The ABCs for pre-service teacher cultural competency development

In an effort to combine pre-service teachers' self-reflection with their field experiences to enhance their cultural competency, this study adopted Schmidt's ABC's (Autobiography, Biography, and Cross-cultural Comparison) Model in two courses in a pre-service teacher education program. Through group comparisons, this study measured the impact that self-reflection combining autobiography, field experiences involving the writing of student biographies, and field-based reflection focused on conducting cross-cultural comparisons had on the development of pre-service teachers' cultural competency. The results of the study illustrated the discomforts pre-service teachers experience in working with diverse student populations and documented the impact of the ABC's model on participants' cultural awareness development.