Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Document Type

Dissertation

Abstract

Multicultural competence is a construct that has been discussed in the education literature as an essential skill for teachers' success in reaching all children in the classroom. The current study advances the literature on multicultural competence, specifically pertaining to teachers within their classrooms. Additional evidence was found building upon the technical adequacy of two, theoretically different, measures of teacher multicultural competence. Teachers who received a greater number of hours of multicultural training had significantly higher self-efficacy regarding engaging in culturally responsive teaching practices, than those who had received fewer hours. This study also replicated previous research (Hamilton, 2016) finding that teachers who shared an ethnic match with the majority of their classroom reported higher scores of student/classroom engagement and lower scores of teacher burnout. Interestingly, measures of multicultural competence did not demonstrate significant predictive validity for teachers' self-reported use of exclusionary discipline. Possible explanations, implications, and future directions are discussed.

Date

6-12-2019

Committee Chair

Long, Anna C

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.4964

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