Do early childhood teachers develop multicultural teaching competence by participating in professional development?

The increase in ethnic and cultural diversity in kindergartens requires teachers to leverage their professional capacity to work competently with students from ethnically diverse backgrounds. This article reports the results of a teacher professional development (PD) programme infused with culturally responsive teaching for developing the multicultural teaching competence of early childhood teachers in Hong Kong regarding their knowledge, skills, and relationships. Sixty-six teachers attending the programme took 20 sessions of PD courses over eight months, whereas 58 teachers who did not attend were recruited to form a control group. The pre- and post-test data were examined via multilevel modelling. Results revealed significantly positive changes in programme group teachers’ reported knowledge, skills, and relationships after controlling for teacher demographic characteristics. The promising PD effects suggested that the PD opportunities enhanced teachers’ perceived multicultural competence; thus, they reported becoming more competent in engaging in culturally responsive practices upon completing the programme. Copyright © 2024 Teacher Development.