Cypriot Teachers and Multicultural Classes: Results from the International Survey TALIS 2018

Abstract

This paper attempts to provide answers to two research questions, regarding the composition of the student population in the classrooms of lower secondary schools (Gymnasiums) in Cyprus and teachers’ readiness to meet the challenges of a multicultural classroom.It draws data from the international survey TALIS 2018, in which all public and private lower secondary schools in Cyprus participated. According to TALIS 2018, schools in Cyprus are becoming more and more multicultural, possibly due to increased migration and refugee flows. Teachers express a high level of need for training in teaching in multicultural classrooms and in communicating with people from different cultures.At the same time, teachers who have been trained in teaching in multicultural classrooms or in communication with people from different cultures, during their formal education or training, show greater self-efficacy for teaching in multicultural classrooms.