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.

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

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 `

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

Poverty Level Numbers

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

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

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

References “Multicultural Education”, National Association for Multicultural Education,www.nameorg.com, 2003 CommerceNet. (2000). Worldwide internet population.http://www.commerce.net/research/stats/wwwstats.html 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.