Teacher Preparation for Cultural and Linguistic Diversity: Perceptions of a University-Based Educator Preparation Program

The purpose of this journal ready dissertation was to identify effective strategies that educator preparation programs (EPPs) can use to prepare pre-service teachers (PSTs) to work with culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students. This dissertation includes three separate studies. In Study 1, a systematic literature review was conducted to determine the most effective components experts recommend EPPs include in their program to establish a foundation of cultural responsiveness in their PSTs. Study 2 was an exploration of the perceptions of current middle school PSTs concerning their preparation to work with CLD students. In Study 3 was an investigation of novice middle school teachers’ perceptions of their preparation to meet the needs of CLD students, as they reflected after having gained some experience as a full-time classroom teacher