The Benefits of Multicultural Education Professional Development Training for Elementary School Teachers Who Teach in Culturally Diverse Schools

Multicultural education professional development training at the district level for teachers who teach at the elementary level in one southeastern US district has reached only a small number of the assigned teachers. Multicultural education professional development training could bring awareness to a district's professional development department in order to provide the necessary training to keep teachers abreast of practices relevant to the diverse population of students they teach. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate teachers' attitudes toward multicultural education professional development training and how it could influence academic achievement of diverse students. Vygotsky and Bandura social cultural theories influenced the theoretical framework for this study. The research questions addressed the effectiveness of training workshops to aid with academic achievement. This study used a phenomenological design to collect data on 10 participants' perceptions by way of face-to-face interviews. The interviews were analyzed using typological analysis to verify themes, patterns, and concepts. Based on the findings, it was concluded that there were benefits to multicultural education professional development training. The results from this study also supported research based training. Recommendations for action included providing a site-based training with continued support at the district level. A social change benefit resulting from this study could be to share improved teacher attitudes toward multicultural education professional development training which could help increase academic achievement for diverse students.