Chapter 5: Multicultural Competencies and Teacher Stress: Implications for Teacher Preparation, Practice, and Retention

Multicultural diversity represents a potential area of stress for teachers in today’s schools. In the context of contemporary society as more culturally diverse than ever, teachers are increasingly called on to develop multicultural competencies to best serve their respective student bodies. In this chapter, we describe a local inquiry into issues of diversity conducted by interviewing groups of teachers from two schools with relatively homogenous and heterogeneous populations, respectively. We identify the teacher challenges, external stressors, and coping strategies brought out through the interview discussions, and compare teachers perceptions across schools. Finally, we present implications for helping teachers develop effective strategies for developing multicultural sensitivity and competence.