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The purpose of this paper is to report on a collaborative project and study implemented by two teacher educators in an elementary education program. To prepare teacher candidates for field experiences and practicum in a diverse (bilingual) urban school, the program uses coursework to impart asset-based pedagogies and practices.

In this mixed-method case study, this paper examined the awareness and perspectives of preservice teachers (n = 26) to cultural and linguistic diversity and relevant teaching and learning practices. In particular, this study gauged their engagement with multicultural children’s literature in a collaborative interclass activity. The data sources included beginning and end of semester survey responses, notes on participant interactions during the mid-semester collaborative interclass activity and participant retrospective reflections about the activity.

This paper found that teacher candidates showed increased awareness and positive shifts in perspectives. This study also ascertaind that, in learning to become culturally (and linguistically) responsive and sustaining teachers, they benefited from collaborative peer work that focused on learning about multicultural children’s literature, analyzing it and planning to integrate it into their classrooms.

Studies show that culturally relevant literature in schools is beneficial; however, teacher candidates often lack knowledge of such literature and how to use it. This need is especially critical and relevant when learning about and implementing culturally relevant and sustaining practices. The collaborative undertaking discussed in this study fills this gap through co-teaching and interclass activity that brings preservice teachers as a cohort to collaboratively learn about, discuss, reflect on and plan lessons as they prepare to work with students from different backgrounds than their own.

Post‐secondary educational organizations are currently some of the most diverse settings to be found. However, few educational studies have dealt with staff diversity and hardly any has looked outside the USA. The purpose of this paper is to present a study of members of international university departments in Denmark. The authors set out to investigate the relationship between different types of staff diversity and openness to diversity in terms of linguistic, visible, value, and informational heterogeneity.

This study uses responses from 489 staff members from diverse university departments to a self‐report electronic survey.

It was found that diversity‐related internationalization (cultural and linguistic) was generally positively related to favorable diversity attitudes. Inherent demographic diversity (age and gender), on the other hand, was unrelated or negatively associated with positive diversity attitudes.

Few studies deal with the role of staff diversity and no prior studies the authors know of have examined the link between diversity types and openness to diversity.

Although teacher educators have worked on improving pre‐service teachers' diversity awareness, researchers still face the challenge of pursuing a better approach to achieve the goal. In an era when educators are calling for evidence‐based practice, the purpose of this paper is to explore various ways in which both teacher‐education programs and general schools can integrate diversity issues into literacy teaching and learning. The paper undertakes this exploration on the basis of Gollnick and Chinn's cultural‐identity model and of weblog‐technology use.

The participants of this paper are 27 pre‐service teachers. The researchers set up a private group blog and invited all participants to be blog authors. The blog enabled the instructor to archive and categorize all posts and to continue to invite cohorts of pre‐service teachers to join the blog. Pre‐service teachers are placed in culturally and linguistically diverse classroom settings and are required to post their weekly reflections on the weblog. The researchers adopte mixed methodology to collect both qualitative data (field observation reports, discussion content on the blog, case studies, and focus groups) and quantitative data (pre‐post surveys).

The pre‐service teachers in this paper possessed positive and open‐minded attitudes toward English language learners. According to the pre‐ and post‐survey, pre‐service teachers are confident that they could resolve issues related to diversity in the classroom after participating in the paper. According to the results of the case‐scenario analysis, the instructor should use reading contexts to address diversity issues, especially those pertaining to exceptionality, geography, class, and gender. The pre‐service teachers' discussions and interactions on the blog were rich. Pre‐service teachers felt motivation to expand their diversity‐themed discussions from the classroom to the blog.

With the assistance of weblogs, the instructor can extend the in‐class discussion. In the paper, group blogs became a tool that helped the instructor and the pre‐service teachers not only link the in‐class discussion to their field observations but also share personal experiences and resources. For introverted pre‐service teachers, a group blog can serve as a channel through which the pre‐service teachers can comfortably express carefully organized opinions. In general, the commenting feature of the blog enriches interaction among pre‐service teachers and widens their discussion in a way in which limited class time cannot.

This paper aims to identify communicative practices emerging from the management decision to implement English as a corporate language, assessing their implications for social interaction and relationships within the multilingual workplace.

An exploratory study based on qualitative research interviews was used.

The analysis highlights the discrepancy between a general openness to the use of English as a corporate language in Danish organisations and language users' communicative practice. This leads to the identification of language clustering and thin communication as characteristic behaviours within the multilingual workplace.

The interviews were performed in Danish organisations alone. New research is required in order to apply the findings to other linguistic or national settings.

The research identifies two barriers to employee interaction within the multilingual workplace. This is relevant in relation to language planning as well as diversity management.

The paper is original in its application of a sociolinguistic perspective to employees' linguistic practice. This points to the importance of language as a social resource and the possible limitations of corporate language policies.

The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a small scale study the aim of which was to survey the information needs and library usage of major long‐established national minorities (Serbian, Hungarian and Slovak) in eastern Croatia (Osijek‐Baranya county); in particular in relation to the information and reading material in their native languages.

Owing to spatial limitations this paper focuses on the Serbian national minority. Data were gathered with the help of quantitative methodology. Self‐administered questionnaires were distributed through Serbian cultural associations (the snowball sampling method). In total, 140 valid and usable questionnaires were returned. Descriptive statistics and variant analysis were used to analyse the data.

