Table Of ContentIowa State University Capstones, Teses and
Retrospective Teses and Dissertations
Dissertations
2008
Transforming teacher education to support
multicultural technology pedagogy: an assessment
of preservice teachers' beliefs about
multiculturalism and diversity
Audrey Denise Bowser
Iowa State University
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Recommended Citation
Bowser, Audrey Denise, "Transforming teacher education to support multicultural technology pedagogy: an assessment of preservice
teachers' beliefs about multiculturalism and diversity" (2008). Retrospective Teses and Dissertations. 15708.
htps://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/15708
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Transforming teacher education to support multicultural technology pedagogy:
An assessment of preservice teachers’ beliefs about multiculturalism and diversity
by
Audrey Denise Bowser
A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Major: Education
Program of Study Committee:
Nicola Davis, Co-major Professor
James McShay, Co-major Professor
Jackie Blount
Tahira Hira
Patricia Leigh
Mack Shelley
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa
2008
Copyright © Audrey Denise Bowser, 2008. All rights reserved.
3316233
Copyright 2008 by
Bowser, Audrey Denise
All rights reserved
3316233
2008
ii
DEDICATION
This dissertation is dedicated to the most remarkable woman I have ever known, my mother,
Erma Gean Bowser (August 25, 1944 – February 5, 2005).
Thank you mom for the support and encouragement you gave me throughout all of my
educational pursuits. Your unconditional love has been the impetus for the goals I have
accomplished, the strong Black woman I am, and the individual I have yet to discover. Mom,
a simple thank you could never convey the love and appreciation I have for you. Throughout
your earthly life, you exemplified compassion, kindness, generosity, love, and sensitivity; a
virtuous woman, indeed, and for this, I am grateful to be called your daughter. Finishing this
without you, at times, seemed impossible, but I will always remember how much you
believed in me. You would say, “You can do all things through Christ, who strengthens you.”
~ Philippians 4:13
I dedicate this dissertation to my mother’s loving memory.
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................. vi
LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................. vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................... ix
ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. x
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1
Background and Rationale ............................................................................................. 4
Theoretical Underpining . 6
Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................... 8
Statement of Purpose .................................................................................................... 10
Research Questions . 10
Methodology ................................................................................................................. 11
Instrumentation . 12
Assumptions ................................................................................................................. 13
Limitations .................................................................................................................... 14
Definition of Terms ...................................................................................................... 14
Organization of the Dissertation ................................................................................... 17
CHAPTER 2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ........................................................................... 19
The Role of Multicultural Education ............................................................................ 19
Preservice Teachers’ Beliefs About Multicultural Education .......................... 22
The Need for Multicultural Education in Preservice Teacher Education ........ 24
Multicultural Philosophical Frameworks ......................................................... 26
Five Approaches to Multicultural Education ................................................... 27
Promoting a Critical Multicultural Perspective ................................................ 30
The Role of Technology in Teacher Education ............................................................ 33
Brief Historical Background of Technology Diffusion ................................... 33
Overview of Technology Integration in Teacher Preparation .......................... 37
Framing the Discourse about Digital Inequities in the Context of
Teacher Education . 41
Integrating Technology to Support Multicultural Initiatives ........................... 45
Multicultural Technology Pedagogy ............................................................................ 46
Toward Multicultural Curriculum Transformation .......................................... 48
Opportunities Through the Integration of Technology .................................... 51
Summary ....................................................................................................................... 53
CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................... 55
Research Design ........................................................................................................... 55
Participants ................................................................................................................... 57
Instrumentation ............................................................................................................. 60
iv
Personal and Professional Beliefs About Diversity Scales .............................. 62
Data Collection Procedures .......................................................................................... 64
Quantitative Procedures . 65
