Date of Award

2001

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Education

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the nursing teachers' attitudes toward multicultural classrooms based on the philosophies of assimilation and pluralism. Multicultural classrooms are classrooms that promote democratic values, beliefs and pluralism. Cultural pluralism encourages the expression of ethnicity and the contributions of all ethnic groups. The study looked at the relationship of attitude” and the selected demographic information. A review of related literature was conducted. A historical background of multiculturalEducation was provided as well as information on the five approaches to multiculturalEducation according to Sleeter & Grant (1999). The data for this study was collected from nursing faculty in three different universities based on proximity and the number of nursing programs offered. The statistical measures used were Correlation test, T-test, and Analysis of Variance. Seven hypotheses were posited regarding differences in nursing teachers' attitudes toward assimilation and pluralism in the following areas: gender, ethnicity, age, years of teaching experience, number of college level multiculturalEducation courses taken, highest degree completed, and program specialization of the teacher. Of the five hypotheses tested, only the relationship of teaching experience with pluralism indicated a significant difference. The two hypotheses related to gender and ethnicity were not tested because there were not enough male participants and not enough ethnic groups. Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusion was drawn: The individual response of each participant in this study tended to favor pluralism over assimilation. The collective response of the participants in this study tended to favor pluralism over assimilation.

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