Promoting Diversity Competence Development in Professional Profile of Teachers

One of the keywords characterizing the vision of modern society is diversity - not only related to ethnic background, culture and gender, but also to the differences of people, similarities and unique characteristics as individuals and groups. There is a need to learn to understand it both as a value and a positive educational resource in overcoming tensions generated by societal change and globalization. In this context, the issue of teachers' diversity competence development and being aware of its transversal character is of utmost importance for opening up possibilities to understand the way we relate to each other and the way we can live together. Although there are ongoing discussions on diverse learners' opportunities, minority schools and inclusive education in Latvia, the research findings indicate that there is an imbalance between existing diversity in society and skills to express tolerance and communicate. As learning to live together is an essential part of school education and equal opportunities and the development of human potential to its fullest is emphasized, the authors chose to focus on particular diversity aspects in the study, especially turning attention to the teachers' competence in the work with gifted children and children with special needs. The goal of the study - to investigate the manifestations of teachers' diversity competence in the context of inclusive education. The research question - how teachers self-assessment reveal their 1) tolerance to the diversity of learners, and 2) application of professional skills in an educational environment. The quantitative research approach and methodology of the questionnaire as a data collection technique was applied in the study. Respondents were selected by purposeful random sampling strategy and the method of descriptive statistics was used to data analysis. The results of the study will be integrated in the process of teacher education, in order to deepen the awareness of teachers diversity competence by encouraging the transfer from its visible aspects to the dmpa . layers - professional attitudes, knowledge, practical know-how and professional actions, thus preparing teachers to work with diverse learners in different educational contexts.