Abstract
Hong Kong teachers are increasingly concerned about the challenges of meeting the diverse learning needs of students with ethnic-minority backgrounds, as the number of ethnic-minority students in Hong Kong is growing rapidly, with a 50% increase since 2007. These students usually come from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds and often experience difficulties in learning and adapting to the school environment. This study investigates the perceptions of teaching competency in multicultural classrooms held by 421 teachers’ at 16 schools in Hong Kong. The aims of the study are (a) to use confirmatory factor analysis to validate a culturally appropriate version of the Multicultural Teaching Competency Scale (MTCS), (b) to assess three types of multicultural-teaching competency, and (c) to provide recommendations for teacher-education institutes and policy makers on developing effective training in multicultural education. The results indicate that a tripartite model assessing skills, knowledge, and relationships, the core features of multicultural-teaching competency as assessed by the MTCS, offers a good statistical fit to the data obtained from a Hong Kong sample. Regardless of the extent of their training in multicultural education and their years of teaching experience, the teachers all identified multicultural-teaching relationships as the most important component of multicultural-teaching competency. Future researchers should examine the concurrent validity of the MTCS and the cultural contexts of multiculturalteaching relationships. Recommendations are also made in this study for incorporating the Confucian beliefs of fairness, justice, and equity into multicultural classroom environments to promote strong, supportive and harmonious interpersonal relationships.
Original language | English |
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Publication status | Published - Jul 2016 |
Event | 3rd Asia Pacific Conference on Advanced Research (APCAR-2016) - Hotel Grand Chancellor, Melbourne, Australia Duration: 29 Jul 2016 → 30 Jul 2016 https://apiar.org.au/conference/3rd-asia-pacific-conference-on-advanced-research-apcar-2016-melbourne-victoria/ |
Conference
Conference | 3rd Asia Pacific Conference on Advanced Research (APCAR-2016) |
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Abbreviated title | APCAR-2016 |
Country/Territory | Australia |
City | Melbourne |
Period | 29/07/16 → 30/07/16 |
Internet address |
Citation
Leung, C. H. (2016, July). Factor structure of the mtcs in Hong Kong. Paper presented at The 3rd Asia Pacific Conference on Advanced Research (APCAR-July 2016): Focus on the Future, Hotel Grand Chancellor, Victoria, Australia.Keywords
- Multicultural-teaching competency
- Cultural harmony
- Emic/etic considerations