Multicultural attitudes among early childhood teachers: characteristics, sense of teacher efficacy, and efficacy to implement inclusive practices

This study, guided by the socio-cultural theory of learning, investigated the attitudes of early childhood teachers toward multicultural practice and its association with their characteristics, sense of teacher efficacy, and attitude toward inclusive practices. This study included 144 early childhood teachers who attended professional development (PD) workshops at a university in the Northeastern region of the United States. The study revealed that early childhood teachers’ attitudes toward multiculturalism varied based on their language, with English speakers demonstrating a higher level of multicultural sensitivity and awareness. Furthermore, the results indicated that there was a positive relationship among teachers’ multicultural attitudes, their sense of teacher efficacy, and their attitudes toward inclusive practices. This study highlights the importance of improving multicultural attitudes among early childhood teachers to better serve the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse young learners. Additionally, there is a need for further comprehensive research in this area to explore the influence of various factors on teachers’ multicultural attitudes and teacher efficacy.