Abstract

K-12 schools around the world are striving to practice equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) principles to provide effective learning opportunities for all students. At the classroom level, differentiated instruction (DI) is a teaching approach that addresses student diversities. This research focuses on important aspects of teacher training on equitable and inclusive strategies, being its long-term impact and teacher candidates’ (TCs’) retention of acquired knowledge and skills. This paper addresses the following research questions: 1) How do TCs implement DI in their school practicum after the training in the teacher education courses ends? 2) What challenges do TCs encounter upon implementing DI? 3) What are TCs’ long-term goals and aspirations of DI? and 4) What are effective strategies in EDI training in teacher education courses? The paper adopts a qualitative approach in which the data sources include a survey and semi-structured interviews conducted eight weeks after the end of a DI-focused course in the Teacher Education program. TCs’ responses highlighted how they implemented DI in their practicum, indicating retention of the acquired knowledge and skills. TCs also detailed how they plan on implementing EDI strategies in their future classrooms. This paper proposes a general framework for successful training of educators on EDI principles and practices such as DI. The framework’s essential elements are: 1) explicit and intentional training approach, 2) engaging trainees in reflective practice, 3) contextualization, specificity, and relevance of the training tasks, 4) providing ongoing feedback, and 5) collaboration and resource sharing among participants.