Multicultural Education

Abstract

Multicultural education is an educational approach that integrates four factors that encourage diversity and equality into a curriculum: the instruction of students from different backgrounds, the study of ethnic and other cultural groups, the development of critical thinking skills, and a focus on human relations. Teaching multicultural education requires thinking critically and examining why inequalities exist in the classrooms and schools, as some students are exposed to social justice issues regarding multicultural education. Students, families, educators, and governing boards all face challenges as they embrace multicultural education.

Overview

Multicultural education refers to an educational approach that integrates four factors that encourage diversity and equality into a curriculum:

• The instruction of students from different backgrounds,
• The study of ethnic and other cultural groups,
• The development of critical thinking skills, and
• A focus on human relations (Johnson, Musial, Hall, Gollnick & Dupuis, 2004).

Cognitive, behavioral, and humanistic strategies are all incorporated into multicultural education, which lends itself to educational, counseling, sociological, and psychological programs (Obiakor, 2007; Smith, Richards, MacGranley, & Obiakor, 2004).

Educators and scholars (Banks, 2002; Guinier, 2002; Karp, 2002; Obiakor, 2003; Rothenberg, 2002; Sparks, 1999; Utley & Obiakor, 2001; Weiss, 2002; Wise, 2002) have corroborated the views of Dewey (1958), who suggested that knowledge must have the ability to form attitudes. Obiakor (2007) writes that citizens must become more ethnically, linguistically, and culturally aware, to revamp the thinking of schools and society as a whole. Multicultural education encompasses all Americans, and educational and vocational options should be available for everyone.

A common misconception of many educators is that multicultural education is only for students of color. They believe they are "doing" multicultural education by adding information about minority groups into their lesson plans. Teaching practices in multicultural education, however, focus on individual differences, incorporate the cultural experiences of students, identify diverse ways of learning and viewing the world, and advocate for democracy and equality in the classroom. Culturally trained teachers place students at the center of their teaching. They believe all students have the ability to learn, and they use the student's cultural experiences to design meaningful learning experiences (Johnson, Musial, Hall, Gollnick & Dupuis, 2004). When incorporating multicultural education into the classroom, the curriculum must provide windows into students’ own backgrounds and doors into those of others (Kawi, 2020).

Origins in Equal Opportunity Movements. A foundation for multicultural education came from the fight for equal opportunity in the early 1960s. As women, low-income citizens, and others from oppressed ethnic and religious groups fought for various equalities, they also fought to have the same educational opportunities as men. Despite opposition from the community, in the nineteenth century, courageous educators from minority groups established schools to support underrepresented groups of people. For example, in Brown v. Board of Education, separate-but-equal education for Black American and White students was declared illegal by the Supreme Court in 1954. This case, along with other civil rights fights, opened the door for multicultural education, making room for education about Black Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and American Indians in the classroom. Following these events, issues regarding equality for women, people with disabilities, and English language learners were given attention (Johnson, Musial, Hall, Gollnick & Dupuis, 2004).

Because all students, despite gender, race, ethnicity, social class, or cultural characteristics, deserve an equal opportunity to be educated, teachers are expected to have the knowledge and skills to relate to many cultures and understand student diversity as it continues to grow (Banks, 1998; Banks et al., 2001). According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), there were 13.8 million Hispanic students, 7.7 million Black students, 2.7 million Asian students, 2.1 million students of two or more races, 0.5 million American Indian/Alaska Native students, and 186,000 Pacific Islander students enrolled in American public elementary and secondary schools in the fall of 2018 out of a total student population of 50.7 million; 23.8 million students were White. However, the public school teaching population remained 79 percent non-Hispanic White as of the 2017–18 school year. Though the number of Hispanic and Black students increased in 2021, the number of public educators who identified as White remained steady at 80 percent (NCES, 2023).

