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KJEP 12:1 (2015), pp. 107-126

Relationships among multicultural sensitivity,

multicultural education awareness, and level of

multicultural education practice of South

Korean teachers

Ho-Kyung HuhC K In s t r u c t io n a l D e v e l o p m e n t In s t i t u t e , K o r e a

Seong Woo ChoiS o o n g s / I U n i v e r s it y , K o r e a

JuSung Jun

S o o n g s i i U n i v er s i t y , K o r e a

Abstract

This study examined canonical correlation relationships between multicultural

sensitivity and level of multicultural education practice, and multicultural awareness

and level of multicultural education practice by primary and middle school teachers

in South Korea. Data was collected from 431 teachers in Seoul, Gyunggi, and Jeju.

Canonical correlation analysis was used to analyze data with SPSS 18.0 forWindows. We found that teachers with higher interaction enjoyment, interaction

confidence, interaction attentiveness, and interaction engagement have a higher level

of understanding and resourcefulness; and teachers with higher multicultural

understanding, appreciation of foreign culture, anti-bias perception, and perception

of the teacher's role have a higher level of application of understanding, level of

implementation in class, and level of resource usage.

Keywords: multicultural sensitivity, multicultural education awareness, level of

multicultural education practice, multicultural education competence,canonical correlation

KEDI Journal o f Educational P olic y-IS SN 1739^4 341-

© Korean Educational Development Institute 2015, Electronic version: http://eng.kedi.re.kr

http://eng.kedi.re.kr/

http://eng.kedi.re.kr/



Ho -Kyun g Huh, Seong W oo Choi, & JuSung Jun

I n t r o d u c t i o n

More multicultural families in South Korea are establishing themselves as

members of society, through education, immigration, and business. Of the increasing

number of multicultural children, there are 67,806 multicultural students who attend

school. 71.2% (48,297 out of 67,806) are students in elementary school, 18.5% (12,525

out of 67,806) in middle school, and 10.3% (6,984 out of 67,806) in high school

(Ministry of Education, 2014). Children confront new issues on a personal level as a

multicultural child and on a domestic level as part of a multicultural family. Problems

that arise in an educational environment require practical solutions. Therefore, a

holistic education suitable for multicultural and non-multicultural children benefits

modern society.

Increasing multicultural sensitivity through education is crucial (Jang & Kim,

2012). The role of teachers is important, as they must examine their emotions,

knowledge, and attitude of others (Seefelt, 2001). To successfully foster multicultural

education, a teacher must accept dissimilarities of cultures and be sensitive to

cultural differences (Bennett, 2003). A teacher with multicultural sensitivity shows a

high level of teaching efficacy (Villegas & Lucas, 2002) and is flexible in utilizing a

range of verbal and non-verbal facial expressions, attitudes, and actions, depending

on the situation (Y. Kim & Woo, 2011). It was found that the most direct influence

on multicultural education competence is an awareness of multicultural education

(Glockshuber, 2005; Holcomb-McCoy & Myers, 1999). Teacher awareness affects the

overall educational environment and course (Knopp & Smith, 2005). Multicultural

education is applying the student's cultural, societal, economical, and ethnic

background to education and injecting multicultural awareness, where the principal

agent for this process is teachers (Sleeter & Grant, 2008). Multicultural training for

teachers is a starting point for multicultural awareness and a requirement for the

discovery of opportunities in applying consistent multicultural education (Yoon,

2011). Effective teachers are those with high cultural sensitivity.

The relationship between multicultural sensitivity of teachers and their

multicultural education awareness and the level of multicultural educational practice

is a core area in educational research. However, studies so far have primarily

focused on preschoolers' teachers (Jeong, 2012; K. Lee, 2011; M. Park, 2012; Sung,

2010). Those studies conducted on elementary and middle school teachers were

mostly simple studies with a limited scope of issues, such as the awareness of

multicultural families, the status of multicultural education, the attitude of

multicultural education, teaching efficacy of multicultural education, etc. (O. Kim &

Jun, 2009; S. Kim & Kim, 2008; S. Park & Seong, 2011; Yoo, 2011).

The number of students from multicultural families is rapidly increasing in

Korea. They not only struggle with identity problems but also experience overall

difficulties at school such as academic works and a relationship with their friends

and teachers at school. Moreover, they take these problems with them when they



Relationships among multicultural education competence variables

graduate from school and enter the real world, where a new set of unanticipated

problems await. Therefore, it is crucial to provide elementary and middle school

teachers with the trainings and tools to enhance their skills in providingmulticultural education to all students within a regular educational curriculum.

