International Conceptualizations of Diversity in Multi-Cultural Teacher Preparation: A Review of the Literature 2006-2015

This literature review updates and expands the authors' previous synthesis of empirical research on pre-service multicultural teacher preparation (MTP) conducted from 2006-2011 in settings outside the U.S. (Liu, Baker, & Milman, 2014). In this review, the authors synthesized research conducted from 2006-2015 about (a) how diversity is conceptualized in teacher education, and (b) how MTP is practiced across international settings. Their analysis demonstrates that researchers in non-U.S. settings conceptualized diversity as: (a) unspecified or undefined; (b) connected to self; and (c) a social justice issue. MTP practices similar to their prior review included: critical reflections on self and other, culturally relevant pedagogies, and theory-to-practice transfer. The authors' updated analysis additionally revealed a new approach that they termed interdisciplinary MTP. Implications call for initiating innovative collaborations in teacher preparation to explore complex, evolving definitions of diversity shaped by global and local discourses, and learning from each other about meaningful, effective MTP across international settings.