Relationship between attributional styles of cultural awareness and cultural competence for preservice teachers

Abstract

Scope and Method of Study: To explore the relationship between attributional styles of cultural awareness and cultural competence for preservice teachers, this study involved 793 preservice teachers with a wide range of majors from two large midwestern universities. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to explore the underlying structure of cultural competence. Correlation analyses, t-tests, and analyses of variance were used to explore demographic differences in preservice teachers' attributional styles and cultural competence. Canonical correlation analyses were adopted to uncover the relationship between attributional styles and cultural competence.

Findings and Conclusions: Praxis and knowledge were found to be two highly correlated aspects of cultural competence. The failure of the study to produce a factor structure as described in Banks' model of multicultural education or in NCATE diversity standards raised serious concerns of understanding and operationalizing cultural competence among preservice teachers. The demographic differences found in the study regarding preservice teachers' attributional styles and cultural competence indicated the potential importance of environmental factors in attribution and multicultural education. A canonical correlation analysis found two significant relationships between preservice teachers' attributional styles of cultural awareness and their cultural competence. The first canonical variate disclosed a positive relationship between personal control and praxis, and the second variate revealed stability, inner locus of causality, and external control in positive association with knowledge. Implications for teacher educators were discussed and future research directions suggested.