Faculty and Student Teachers "Voices" in Developing a Multicultural Teacher Education Curriculum Using a Collaborative Participatory Approach

Abstract

The innovative process of curriculum development reported in this paper entailed reversing the usual approach, from top down to bottom up; an approach consistent with decentralisation initiatives and programs presently being implemented in Philippine education particularly the localisation and indigenisation of curricular programmes. Important curriculum developers such as faculty and student teachers were actively involved in the successful creation of a multicultural teacher education curriculum through a collaborative participatory process. Multicultural content, pedagogy and assessment strategies were identified for infusion in the three components of the teacher education programme. The indigenous student teachers contributed much to the multicultural content. Faculty members contributed to the content, pedagogy and assessment. The administrators contributed to curriculum decisions for policy making and took other non-traditional roles