Definitions Of Multicultural Education
“Multicultural awareness is an integral part of overall education and absolutely critical for student success in college and future life” (Dube, 2006, p. 8).
| Multicultural education is not a single activity, but rather consists of at least the three following components: 1) Idea or concept, 2) Educational reform movement, 3) Process. As such, the goal of multicultural teaching and learning is to ensure that all students - regardless of their gender and social class and their ethnic, racial or cultural characteristics - have an equal chance to learn and be academically successful (Banks, 2005). |
| Multicultural education is an approach to teaching and learning and the aim of multicultural teaching and learning is to transform monocultural learning environments into multicultural learning environments (Bennet, 1999). Bennett, Cole, and Thompson (2003) also suggest that at the root of multicultural teaching and learning are several core values and themes. These include faculty who: are advocates for students from all cultural, racial, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, regard teaching as a form of inquiry (i.e., self-reflective, inquiry-based practitioners ), see themselves as thoughtful, creative change agents working for social justice, are competent in their content knowledge. |
| "Culturally responsive teaching is defined as using the cultural characteristics, experiences, and perspectives of ethnically diverse students as conduits for teaching them more effectively" (Gay, 2004b, p. 106). The underlying principle is that students will learn more and be more successful in the classroom when their personal experiences and frames of reference are included (Gay, 2002). You may have noticed in your classrooms that students have greater interest, motivation, and commitment when what they are learning is personally meaningful. Working to ensure that this is the case for all students is a critical component of culturally responsive teaching. … We know first hand that students bring very different perspectives and life experience to the classroom. Multicultural teaching and learning works to incorporate, rather than overlook, these differences (IUPUI, 2002). |
| The development of democratic citizens is, according to Kitano (1997 as cited in IUPUI, 2002), the purpose of multicultural education. Specifically, multicultural educators can increase students' understanding of the contributions and perspectives of people from differing backgrounds, while also enhancing students' academic achievement and critical thinking applied to social problems. Kitano also asserts that, because students are provided with an accurate and comprehensive picture of society, this will lead to greater democracy. Kitano's definition rests on the following assumptions: multicultural education is for all, higher education seeks to disseminate truth, and teaching transformative scholarship offers students a more comprehensive truth, all groups (e.g., culture, gender) have the same underlying abilities; they may differ in preferred modes of acquiring and expressing competence, academic achievement is a critical factor in promoting equal opportunity, academic achievement alone does not eliminate structural barriers to career attainment and social integration, higher education faculty play a significant role in developing a more equitable society. |
| Nieto (2004) writes that multicultural education “is a process of comprehensive school reform and basic education for all students. It challenges and rejects racism and other forms of discrimination in schools and society and accepts and affirms the pluralism (ethnic, racial, linguistic, religious, economic, and gender among others) that students, their communities, and teachers reflect. Multicultural education permeates the schools' curriculum and instructional strategies, as well as the interactions among teachers, students, and families, and the very way that schools conceptualize the nature of teaching and learning. Because it uses critical pedagogy as its underlying philosophy and focuses on knowledge, reflection, and action (praxis) as the basis for social change, multicultural education promotes democratic principles of social justice” (p. 346). |
| The “art” for me is being able to facilitate discourse in the classroom about the complexities of diversity, as well as other issues, while being able to address student resistance to multicultural and other issues in a way that doesn’t silence my students. Multicultural education is, after all, inclusion of everyone’s cultures and voices. Talking to my education students about how they need to negotiate knowledge and the curriculum with their own students, then denying my students the opportunity to negotiate knowledge with me in my classroom is hypocritical and counterproductive to the process of transformative education. It has taken much reflective practice on my part, and recognition that effective teaching is a lifelong evolution of sorts, for me to become comfortable dealing with student resistance to multicultural issues - in particular, those concerning gender, race, class, and sexual orientation (Keller, 2006, p. 88). … I emphasize that the learning process is reciprocal; I learn from them as they learn from me—we all learn from each other (Keller, 2006, p. 89). |
| Multicultural education attempts to present knowledge in a manner that reflects the cultural and gender perspectives that are relevant to a subject. A simple rationale for this position is that, with few exceptions, heterogeneity rather than homogeneity of perspectives is more reflective of reality. […] When multicultural perspectives began to be considered more seriously, traditionalists responded with vigor as they realized that multicultural education was presenting new knowledge and perspectives that in turn were causing a reanalysis of a largely monocultural curriculum (Diaz, 1994, p. 1). … In higher education, multicultural education presents both mainstream and transformative academic knowledge. When mainstream theories and explanations are challenged by transformative ones, the discussion in the multicultural classroom will be a spirited one. However, when transformative academic knowledge challenges personal/cultural knowledge, faculty will often see students resisting new paradigms, knowledge, or explanations (Diaz, 1994, p. 2). |
| Essentially, multicultural education is about social change through education. It requires deep and critical thinking, imagination, and commitment to another tomorrow, inclusive of the wealth of all of our stories and peoples. It is another aspect of the continuous human journey toward justice and pushes us toward the fulfillment of the promises of democracy. It gives us new questions to ask and directions to follow to uncover human possibilities in the new millennium. As stated by Greene (1995), "People trying to be more fully human must not only engage in critical thinking but must be able to imagine something coming of their hopes; their silence must be overcome by their search" (p. 25). Multicultural education harbors a place for a multitude of voices in a multicultural society and a place for many dreams (Hanley, 1999, p.4). |
| Inclusive classrooms are classrooms in which instructors and students work together to create and sustain an environment in which everyone feels safe, supported, and encouraged to express her or his views and concerns. In these classrooms, the content is explicitly viewed from the multiple perspectives and varied experiences of a range of groups. Content is presented in a manner that reduces all students' experiences of marginalization and, wherever possible, helps students understand that individuals' experiences, values, and perspectives influence how they construct knowledge in any field or discipline. Instructors in inclusive classrooms use a variety of teaching methods in order to facilitate the academic achievement of all students. Inclusive classrooms are places in which thoughtfulness, mutual respect, and academic excellence are valued and promoted (Saunders & Kardia, 2004, p. 1). |
page revision: 6, last edited: 11 Feb 2007 13:13
