Attitudes towards heterogeneity and teaching criteria among student teachers: A quantitative study of stereotypes and biases

The topic of heterogeneity has become an integral part of the public debate on the educational situation as well as teacher training courses in Germany. There is now a consensus, at least among educators and educational scientists, that sensitivity, new teaching methods and intercultural knowledge are needed when dealing with an increasingly heterogeneous student body, and in particular with students from migrant backgrounds.

Conversely, however, there is little knowledge about the extent to which stereotypes and prejudices exist among teachers today, for example towards pupils with a migrant background, and how these influence their professional actions. A survey of more than 600 student teachers at the TU Braunschweig and the University of Duisburg-Essen is dedicated to these research questions.