However, in reality, multicultural education is not being implemented at a sufficient

level (S. Kim, 2010).

Therefore, this research examines the relationship between multicultural sensitivity

of teachers and their multicultural education awareness and the level of multicultural

education practice. The research is expected to improve the overall level of

multicultural education practice by enhancing multicultural sensitivity of teachers

and their multicultural education awareness. It will also provide a direction for

teachers in actual educational environments by suggesting methods that can helpthem provide more effective multicultural education.

Literature review

Multicultural education

Culture is defined as a "totality of all abilities and conventions acquired bymembers of society such as knowledge, religion, art, social institutions, morality,

cultural traditions, etc." and includes a range of diversities among individuals and

groups (Tyler, 1871 as cited in Koo, Park, & Seol, 2009, p. 12). Therefore, a meeting

of different cultures is accompanied by conflicts that arise from their exchange,

conflict and propagation. Based on this definition of "culture," "multi-culture" is

explained as a culture that arises from blending of different race, gender, culture,

religion, and behavior/lifestyles.

Multicultural phenomena have appeared for different reasons and in different

ways for different regions and nations. Table 1 presents different definitions ofmulticultural education.

In sum, multicultural education starts with education for the majority but is an

education that is needed for both the majority and minority (Jang & Kim, 2012). It

is also an education that allows both multicultural and non-multicultural families to

remove their cultural biases and stereotypes, recognize and acknowledge diversities

that arise from differences in income, social class, gender, disability, religion, and

especially nationality and ethnicity (race) and embrace them. Therefore, through

multicultural education, students should learn how to understand and respect

different cultures and put them into practice.



Ho-Kyung Huh, Seong Woo Choi, & JuSung Jun

Table 1. Academic definition of multicultural education

Scholar(s) Definition

Gay (2000)Suggesting various ideas, perspectives, framework or standards of

education required by students with diverse cultural backgrounds.

Bennett (2003)

Teaching-learning methods that support cultural pluralism in a

mutually interdependent and culturally pluralistic society based

on democratic values and faith.

Nie to (2 004)

A process o f comprehensive school system innovation and a

bas ic educat io n fo r all studen ts th at re ject all d iscrim in ations at

school and in society; embrace and support pluralism.

Banks (2007)

Changing educational institutions so that students with diverse

racial, ethnic, and social-class backgrounds can experience

educational equality.

Gollnick & Chinn (2009)

Utilize diverse cu ltural ba ckgrounds o f students for more effective

classroom instruction and school environment in order for teachers

to deliver the m essage o f pluralism, equality, social justice, and

democracy to students.

Campbell (2010)

Enable students with diverse backgrounds to understand and

respect each other's tradition and culture; instill in them respect

for human being; help develop and realize their potential;

understand basic equality for all people.

Ministry of Education and

Human Resources

Development (2006)

Provide education not only for majority but also minority social

groups w ith the aim o f providing e ducational equality for all

minority social groups.

C. Kim, Roh, Park, Lee,

& Lim (2013)

Allow all students receiving school education in multicultural

society to recognize cultural diversities based on pluralistic

philoso phy; purs ue mutu al unders ta ndin g bas ed on em path y an d

communication; practice cultural diversities.

Multicultural education competence and its components

There is a growing need for cultural, racial, and ethnic diversity as society

becomes more multicultural. This requires change and variability in education,

where the educational environment and teachers are most important (S. Lee, 2013).

The effective practice of multicultural education is dependent on the role of the

teacher, which highlights the importance of multicultural competence. Competence

relates to a teacher's ability to apply knowledge in real situations. Modern society

demands a more flexible and diversified approach (J. H. Kim, 2011). Developing

competence among teachers should be prioritized and the level required must beinvestigated.

With an understanding of one's own culture as the basis, developing multicultural

competence by creating a peaceful society with people of different backgrounds is

an important goal of multicultural education (O. Kim & Jun, 2009). Multicultural




competence consists of sensitivity and awareness; multicultural sensitivity and

awareness consequently form the basis of multicultural competence (Chen & Starosta,

2000). On this foundation, the current study defines multicultural competence as the

multicultural sensitivity and ability of a teacher to effectively apply multicultural

education in a culturally diverse educational field that targets students of different

cultural backgrounds.

A teacher's knowledge, skill, and attitude are important in creating specific

activities and an appropriate environment for multicultural education (Gay, 2000).

