Multicultural Education places cultural diversity at the center
of teaching. It realizes the importance of teaching
students about themselves and the diversity that exists
around them. Our world is drastically changing. In the
United States, the ethnic make up of the student population
is becoming more diverse. Twenty years from now, students
of color are projected to make up nearly 50% of the
nation’s student body. Already students of color
comprise the majority in Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles,
Washington D.C., New York, San Francisco, and Seattle.
Academic institutions cannot afford to ignore the need for multicultural education. But the reality is that schools do not or, if at all, superficially teach the lessons of multiculturalism and diversity. According to leading multicultural scholar, Dr. James Banks, there are four stages to multicultural curriculum reform: the contributions, ethnic additive, transformative, and social actions approach. The goal is to advance to the transformative and social actions approach.
Contributions
Approach
Focuses on discrete heroes, holidays and
cultural elements
“Foods, Festival, and Folk dancing”
Examples: Lunar New Year, Black History Month,
Columbus Day, King Kamehameha Day
Results in students having a superficial
and stereotypical understanding of ethnic and
cultural groups
Ethnic
Additive Approach
Ethnic content is added without changing
the mainstream or Eurocentric structure of the
curriculum
Ethnic content is viewed from a Eurocentric
perspective.
Examples: Adding Native American content
into a Unit called "Westward Movement"
which privileges the Eurocentric and pioneer perspective
Results in ethnic content being unauthentic
and an "afterthought"
Transformative
Approach
Restructures the curriculum to allow concepts,
issues, and events to be viewed from diverse
ethnic and cultural perspectives
Content is organized around big universal
ideas.
Examples: Creating a unit called “Encounter
between Two Worlds” which equally
validates the viewpoints and experiences of
the “discoverer” and indigenous
people i.e. James Cook & Native Hawaiians;
Christopher Columbus & Taino Native Americans
Results in showing diversity and unity among
people
Social
Actions Approach
Actions and decisions are made related to
the concepts, issues, and problems that are
being studied to make the world a better place
Ultimate form of putting theory into practice
Examples: Writing letters to the editor,
service learning projects, campaigning
for change
Results in empowering students to be social
agents of change
