teaching respect for cultural diversity in Australian early childhood programs

Early childhood teachers in Victoria, Australia face increasing cultural and `racial' diversity among the children and families with whom they work. A small-scale exploratory study found that many teachers were uncertain about how best to respond to such diversity and a mismatch between social expectations that teachers would encourage children to respect cultural diversity and teachers' practice. These findings suggest strongly that the `one-off' isolated session that is the dominant form of professional training in the Australian early childhood field has been ineffective in promoting respect for diversity amongst teachers.