A Need to Support Teacher Diversity Through Culturally Relevant STEM Education at the Elementary School

Abstract

There is an urgent need of modifications in traditional teacher education preparation programs in the United States that gears on preparing elementary teachers for culturally applicable science and mathematics curriculum. Such curriculum should focus on a) enrichment of the content and b) addressing the need of racially diverse students (Ladson(cid:0)Billings, 1995 & 1995; Menshah, 2010). This study investigates two female Indian teachers, engaged in teacher education preparation program in a tier one university at south east Texas. Purposive sampling was implemented to learn the perceptions of participants who are language learners themselves for this auto-ethnographic study. Participants are intensively engaged on a research to improve mathematics and science programs through the lens of culturally relevant practices for marginalized communities.