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Promoting multicultural education
Promoting multicultural education
The importance of multicultural education in today's society
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This article addresses the impact that equity literacy has on students’ education. Equity Literacy, is having the knowledge and skills that allow us to recognize, respond to, and redress situations that deny some students educational and other opportunities enjoyed by their peers. The article summarizes results from a school-wide focus group on multiculturalism, the appreciation of diversity and the understanding of equity and inequity. The sole purpose for the discussion and focus group was to celebrate the joys of diversity, in hopes of spreading that awareness. The author stated, “In dealing with education equity, we shouldn’t worry with the lack of multicultural programs or diversity initiatives in schools. Also, it is not necessarily …show more content…
The students were asked to participate in an equity assessment, examining the extent to which Green Hills was an equitable learning environment for all. When students were questioned to characterize their schools two-year old Multicultural Curriculum Initiative, some students stated that they felt invisible, but also hyper-visible. The students also felt like their school only offered multicultural programs about twice a year. One student, visibly upset, told the group, “Those attempts to help add diversity to the school didn’t mean anything. No one is trying to help end the racism at this school” (Gorski, Paul …show more content…
We could start by making sure that qualified development associated to diversity and multiculturalism concentrates not only on racial ability or diversity awareness, but also on recognizing sexism and ableism, for example; not on a mythical “culture of poverty,” but on responding to economic inequality; and not on how to help marginalized students fit into school cultures they experience as alienating, but on how to redress the alienation by making changes in our own practices and policies. When planning curriculum for our students and work to develop our own skills and knowledge related to equity literacy, it is beneficial to follow and keep these five principles in mind. The principles are: Principle 1. Fair and Equal education is essential in every academic area. Principle 2. The most useful approach to a fair and equal education for all is integrative and interdisciplinary. Principle 3. All students, no matter their ages are informed for equity literacy. Principle 4. Students from all backgrounds need a chance at an equal education, and Principle 5. Teaching for equity literacy is a political act—but not more so than not teaching for equity
Richards, H., V., Brown, A., F., Forde, T., B. (2006). Addressing diversity in schools: culturally responsive pedagogy. Retreived March 30th 2014from http://www.nccrest.org/Briefs/Diversity_Brief.pdf
The multicultural movement in education is deeply rooted, and the movement as we know it today dates back to the 1960s, when the civil rights movement was in full swing. Stemming from the Brown vs. Board of Education (1954) decision and out of the demand by ethnic groups to be included in public schools, colleges, and universities, the main thrust of the mo...
This source will equip the argument for utilizing diversity as an educational apparatus that supports student development and learning. The showcase of the impact of diverse student engagement will definitely be useful for providing a strong reasoning for showcasing how the experience of students in the US schooling system shapes the educational experiences of diversified student groups. Dixson, A., & Rousseau, C. (2005). And we are still not saved: critical race theory in education ten years later.... ...
Ideally, the education system in the United States aims to serve as the great equalizer in the constant struggle to counter decades and centuries of historical oppression against those of non-European descent. The ideology of education as a great equalizer purports a pedagogy as a starting point for those oppressed and separated by such forces as race and class to have access to a quality education, and hence an equal chance at all the US has to offer. It attempts to bring children from disparate realms in a place that serves them all equitably. This ideal constantly challenges the broader values of equality, liberty and democracy considered to be at the core of American ideology. In interpreting this conception, two questions are indirectly answered by examining our educational practices: Does equality in education simply foresee that all students are treated the same, despite their different needs? Or, does it intend to challenge and rectify past inequalities for a truly equitable educational system?
The most important concept that needs to be taken into great consideration for the results of this plan towards equality to be promising is that the assets of all students, families, and communities are paid close attention to/valued. If schools valued diverse forms of Community Cultural Wealth then they would be sure to do the following: understand the backgrounds of all students, teach to students’ experiences, focus on student centered goals, and enroll students (regardless of culture/race) into GATE programs. In addition, they would value the use of other languages, incorporate culturally responsive teaching, as well as, to teach students and/or parents about other cultures, and lastly, provide flexible family resources and opportunities for involvement. While all of these things may seem easier said than done, it can be done slowly but surely with the help of present and future educators. It is apparent that there are significant changes that need to be made to promote equality in schools, so my question to you is, “What will you do to contribute to the resolution of this prevalent
We need to be aware of the diversity in the classroom. Cultural diversity includes: bi-racial, adoptive, immigrant, gay, and step-families. It is a large majority of the students today even in my generation. Focusing on making a balanced curriculum that exposes the students to all of these different backgrounds is very important. I know that it is likely that a teacher will not be able to cater to every student, but it is important to involve each of them. There is a large percentage of students that have dropped out due to the lack of having a connection with the curriculum. It is frustrating that we are lacking progress in our schools to help these children connect when studies show that each cultural group will soon be equal in numbers. We need to form a better
They suggested that teachers needed to go beyond practicing multiculturalism in the classroom, they need to embrace it as a modicum of everyday life and find ways to get involved in organizations and events that encourage social justice. The techniques suggested by the authors were realistic and easy to implement in the classroom. The authors acknowledge that though white educators will experience some difficulties in teaching cross-cultural courses, these difficulties should not discourage them from teaching multicultural content. This article should be a required reading for all multicultural courses because it can provide a sense of enlightenment for all students, regardless of their cultural backgrounds. It exposed some of the trials and tribulations that white professors’ experience, and even acknowledges some of the thoughts that I would have as a black student being taught by a white professor. I think having this article as a required reading will impact white students by making them consciously aware of their white privilege and will influence them to explore it and their racial identity. For students of other ethnic backgrounds, it will help us to better understand the perspective of white people, and teach us how to better communicate with them so that they too may understand our
Diversity in classrooms can open student’s minds to all the world has to offer. At times diversity and understanding of culture, deviant experiences and perspectives can be difficult to fulfill, but with appropriate strategies and resources, it can lead students gaining a high level of respect for those unlike them, preferably than a judgmental and prejudiced view.
