Framing Multicultural Competence in ASEAN Teacher Preparation Policies: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Abstract

This study examines how teacher preparation policies across ASEAN incorporate multicultural competence (MC), with two main objectives: (1) to analyze how the Southeast Asia Teacher Competency Framework (SEA-TCF) conceptualizes MC, and (2) to assess the extent to which this framework aligns with national teacher standards in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand. Guided by Gorski’s (2009) model for multicultural teacher education (MTE) and Van Dijk’s (2015) socio-cognitive discourse framework, this qualitative document analysis finds that both the SEA-TCF and national standards mainly emphasize cultural sensitivity and inclusive pedagogies—particularly through the SEA-TCF Competency 3: Community Engagement. While the SEA-TCF provides an intergovernmental standard that promotes multicultural competence, national standards reveal uneven institutionalization shaped by distinct sociopolitical and cultural contexts. Policy discourses across the region favour tolerance, harmony, and interpersonal respect, yet seldom advance toward the more critical and transformative dimensions—teaching in sociopolitical contexts (TSC) and teaching as resistance and counter-hegemonic practice (TR). The findings suggest that ASEAN’s teacher education policies remain within a liberal paradigm marked by administrative coherence but limited critical reflexivity. The study calls for regional and national policy reforms that embed equity and social justice into teacher education and develop teachers’ capacity to act as change agents in increasingly diverse educational systems.