Multiculturalism in a Pluralistic Society

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In this signature assignment, I will discuss my understanding of multiculturalism in a pluralistic society. Furthermore, a portion of this essay will focus on Constitutional Right’s protecting basic educational freedoms as well as factors that affect public education in America. Lastly, I will conclude the assignment with suggestions for delivering a multicultural education in the future.

I studied the meaning of multiculturalism earlier, but in a less general setting. As cited in a previous assignment, Gollick and Chinn (2009) believe that a multicultural education is defined as an educational strategy in which students’ cultures are used to develop effective classroom instruction and school environments. Gollick and Chinn extend their definition; multicultural education supports and extends the concepts of culture, diversity, equality, social justice and democracy into the school setting (p.4).

David McKay from Brigham Young University (2011) also provides insight on creating a multicultural classroom and its key components. A multicultural sensitive classroom provides every student with opportunities to achieve his or her potential. It allows students to understand their own culture while recognizing the similarities and differences they share with other cultures and perspectives in society. Key components of a multicultural classroom are: explicit awareness of cultural influences in society, academic content that is relevant to cultural groups, and skills to communicate effectively across cultures (p.1).

After careful study, I have developed my own definition of multiculturalism. Multiculturalism is the true, sincere appreciation for other cultures relative to the superior establishment. Multiculturalism is developed t...

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... & Rivkin, S. (2006). School quality and the black-white achievement gap. Packard Humanities Institute, 1-22McKay, D. (2011). Multicultural education competency. Retrieved from http://education.byu.edu/diversity/competency.html

Mount, S. (2010). Constitutional topic: due process. Retrieved February 11, 2011 from http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_duep.html

United States Senate, National Archives and Records Administration. (2006). First amendment. Sacramento, CA: Retrieved from http://www.teachingaboutreligion.org/MiniCourse/Lesson1/1st_amendment.htm#Historic Source Documents

Vanneman, A. , Hamilton, L. , & Anderson, J. (2009, July). Achievement gaps: how black and white students in public schools perform in mathematics and reading on the national assessment of educational progress. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/studies/2009455.pdf

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