (Yıldırım & Tezci, 2016) uyarlanmış bir versiyonu kullanılmış ve veriler nicel olarak analiz edilmiştir. Her iki grup da üç yapının tamamında belirgin derecede olumlu tutumlar sergilediği görülmüştür. Öğretmen adaylarının, bireysel haklar inancına güçlü bir şekilde katıldıkları(M = 1,66) ve çeşitli öğrenme stratejilerini uygulama konusunda yüksek öz yeterlilik gösterdileri saptanmıştır (M = 1,38). Deneyimli öğretmenlerin ise bireysel haklar konusunda güçlü olumlu inançlar (M = 1,38), kültürel çeşitliliği benimsemeye yönelik olumlu tutumlar (M = 1,55) ve çeşitliliği yönetme (M = 1,55) ve anlama (M = 1,48) konusunda yüksek öz yeterlilik sergiledikleri saptanmıştır. Öğretmen adayları arasında yaş ve İngilizce öğrenim süresine göre, deneyimli öğretmenler arasında ise akademik yeterliliğe göre istatistiksel olarak anlamlı farklılıklar tespit edilmiştir. Bu bulgular, öğretmen eğitim programlarının tasarımı ve İngilizceyi yabancı dil olarak öğretme (EFL) bağlamlarında sürekli mesleki gelişim için önemli sonuçlar doğurmaktadır.

Keywords

• çokkültürlü eğitim
• İngilizce öğretmenliği eğitimi
• öğretmen inançları
• öğretmen tutumları
• öğretmen öz-yeterliliği

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