Multicultural Competence: A Case Study of Teachers and their Student Perceptions

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to describe the level of multicultural competence among secondary agriculture teachers in schools with a minimum of 30% ethnic minority student enrollment. Using the Multicultural Skills Awareness and Skill Survey – Teacher Form, teachers assessed their multicultural competence as did their students assess the teacher’s multicultural competence. For comparison purposes, teachers were grouped by the ethnic diversity of their FFA chapter membership: diverse and non-diverse FFA membership. From the findings, teachers within a diverse FFA membership had a higher multicultural competence level (by the teacher and the students) then did teachers within a non-diverse FFA membership. When combining both teacher groups together, the results suggest that students perceive their teachers to be more multicultural competent then the teachers perceive themselves. The results and recommendations are provided as to the development of teachers that are multicultural competent.