CATESOL24

This study investigates teacher preparation programs (TPP) and the perceptions held by teachers about their preparedness to teach and work with vulnerable populations such as students classified as English Learners or special needs, are socioeconomically disadvantaged, and come from multicultural communities. The research aims to answer three driving questions: (1) What are teacher perceptions about the effectiveness of their teacher preparation program? (2) How do teacher preparation programs prepare teachers to teach in multilingual and multicultural environments? (3) Is there a significant influence between teachers' perception of their preparation program and their perceived preparedness to teach multilingual and multicultural students?