Teachers that possess such assets are deemed competent and possess a good

understanding of different cultures (Banks, 2007). Y. Kim (2011) showed that teachers

emphasized the importance of multicultural sensitivity—the ability to understand

and be sensitive to diversity in a societal or educational environment, multiculturalawareness—the appreciation of differences in a multicultural society, practices of

multicultural education—the educational application of the understanding of a

multicultural society, and that each component was culturally different. According to

Y. Kim (2011), a school education teaches how to understand other human beings

and live in harmony. Therefore, cultivating multicultural competence in teachers is

undeniably important. Teachers need to effectively interact with both multicultural

and non-multicultural families, sensitively respond to and respect different cultures,

reduce prejudice and conflict, and understand their role in multicultural education.

This should be accompanied by the will to positively influence students' learning,lifestyle, attitude, and values.

Multicultural sensitivity

Multicultural understanding is not limited to reducing racial and cultural

prejudice. It includes an agreement between one's own culture and of others, gender

and class issues, and minority rights. Therefore, developing multicultural sensitivity

that eliminates cultural prejudice, as well as fosters an interest in learning about and

experiencing dissimilar cultures, is important in supplementing the limitations of

current multicultural policies (S. Lee & Kim, 2012).

Chen and Starosta (2000) defined intercultural (or multicultural) sensitivity as an

emotional aspect of communication, a quality that appreciates the differences

between cultures and leads to appropriate behavior in a multicultural environment. An

individual with better intercultural sensitivity has high self-esteem, is open-minded,

can empathize, and be interactively engaged. These individuals can appropriately

apply effective behavior and attempt to understand and empathize before making

decisions when interacting with people of different cultures. People with a higher

level of multicultural sensitivity show more appreciation for cultural diversity. Theycan differentiate the practices, emotions, and understanding between their own

cultural group and others (O. Kim & Jun, 2009). Teachers with greater multicultural

sensitivity have reciprocal relationships by positively influencing others and receiving



Ho-Kyung Huh, Seong W oo Choi, & JuSung Jun

positive feedback. Further, culturally well-adjusted teachers have high-quality teaching

strategies and construct a positive classroom atmosphere that elicits encouraging

relationships with students (Trueba, 1989).

C. Park (2009) proposed a cardinal direction for multicultural sensitivity training

from the following premise: multicultural sensitivity is acknowledging that cultural

differences exist and accepting that there is nothing wrong with being different. It

works to newly amend cultural stereotypes, prejudice, and distorted views while

also providing an opportunity to encounter different political, economic, and societal

perspectives. It promotes the idea of forming positive relationships between different

cultures through self-awareness of cultural diversity and the pursuit of cultural

harmony. It also aids in the understanding of the nature of different cultures

through recognizing both the disparities and similarities between dissimilar cultures.Finally, cultural diversity helps individuals to understand human emotions, feelings,

attitudes, and changes which assist in the process of self-perfection by working

together in unity. Therefore, increasing multicultural sensitivity is the most effective

way of developing multicultural competence (Spitzberg, 1994).

Multicultural education awareness

Studies have reported on the teachers' influence on expectations, academicfailure, and dropouts of students in relation to multicultural awareness (Bennett,

2003; Koo et al., 2009; Song, 2012; Stoddart, 1990). Depending on the awareness of

a teacher, a student's academic growth can be positively developed or negatively

inhibited (Hwang, 2007). Teachers' expectations on multicultural education perception

are examined due to research results on the low expectations of minority students

compared to majority students (Bennet, 2003). This disparity may arise from cultural

prejudice or lack of cultural understanding. It is not surprising that some teachers

have cultural misunderstandings and negative stereotypes of minorities as they have

lived and studied as part of the majority. To eliminate the transmission ofunfavorable perceptions, a greater effort must be made to transform the perception

of teachers.

A greater multicultural awareness, or the realization and understanding of

different cultures, can increase appreciation and open-mindedness towards cultural

diversity (Banks, 2008). Accepting cultural differences will be difficult and result in

cultural conflict and misunderstanding if a teacher lacks cultural awareness (S. Park,

2013). Therefore, it is important that a teacher develops a positive perception of

multicultural education (Lee, 2011). As a cultural mediator, teachers must understand

their role and position in forming encouraging interpersonal relationships with

students. The importance of teachers in multicultural education cannot be stressed

enough as competent educators can assist in solving students' problems and conflicts.

Developing multicultural perception through experience is not limited to the

individual; it is possible in a cultural group and a larger societal setting (Koo et al.,




2009). Increasing cultural awareness of teachers can strengthen their competence in

multicultural education and result in successful multicultural education that targets

both multicultural and non-multicultural families.

