In conjunction with the social structures that shape one's sense of agency, neoliberal factors frame the context wherein teachers' develop their perceptions about incorporating critical multicultural curricula. In this research project, the author examined this intersection – between the local and the global – to better understand how teacher education can work to support and strengthen the possibility for critical pedagogy to be realized in teachers' classrooms. The findings indicate that structural obstacles undermined these teachers' ability to visualize and place aspects of social justice and diversity at the foundation of instruction.