Non-indigenous preschool teachers’ culturally relevant pedagogy in the indigenous areas of Taiwan

Abstract

This study used the Ladson-Billings culturally relevant pedagogical approach to understanding non-indigenous preschool teachers’ multicultural literacy and practices in indigenous areas. Through purposive sampling, we selected six teachers with three years of teaching experience each in Eastern Taiwan as study participants. Interviews with them, classroom observation records, teaching files, students’ diaries, and researchers’ inspiring diaries were all used as data sources. The analyses were based on the Ladson-Billings culturally relevant pedagogical approach. There were three major results. First, non-indigenous teachers used indigenous language and culture and invited indigenous parents to cooperate with the tribe to increase their students’ academic achievement. Second, the teachers connected their indigenous students’ families’ backgrounds and experiences with their curriculums, maintained certain indigenous cultural norms in the classroom, and communicated with indigenous students’ parents in languages that were familiar to them. Third, the teachers devised strategies to overcome the gap between their teaching goals and beliefs about their students’ childcare centers and cultural backgrounds. The factor that most contributed to the success of non-indigenous preschool teachers teaching in indigenous was communicating with indigenous parents and encouraging them to join in school activities.