Findings: Understanding diversity
Because this standard is still in a pilot phase, the findings should only be viewed as exploratory. This standard is not rated, nor does it factor into overall program or institutional ratings. The purpose of our analysis is to provide an inventory of our findings in order to establish the foundation for a more robust analysis of this area of teacher preparation in future studies.
The analysis of our sample of 10 programs indicated that for nine programs, at least one course and as many as five were identified by education schools as addressing diversity as we defined it. (In the case of the 10th program, no course was identified but the diversity of the institution and activities offered to teacher candidates were noted.) Of these nine, we determined that six included content only by a very generous interpretation, such as having a potentially relevant textbook or article on the required reading list and/or any potentially relevant assignment (typically one involving reflection). Only three of the nine included readings from textbooks that at least hold the possibility of providing content understanding combined with some indication that lecture or discussion topics addressed those readings.
Our conclusion that somewhere between 30 percent and 60 percent of programs in our sample have the potential to be providing diversity content is unsatisfactory. In none of the programs in the sample, moreover, did we see a treatment of diversity as robust and definitive as the one shown below, which was taken from the syllabus of a course in an undergraduate secondary program:
The bottom line on our review of syllabi to determine the nature of the treatment of diversity in coursework from all programs and from those in our sample is that the topic of diversity is pervasive but its treatment may be amorphous. Only in a minority of courses do we think it likely that teachers are prepared in vital diversity content.