The study indicated that respondents had the need for diverse information and reading material in their mother tongue and that for that purpose they used public libraries less often than some other information sources, such as TV, newspapers, internet and local Serbian cultural associations.

The limitations of the research are inherent in the methodology. The authors will, in the next phase of the project, carry out in‐depth interviews with respondents.

The importance of this research lies in its implications for the development of library services to multicultural communities in Croatia, as well as offering suggestions for improving collection building in Croatian public libraries. This study could encourage librarians in Croatia to systematically collect and analyse information about their local community minorities; especially their library and information needs.

This is the first investigation into the information needs and library usage of long‐established national minorities in Croatia.

The purpose of this paper is to describe a study of identity development in the context of a preservice teacher education program that used a variety of approaches to support development of understanding of cultural diversity.

Fifty preservice teachers in a graduate program in elementary education participated in the study. Of the 50 participants, 47 were Caucasian, two were African American and one was originally from India, but was a US citizen. The analyses were qualitative. A phenomenological approach to data analysis was taken, viewing the drawings and written explanations created by the participants as independently occurring phenomenon (as compared with data that might be considered for grounded theory or constant comparison) (Hycner, 1985; Moustakas, 1994).

Overall, the low number of drawings and writings that included representations of cultural, linguistic, special needs and gender diversity suggests of a lack of understanding about the significant roles of these student characteristics in the lives of elementary teachers dedicated to meeting student needs. Given the strong focus on diversity education in this preservice teacher education program, this was an unexpected finding. One explanation is that preservice and beginning teachers are highly involved in identifying their own beliefs and values about teaching and exploring how their personal characteristics can be reconciled and applied in their specific teaching contexts.

It is imperative that teacher education programs effectively address diversity in the classroom for the population typically entering the teaching profession. While many programs spend considerable time and effort “teaching” multicultural concepts, few, if any, have asked students to look inward in the way we did on this study.

The prioritization of multilingual and multicultural education (MME) must spread beyond educators and researchers, who have long known the benefits, to the politicians and policymakers and to the general public. This paper aims to propose that the MME field needs a good economist who can explain MME benefits in terms of the language of economy, clarifying that economic advantages extend beyond diverse individuals, including those who may be ideologically opposed, via increased economic output to potentially benefit all.

Using a conceptual framework, connections are demonstrated between MME and increased cultural and linguistic sensitivity as well as between the effects of increased sensitivity on the potential for economic benefits. These connections can be logically extended to consider the effects of MME on economic output.

Research indicates that MME can increase cultural and linguistic sensitivity and that increased sensitivity to cultural and linguistic diversity can affect economic output. A logical bridge between the two fields of research is illustrated.

This paper uses a practical approach to support the flourishing of MME. If MME is, ultimately, to result in benefits that all can appreciate, it is imperative to get groups with various purposes on board. Then, maybe we can look forward to the effective and pervasive implementation of MME. The challenge remains that this message has not been reaching the general public, and a good economist’s communication could be the key.

The purpose of this paper is to explore issues pertaining to monolingual ideology in the United States and the challenges in terms of career identity and development for multilingual individuals.

This conceptual paper provides a discussion of the relevant literature pertaining to linguistic diversity, language ideologies, career identity and career development, and offers a critical conceptual framework for understanding career development in linguistically diverse, multilingual contexts.

Based on a critical review of literature, this paper proposes a conceptual framework which can be used to address linguistic issues that may otherwise encourage discrimination and inequity in the workplace.

This paper addresses the gap in career development literature by proposing a critical conceptual framework that integrates language as an important element of one’s career identity.

The purpose of this article is to assess the state of affairs of intercultural bilingual education (IBE) policies in Argentina. IBE encompasses educational proposals designed to address the specific needs of ethnolinguistic minorities.

The article is divided into three parts and methodologically analyzes different types of materials (national legislation, bibliography and personal research experiences).

In the first section, the educational policies on cultural and linguistic diversity are contextualized historically. Later, IBE is defined considering five main characteristics (the neoliberal compensatory education policy, educational decentralization/regionalization, the educational category of the system, linguistic goals and teacher profiles). Finally, the conclusions list the challenges, goals that have yet to be achieved and the future perspectives of this educational policy.

This article contributes to the field of studies on diversity in the schooling of ethnically different groups.

The purpose of this study was to find out if colleges of education in Botswana were preparing teachers to meet the diverse needs of prospective students in primary schools, and what were the teachers’ attitudes toward teaching such students.

This study used questionnaire and interview methods to collect information from the students of a college of education in Botswana, who were undertaking teaching practices in various primary schools at the time of their study.

The findings of this study show that the pre-service teachers were aware of multiculturalism in schools, but were not prepared by their colleges of education to teach culturally diverse students.

The implication is that colleges of education should design programs that adequately prepare teachers to better meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students in formal education to achieve true democracy in education.

This study is essential in Botswana because multiculturalism seems to be lacking in the Botswana education system. Mokgosi and Jotia (2013) are concerned that the Botswana curricular lacks diversity in approach and is geared toward addressing the needs of the mainstream in Botswana society. In the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the few (if any) studies that explores pre-service teachers’ preparedness for teaching multicultural students.