1. Addressing Cultural and Socioeconomic Diversity
Chapter Five
Addressing Cultural and Socioeconomic Diversity

2. The rise of multiculturalism Ethnicity and social class
Overview
The rise of multiculturalism
Ethnicity and social class
Multicultural education programs
Bilingual education
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3. From Melting Pot to Cultural Pluralism
Diverse ethnic groups assimilating into one mainstream culture
Cultural Pluralism (Sleeter & Grant, 2003)
A society should strive to maintain the different cultures that reside within it
Each culture within a society should be respected by others
Individuals within a society have the right to participate in all aspects of that society without having to give up their cultural identity
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4. Immigrants to the United States
Source: U.S. Office of Immigration Statistics (2003).
66,089,431
Total
9,095,417
8,795,386
7,338,062
3,687,546
4,493,314
5,246,613
3,321,677
2,812,191
2,515,479
2,314,824
1,035,039
2,598,214
528,431
1,713,251
4,107,209
599,125
5,735,811
151,824
Number
Years
Year
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5. The Effect of Ethnicity on Learning
Five aspects of ethnicity that are potential sources of misunderstanding:
1. Verbal communication patterns
2. Nonverbal communication
3. Time orientation
4. Social values
5. Instructional formats and learning processes (Bennett, 2003)
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6. Adverse Factors Experienced by Many Low-SES Children
Many low-SES children do not receive satisfactory health care.
Low-SES children are more likely than middle-class children to grow up in a one-parent family.
Many low-SES students may not be strongly motivated to do well in school because of lower levels of need for achievement.
Low-SES children often experience negative classroom environments.
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7. Teacher Expectancy Effect
On the basis of such characteristics as race, SES, ethnic background, dress, speech pattern, and test scores, teachers form expectancies about how various students will perform in class.
Those expectancies are subtly communicated to the students in a variety of ways.
Students come to behave in a way that is consistent with what the teacher expects.
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8. Factors That Help Create Expectancies
Middle-class students are expected to receive higher grades than low-SES students, even when their IQ scores and achievement scores are similar.
African-American students are given less attention and are expected to learn less than white students, even when both groups have the same ability.
Teachers tend to perceive children from poor homes as less mature, less capable of following directions, and less capable of working independently than children from more advantaged homes.
Teachers who think of intelligence as a fixed and stable capacity are more likely to formulate negative and positive expectations of students than are teachers who think of intelligence as a collection of skills that can be shaped.
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9. Factors That Help Create Expectancies
Teachers are more influenced by negative information about students than they are by neutral or positive information.
High-achieving students receive more praise than low-achieving students.
Attractive children are often perceived by teachers to be brighter, more capable, and more social than unattractive children.
Teachers tend to approve of girls’ behavior more frequently than they approve of boys’ behavior.
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10. Multicultural Education Programs
Promote self-acceptance and respect for other cultures by studying the impact ethnic groups have had on American society.
Learning about the achievements of one’s cultural group will raise self-and group esteem.
Teachers should give all students a sense of being valued and accepted by expressing positive attitudes, by using appropriate instructional methods, and by formulating fair disciplinary policies and practices.
Individuals must have self-esteem and group esteem to productively work with people from other cultures.
Promote understanding of the origins and lack of validity of ethnic stereotypes.
U.S. culture has been formed by the contributions of different cultural groups. 
Goals of Multicultural Education
Assumptions of Multicultural Education
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11. Multicultural Education Programs
Help students master basic reading, writing, and computation skills, by embedding them in a personally meaningful (i.e., ethnically related) context.
Academic performance is enhanced when teachers incorporate various cultural values and experiences into instructional lessons.
Reduce ethnocentrism and increase positive relationships among members of different ethnic groups by understanding the viewpoints and products of these groups.
American society benefits from positive interactions between members of different cultural groups.
Goals of Multicultural Education
Assumptions of Multicultural Education
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12. Approaches to Multicultural Education (Banks, 2001, 2002)
Contributions Approach
Ethnic historical figures whose values and behaviors are consistent with American mainstream culture are studied while individuals who have challenged the dominant view are ignored.
Ethnic Additive Approach
An instructional unit composed of concepts, themes, points of view, and individual accomplishments is simply added to the curriculum.
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13. Approaches to Multicultural Education (Banks, 2001, 2002)
Transformation Approach
There is no one valid way of understanding people, events, concepts, and themes; there are multiple views, each of which has something of value to offer.
Decision-Making and Social Action Approach
Incorporates components of all the other approaches and adds the requirement that students make decisions and take actions concerning a concept, issue, or problem being studied.
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14. Key Concepts (Banks, 2002) Immigration Culture Identity Perspectives
Ethnic institutions
Acculturation
Demographic, social, political, and economic status
Racism and discrimination
Intraethnic diversity
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15. Characteristics of Effective Multicultural Teachers
Provides students with clear objectives.
Continuously communicates high expectations to the students.
Monitors student progress and provides immediate feedback.
Has several years experience in teaching culturally diverse students.
Can clearly explain why she uses specific instructional techniques.
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16. Characteristics of Effective Multicultural Teachers
Strives to embed instruction in a meaningful context.
Provides opportunities for active learning through small-group work and hands-on activities.
Exhibits a high level of dedication.
Enhances students’ self-esteem by having classroom materials and practices reflect students’ cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
Has a strong affinity for the students.
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17. Recommended Instructional Tactics
Peer tutoring
Teaching of one student by another
Cooperative learning
Working in small, heterogeneous groups to help one another master a task
Mastery learning
Approach that assumes most children can master the curriculum if certain conditions are established
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18. Rationale for Multicultural Education
Multicultural programs foster teaching practices that are effective in general as well as for members of a particular group.
All students may profit from understanding different cultural values.
The U.S. is becoming an increasingly multicultural society and students need to understand and know how to work with people of cultures different from their own.
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19. Rationale for Multicultural Education
Multicultural education programs expose students to the idea that “truth” is very much in the eye of the beholder.
Multicultural programs can encourage student motivation and learning.
The rationale for multicultural education that we have provided has been reinforced by numerous studies that document the disappointing academic performance of a significant number of minority-group students.
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