Hanna de Jong-Markus

Chapter 7 124 awareness of and an open attitude toward diversity (Castro, 2010; Cherng & Davis, 2017). Furthermore, we recognize six different competencies for dealing with religious diversity, namely awareness of differences, an open attitude, proper knowledge about others, critical consciousness, balancing personal beliefs and professional responsibilities, and pedagogies for diversity. Also, we can distinguish five regularly mentioned ways of how those can be acquired in teacher education, namely the classroom as a learning community, teacher educators as role models, experiential learning, critical reflection, and transfer of knowledge. We will elaborate on these in the following paragraphs. Awareness of differences is the first competency, which is about being cognizant that there are differences within the classroom and being aware of one’s own cultural determinacy and stereotypes (Anderson et al., 2015; Aown, 2011; Castro, 2010; Cherng & Davis, 2017; Obidah &Howard, 2005; Yemini et al., 2019). This is oftenmentioned in relation to equitable education and pupils’ academic success (Cherng & Davis, 2017; Civitillo et al., 2018), but it could also be extended to awareness of diversity and inequality in society (cf. An, 2014; Castro, 2010; Cherng & Davis, 2017; Obidah & Howard, 2005). Jackson & Everington (2017) pointed out awareness of diversity within religions. Second, an open attitude is about being open, sensitive, or respectful and demonstrating a genuine interest in the other (Castro, 2010; Jackson & Everington, 2017). Others must experience that they are seen as unique individuals and that their ideas are allowed to differ (Jackson & Everington, 2017). This assumes that trainee teacher areopen todiversity andperceive it as a strength (Castro, 2010; Cherng & Davis, 2017; Civitillo et al., 2018). Third, proper knowledge about the cultural or religious beliefs of others is needed to check stereotypes (Bell, 2002; Jackson & Everington, 2017; Subedi, 2006), so as to become aware of discrimination, disenfranchisement, and inequity (Obidah & Howard, 2005), and to correct and inform pupils (Aown, 2011; Anderson et al., 2015; Subedi, 2006). Fourth, the notion of critical consciousness acknowledges that dealing with diversity in education regularly has a social justice orientation, which is about wanting to ensure greater equity in society (Aronson et al., 2016; Castro, 2010; Cheng and Davis, 2017; Civitillo et al. 2018; Estellés and Fischman, 2020; Yemini et al., 2019). Fifth, trainee teachers need to find a balance between their personal beliefs and professional responsibilities. They can use their own beliefs, knowledge, and experiences as a resource to draw from, and sharing these can be an invitation for pupils to share theirs. However, as teachers, they need to place what they share in a broader context and create space for other beliefs (Anderson et al., 2015; Aronson et al., 2016; Jackson & Everington, 2017). Finally, trainee teachers need to develop pedagogies for dealing with diversity (Haworth, 2015; cf. Aown, 2011; Obidah & Howard, 2005). In these pedagogies, sharing experiences is often central and conversations are seen as valuable (Haworth, 2015; Jackson & Everington,

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