Level of multicultural education practice

Studies have provided evidence that suggests low academic achievement and

engagement by multicultural students is due to a teacher's different linguistic

response style, attention, and concentration (Van der Leij, 1993, as cited in C. Kim,

Noh, Park, Lee, & Lim, 2013). As a teacher's attitude towards minority students

impacts academic expectations (Gollnick & Chinn, 2009), it is important that teachers possess a deep and objective understanding of a minority's background (C. Kim et

al„ 2013).

On implementation of multicultural education, Banks (2007) detailed four

approaches to multicultural curriculum: contribution, additive, transformation, and

social action. The contribution and additive approaches aim to explain the actions of

different cultures within the rules and values of the majority group; the

transformation and social action approaches appreciate respective cultures on their

own. If a teacher only introduced or taught students about a foreign culture this

would be seen as a low level of implementation. With cultural knowledge andcompetence, teachers must make an effort to help students develop different cultural

perspectives and actively apply them in a societal setting.

Nagel (1998) proposed 26 strategies for multicultural education using the

alphabet and emphasized the importance of cooperation in practicing multicultural

education. Her strategies apply the idea of having a non-judgmental, equitable,

culturally aware teacher and highlight the values of faith, expectation, and

self-reflection.

Gay (2000) stated that there are five necessities in culturally responsive teaching:

development of a culture diversity knowledge base, relevant and culturally designed

curriculum, cultural caring and creation of a learning community, cross-cultural

communication, and cultural congruity in classroom instruction. Villegas and Lucas

(2002) reported that culturally responsive teachers are socio-culturally alert,

recognize cultural diversity, and are aware of the lives of their students, further

emphasizing their responsibility in making school a more equitable environment.

Increasing multicultural competence and cultural responsiveness of teachers can

result in the effective practice of multicultural education (M. Park, 2013). In accepting

diversity among cultures, multicultural education competence is the ability to use

different teaching strategies that reach students of both multicultural and

non-multicultural families and contributes to the growing multicultural competenceof students as a teacher's competence grows. Multicultural competence is the ability

of socio-politically conscious teachers to build cultural communication in a classroom

by responding to cultural differences and showing cultural concern. However, it is




difficult to determine if teachers are equipped with these skills (N. Park, 2007). To

effectively implement multicultural education, a teacher needs an educational

environment that complements this purpose. To teach culturally sensitive courses, ateacher must be provided proper training on multicultural competence.

Method

P a r t i c i p a n t s

A questionnaire survey was conducted in this research on elementary and middleschool teachers in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Jeju area. A total of 431 questionnaire survey

results were used for the final analysis. The reason for choosing teachers in Seoul,

Gyeonggi, and Jeju areas is as follows.

According to the Survey on the Status of Foreign Residents conducted by the

Ministry of Administration and Safety (2012), the region in Korea with the highest

share of foreign residents per total registered resident population was Seoul (4%),

followed by Gyeonggi (3.6%). On the other hand, the region with the lowest share

was Jeju (1.8%). In addition, according to the number of students in multicultural

family by region (Korean Educational Development Institute, 2012), the region inKorea with the highest share of multicultural students per total domestic students

was Seoul (40.9%), followed by Gyeonggi (31.2%). The region with the lowest share

was Ulsan (0.5%), followed by Jeju (0.8%). Moreover, the number of support

organizations was proportional to the share of multicultural populations, which

could be interpreted as the level of support for and attention to them. That is, the

regions with active educational and financial support were Seoul and Gyeonggi

while Jeju area garnered the least support.

As it was shown, the share of multicultural students in Seoul and Gyeonggi

area is high while Jeju area is low. Moreover, the number of multicultural studentsand populations is proportional to the number of available support organizations.

Accordingly, this research, by choosing as research subject teachers in Seoul,Gyeonggi, and Jeju area, aimed to compare and analyze the regions with different

shares of foreign students and educational or other supports available while studying

their feedback as well.

In s t r u m e n t s

M u l t ic u l t u r a l s e n s i t iv i ty s c al e

To measure multicultural sensitivity of elementary and secondary school

teachers, the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale from Chen and Starosta (2000) andadapted by O. Kim (2008) was used. To facilitate understanding, some questions




Table 2. Participants' background information

Variables GroupFrequency Percentage

(« ) (% )

Gender Male 82 19.0

Female 34 9 81.0

20-30 68 15.9

31-40 146 33.8

Age 41-50 123 28.6

51- 92 21.3

No re sp onse 2 0.5

-1 22 5.1

1-10 below 153 35.5

Teaching experience 10-20 below 108 25.1

(year) 20-30 below 107 24.8

30 - 35 8.1

No re sp onse 6 1.4

Working placeElementary school

Middle school

276

155

64.0

36

Seoul 20 6 47.8

School location Gyung-gi 113 26.2

Jeju 112 26.0

Total 431 100

were modified and finalized after review by four doctors of lifelong education, one

doctor of pedagogical sciences, and one student completing his/her doctorate degree.

