The purpose of this research is to develop understanding of elementary language arts teachers' practices of multicultural literature in relation to their intercultural competence. To investigate this specific topic of interest, a two-phase design was employed. The Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) was used for the initial phase of the study to identify and purposefully select participants for an in-depth, follow-up qualitative study. In the first phase study, 31 elementary language arts teachers (ELATs) completed the IDI online which provided a profile that separated the ELATs into two groups; those who were high on the IDI scores (ethnorelative orientations) and those who were low on the IDI scores (ethnocentric orientations). The two-grouped IDI profile offered a sample of ELATs for the purposeful participant selection in second phase qualitative study.

Three ELATs in ethnocentric orientations and three ELATs in ethnorelative orientations were invited for the second phase qualitative study. The qualitative inquiry was to investigate ELATs' practices of multicultural literature in relation to their intercultural competence. The qualitative findings connected with the IDI results provide readers a picture of similarities and/or differences between two groups of ELATs' use of multicultural literature in relation to their intercultural developmental stages. The findings reflected three themes (ELATs' prior knowledge; instructional strategies; dispositions) and seven subcategories (multicultural literature experience; cross-cultural experience; selecting materials and activities; questioning types and strategies; advancing students' intercultural understanding and reflection on teaching; open-mindedness; willingness to redesign and create integrated curriculum).