Societal compositions globally are changing with increasing rate of migration in countries both in the Global North and Global South. This has not always being positive for education systems trying to deliver equitable and quality education for all learners. In particular, teachers have been identified as crucial to ensuring equitable and quality education within culturally diverse classrooms. This critical role of teachers has been further established in Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)s passed in 2015 by members of the United Nations as a holistic approach to ensure that equitable and sustainable development opportunities are achieved across the world by 2030. Specifically, SDG 4 advocates for equitable and quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all learners by 2030, and teachers have been reported as crucial to the achievement of SDGs (UNESCO 2019, 2020).

However, a recent report shows that many teachers worldwide are challenged to meet the changing demands of students' in socio-cultural diverse classrooms. In Europe, a research study by the OECD finds that with the high influx of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. Teachers within European education systems struggle to contribute to equitable education in multicultural and multilingual schools (Forghani-Arani, Cerna, & Bannon, 2019). Further, teacher education within Europe is observed with a shortcoming in training new teachers or offering in-service pedagogical support for teachers to meet the learning demands of their students in culturally diverse classrooms (PPMI, 2017).

This research study is situated in the Irish context and Ireland of recent experienced cultural diversity within its societal makeup. Therefore, this research study explores the experiences of second-level student-teachers/beginning teachers in culturally diverse classrooms in Ireland. More specifically, this study is guided by the research question: What are the experiences of second-level student-teachers/beginning teachers in culturally diverse classrooms in Ireland? Using a qualitative approach, data for this study was collected with interviews with 17 second-level student-teachers/beginning teachers in Ireland. Furthermore, this study employs the theoretical framework of culturally responsive/relevant pedagogy (CRP) to examine participants' experiences and views on pedagogical approaches within culturally diverse classrooms.

According to the findings of this research study, the research participants identified challenges and experienced 'shock' of being a teacher in a classroom with students from diverse cultural backgrounds. Many of the participants shared how their teacher training insufficiently prepared them for the realities they find in their classrooms. Particularly, on what and how they can engage pedagogical approaches that ensure students have access to equitable and quality learning irrespective of their cultural representations. One of the participants highlighted this challenge by expressing that as a teacher, 'ignorance is by far the greatest obstacle to overcome' in a culturally diverse classroom. Participants also shared pedagogical approaches they employed in navigating the challenges of ensuring culturally inclusive teaching and learning within their classrooms. From the findings, student-teachers/beginning teachers invested in knowing their students through building a relationship and surveys (to understand students’ backgrounds) with students that informed their teaching approach. The findings from the study conform to the major ideals of CRP that teachers should strive to know and engage the cultural features of their students to deliver equitable and quality teaching for all learners (Ladson-Billings, 1994). In other words, CRP requires a teacher to be responsible for the cognitive development of all students irrespective of their socio-cultural representations (Hammond, 2014). The findings of this study can inform policies and teacher education programmes to provide tailored support for beginning teachers and other teachers to deliver culturally inclusive teaching and learning in Irish schools.

Ladson-Billings, G. 1994. The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of Black Children. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. UNESCO. 2019. Migration, Displacement and Education: Building Bridges, not Walls. Global Education Monitoring Report. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. 2020. Inclusion and Education: All Means All. Global Education Monitoring Report. Paris: UNESCO. Hammond, Z. 2015. Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students. Carlifornia: Corwin. PPMI. 2017. Preparing teachers for diversity: The role of initial teacher education. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. Retrieved from http://emn.ie/files/p_20170608124500PreparingTeachersforDiversity.pdf