An exploratory factor analysis was then conducted on data collected, checking five

components [interaction confidence (Cronbach's a = .84), respect for cultural differences

(Cronbach's a = .91), interaction enjoyment (Cronbach's a = .78), interaction

attentiveness (Cronbach's a = .51), and interaction engagement (Cronbach's a = .79)]

consisting of 20 questions (e.g., 1 enjoy interacting with people from different

cultures; I respect the values of people from different cultures; I feel confident wheninteracting with people from different cultures). All items were formatted with

5-point Likert scales (5-strongly agree, 4-agree, 3-neither agree nor disagree, 2-

disagree, 1-strongly disagree). The resulting Cronbach's a was .89 for the 20 items.

M u l t i c u l t u r a l e d u c a t io n a w a r en e s s s c al e

To measure the perception of multicultural education of elementary and

secondary school teachers, a modified version of S. Park's (2013) inventory was used.

To facilitate understanding, some questions were modified and finalized after review

by four doctors of lifelong education, one doctor of pedagogical sciences, and onestudent completing his/her doctorate degree. An exploratory factor analysis was

conducted on data collected, checking four components [multicultural understanding

(Cronbach's a = .88), perception of the teacher's role (Cronbach's a = .77),




appreciation of foreign culture (Cronbach's a = .79), anti-bias perception (Cronbach's

a = .65)] consisting of 17 questions (Adapt instructional methods to meet the needs

of students from diverse cultures; Use materials that are reflective of a multiculturalclassroom; Demonstrate a basic knowledge of the contributions made by culturally

diverse groups to society; Etc.). All items were formatted with 5-point Likert scales

(5-strongly agree, 4-agree, 3-neither agree nor disagree, 2-disagree, 1-strongly

disagree). The resulting Cronbach's a was .91 for the 17 items.

M u l t i c u l t u r a l ed u c a t i o n p r a c t i c e l e v e l s c al e

To measure the multicultural education practice level of elementary and

secondary school teachers, Copeland (2001)'s Questionnaire II was used as modified

by S. Park (2013). Items that appeared irrelevant were removed and items that

appeared to be missing were added to compile a total of 20 refined questions. To

facilitate understanding, some questions were modified and finalized after review by

four doctors of lifelong education, one doctor of pedagogical sciences, and one

student completing his/her doctorate degree. An exploratory factor analysis was

conducted on data collected, checking three components [level of implementation in

class (Cronbach's a = .90), level of application of understanding (Cronbach's a = .86),

level of resource usage (Cronbach's a = .82)] consisting of 19 questions (e.g., Adapt

instructional methods to meet the needs of students from diverse cultures; Use

materials that are reflective of a multicultural classroom; Demonstrate a basicknowledge of the contributions made by culturally diverse groups to society). All

items were formatted with 5-point Likert scales (5-strongly agree, 4-agree, 3-neither

agree disagree, 2-disagree, 1-strongly disagree). The resulting Cronbach's a was .940

for the 17 items.

Data analysis

SPSS 18.0 was used for analyses of items. Cronbach's a was computed to checkinternal consistency. A simple correlation analysis and canonical correlation analysis

were used to examine the relationship between multicultural sensitivity, perception

of multicultural education, and level of practice.

Findings

Simple correlation analysis

Table 3 shows results of a simple correlation analysis examining the relationships

between multicultural sensitivity, awareness of multicultural education, and level of

multicultural education practice.




Table 3. Correlation analysis for multicultural sensitivity, multicultural education

awareness, and level of practice

V a ria b les 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

M ul t i - cu l tu r a l

sens i t iv i ty

I n t e r a c t i o n c o n f i d e n c e

R espec t fo r cu l tu r a l

d i f f e r ence

I n t e r a c t i o n e n j o y m e n t

In te r ac t ion a t ten t ion

In te r ac t ion

e n g a g e m e n t

1

.400"

.676"

.330"

.282"

1

.534"

.467"

.192"

1

.502"

.371"

1

292" 1


e d u c a t i o n

a w a r e n e s s

U n d e r s t a n d i n g o f

m u l t i c u l t u r a l i s m

Percep t ion in

a t e a c h e r ’ s r o l e

R e s p e c t f o r

o ther cu l tu r es

A w a r e n e s s o f

an t i -b ias

.254"

.235"

.311“

.406"

.391"

.231"

.502"

.319"

.422"

.332"

.544"

.443"

.386"

