Abstract:

Dynamic changes in the growth of multiculturalism in Slovak society bring challenges not only for educators in the field of education of children from different cultural backgrounds, but also in their preparation in undergraduate education. The need for multicultural competence of teachers is also emphasized by foreign authors (Güven et al., 2022; McAllister & Irvine, 2000). Several studies point out the connections between multicultural competence and ethnocultural empathy (Reese, 2017; Tuğba et al., 2023, Finck, C., et al., 2023). This research study focuses on the correlation between the variables of ethnocultural empathy (empathic feeling and expression, empathic perspective taking, acceptance of cultural differences, empathic awareness) and multicultural competence (awareness, skill, knowledge). Research sample: 120 university students of pre-primary and primary education. Research instruments used: the Scale of Ethnocultural Empathy (Wang, Yu-Wei, et al., 2003) and the Multicultural Competence Scale for Prospective Teachers (Erdem, 2020). The results of the correlation analysis indicate weak to moderate positive relationships between the variables of ethnocultural empathy and multicultural competence. The results are discussed in the context of the educational needs of prospective teachers.

Keywords:

Ethnocultural empathy, multicultural competence, prospective teachers.