Dimensions of diversity: Challenges to secondary school teachers with implications for intercultural teacher education

The study used the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) questionnaire instrument developed by Hammer and Bennett (2001) to determine the level of intercultural sensitivity of Hong Kong secondary school teachers. Three hundred and eighty-six serving teachers were surveyed. Findings revealed that the majority of the teachers were operating in the beginning stage, denial/defense, of the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS). They saw the world from an ethnocentric perspective and held a negative view on evaluating cultural differences. Predominantly, emphasis tended to be placed on cultural similarities, and the recognition of cultural differences was superficial. The implications for teacher education are discussed.