Developing Culturally Responsive Teachers: Current Issues and a Proposal for Change in Teacher Education Programs

Abstract

This paper examined current issues of educating culturally responsive teachers in teacher education programs from
empirical researches. Focusing on constructing a culturally responsive knowledge base for teacher education students,
this paper summarized obstacles for developing culturally responsive teachers, proposed multicultural approaches to
establish a culturally responsive knowledge base for teacher education students, as well as presented practical
implications to enhance the knowledge construction for preparing teachers for diversity. Aiming at stimulating
reconsiderations of situating teacher education programs in multicultural context, this paper brought culturally
responsive perspectives to empower pre-service and in-service teachers’ teaching capacities to meet needs from their
students with diverse cultural and racial backgrounds.