Introduction Diversity does not simply mean differences of race or ethnicity but includes the cultural experiences that children bring to school, including language, beliefs, values, norms, family configuration, socioeconomic status, gender, special needs, home and community backgrounds, and learning styles. Yet while the population of children in our schools is becoming more diverse, the demographics of teachers continue to be less diverse, maintaining the prototypes of White, middle class, and female (Dilworth, 1992; Howard, 1999; Nieto, 2000) with sociocultural beliefs, expectations, and experiences differ markedly from the diversity of children in their classrooms.
