Multicultural Education, Its Purpose, Goals, And Challenges Inclusive

“Multicultural education is an essential component of school reform. Nevertheless, when it is mentioned, many people first think of lessons in human relations and sensitivity training, units about ethnic holidays, education in inner-city schools, or food festivals. If multicultural education is limited to these issues, the potential for substantive change in schools is severely diminished” (Nieto, 2012, pp. 40).

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

Public schools are beginning to see a shift in demographics in the United States. There is now a culturally diverse student population and educators need to respond to this shift in order to ensure an equal education for all students. Culture aids in determining how students learn, and culturally responsive teaching is a way teachers can educate culturally diverse students and provide an equal education for all. Culturally responsive teaching is defined by Geneva Gay as using the various characteristics, perspectives, and experiences of many cultures to effectively teach culturally diverse students (2000). Culturally responsive teaching prepares teachers to work with and teach a culturally diverse classroom of students and allows teachers to create a classroom environment that is similar to their students’ home environments so students do not have to assimilate to the dominant culture or change from their home culture to their school culture depending on their setting (Brown). Multicultural education is not only important for ensuring equal education for all students, but also creates youth who will be able to function and be effective citizens in a pluralistic society (Gay 2003). In order to implement culturally responsive teaching, teachers must acknowledge potential biases and reconstruct their attitudes, create a diverse knowledge base, be caring and empowering, and create a classroom environment that is conducive to a culturally diverse

Teachers can begin by incorporating Banks’ five dimensions of multicultural education. In addition teachers must take into consideration DuPraw and Axner’s six fundamental patterns of cultural differences. Then, parents and the community will need to be educated on the cultural differences. However, the parents will need their voice to be heard in order to decrease cross cultural miscommunication. As our country’s population diversifies, it will be our responsibility to not only educate ourselves but our students as well as our parents in order to have a successful

Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society, Seventh Edition, by Donna M. Gollnick and Philip C. Chinn. Published by Prentice-Hall/Merrill. Copyright © 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Race, Gender, Class, and ethnicity are the fabrics that form a Multicultural Society. As a teacher, it is important to think about my students’ various cultures and influences their cultures possess over their learning. After all, students are taught within the context of culture. Culture is what we teach whether it is explicit or institutional. Culture is integral to learning, considering culture is dependent on education for its survival. Culture is transferred from one generation to the next using informal or formal education (Convertino, Levinson, Gonzalez 27). As teachers, we should ensure our instruction is relevant to our students, otherwise they will lose interest, and then, they will never learn (Banks 2013). So, teachers should approach their students within a culturally relevant pedagogy.

The multicultural curriculum has its roots in the history of multicultural education which follows the history of the US civil rights movement (Fillion, n.d). The desegregation practices during the 1950s were established in order to provide equal education for all individuals, regardless of race or any other demographic considerations. The 1960s and 1970s, desegregation practices expanded to include application in seeking equity of all students in terms of their human rights (Banks, 2000). With the focus on human rights, multicultural concerns in education were considered, recognizing the importance of establishing awareness in a culturally diverse community. The changes in the teaching curriculum came under the collective heading of multiculturalism. These changes were also apparent in Britain and in Australia just as they were unfolding in the US (Lynch, 1983). The educational authorities recognized the fact that the curriculum must come from the social and the ethical concepts being seen in the multicultural setting. Various references to the inherent value of all human beings were also highlighted, and this attached value was also seen in the human rights movement in the 1960s and 1970s (Lynch, 1983). In these states, the focus was on acknowledging the need for the multicultural curriculum and for teachers to support and promote such a program. Research was then carried out and workshops with teachers implemented. Such actions were able to establish that even as

their background or age. The role of the teacher is very critical to the students getting an

This paper explores Multicultural Educational Reform. It investigates how the current state of our democracy urges the educator to consider the pertinence and definition of multicultural education and how it can be achieved. It demonstrates how the knowledge of a cultural curriculum transformation combined with understanding what constitutes multicultural curriculum can lead to reforming a mainstream curriculum that currently caters only, or primarily, to the Eurocentric, male-centric society that laid the foundation for education. This paper will

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

During the late 1960’s, America had entered into a period of cultural definition especially with the emergence of the Civil Rights Movement. Although the term “multicultural education” had not come into play yet, the idea that the U.S needed to reexamine their efforts of educating diverse groups was emerging. During this time inequality especially among minority groups in comparison to the white dominant culture became a social issue (Banks 1999). Before the arrival of this reform multicultural education was displayed in the classroom as having minorities adapt to the predominant culture. Teachers during this time felt it would be more beneficial for minorities to adapt. However, many parents of these minorities begin to argue that the

It is to be said that each student comes into a classroom with a particular set of unique behaviors and characteristics that will contribute to their academic success. The article Multicultural education: Issues and perspectives by McGee Banks states, "Behavior is shaped by group norms ... the group equips individuals with the behavior patterns they need in order to adapt" (2005,13). Students will develop a cultural identity through the social groups he/she is involved in through race, social class, cultural capital etc. Through this research we will try to find what particularly enhances the academic success of a student.

Multicultural education encompasses a variety of instructional methods designed to support the social and academic needs of the learners within the educational environment. Banks (2002) discusses several benefits to incorporating different cultures into a school’s curriculum as well as a strategic plan for executing the strategies. Restructuring a school’s curriculum is an enormous task that requires planning, professional development, monitoring, and evaluation from various stakeholders in the school community. In order to restructure a school’s curriculum, create a paradigm shift for educators, and successfully implement change, there must be a concerted effort from school administrators, teachers, students, parents, and community members (Assaf et al., 2010; Bhargava, Hawley, & Scott, 2004).

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.

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'