Abstract Book of the 8th International Conference on Advanced Research in Education
Year: 2025
DOI:
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What I Need to Learn to Be a Multicultural Teacher: Knowledge Needs to Foster Multicultural Competence in Hong Kong
Jocelyn L. N. Wong
ABSTRACT:
Having a knowledge of, and a sensitivity towards, cultural diversity is important to nurture teachers’ capacity to be culturally responsive. Teachers will be so much more effective if they are familiar with the characteristics of their students, and their learning needs. Studies, however, show that teachers are ill-prepared to handle diversity issues and their sense of multiculturalism is also limited. Viewing this research gap, this study focuses on identifying teachers’ views on the knowledge they need to equip them with multicultural competency and sensitivity in their daily practices. Hong Kong has no exception. Given a rapid increase in the ethnic minority student population, teachers generally apply a deficit approach to handle their learning. To address this issue, reflections on the knowledge needs of 33 native Chinese teachers in Hong Kong were collected. Findings show that they were interested in pursuing hands-on knowledge and skills with practical reflection but gave little attention to reflecting on the broader goals of multicultural education with a whole-school approach. Consequently, that has been an obstacle for them to develop their multicultural mindset. By identifying and addressing teachers’ knowledge needs, this study may shed light on the global discussion on ways to foster teachers’ multicultural competence.
keywords: Teacher knowledge, cultural diversity, Hong Kong, reflection, multicultural competence