Qualitative Procedures . 67
Data Analysis ................................................................................................................ 69
Quantitative Analysis . 69
Qualitative Analysis . 70
Summary ....................................................................................................................... 76
CHAPTER 4. DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS ............................................................. 77
Demographic Characteristics of the Survey Participants ............................................. 78
Data Analysis ................................................................................................................ 82
Diversity Scale . 82
Factor Analysis . 85
Quantitative Results ...................................................................................................... 90
Personal Beliefs About Multicultural Education ............................................. 90
Professional Beliefs About Multicultural Education ....................................... 90
Preservice Teachers’ Beliefs at Different Stages ............................................. 95
Qualitative Results ........................................................................................................ 98
Approaches to Preservice Teachers’ Major Multicultural Perspectives .......... 98
Focus Group Interview Responses ................................................................. 105
How Technology is use to Facilitate Learning About Multicultural
Education . 1
Summary . 18
CHAPTER 5. DISCUSSION, IMPLICATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS .............. 120
Summary of the Study ................................................................................................ 122
Summary of the Participants .......................................................................... 122
Summary of the Data Analysis ...................................................................... 123
Discussion of the Findings ......................................................................................... 124
Quantitative Findings . 124
Qualitative Findings . 132
Implications for Practice ............................................................................................. 137
Socializing Preservice Teachers for Cultural Diversity ................................. 138
Concluding Thoughts . 145
Recommendations for Future Research ...................................................................... 147
APPENDIX A: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE .................................................................... 149
APPENDIX B: LETTER GRANTING WRITTEN PERMISSION TO USE THE
DIVERSITY SCALES FOR MY RESEARCH .......................................... 154
APPENDIX C: LETTER TO PROFESSORS OF POTENTIAL SURVEY
PARTICIPANTS . 15
v
APPENDIX D: LETTER TO PRESERVICE TEACHERS ENROLLED IN A
PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION COURSE .............................................. 156
APPENDIX E: EMAIL REQUESTS TO FOCUS GROUP PARTICIPANTS ................... 157
APPENDIX F: SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ................................. 158
REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................... 159
vi
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Preservice Teachers’ Familiarity with Issues Related to Multiculturalism ...........81
Figure 2. The Three Groups of Preservice Teachers at Different Stages of the
Teacher Preparation Program ................................................................................82
Figure 3. Total Scores for the Preservice Teachers’ Personal Beliefs about Diversity
Subscale .84
Figure 4. Total Scores for the Preservice Teachers’ Professional Beliefs about
Diversity Subscale .85
vii
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Survey Participants Enrolled in a Required Professional Education
Course .57
Table 2. Demographic Characteristics of Survey Participants ............................................59
Table 3. The Three Stages of Teacher Preparation with Regards to Students’ Current
Enrollment in the Teacher Education Program ......................................................66
Table 4. Negatively Worded Survey Items Reverse Coded.................................................71
Table 5. Demographic Data for the Preservice Teachers’ Race and Gender .......................79
Table 6. Preservice Teachers’ Familiarity with Issues Related to Multiculturalism ...........80
Table 7. Measures for Conducting Factor Analysis for the Personal Beliefs About
Diversity Subscale .86
Table 8. Measures for Conducting Factor Analysis for the Professional Beliefs About
Diversity Subscale .87
Table 9. Total Variance Explained for the Personal Beliefs About Diversity
Subscale .8
Table 10. Total Variance Explained for the Professional Beliefs About Diversity
Subscale .8
Table 11. Descriptive Statistics for the Personal Beliefs About Diversity Subscale .............91
Table 12. Descriptive Statistics for the Professional Beliefs About Diversity Subscale .......93
Table 13. Descriptive Statistics for the Personal and Professional Beliefs Subscale
Totals .....................................................................................................................94
Table 14. Descriptive Statistics for the Preservice Teachers’ Personal Beliefs at
Different Stages of the Teacher Education Program .............................................95
Table 15. Descriptive Statistics for the Preservice Teachers’ Professional Beliefs at
Different Stages of the Teacher Education Program .............................................96
viii
Table 16. ANOVA Summary Table for the Preservice Teachers’ Personal and
Professional Beliefs at Different Stages of the Teacher Education Program ........97
Table 17. Preservice Teachers’ Responses to Open-ended Questions Using the Five
Aproaches as Categories .10