Multicultural Principles across the Curriculum. All academic areas should include principles that reflect multicultural education because diversity and equality issues act as a major facet of the curriculum. They may begin by adding courses on ethnic studies or women's studies to introduce students to the history, culture, and diverse experiences of others. But this is only a starting place. As courses begin to reflect the multicultural society that Americans live in, students will begin to feel as though they have inclusive curriculums (Johnson, Musial, Hall, Gollnick & Dupuis, 2004).

For example, American Indian students may benefit from learning science and mathematics teachings that reflect the teachings and traditions of American Indian tribes and nations (Johnson, Musial, Hall, Gollnick & Dupuis, 2004). Through observation and direct exposure, many American Indian students gain a substantial knowledge base of mathematics and science within their communities. Parents teach their children various survival techniques, including decision-making skills. They also teach them to interpret new experiences based on previous situations, all as part of their cultural traditions. Unfortunately, most teachers have no knowledge of these American Indian teachings and fail to recognize unique student learning strategies and problem-solving abilities (Nelson-Barber & Estrin, 1995).

Charter Schools & Private Schools. In response to the unwillingness to incorporate multicultural education into the curriculums, charter schools and private schools were established to fill the gap that exists in public school educational curricula. In a number of urban areas, schools with an Afrocentric focus exist. Across the country, Latino and American Indian groups have established schools focusing on their cultures, and Catholic, Lutheran, Jewish, Islamic, Black Muslim, Amish, and other groups have built schools that reinforce their values and beliefs. Leadership skills, confidence, and academic achievement of young girls and boys are the focus in many single-sex schools, and the use of learning styles and cultural experiences that are relative to the student's gender facilitates educational opportunities in these schools (Johnson, Musial, Hall, Gollnick & Dupuis, 2004).

Teacher Preparedness for Multicultural Classrooms. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) defined quality teaching as "effective knowledge and teaching of content area as well as classroom management skills" (Morrier, Irving, Dandy, Dmitriyev, & Ukeje, 2007, p 32). Though mandates like NCLB placed emphasis on quality and accountability in education, including teacher preparation programs, a focus on cultural understanding was omitted in the mandate, leaving some students behind as a result. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), signed into law in late 2015, replaced the NCLB with a focus on providing states with more flexibility around accountability measures and learning goals, which left some in the education industry hoping that this would allow for greater emphasis within schools' plans on more multicultural efforts in curricula and programs; advocates for multicultural education continued to monitor this into the 2020s.

A person's knowledge of and various experiences with the beliefs, traditions, and morals of cultures different from oneself all encompass a cultural understanding and the competence displayed by an individual (Grant & Sleeter, 2006). Cultural understanding also involves being in touch with one's own culture, practices, and beliefs (Morrier, et al., 2007). However, the manner in which educators have responded to the demographic shift (racial, cultural, linguistic) in student learners largely remained insufficient, leaving some students less prepared than others because of cultural incompetence. Not only is it important that teachers are culturally competent for academic purposes but it is also necessary for them to have the ability to respond to a child appropriately, despite any differences. For example, the self-esteem of a student from a different racial, linguistic, or cultural background can be affected based on a negative or positive response from a teacher (Brown, 2007).

The issue of ill-prepared teachers prompted the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) to establish a new standard. The NCATE (1977) stipulated the following standard for multicultural education: "The institution gives evidence of planning for multicultural education in its teacher education curricula including both the general and professional studies components" (p. 4). This standard influenced the growth in teacher education programs in regard to multicultural education (Hill-Jackson, Sewell, Waters, 2007), but an actual understanding of cultures has sometimes been lost.

Many preservice teachers preparing to enter the education field receive the knowledge and skills necessary to teach multicultural education courses. However, the effectiveness of these classes has been questioned because they have lacked culturally sensitive perspectives, attitudes, and practices. The offering of only one course that is at best pacifist, and at worst ineffective, in meeting the needs of diverse learners might explain the level of effectiveness experienced by students. Some institutions believe they are meeting the NCATE mandate by offering limited courses. But they only end up adding to the number of ill-prepared educators who do not possess the necessary perspectives to teach diverse groups of students (Garmon 2004; Larke 1990; Lesko & Bloom 1998; Wideen, Mayer-Smith, & Moon 1998).

