Examination of science teachers' perceptions and competences regarding multicultural education

All over the world, people belonging to different cultures have to live together in harmony for different reasons. Therefore, multiculturalism should be a factor that covers the whole of education rather than being a part of it. Multicultural education has become more important today and the need to determine teachers' awareness and perceptions of multiculturalism has increased. This study aims to examine the perceptions and competencies of science teachers working in secondary schools about multicultural education. The research was designed in accordance with the explanatory design of the mixed method and quantitative data were collected with the Multicultural Competence Perceptions and Multicultural Education Perception Scale to determine the perceptions and competencies of science teachers towards multicultural education and to examine the relationship between their perceptions and competencies. In line with the quantitative data collected, interview questions were applied to the teachers. After the application of the scales for quantitative data, qualitative data were collected by interviewing the teachers and more detailed information was obtained. In the analysis of quantitative data, descriptive statistics were applied and the Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated and interpreted. Qualitative data were analyzed by content analysis method. It is predicted that the findings obtained from the research will shed light on the development of policies for multicultural science education. The ages, genders, ethnic origins, educational backgrounds, years of professional experience, the type of school, the region, and the cities where the teachers worked differed. Most of the science teachers have multicultural education perceptions and competencies. Differences were found in variables such as age range and experience. Science teachers, who are older in age and experience, have higher multicultural education perception and competence than other teachers. According to the results of the interviews with science teachers and they have knowledge and competence in multicultural education.