The Empirical Analysis of a "Messy Construct": Pre-Service Teachers' Beliefs about Linguistic and Cultural Heterogeneity in School

This study examines the empirical analysis of pre-service teachers' beliefs about linguistic-cultural heterogeneity in school and teaching (N=161) based on the three scales (1)Language Use at Home (=0,84), (2)Multilingualism in Content Teaching (=0,87) and (3)Responsibility for Language Facilitation (=0,78). The developed instrument is evaluated in terms of statistical quality and therefore the practical use in teaching and research. The results demonstrate that the scales show good psychometric parameters and thus can be used to empirically examine pre-service teachers' beliefs. The theoretically assumed three-dimensional structure can be confirmed by means of model fit tests. Furthermore, correlations between beliefs about linguistic-cultural heterogeneity in school and teaching and teachers' personal characteristics, as well as opportunities to learn are investigated.