Educating Through a Multicultural Perspective
What the Research Says?
Defining Multicultural Education
The United States serves as a culturally rich country who opens its arms to individuals from many different ethnicities, backgrounds, and life experiences. It seeks to be the melting pot of a blended group of people, providing opportunity and equity for all. Consequently, our educational system is the cornerstone for providing equal opportunity for all persons. Therefore, as the United States continues to be immersed with individuals from various cultures, the educational system must consistently seek to assure that educational opportunities are equally distributed to our students. In order for this task to be accomplished, developing a well-defined illustration of what multicultural education is necessary.
With the shifting cultural texture and demographics of the United States (Banks, 2006b; Irvine, 2003), redefining multicultural education has become imperative. There are many views on the benefits and/or shortcomings of the multiculturalization of education. The question is not whether a multicultural education should be adopted but it is rather what we understand from multicultural education and how we are going to initiate such a reform within an educational system when we cannot even define ‘multicultural.’ “The awareness of one’s own assumptions, prejudices and stereotypes is a first step to be able to positively interact and learn from others. In this process
As stated in the first paragraph of this article, “Multicultural education has been transformed, refocused, reconceptualized, and in a constant state of evolution both in theory and in practice.” Multicultural education is always changing. Culture is something that changes on a day-to-day basis. The way our society changes is no one’s hands, but our own.
When a child opens his (or her) first puzzle and the pieces fall to the
This article is written by a group of recognized experts in the hope of providing education policy makers and educators help towards achieving the goal of a “democratic and pluralistic society” (Banks, et al., 2001). The findings of the Multicultural Education Consensus Panel all seem to be geared towards guiding practitioners towards the shared goal of increased student achievement through diversity. They offer 12 essential principles which have been divided into 5 separate categories: 1) teacher learning; 2) student learning; 3) intergroup relations; 4) school governance; 5) assessment.
There are many factors that play a role in the learning process for every human being. Race, religion, language, socioeconomics, gender, family structure, and disabilities can all affect the ways in which we learn. Educators must take special measures in the delivery of classroom instruction to celebrate the learning and cultural differences of each of their students. As communities and schools continue to grow in diversity, teachers are searching for effective educational programs to accommodate the various learning styles of each student while promoting acceptance of cultural differences throughout the classroom. It no longer suffices to plan educational experiences only for middle-or upper class white learners and then
The purpose of this paper is to inform our readers of how a multicultural education benefits children. How can teachers create a multicultural learning community, and how can teachers help guide children
and curriculum. The discussion of the historical and philosophical background of multicultural education teaches educators how race and culture influence educational policy and programs. Multicultural teaching and curriculum is also crucial for the development of equitable education for diverse students. The author asserts that multicultural education can lessen biases while also furthering democratic beliefs and practices among students. The text’s discussion of multicultural education is significant to the field of multicultural education as it demonstrates how multicultural educational practices help students become culturally literate and prepared for today’s diverse and globalized world.
The lack of appreciation of different cultures has been noted to be a cause of poor performance among high school students, In this paper, we evaluate the concept of multiculturalism and its influence in the curriculum development with a special focus in Atlanta, Georgia high schools
The aims of multicultural education is to make sure any student, no matter their demographic, receives and is provided the essential resources to get an education. Along with Banks, he discusses that multicultural education “is to reform the school and other educational institutions so that students from diverse racial, ethnic, and social-class groups will experience educational equality” (p. 3). In today’s schools, the students attending are changing, in regards to demographics, so schools need to adjust to be able to teach to all students.
America has long been called "The Melting Pot" because it is made up of a varied mix of races, cultures, and ethnicities. As more and more immigrants come to America searching for a better life, the population naturally becomes more diverse. This has, in turn, spun a great debate over multiculturalism. Some of the issues under fire are who is benefiting from the education, and how to present the material in a way so as to offend the least amount of people. There are many variations on these themes as will be discussed later in this paper.
No school can trust effectively to teach today's youngsters without recognizing and grasping the social pluralism of our various society. To this end, free school instructors must work to make learning groups that energize and bolster assorted qualities of enrollment and multicultural curricula. Such people group comprehend that one's individual viewpoint depends, to a limited extent, upon one's area in society. Common understandings are multifaceted; they develop in groups that urge people to convey their stories to the table.
Multicultural education is a philosophical concept built on the ideals of freedom, justice, equality, equity, and human dignity as acknowledged in various documents, such as the U.S. Declaration of Independence, constitutions of South Africa and the United States, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations. It affirms our need to prepare student for their responsibilities in an interdependent world. It recognizes the role schools can play in developing the attitudes and values
The American ethnic makeup of its population is evolving as immigrants across the globe seek refuge and residency here in the United States. The change in the diversity can be seen firsthand in the public school system across the states as the children of immigrants are being integrated in the classrooms (Choi, 2011). This increase in multicultural students has been able to influence public policy and syllabus changes to reach the educational needs of students regardless of their ethnicity (Choi, 2011). Hence, the goal of a multicultural education is to provide a level playing ground for all students (Choi, 2011). Furthermore, educators are adapting to the ethnic change in the classroom and are restructuring
As a global studies major with an emphasis on education, researching and trying to understand multicultural curriculum has become a great part of my educational journey. I recently did an internship in Washington D.C. where I taught afterschool classes on globalization to underrepresented students in D.C. More that 70 percent of my students were black, while the other 30 percent or so were Hispanic, Arab, and other minority groups. My main goal was to incorporate multicultural curriculum as a means for the students to understand the changing world through various perspectives other than their own. From my experience in DC, I received a small glimpse of how multicultural curriculum is imperative for student success. Chapter 10 gave a great break down of four approaches to multicultural curriculum and how we as future educators can implement those approaches in our own teaching styles.
Multicultural Education in the United States made its debut beginning with the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s. Its intent was to become part of the cultural mainstream. The Civil Rights Movement brought to light the apparent concerns of discrimination, intimidation and inequality. During this period, pressure was placed on the Federal Government to examine their roles in the perseverance of inequalities when it came to Multicultural Education (Russell, Robert, The History of Multicultural Education, 2011). It can be compared to “Affirmative Action” where whites were asked to leave behind their own point of view and gain knowledge of the traditions of Multicultural groups (Taylor, Samuel. The Challenge of 'Multiculturalism'
From this week 's reading of Teaching to Change the World, we learned of the demographic shift in public education. I believe this change is happening for the better. Like many institutions in our society, we must change with the times to meet the needs of the people we serve. School curriculum should be something that is always evolving, for the simple fact that students who our public schools are serving learn differently and at times, come with a different set of cultural norms and experiences with them that may impact the way they learn.