The Wall of Resistance. Some scholars suggest that some White preservice teachers put up a "wall of resistance" (Gilette, 1996, p. 178) that subconsciously rejects certain aspects of teaching related to multicultural education. Their resistant attitudes toward multicultural education tend to reflect deficits in five interconnected personal dispositions:

• Cognitive complexity
• Worldview
• Intercultural sensitivity
• Ethics
• Self-efficacy (Gillette, 1996)

Cognitive Complexity. Cognitive complexity refers to the information that informs one's personal thinking and problem-solving skills (Marshall, 2002). White preservice teachers who possess high levels of cognitive complexity have the skill to apply theory from their coursework across the curriculum. They are able to bridge the gap between lived experiences and history, concepts, and knowledge. On the other hand, White preservice teachers with low cognitive complexity (resisters) perceive knowledge and concepts in a more straightforward manner. They do not believe that White privilege exists and therefore do not see a real need for multicultural education. In addition, they do not generally understand how multicultural education relates to them collectively (McIntosh, 1988; Hunt, 1971). It is hoped in the 2020s that this belief, especially amongst educators, has become increasingly obsolete.

Worldview. The worldview disposition refers to the process an individual uses to organize details about the world. It helps one generate a perspective based on one's culture (Helms, 1994). Because worldviews inform perceptions, preservice teachers may hold worldviews that determine how they view themselves and others (Marshall, 2002). For example, individuals who recognize that different worldviews apply to different people realize that the life experiences of diverse individuals affect who a person is. In contrast, resisters are unable to acknowledge different cultural experiences because they do not generally recognize or understand their own culture. Some White preservice teachers, in particular, are not used to referring to themselves as a racial group. They see diversity as belonging to other people and therefore make no efforts toward validating others as different from themselves (Brown, 2005; Howard, 1999).

Intercultural Sensitivity. Intercultural sensitivity is a characteristic that describes teachers who have high-achieving, motivated students. They display care and empathy in the classroom and have the ability to relate to other cultures well (McAllister & Irvine, 2002). Resisters, or those who lack intercultural sensitivity, do not show care toward diverse groups and their challenges. They view discrimination in a naïve manner and believe that individuals should "pull themselves up by their bootstraps" to experience success (Hill-Jackson, Sewell, Waters, 2007). Educators who hold this view are more likely to be averse to programs such as affirmative action and may not be supportive of views that address the systemic and institutionalized racism that continued to exist in education in the 2020s.

Ethics. Ethics is another disposition in which some White preservice teachers have strengths or weaknesses. Gordon & Sork (2001) suggest that people entering the field of education generally come with their own internalized moral values. Sirin et al. (2003) advised that advocates understand the philosophy around multicultural education and embrace the implications for all students in the classroom. Resisters, however, fail to understand multicultural education from a moral standpoint. Even though multicultural courses discuss historical events of oppression for diverse groups, some White preservice teachers may see these events as political opinions presented in a subjective manner and even feel as though they are being personally blamed. Therefore, they have difficulty coming to terms with the moral and ethical significance of becoming educated about oppressed groups. This stance makes it difficult for White preservice teachers to think about how they might incorporate multicultural education in their classrooms (Gay 2002; Goodlad 1990; Marshall 2002).

Self-Efficacy. Finally, two types of preservice teachers can be found regarding the sense of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is the idea that one's personal efforts as an educator can positively influence learners. One type of preservice teacher has the ability to reflect and engage in new thinking; the second type of preservice teacher rejects efforts to broaden their thinking. These teachers often end up using their personal educational experiences in their classrooms with new student learners (Yerrick & Hoving, 2003). Advocates are seamlessly, but with effort, able to create lesson plans for multicultural learners and can gain skills, strategies, and knowledge to respond to the needs of their students. On the other hand, resisters fail to see the positive influences of multicultural education (Hill-Jackson, Sewell, & Waters, 2007).

