GENDER AND LEVEL OF TEACHERS’ KNOWLEDGE ON KEY FEATURES OF INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION

Abstract

The paper explored the level of teachers’ knowledge on key features of intercultural education. The research was led by three questions: wether there is a statistically significant difference in the knowledge of female and male teachers on the meaning of notion of interculture, on the goals of intercultural education and on the values promoted by intercultural education. Data collection was conducted through a questionnaire applied to 217 primary school teachers in the Republic of North Macedonia. Respondents rated themselves on a 5 point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics were used to determine levels of knowledge on intercultural education. When interpreting the level of knowldge on intercultural education, the interval 1.00–1.79 was evaluated to be “very low”, 1.80–2.59 to be “low”, 2.60–3.39 to be “middling”, 3.40-4.19 to be “high”, and 4.20– 5.00 to be “very high”. Differences in the level of knowledge on teachers’ intercultural education were tested using t-test at p = .05. Both female and male teachers show a middling level of knowledge on the notion of interculture (M = 3.06), a high level of knowledge on the goals of intercultural education (M = 3.48) and a high level of knowledge on the values promoted by intercultural education (M = 3.55), the research results show. Female teachers show a statistically lower level of knowledge on the goals of intercultural education (M = 3.37, p <.05) than male teachers (M = 3.75, p <.05).