The relationship between a community awareness project and the level of cultural sensitivity of preservice and inservice teacher education students

As the enrollment of culturally and linguistically diverse children continuously creeps upward, the chasm between the culture of the children and the cultures of the teachers they are meeting in the classrooms continues to widen. Strategies that lead to a decrease in the dissonance between the two groups must be provided. Previous studies by Larke (1990) and Deering & Stanutz (1995) used Henry's (1985; 1991) Cultural Diversity Awareness Inventory (CDAI) to gauge the effect of a multicultural education class and a field experience on the level of cultural sensitivity of preservice teachers. This study uses the CDAI (1991) to statistically (SPSS 10.0 General Linear Model Repeated Measures Polynomial Tests of Within-Subjects Contrast) analyze the relationship between a community awareness project and the level of cultural sensitivity of preservice and inservice teachers enrolled in a diversity class at a large Midwestern university. The community awareness project required the preservice and inservice teacher education students to visit a school in a diverse community as well as tour the community surrounding the school and gather data about what they had observed. The data collected from the observations of the visits were used to develop culturally relevant lesson plans which were analyzed for levels of cultural sensitivity.; In addition to the quantitative component, the mixed research design employs qualitative research methods such as focus group interviews and student reaction papers. The statistics reveal that the community awareness project used in this study did not significantly change attitudes. The qualitative research, however, allows for speculation that teachers are interested in becoming more culturally sensitive. Recommendations are made as to how colleges of education can meet the needs of preservice and inservice teacher education students, and consequently the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse children. The recommendations include testing for cultural sensitivity of education majors, more aggressive recruitment efforts of people of color and those interested in working with diverse communities, integration of multicultural content in all classes, and expanded collaboration with urban school districts enrolling students from diverse backgrounds.