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ERIC Number: ED551793
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 279
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 978-1-2678-3975-6
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Predicting Seminary Faculty Engagement with Multicultural Education
Gin, Deborah Hearn-Chung
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, The Claremont Graduate University
Most multicultural theological education research has focused on theoretical or historical pieces and only on a few institutions. This study explored the personal, professional, institutional, and interactional predictors of seminary faculty engagement with multicultural education. Three hundred full-time faculty in U.S. seminaries affiliated with the Association of Theological Schools were surveyed. Factor analysis and reliability analysis shed light on the types of multicultural education in which faculty engage, and multiple regression and discriminant function analysis isolated predictors. Findings showed that multicultural education in the seminary context is not one-dimensional but consists of three types: Power and Positionality, Cultural Competence, and Classroom Techniques. Power and Positionality encourages exploration of social location and student critique of curricula that perpetuate dominance, incorporating both content with diverse perspectives and content that integrates diversity topics with the course's discipline. Those who employ Cultural Competence aim to develop in their students the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary for interacting with persons from other cultures and to provide safe environments for that exploration. Classroom Techniques involve concrete methods, such as student evaluation and course adjustment based on learning needs. Frequency analysis showed that underrepresented minority, and to a lesser extent Asian, faculty tend to engage Power and Positionality and Classroom Techniques more frequently than White faculty. Depending on the type of multicultural education, different predictors surfaced as salient. The faculty characteristics that predicted engagement include personal (e.g., having a cognitive base to talk about diversity), professional (e.g., not being a biblical studies professor), institutional (e.g., curricular requirement for diversity in each course), and interactional (e.g., participation in conversations about diversity with colleagues), indicating that all four dimensions are important for engagement with multicultural education. Though anticipated, race and gender did not enter regression equations as significant predictors; however, the frequency data of these variables aligned to particular types of multicultural education, suggesting that race and gender are intervening variables. Implications for research and for practice extend to individual, classroom, curricular, and institutional realms in seminary settings. As a national study with input from multiple faculty voices, this study provides a needed breadth of perspective within theological education. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway, P.O. Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Tel: 800-521-0600; Web site: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml
Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A