ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the context of teacher education. Included is a discussion of multicultural policy and teacher preparation; the significance for multicultural education of the location of a teacher-education programme; teacher-education reform efforts, with a focus of The Holmes Group and educational equity; multicultural research on teacher-preparation programmes; and teacher-education students and multicultural education. It presents some of the challenges facing teacher-education programmes Included is a discussion of the teacher-education faculties; the importance of defining multicultural education iin teacher-education programmes; the impact of academic ethnocentrism and elitism on advocates of multicultural education; and the development and production of multicultural education knowledge. It also presents author response to the challenges confronting the establishment of teacher-education programmes. The programme focus, shaped in part by programme location and faculty research interest, therefore plays a major role in determining how and to what extent issues of equity or multicultural education are dealt with.
