Preschool teacher trainees' accounts of the development of inclusive practices in multicultural preschools

Abstract

In this study, a space was created for conversation between preschool teacher trainees in fieldwork in their final year of preschool teacher education, their mentoring teachers in preschools, and researchers at the University of Iceland. The aim of the study was to shed light on teacher trainees’ perspectives on the development of inclusive practices in multicultural groups of children and practitioners in preschool settings. The bigger purpose was to enhance general understanding of how teacher trainees can contribute to professional practices, and how that influences inclusive pedagogy in multicultural preschools. Diversity and the number of languages spoken in preschools across Iceland have increased significantly in the past decades. In 1998, there were 3.8% preschool children with a foreign mother tongue, and in 2023 the number had risen to 16.7%. In Icelandic preschools, there is a high percentage of personnel with a foreign background; only a few of them are in administration, 20% are educated preschool teachers, and more than 50% of other personnel. Although a five-year preschool teacher education is a legal requirement for preschools in Iceland, the percentage of qualified preschool teachers has fallen far below the benchmark of 67%. Apart from 21% of licensed preschool teachers, 24% of the personnel hold another university degree, and the rest are unqualified. Our study conducted with teacher trainees during their field practices was guided by the following research question:

• How do teacher trainees shape inclusive learning spaces in multicultural preschool practice?

The theoretical background of the study is grounded in the literature on multicultural education and inclusive learning spaces that consider the resources of children, preschool teachers, and other practitioners as assets. Further support was sought from the literature on professional learning communities in which groups of practitioners create common knowledge and share interests, views, and values about learning and education. The study, conducted in the fall and spring of 2021–2022, was qualitative, and the research data consisted of recordings from 13 meetings held during the teaching practice period, all of which were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analysed with reflective thematic analysis. The results emphasize the experiences of individual students. Two themes were developed from the data: 1) Attitudes towards multicultural education, encompassing the subthemes children and learning, language use, and professional collaboration and 2) Inclusive learning spaces, divided into the subthemes children´s group and areas of interest, linguistic resources, and language development. The study reveals that tension can serve as a starting point in a reflective dialogue where teams of practitioners critically discuss their values and practices. By supporting and empowering diverse groups of practitioners within a professional learning community, the preschool teacher trainees created opportunities to shape an inclusive approach to preschool practice.

The themes were divided into subcategories including children and learning, language acquisition and professional collaboration, the group of children and interest areas, language resources and stimulation. The study reveals that tension can serve as a starting point in a reflective dialogue where teams of practitioners critically discuss their values and practices. By supporting and empowering diverse groups of practitioners within a professional learning community, the preschool teacher trainees created opportunities to shape an inclusive approach to preschool practice. Diverse documentations, such as photographs, video recordings and written records, helped practitioners to understand children's different ways of expressing themselves and their interests. In this way, learning spaces were created by encouraging children's diverse language use in play, communication and conversations. Photos and records from home also provided opportunities to strengthen collaboration with the children's families. The trainees’ various approaches in preschool practice were used to listen to children's voices. This is consistent with current ideas in research relating to the rights and agency of children to have a say in their lives and it can also be seen as the basis for the requirement to shape communities that seek to develop democracy and increase the influence of as many people as possible. It is, therefore, important that preschool teachers and other practitioners acknowledge the privileges of some and the marginalization of others, especially due to their foreign origin.

The results of the study can be used as a contribution to the professional development of diverse groups of practitioners and the development of inclusive practices in multicultural preschools as well as a focal point in preschool teacher education.