Certification Criteria. Although teaching multicultural education has been a hot topic in many teacher education programs across the country (Miller, Strosnider, & Dooley, 2000), incorporating its standards for certification and endorsement programs has been a struggle for many institutions of higher education (Morrier, Irving, Dandy, Dmitriyev, & Ukeje, 2007). Multicultural or diversity training has been required in a significant percentage of the states that have teacher preparation programs in the United States, but only some of the states have established a specific teacher certification requirement (Evans, Torrey, & Newton, 1997; Miller et al., 2000). Further, cross-cultural training for states that have established criteria varies significantly from state to state, with some states having a more difficult set of criteria than others (Morrier, Irving, Dandy, Dmitriyev & Ukeje, 2007).

Applications

Multicultural Education & Critical Thinking Skills. Teaching multicultural education requires thinking critically and examining why inequalities exist in the classrooms and schools. Helping students learn in diverse cultural settings and determining ways to build on different cultural backgrounds require good critical thinking skills. Teachers who think critically have the ability to challenge societal practices and philosophies that don't embrace democracy, equity, and social justice. They are not afraid to explore alternative views, they question biases, and they are open to multiple perspectives. In addition, they understand that questioning race, class, and gender inequities are vital pieces to effective multicultural education (Johnson, Musial, Hall, Gollnick & Dupuis, 2004).

Equity in Multicultural Education. Students are generally able to tell when their teachers truly care about them, and most students can sense whether their teachers see them as special students or as incompetent students. Personality characteristics or group membership are often factors teachers use to generate a perception of who the student is and what their abilities are. For example, a homeless child who arrives at school in filthy clothing may be perceived as a student with little potential. A child facing difficulty speaking English because English is their second language may not receive adequate attention from the teacher until they are able to speak English well (Johnson, Musial, Hall, Gollnick & Dupuis, 2004). However, all of these children should be treated equally and with the utmost respect.

Unjust practices such as those previously mentioned are not tolerated in schools that provide adequate multicultural education. All students are treated equally, and classrooms and the school itself are run in a democratic manner. Teachers and other leaders deal with their personal biases and learn strategies to overcome them through their interactions with diverse students and colleagues. This process leads to a student body that learns to interact with others different from themselves and learns to respect those differences. Recognizing one's own prejudices and addressing them is the key to ensuring that teacher-student relationships are equitable (Johnson, Musial, Hall, Gollnick & Dupuis, 2004). It is not an easy process, but it is entirely possible with dedication and work.

Multicultural Education & Teaching for Social Justice. Students are exposed to routine social problems and issues that impact many—inside and outside of school—when culturally relevant teaching exists in the classroom. Students of color, for example, are exposed to racism, prejudice, classism, sexism, and discrimination in a different manner than their White counterparts. Though these topics are often uncomfortable to discuss in the classroom, doing so allows issues to be confronted in a manner that teaches students about the importance of social justice (Johnson, Musial, Hall, Gollnick & Dupuis, 2004).

When teachers teach from a social justice perspective, they help students comprehend the inequalities, power struggles, and oppression that exist in society. Both students and teachers become involved in responding to injustices and strive to eliminate obstacles that prevent the teachings of equality in society. When these teachings are a part of the curriculum, students learn to use the knowledge and skills learned to solve problems in the local, regional, and global arenas (Johnson, Musial, Hall, Gollnick & Dupuis, 2004).

