Influence of Pre-Service Teachers’ Preparation in Handling a Culturally Diverse Early Childhood Classroom

This study examines the preparation of pre-service teachers at Quezon City University in handling culturally diverse early childhood classrooms during the second semester of the academic year 2022-2023. It focuses on their preparation in content, pedagogy, and assessment, as well as their self-efficacy in managing such diverse settings. The results show that the pre-service teachers feel “Highly Prepared” in assessment and “Prepared” in content and pedagogy. Most respondents have high self-efficacy, indicating confidence in their teaching abilities. The study also finds that assessment preparation significantly correlates with self-efficacy levels. An ordinal logistic regression test suggests that the effects of content, pedagogy, and assessment are similar across self-efficacy levels. However, the study suggests that other factors might influence self-efficacy more strongly, highlighting the need for further consideration of these factors to enhance pre-service teachers’ effectiveness in diverse classrooms.