Preservice Teachers Integrate Understandings of Diversity into Literacy Instruction: An Adaptation of the ABC's Model

Teacher educators across the nation face the increasingly challenging task to better prepare preservice teachers to work with students of diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Most preservice teachers are from White and middle-class backgrounds and have had limited experiences with cultures other than theirs (Ladson-Billings, 1995; Schmidt, 1998a, b). Their life and cultural experiences shape their beliefs and perceptions of students from other cultures (Cabello & Burstein, 1995; Pohan, 1996; Sleeter, 1995). In 2000, 85% of teachers are White and middle class (Ladson-Billings, 1995), but 33% of school-age children are minorities (Adler, 1993). Many teacher preparation programs include multicultural education courses in the curriculum (Goodwin, 1997; Grant, 1994; Zeichner et al., 1998). However, they are particularly ineffective in changing preservice teachers' beliefs about diversity and students of diverse backgrounds (Deering & Stanutz, 1995; Goodwin, 1997; McDiarmid & Price, 1993), enhancing preservice teachers' culturally relevant teaching (Goodwin, 1997; Guillaume, Zuniga-Hill, & Yee, 1995; Zeichner et al., 1998), and promoting critical reflections upon diversity issues within a broader sociopolitical context (Goodwin, 1997; McIntosh, 1988; Sleeter, 1995). Many researchers and teacher educators have investigated different approaches to enhance the effectiveness of multicultural education courses. One approach is to immerse preservice teachers in cultural communities different from theirs (e.g., Mahan, 1982; Wiest, 1998). Another is to place preservice teachers in schools with students of diverse backgrounds for field experiences or student teaching (Bennett, 1995; Colville-Hall, MacDonald, & Smolen, 1995; Vavrus, 1994). Few, if any, studies have specifically investigated how preservice teachers integrate multicultural understandings into literacy instruction for students of diverse backgrounds. Researchers (Nieto, 1996; Sleeter & Grant, 1999) have documented that diverse students continue to experience school failure and that lack of adequate literacy skills appears to be a primary cause for their low school achievement (Allington & Walmsley, 1995; Au, 1993). Preservice teachers must be able to link their understandings of diversity to teaching reading and writing. In the study I report on in this article, I explored two questions: What were preservice teachers' understandings of their cultural backgrounds and their students' cultural backgrounds? How did preservice teachers integrate their understandings of diversity into literacy instruction? The ABC's Model Schmidt (1998a, 1998b, 1999) developed the ABC's Model based on the following premises. One must be familiar with one's cultural background and values before understanding others' cultural backgrounds (Banks, 1994; Zeichner, 1993). Learning about others' life experiences exposes one to others' cultures (Schmidt, 1998a, 1998b). Cross-cultural analysis of one's own and others' cultures, in turn, enhances one's awareness of similarities and differences among various cultures (Spindler & Spindler, 1987). The ABC's Model (Schmidt, 1999) includes five components: * An autobiography, written in detail, by each student to include key life events related to education, family, religious tradition, recreation, victories, and defeats. * The biography of a person who is culturally different from the student, written from in-depth, unstructured interviews (Spradley, 1979) that include key life events. * A cross-cultural analysis of similarities and differences between the life stories is charted (Spindler & Spindler, 1987). * An analysis of cultural differences examined in writing with encouragement for students to explain personal discomforts and identify positive affect. * Modification for classroom practice and communication plans for literacy development and home/ school connections based on the preceding process are designed. …