“Social Justice in Education” by R. W. Connell discusses the role of education in society and the implications that social justice issues have on education. Connell begins by establishing that education and social justice can be examined separately yet they are inescapably linked through the social medium of their implementation. “Education concerns schools, colleges and universities, whose business is to pass knowledge on to the next generation. Social justice is about income, employment, pensions or physical assets like housing.”(Connell, 1993) Three points validating the equal importance of social justice and the education system to people of all delineations are: 1.) in Western society public schools are key forums of social interaction and comprise some of the largest social institutions 2.) educational institutions are highly economic bodies and have become “major public assets” (Connell, 1993) 3.) teaching becomes a vehicle by which society is ultimately determined and has a great influence over society’s morality. Connell describes the meaning of justice in education as being “a question of fairness in distribution… equality.”(Connell, 1993) “Justice cannot be achieved by distributing the same… standard good to… all social classes.”(Connell, 1993) By stating this, Connell summarizes that in the attempt to achieve equality, unequal means must be employed.
The cultural diversity in society, which is reflected in schools, is forcing schools not to solely rely on content-centered curriculum, but to also incorporate student-centered lesson plans based on critique and inquiry. This requires multicultural education to a dominant part of the school system, not just an extra course or unit. Further, it demands that learning itself no longer be seen as obtaining knowledge but rather, education be seen as creating knowledge. Multicultural education should be seen as affirming the diversity of students and communities, promoting the multicultural ideas of the United States, and building the knowledge and behaviors needed for students to be a positive and contributing member of society and the global community as a whole.
The world is currently undergoing a cultural change, and we live in an increasingly diverse society. This change is not only affect the people in the community but also affect the way education is viewed. Teaching diversity in the classroom and focusing multicultural activities in the programs can help improve positive social behavior in children. There is no question that the education must be prepared to embrace the diversity and to teach an increasingly diverse population of young children.
The term “equity” embodies a multitude of concepts, encompassing “justice”, “fairness”, “equality of opportunity” and “equivalent treatment” (Field et al., 2007, p.29). The questions of what equity is and how it is distinct from equality have been discussed conceptually for a long time (Cook & Hegtvedt, 1983), however, no consensus has been reached (Unterhalter, 2009). “Equity” and “equality” are often used interchangeably and analysed with regard to the dimensions of resources, opportunities, inputs, processes and outcomes (Klees, & Qargha, 2014). To uncover the major difference between equality and equity, equality is concerned with uniform distribution where everyone gets the same level of access to education, whereas equity prioritises fair and just treatment even if it is to be achieved at the cost of unequal distribution (ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee, 2005).
343) states that there is disagreement and confusion about what the concepts of equity and equality really mean and what they involve. Equity recognises that there are some who are ‘worse off’ then others, which limits their access to engaging in public discourse such as education, therefore steps are required to be taken to provide these people with equitable access to education (Schement, 2001). In this context Ramsden (1999) discusses how quantity of resource, acts as an equity mechanism, While students who study on campus are able to receive learning instruction in the form of tutorials and lectures, which are supplemented by the reading materials. Distance students have to rely on the interpretation of purely textual (written) information to study. Therefore the increase of ‘physical’ resources available to distance students weighs up as equal in comparison to the content available to on-campus students. Concurrent research pivoting off Ramsden’s (1991) work suggests quantity of resources as an equitable practice can be yielded as agents of change in educational outcomes (Lane & McAndrew, 2010), engagement in learning (Cramp, 2011; Dunne, Zandstra, Brown & Nurser, 2011 p. 113-124) and developing heightened productivity in learners (Taylor & Wilding, 2009). Therefore it is wholly an appropriate view that the provision of differing quantities of resources to students, dependent on their enrolled delivery mode aids to balance out inequality that is
In a democratic society, personally speaking, I think that equity and equality go hand in hand in the realm of public education. Equity, in the aspect of education, is the idea that something may be fair, but isn’t always equal. Equality is the idea that everyone is seen as being equal. Without equity, there would be no equality.
According to David O. McKay (2013), multicultural education is constructed to prepare pupils for citizenship in a democratic society by facilitating them to take into account the needs of all individuals; it shed light on how issues of language, ethnicity, culture, religion race, abilities/disabilities, and gender are entwined with educational content and processes. A multicultural curriculum is needed to accommodate for diverse learning and teaching styles of facilitators and pupils and to expose biases, stereotypes, and policies that can restrict achievement. What is more, a multicultural curriculum is also needed to help pupils, faculty, and staff become advocates for multicultural awareness, to ensure that content is fair, accurate, and inclusive, and to prepare pupils for diverse workplaces and multicultural environments. In writing this paper, the author will describe key issues of culturally diverse students, recommend a curriculum approach to address the issues, and discuss the challenges and benefits expected. In addition, she will describe three key issues of male and female students recommend a curriculum approach to address the issues, and discuss the challenges and benefits expected. In closing, she will describe three key issues of students with disabilities, who are mainstreamed, recommend a curriculum approach to address the issues, and discuss the challenges and benefits expected.