Meaning and Purpose of Multicultural Social Studies Education

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Introduction

With the rise of the number of culturally diverse students being served in classroom throughout the United States, there is a need for multicultural social studies education. This paper will define and explain the meaning and purpose of multicultural social studies education. This paper will also analyze the implications of the multicultural perspective for social studies instruction as they relate to the following themes: (a) Inclusiveness of perspectives in content; (b) Instructional materials; (c) Activities; (d) The teachers’ beliefs and actions; and (e) The role of the students’. In addition, this paper will describe what multicultural social studies teaching should look like in the classroom and the advantages and disadvantages of teaching multicultural social studies education. Finally this paper will offer suggestions for how educators can adjust their teaching strategies in order for lessons to be more culturally relevant.

Meaning and Purpose of Multicultural Social Studies Education

Multicultural education as been defined by Banks and Banks, 1995 as is a field of study and an emerging discipline which major purpose is to create equal educational opportunities for students from diverse ethnic, racial, cultural, and social-class groups. The goal of multicultural education, explained by Banks is to provide an education for freedom in order to help all students acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to function effectively in a pluralistic and free society and for students to learn how to cooperate, collaborate, participation, and communicate with peoples from diverse groups in order to create a civic and moral community that works for the common good (North Central Regional Educational Laborat...

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...ents multicultural education in the classrooms teacher can not only reduce prejudice, they can also empower their students. Finally we can see that by applying the strategies and activities from this paper teachers will be able to address the needs of ALL students in a social studies classroom.

Works Cited

Hanley, Mary S., (1999). The Scope of Multicultural Education, Retrieved, August 07, 2011, from http://education.jhu.edu/newhorizons/strategies/topics/multicultural-education/the-scope-of-multicultural-education/index.html

North Central Regional Educational Laboratory.(n.d.). Multicultural Education. Retrieved August 07, 2011 from, http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/educatrs/presrvce/pe3lk1.htm

Sunal, C.S., & Haas, Mary E., (2011), Social Studies for the elementary and middle grades: A Constructivist Approach (4th ed) Boston, MA: Pearson Education INC

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