.264"

.499"

.343“

.276"

.252"

.287“

.374"

1

.620"

.688"

.475"

1

.463"

.408"

1

.501“ 1


e d u c a t i o n

p ra c tic e le ve l

I m p l e m e n t a t i o n

in class

A p p l i c a t i o n o f

u n d e r s t a n d i n g

R e s o u r c e u s a g e

.356"

.295"

.347"

.216"

.294"

.135"

.407"

.431"

.386"

.316”

.346"

.248"

.316"

.296"

.246"

.396"

.532"

.252"

.334"

.385"

.296"

.354"

.518"

.249"

.368"

.392"

.315"

1

.757“

.693"

1

.573" 1

" p < .01 .

Canonical correlation analysis

A n aly s is b e t w e e n m u l t i c u l t u r a l s e n s i t i v i t y a n d m u l t i c u l t u r a l e d u c a t i o n p r a c t i c e le v e l

Table 4 and Table 5 show the results of canonical correlation analysis between

multicultural sensitivity and level of multicultural education practice. Canonical

correlation analysis is a multivariate statistical model used to examine relationships

between multiple dependent variables and multiple independent variables; it can

simultaneously predict multiple dependent variables from multiple independent

variables.

The results of analyses produced three correlation functions. However, taking

into consideration the correlation coefficient and Wilk's lambada, only correlation

function I (Rc = .511) was significant and explained the 26.1% variance between the

two variables (p < .001). Only correlation function I will be examined as the levelof statistically significant correlation function II at .934 is close to 1 and lacks

sufficient evidence to accept the alternative hypothesis that it can form another linear

combination.



Ho-K yung Huh, Seong W oo Choi, & JuSung Jun

Table 4. Canonical correlation analysis between multicultural sensitivity and level of

multicultural education practice

Covariate I Covariate II Covariate HI

R c .511 .237 .104

R c 2 .261 .056 .011

W ilk’s Lambda(A) .690 .934 .989

d f 15 8 3

P .000 .000 .203

Table 5 shows the values of the standardized coefficient of variates, canonical

loading, and canonical cross-loading of correlation function I.The coefficient of variates in canonical correlation analysis is a coefficient that

maximizes the correlation between two variables (Cha, Kim, Oh, Yoon, & Kim, 2008).

The most important independent variables that form correlation function I are: 'level

of application of understanding (.481),' 'level of implementation in class ( .335),'

'level of resource usage ( .311)' (see Table 4). Of dependent variables, 'interaction

enjoyment ( .193)/ 'interaction engagement ( .304),' and 'interaction attentiveness (

.281)' were listed in order of significance; the importance of 'interaction confidence

( .193)' and 'respect for cultural differences (- .063)' was relatively low. Canonical

cross-loadings measure the correlation of variables with the opposite canonical

variate, predicting the level of correlation between variables with the opposite

canonical variate. Therefore, it is important to utilize canonical cross-loadings before

computing the standardized coefficient of variates or canonical loading (S. Kim,

2010). As canonical loadings cannot provide the magnitude of common variance

Table 5. Correlation function I between multicultural sensitivity and level of multicultural

education practice

Variables

Standardized

coefficient of

variates

Canonical

loading

Canonical

cross

loading

Multicultural- Implementation in class .335 .915 .467

education

pra ctice level

Application of understanding

Resource usage

.481

.311

.913

.819

.466

.418

Interaction confidence .193 .723 .369

Multicultural

sensitivity

Respect for cultural difference

Interaction enjoyment

-.063

.557

.501

.908

.256

.464

Interaction attention .281 .684 .349

Interaction engagem ent .304 .636 .325

R c .511 R c 2 .261

Eigen value .353

P .000




between two variables, a canonical cross-loading was conducted with a cut-off value

set at .30 (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2000). With cross-loadings of dependent variables,

'level of application of understanding ( .466),' 'level of implementation in class( .467)/ and 'level of resource usage ( .418)' were significant. For independent

variables, 'interaction enjoyment ( .464),' 'interaction confidence ( .369),' 'interaction

attentiveness ( .349),' and 'interaction engagement ( .325)' were significant.

From correlation function I, teachers who have higher interaction enjoyment,

interaction confidence, interaction attentiveness, and interaction engagement have a

higher level of application of understanding and resource usage. For the optimal

practice of multicultural education, it is important to increase multiculturalsensitivity of teachers.

A n aly s is b e tw e e n m u l t i c u l t u ra l ed u c a t io n aw aren es s a n d m u l t i c u l t u r a l ed u c a t io n

p r a c t i c e l e v e l

Table 6 and Table 7 show results from a canonical correlation analysis between

awareness of multicultural education and level of multicultural education practice.

