Teachers’ understanding of cultural diversity: phenomenography of ethnically diverse children in Hong Kong

Abstract

ABSTRACT In Hong Kong, teaching ethnically diverse children (e.g. Indians, Pakistanis, Nepalis) has recently become a pressing issue. As teacher educators, we believe the crux of the issue lies in teachers’ understanding of cultural diversity. Specifically, this study adopted the theoretical framework of phenomenography to investigate the question of: What are precisely the qualitatively different ways teachers see ethnically diverse children? We recruited 81 in-service kindergarten teachers and conducted interviews and/or collected documents related to their practice of teaching. Four ways of seeing were identified: Ethnically diverse children are seen as: (A) of one and the same group, (B) not local to Hong Kong, (C) in need of support and deficient, and (D) overly devoted to their own cultures. We recommend teacher educators to discuss the descriptions of the four ways of seeing with teachers. The results of this study contribute to pedagogical knowledge of teacher educators for professional development of teachers.