Internationally, there is growing concern regarding the insufficient preparation of teachers in mainstream kindergartens in terms of teaching for ethnically diverse children. As teacher educators, we are concerned about how to help kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong improve their teaching. In this study, we adopted the research approach of phenomenography to investigate the following research question: In what qualitatively different ways do teachers experience the teaching for ethnically diverse children? We conducted individual semi-structured interviews with 26 in-service kindergarten teachers. Four ways of experiencing were identified. Teaching for ethnically diverse children can be experienced as: adjusting instruction (A), expanding modes of expression (B), exploring new possibilities (C), and embracing inclusion (D). We recommend that teacher educators discuss our results with teachers in professional development programmes, making them aware of alternatives and appropriate advanced ways of experiencing such teaching. Moreover, our results also revealed the benefits that ethnically diverse children bring to all children. Copyright © 2023 Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research.

In Hong Kong, teaching ethnically diverse children (e.g. Indians, Pakistanis, Nepalis) has recently become a pressing issue. As teacher educators, we believe the crux of the issue lies in teachers’ understanding of cultural diversity. Specifically, this study adopted the theoretical framework of phenomenography to investigate the question of: What are precisely the qualitatively different ways teachers see ethnically diverse children? We recruited 81 in-service kindergarten teachers and conducted interviews and/or collected documents related to their practice of teaching. Four ways of seeing were identified: Ethnically diverse children are seen as: (A) of one and the same group, (B) not local to Hong Kong, (C) in need of support and deficient, and (D) overly devoted to their own cultures. We recommend teacher educators to discuss the descriptions of the four ways of seeing with teachers. The results of this study contribute to pedagogical knowledge of teacher educators for professional development of teachers. Copyright © 2022 Informa UK Limited.