This research seeks to explore cultural explanations of educational achievement of Gujarati children of junior school age. Chapter one establishes the multicultural education context of the research. In the second chapter, researches relating to the Gujarati communities in Britain are reviewed. The third chapter is concerned with development of a deductive theory on the basis of a set of propositions. These propositions encapsulate findings from research as well as theoretical insights into the educational achievement of Asian children. The chapter ends with a series of hypotheses about socialisation and cultural experiences of the pupils in the family and their achievement in school as well as about 'stress' between home and school. The fourth chapter entitled The Research Procedures provides an account of instrumentation undertaken in the light of the discussions in the previous chapters. The instrumentation is in the form of grids consisting of a matrix of ten constructs and twelve elements and relate to Achievement, Culture and Curriculum. The chapter also includes a description of the independent variables constructed from the grids. Explanations are also provided for the bases for the selection of statistical techniques used. The results of various statistical analyses form the subject matter of the following three chapters entitled Discussion of Results (Chapter Five), Achievement, Culture, and Curriculum (Chapter Six), and 'Deviant Cases' (Chapter Seven) respectively. Regression analyses are used to test the deductive theory. The findings indicate that the deductive theory is not supported by the evidence. Indscal analyses are used to derive salient dimensions in groups with regard to achievement, culture and the curriculum, which are described in Chapter Six. The grids for six 'deviant cases' are analysed individually using principal components analysis in order to gain further understanding of the results. This analysis highlights certain characteristics of high achieving and low achieving pupils. These are presented in Chapter Seven. The final chapter, entitled Retrospect and Prospect (Chapter Eight), provides a discussion of triangulation in theory and method to increase the utility of deductive theories and as an aid in further development of 'middle range' theories. The chapter ends with suggestions for further research.

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The increased focus on the implementation of scientifically research-based instruction as an outcome of No Child Left Behind ("Understanding NCLB," 2007) has resulted in the widespread use of scripted reading curricula (Dewitz, Leahy, Jones, and Sullivan, 2010), which typically represents Eurocentric and middle class forms of discourse, knowledge, language, culture, and historical interpretations as academic knowledge (Howard, 2010; Delpit, 2012). In an era where the number of culturally and linguistically diverse students is increasing rapidly (Ginsberg, 2007), it is essential to consider that educational practices relying entirely on prefabricated content may require modification because, as recognized in the funds of knowledge theoretical framework (Veléz-Ibañez, 1988), all students bring a wealth of knowledge to the classroom that should be acknowledged, respected, valued and incorporated into instruction (Gonzalez, Moll, & Amanti, 2005). However, even if teachers are granted the time and permission to modify scripted content in order to build bridges between the prescribed lessons and students' lived experiences, doing so is not easily accomplished when the lives of educators are disconnected from their students (Baeder, 2010). This study investigated the behaviors and ideas teachers have developed as ways to connect with their culturally and linguistically diverse students and their families. Additionally, the study explored how teachers who implement scripted curricula describe the experience of creating culturally responsive lessons intended to specifically connect with their culturally and linguistically diverse students and to connect with students' funds of knowledge. This multiple case study describes how five teachers who implement scripted curricula reported their experiences of creating culturally responsive lessons for particular focal students. Findings are presented in individual case narratives followed by a cross-case synthesis. Findings suggest that teachers were able to carry out culturally responsive instructional practices while implementing scripted curricula; however, participants' CARE lessons did not represent Gay's (2010) ethnic and cultural diversity in curriculum content component of culturally responsive instruction. Additionally, findings indicate that building relationships with culturally and linguistically diverse students was key to adjusting instruction to suit their learning styles. The implications of these findings are discussed in recommendations for in-service teacher professional development and future research.

Currently in the United States there are more than 4 million lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students in K-12 public schools (Bochenek, Brown, & Human Rights Watch, 2001). Despite the prevalence of LGBT youth and the diversification of family populations, teacher preparation programs rarely acknowledge "queer" aspects of multiculturalism (Letts, 2002). As a result, a majority of K-12 educators enter the field of teaching unwilling and/or unprepared to engage with queer issues as they relate to students and families, curriculum, and instruction. The culture of silence around homosexuality can put queer youth at risk and deter school stakeholders from addressing queer issues, the discussion of which can lead to deepened understanding, increased empathy, and social action. Employing critical social theory as a theoretical framework, this paper examines the promise of increased awareness about and use of queer-inclusive pedagogy and curriculum in pre-service teacher education. It is argued that such inclusion is necessary to counteract heterosexism in schools that reinforce gender norms and impart heteronormative values. Guided by interpretivist inquiry, the current multiple-case study describes how eight pre-service teachers encountered, made sense of, and responded to sexual and gender diversity in their K-8 field placements. Findings are presented in individual case descriptions followed by a cross-case synthesis and suggest that pre-service teachers came into direct and constant contact with queer issues. Participants' overwhelming desire to process and make sense of their encounters as a means of supporting students as well as negotiating their own personal sense of identity also emerged from the data. The implications of these findings for pre-service teacher education are discussed as is a proposed framework for queer inclusion and next steps for future research.

Teachers in South Korean schools have begun to pay attention to the importance of multicultural education as Korea transforms into a multicultural society from a historically mono culture society. Because of Koreans' pride in the homogeneity of their race, language, and culture, multiculturalism is an idea that is hard for many to accept. Education needs to play a key role in fostering and retaining the value of diversity. Studies suggest that teachers' positive beliefs about diversity play a significant role to develop their multicultural competence and eventually to practice better multicultural education. The problem is little evidence exists in the literature about Korean teachers' beliefs about diversity. The purpose of this study was to examine South Korean teachers' beliefs about diversity, the factors that influence those beliefs, and the impact of those beliefs on their practice of multicultural education teaching. I used a mixed methods research approach which included surveys among a group of elementary teachers in South Korea and interviews with six teachers to examine their beliefs about diversity in more depth. Results indicated that for teachers in this study: (a) intercultural experiences positively influenced Korean teachers' beliefs about diversity; and (b) teachers' beliefs about diversity had a significant impact on their practice of multicultural teaching. Based on the findings, I suggest that teacher education programs provide meaningful intercultural experiences and support teachers to develop positive beliefs about diversity, and eventually, to practice better multicultural education in South Korea.

Many studies have shown that an overwhelming number of classroom teachers are encountering increasing diversity issues in both the content of what they teach and among the students they are teaching The purpose of this project is to provide elementary teachers with a resource of multicultural literature that can be integrated into any curriculum, whether it is Language Arts, Social Studies, or story time.

This thesis examines how intercultural awareness education can be taught to kindergarten through fourth grade children. The concept of what it means to be interculturally aware and what is needed for teachers to instinct awareness in young students is examined. Literature research and data gathered from teachers through interviews and surveys is used to create a framework for teaching intercultural awareness education. In addition a set of recommendations for instruction and a bibliography for professional development around intercultural education are presented.

To combat social, economic and racial inequality in the United States, the author advocates for 'social awareness' education to be built into the curriculum of the public school system. The purpose of the curriculum is to create a society that respects people and recognizes each individual's worth regardless of gender, socio-economic status, race, ethnicity, age, cultural confines, or religious beliefs. The author suggests a course of action on how to institute a social awareness course into the public school curriculum.