ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the growing recognition of a need for the more informed preparation of teachers in a culturally plural society is examined through a review of the literature of the time. The changing social composition of the nation’s schools from the early 1960s has been reflected in a steady output of official reports, books and research papers which now comprise quite a substantial literature. The chapter summarizes some reports that sought to outline the extent of initial and in-service provision and to give some indication of its effectiveness. Patterson’s study of W.Indians in Britain was one of the earliest reports to call attention to the key role of education in preparing children for membership of a multicultural society, and to urge the full participation of teachers in reviewing a largely ethnocentric curriculum. To the cynic all this has been an elaborate exercise in buck passing, but this would perhaps be too harsh a judgement.