Results of this analysis produced three correlation functions (see Table 4). However,

taking into consideration the correlation coefficient and Wilk's lambada, only

correlation function I (Rc = .583) was significant and explains 34% of the variance

between the two variables (p < .001). Only correlation function I will be examined,

as the level of statistically significant correlation function II at 0.934 is close to 1 and

lacks sufficient evidence to accept the alternative hypothesis that it can form another

linear combination. The most important dependent variable in forming correlation

function I is the 'level of application of understanding (1.015).' The importance of

'level of resource usage (-0.075)' and 'level of implementation in class ( .350)' was

relatively low. Of the independent variables, the most important were 'multicultural

understanding ( .489)' and 'appreciation of foreign culture ( .425)'; 'the importance

of 'anti-bias perception ( .187)' and 'perception of teacher's role ( .076)' were

relatively low. Canonical cross-loading was conducted to examine the relative effects

of individual variables that affect the relationship between two variables. Withcross-loadings of the dependent variables, 'level of application of understanding (

.583),' 'level of implementation in class ( .439),' and 'level of resource usage ( .310)'

were significant. Of the independent variables, 'multicultural understanding ( .535),'

'appreciation of foreign culture ( .519),' 'anti-bias perception ( .387),' and 'perception

of the teacher's role ( .380)' were significant.

From correlation function I, teachers who have a higher multicultural

understanding, appreciation of foreign culture, anti-bias perception, and perception

of the teacher's role have a higher level of application of understanding, level of

implementation in class, and level of resource usage. Therefore, it is important toincrease multicultural education awareness of teachers for the optimal practice of

multicultural education.




Table 6. Canonical

and level

co rrelat ion analys is betwee n m ul t icu l tura l

of mul t icul tural educat ion pract ice

educat ion awareness

Covariate I Covariate II Co variate III

R c .583 .243 .088

R c 2 .340 .058 .008

W ilk’s Lambda(A) .616 .934 .992

d f 12 6 2

P .000 .000 .190

Table 7. C orrelat ion fu nc t ion I I betwe en m ul t icu l tura l edu cat ion aw areness and level

of mul t icul tural educat ion pract ice

Variables

Standardized

coefficient of

variates

Canonical

leading

Canonical

cross-loadin

g

Multicultural- Im plem entation in class .035 .752 .439

education

pra ct ic e leve lA pplication o f understanding 1.015 .999 .583

Resource usage -.075 .532 .310

Multicultural- Understanding o f multiculturalism .489 .917 .535

awareness Perception o f teacher’s role .076 .652 .380

R espect for o ther cultures .425 .890 .519

Anti-bias awareness .187 .663 .387

R c .583

R c 2 .340

Eigen value .353

P .000

Discussion and conclusion

As mentioned in the introduction, many studies stress the importance of the

role of teachers in multicultural education. In particular, teachers with multicultural

sensitivity exhibit high teacher efficacy in multicultural education. Also, multicultural

education awareness is the most important factor: the starting point for understanding

multicultural education as well as a prerequisite for exploring sustainable application

of multicultural education. Here, teachers are at the focal point of implementing

multicultural education programs.The higher the multicultural sensitivity and the multicultural education awareness

possessed by teachers the more positive effect on teaching methods, communication,

and the application of multicultural educational program in the actual educational

environment is expected. However, research so far have been limited to a simple




study of multicultural awareness among children's teachers. For middle school

teachers, the availability of even basic research was limited.

Accordingly, this research, by investigating the relationship between multiculturalsensitivity of elementary and middle school teachers and their multicultural

awareness education and the level of multicultural educational practice, provides

evidence that skills enhancement programs and tools which help teachers to provide

more effective and realistic multicultural education for all students in a regular

educational curriculum could be effective.

The following conclusions can be drawn from the data regarding relationships

between multicultural sensitivity, awareness of multicultural education, and multicultural-

education practice level which represent the three components that form multicultural

education competence.Teachers that appreciate other cultures can more easily accept and understand

people of other cultures as well as the idea of multicultural education. Therefore, a

teacher can pay attention and form relationships with confidence when interacting

with multicultural people. A teacher with a positive attitude towards multicultural

education and a superior understanding of his/her role can better apply teaching

learning methods in class. Therefore, it is crucial to increase the multicultural

sensitivity of teachers for the optimal practice of multicultural education in real-life

classrooms. An increase in the level of multicultural education practices can be

facilitated by increasing opportunities for teachers to interact with people of other

cultures where teachers can enjoy and build confidence in forming relationships with

multicultural people. Raising the level of multicultural awareness among teachers

is also important. Realizing and appreciating the need for multicultural education,

coupled with a clear understanding of the teacher's role and required attitude, will

enhance the perception of a multi-culture and help overcome prejudice, leading toan increase in the level of multicultural education practice.

