Towards the Well-Being of Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Children: Teachers’ Reflections on Self-Efficacy in the Process of Professional Development

The present study aimed to explore preschool teachers’ reflections on their self-efficacy in interaction with linguistically and culturally diverse children before, during, and after a professional development workshop. Data were collected from 24 teachers who reflected on their experiences during the workshop using two qualitative research tools: (a) two open projective questions before and after the workshop, and (b) teachers’ reflections during the workshop. The theory-drawn thematic analysis was applied, guided by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS theory) and the teacher-child interaction framework. Researcher and data source triangulation were used to enhance the credibility of data analysis. The theoretical contribution of the study is to enrich the three-dimensional framework of teacher-child interactions (emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support). We present new strategies highlighting the critical role of teacher-parent communication in promoting linguistically and culturally diverse children’s well-being and in implementing linguistically and culturally responsive teaching as a pedagogical approach.