1. Multicultural Education
Multicultural education is a progressive approach for transforming education and addressing current shortcomings, failings, and discriminatory practices in education, teaching students to value the beliefs and practices of various cultural and ethnic groups.

2. There Is a Growing Need for Multicultural Education Percentage of Children Between 5 and 18 Years of Age.

3. Goals of Multicultural Education
To promote student self-awareness
To transform schools and public education
To update societal views of culture
To learn how to evaluate knowledge from different perspectives
To develop an ethnic, national, and global identity
To provide decision making skills and critical analysis skills so the students can make better choices in their everyday lives `

4. Basic Approaches to Multicultural Education
Contributions Approach
Ethnic historical figures whose values and behaviors are consistent with the American mainstream are studied; those who have challenged the dominant view are ignored.

5. Ethnic Additive Approach
An instructional unit composed of concepts, themes, points of view, and individual accomplishments are added to the curriculum. These accomplishments are viewed through a mainstream perspective.

6. Transformation Approach
Assumes there is no one valid way to understand people, events, concepts, or themes. Rather, there are multiple views, and each has something valuable to offer.

7. What Does a Multicultural Curriculum Include?
Race awareness
Gender sensitivity
Socioeconomic sensitivity
Age sensitivity
Religious tolerance
Sensitivity to native languages
Discrediting stereotypes
Respect for special education needs groups

8. Is This a Complete List?
No, this list is ever-evolving and growing. Multicultural education must be an organic part of your curriculum growing to meet the make-up and needs of your classroom.

9. What Can We Do As Classroom Teachers?
Demonstrate cultural sensitivity
Relate concepts to students experiences
Understand the impact of family culture
Foster collaboration and respect between students
Integrate culture-specific curriculum
Individualize instruction
Use peer learning techniques

10. What Can We Do As Classroom Teachers?
Provide students with clear objectives
Provide immediate feedback
Enhance student self-esteem by having classroom materials and practices that reflect student cultural and linguistic backgrounds
Use small group cooperative learning groups

11. What Do We Need From Our Schools?
Whole school collaboration
Inclusion support that provides scaffolding for staff and students
Inclusion specialists integrated to the classroom system
Principals who encourage open communication
Principals‘ involvement in all school situations
Principals’ frequent presence in classrooms

12. Melting Pot Vs.
A melting pot indicates a loss of individual identity. A mixing of cultures into a national mainstream where only one shared version of culture is respected.

13. Cultural Pluralism Cultural pluralism relies on three principles:
Each culture has its own internal coherence, integrity, and logic
No culture is inherently better or worse than another (ethnocentrism)
Everyone is culture-bound to some extent

14. Socioeconomic Status Considerations
Many Americans with low SES do not receive satisfactory healthcare
Educationally disadvantaged students are more likely than middle class students to grow up in single parent families

15. Socioeconomic Status Considerations
Many students of low SES have inadequate space for studying
Educationally disadvantaged students typically have not been exposed to a wide variety of experiences
Interactions between students of low SES and their parents lack mediation

16. Socioeconomic Status Considerations
Often have low motivation to achieve
Males especially place a low value on academic achievement
Have no specific career plans after school and may be limited to low paying, dead-end jobs resulting in low self-esteem

17. The Pygmalion Effect
Teachers’ expectations weigh heavily on student achievement
Teachers’ low expectations can translate into a self-fulfilling prophesy for students who have either a low SES and/or are from an ethnic minority

18. Poverty Level Numbers

19. Test Bias
Learners coming from different ethnicities may have difficulty taking tests created for youths in the cultural mainstream

20. Creating a Global Classroom
Virtual field trips
Building relationships nationwide
Creating global classroom connections through the internet and postal system
Fostering personal relationships between students of different cultures
Reconnecting children with their countries of origin

21. References
Psychology Applied to Teaching, Coryell,P., Houghton Mifflin, 2003
“Intercultural activities”, Gorski, P.,The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2003
Circles of My Multicultural Self, Gorski, P., The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2003
“Defining Multicultural Education”, Covert, B. 1996; EdChange.org, 2000

22. References
“Multicultural Education”, National Association for Multicultural Education, 2003
CommerceNet. (2000). Worldwide internet population.
Smerdon, B., Cronen, S., Lanahan, L., Anderson, J., Iannottie, N., and Angeles, J. (2001). Teachers' tools for the 21st century Washington, D.C.: National Center for Education Statistics.