Viewpoints

Opposing Multicultural Education. Those who oppose multicultural education do not see a connection between effective pedagogy, the instruction of students from different backgrounds, the study of ethnic and other cultural groups, and a focus on human relations. Opposers believe the world functions in a secluded manner and that multicultural education can have no real impact on awareness of cultural diversity issues and can play no role in changing society (Hill-Jackson, Sewell, & Waters, 2007).

Advocating Multicultural Education. Many theorists believe in the value of multicultural education. For example, Bennett (2003) posited that multicultural education frameworks can help people understand and analyze the world's multicultural ideals regarding social justice, human dignity, and, generally, cross-cultural understanding. Multicultural education can play a significant role in bridging the gap between cultures, thereby eliminating inequalities; improving social justice on the local, national, and global scales; and ridding the threat of terrorism across the country.

In the 2020s, multicultural education remained an essential part of education. Developing a multicultural curriculum was integral to creating an environment of inclusion within school communities. It was integral for marginalized and underrepresented students as well. Multicultural education promoted critical thinking skills regarding twenty-first-century social issues and equity in education. Further, multicultural education benefited teachers and educators who remained surprisingly resistant to its application (Cultural Infusion, n.d.).

Terms & Concepts

Accountability: Accountability refers to the idea of holding teachers, administrators, and school board members responsible for the performance of students or for the appropriate use of educational funds.

Brown v. Board of Education: The 1954 Brown v. Board of Education court case declared that separate-but-equal education for African American and White students was illegal by the Supreme Court.

Cognitive Complexity: Cognitive complexity refers to the information that informs one's personal thinking and problem-solving skills.

Culture: Culture refers to socially driven ways of thinking, believing, feeling, and acting within a group of individuals that are passed on from generation to generation.

Curriculum: The curriculum is the planned educational activities offered by a school or institution, which can take place during a specified period of time.

Diversity: Diversity is the wide range of differences among people, communities, and families based on cultural and ethnic backgrounds, physical abilities, and academic abilities.

Equality: Equality is the state of fairness and justice across individual differences.

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Education legislation signed in 2015 to replace No Child Left Behind.

Multicultural Education: Multicultural education is an educational approach that integrates four factors into a curriculum that encourages diversity and equality: the instruction of students from different backgrounds, the study of ethnic and other cultural groups, the development of critical thinking skills, and a focus on human relations.

National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE): NCATE is the professional accrediting organization for schools, colleges, and departments of education in the US that represents teachers, teacher educators, policymakers, and the public.

No Child Left Behind (NCLB): NCLB is a federal plan instituted in 2001 that called for schools to make annual gains in test scores at a pace that would have all students meeting state-defined standards by the year 2014.

Preservice Teachers: Preservice teachers are students enrolled in teacher education programs.

Resisters: Used here, resisters are those who oppose or fail to embrace a new idea.

Self-Efficacy: Used here, self-efficacy is the idea that one's personal efforts as an educator can positively influence learners.

Teacher Education: Teacher education refers to programs that help teachers develop quality and effective teaching and learning strategies to use in the classroom.

Teacher Preparation Programs: Teacher preparation programs are courses of study that prepare candidates to become certified teachers within the K–12 school system. Programs offer candidates specific courses in general education, subject matter preparation, professional education, special seminars and colloquia, and other opportunities for practical field experiences.

Worldview: A worldview refers to the process an individual uses to organize details about the world. It helps one generate a perspective based on one's culture within other cultures.

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Suggested Reading

Abrams, L. S. & Gibson, P. (2007). Reframing multicultural education: Teaching White Privilege in the social work curriculum. Journal of Social Work Education, 4 , 147–160. Retrieved August 8, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=24494818&site=ehost-live

Brown, P. L. & Abell, S. K. (2007). Cultural diversity in the science classroom. Science and Children, 44 , 60–61. Retrieved August 16, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=25445454&site=ehost-live

Delpit, L. (1995). Other peoples children. Cultural conflict in the classroom. New York: The New Press. Gay, G. (2002). Preparing for culturally responsive teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 53 , 106–16.

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