Further study is warranted on the development of multicultural education. First,

there is a need to clarify and reinforce the role of the school in multicultural

education. In an age where the term multicultural society has become familiar, we

are faced with problems that we thought only applied to people from differentcultures but in reality affect everyone. The need for solutions has become urgent for

the future of our society and our students. There is an increasing number of

multicultural students that cannot advance to the next stage. We must address

concerns on how school dropouts affect the individual, their surroundings, and

society. For students, the person with the most influence and impact is the teacher.

Students from multicultural families struggle to receive a good education, even at

home. Services that help students from multicultural families prepare for a

multicultural society are lacking or in short supply (K. Kim, 2008). Therefore, the

school must be a place that provides education for both parties and the role of a

teacher becomes more vital.Second, teachers must provide courses that are sensitive to the cultural diversity

of students and strive to effectively execute these lessons. To equip teachers with a

better understanding of their roles, resources must be provided to further aid them



Ho-K yung Huh, Seong W oo Choi, & JuSung Jun

in contributing to the development and proper practice of multicultural education.

In identifying factors that affect multicultural education competence, programs and

seminars can be customized and made available to teachers to enhance competence,capability, and skills. This can be followed by studies on the efficacy of different

training programs and periods. By providing a course that is sensitive to students

from multicultural and non-multicultural families, nationwide issues in multicultural

education can addressed and slowly overcome. It will help build a multicultural

society in which everyone can better accept and understand each other, while

protecting Korean culture and producing the benefits that come from embracing

other cultures.

Third, the school system requires reform to create a multicultural education

program that includes everyone. Parents, community members, teachers, andstudents must all be involved, with help from the government, teachers, and

scholars. Similar reform based, development projects which targeted a school with

multicultural students have been shown to enhance a teacher's teaching abilities and

strategies (Campbell, 2010). The role, needs, and characteristics of parents, the

community, teachers, and students at a local level need to be analyzed to implement

reform in multicultural education as all have impact and influence.

Fourth, the factors can be widely adjusted to consider location, language,

religion, and socio-economic factors. Therefore, these research instruments can be a

great tool to analyze multicultural education practices across Asia.

The existence of multiple cultures is defined as multi-culture, rather than

poly-culture, as the idea of multi-culture is not limited to different cultures existing

together but as the co-existence of cultures and their unity. With this idea in mind,

multicultural education should not only target the minority (multicultural families),

but also include the majority (non-multicultural families) for true co-existence. In

implementing a true multicultural education, enhancing and supporting a teacher's

multicultural education competence is necessary. Promoting a positive perception of

multicultural education to students is also crucial in the formation of individual,

national, and global identity.

Schools, where the future of our society is being educated, are not well prepared to produce individuals who are suitable for a multicultural society. Further,

it is difficult for teachers to receive sufficient support to enhance their multicultural

competence to educate and positively impact students, families, communities, and

society at large. Our data show that a teacher with a higher multicultural sensitivity

and better awareness of multicultural education will have a higher

multicultural-education practice level. Multicultural programs that target teachers

can affect the level of sensitivity and awareness of multicultural education.

Therefore, teachers need training programs that enable them to carry out effective

teaching strategies that address students of all backgrounds and consider the

characteristics of teachers, students, and parents of each region. This study serves as

a starting point for future research that endeavors to develop support strategies and

multicultural training programs for teachers involved in teaching students from

multicultural and non-multicultural families.




A ddress fo r co rresp o n d en ce

JuSung Jun

Associate Professor

Department of Lifelong Education

Soongsil University

369 Sangdo-Ro, Dongjak-Gu

Seoul, 156-743, Korea

Email: [email protected]

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C o p y r i g h t o f K E D I J o u r n a l o f E d u c a t i o n a l P o l i c y i s t h e p r o p e r t y o f K E D I J o u r n a l o f

E d u c a t i o n a l P o l i c y a n d i t s c o n t e n t m a y n o t b e c o p i e d o r e m a i l e d t o m u l t i p l e s i t e s o r p o s t e d t o

a l i s t s e r v w i t h o u t t h e c o p y r i g h t h o l d e r ' s e x p r e s s w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n . H o w e v e r , u s e r s m a y

p r i n t , d o w n l o a d , o r e m a i l a r t i c l e s f o r i n d i v i d u a l u s e .

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