Equity and Multicultural Education
Contents
Defining Multicultural Education
Multiculturalizing Instructional Strategies
Overview
The Board recognizes that the society of
the
States.
To insure that each student develops a
broader knowledge, understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity, the
Board makes a commitment to the concept of multicultural education.
Multicultural education is an
interdisciplinary educational process which includes curriculum development,
curriculum review, development, direct classroom use,
parent/community involvement and education, and teacher training. Multicultural
education is not to be regarded as a separate area to be added to the
curriculum. Rather, it is a process and perspective which will be integrated
and
infused throughout all subject areas at the K-12
grade levels in the total school environment. This process will include the
adoption and revision of student learning objectives/outcomes.
The total school environment will include
but is not limited to the following areas:
1.
Teaching styles and strategies
2.
Student learning styles
3.
Staff-student-parent relationships
4.
Testing, evaluation and assessment
5.
Instructional materials
6.
Formalized curriculum and hidden curriculum
7.
Counseling program
8.
Parent/community input and involvement
9. Staff
behavior
10. School life and culture
11.
Languages and dialects
of the school
PCSSD Board Policy Code: IFC
Definition
Multicultural education is a progressive
approach for transforming education that holistically
critiques and address current shortcomings, failings, and discriminatory
practices in education. It is grounded in ideals of social justice, education
equity, and a dedication to facilitating educational experiences in which all
students reach their full potential as learners and as socially aware and
active beings, locally, nationally, and globally. Multicultural education
acknowledges that schools are essential to laying the foundation for the
transformation of society and the eliminate of I
oppression and injustice.
The underlying goal of multicultural
education is to affect social change. The pathway toward this
goal incorporate three strands of transformation:
1. The transformation of self;
2. The transformation of schools and
schooling; and
3. The transformation of society.
Goals
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Objectives
1. To
have every student achieve to his or her potential.
2. To learn
how to learn and to think critically.
3. To encourage students to take an active role
in their own education by bringing their stories and
experience into
the learning scope.
4. To
address diverse learning styles.
5. To
appreciate the contributions of different groups who have contributed to our
knowledge base.
6. To
develop positive attitudes about groups of people who are different from
ourselves.
7. To
become good citizens of the school, the community, the country and the world
community.
8. To
learn how to evaluate knowledge from different perspectives.
9. To
develop an ethnic, national and global identity.
10.
To provide decision making skills and critical analysis skills so the
students can make better choices in
their everyday lives.
Concepts
Racism/DiscriminationFostering positive attitudes among diverse groups through contact and cooperative activities centered on the achievement of a common goal. (Example: team learning)
Development of greater awareness of the existence and impact of racism, sexism, elitism, handicapism, and other forms of institutional inequity and forms of cultural prejudice and discrimination in the United States. (Example: staff development workshops in equity and multicultural education.)
Immigration/MigrationAwareness of varied historical perspectives.
Knowledge and understanding of the world view, heritage and contributions of diverse cultures. (Example: associate immigration/migration to new students at the school.)
Explain the advantages and disadvantages of movement from one place to another.
Intercultural CompetenceFunctional mastery of reading, writing, listening, speaking, computational, and thinking skills.
Recognition that communication among diverse peoples may be hindered by culturally conditioned assumptions.
The ability to interpret intentional communications language, signs, gestures, unconscious clues, body language, and customs in cultural styles different from one’s own. (Example: modeling standard English during the instructional process.)
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SocializationDevelopment and practice of skills in self-expression, decision making, and conflict resolution.
Enhancement of self-concept through development of skills proficiency.
Orientation and practice in application of subject area knowledge and skills to improve personal situation and those of others. TESA
Peer Facilitators Team Learning (development and nurturance of participatory orientation among students’ extracurricular activities).
Ethnicity/CultureCharacterizes
Awareness and understanding of historical and contemporary
relationships among diverse ethnic and cultural groups of the |
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Strategies |
MCO |
Rationale |
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Multicultural
Infusion |
Ø Infusion of different voices and perspectives that
represent the students in the classroom and school community Ø Inclusion of materials and curricular resources that
are representative of the experiences of the students in the classroom Ø Students as well as teachers are given opportunities
to share their perspectives and learn from each other Ø Students are provided
opportunities to learn about a particular topic in a variety of ways using a
variety of senses Ø Engage in a process of
examining our own perspectives, biases, and prejudices Ø Explicitly teach students
the culture of the school and seek to maintain students’ sense of pride and
identity Ø Incorporate the student’s
languages and culture into the academic and social context of schooling Ø Utilize choral and
responsive reading as literacy strategies Ø Promote
equity as a criterion of excellence |
Ø Engages students Ø Facilitates dialogue among students Ø Develops an inclusive classroom Ø Promotes collaborative relationships Ø Includes a diversity of student voices in the
learning process Ø Develops cultural sensitivity Ø Promotes educational equity Ø Helps students identify with and maintain pride in
their home culture Ø Equips teachers and administrators with
perspectives that view diversity as an enhancement to learning |
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Strategies |
MCO |
Rationale |
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Student Engagement |
Ø Students are encouraged to
learn by
doing, exploring, examining, and
experiencing Ø Engages students in their
own learning process Ø Students work in teams to
develop and solve problems they find in their daily lives Ø Provide learning tasks
that students see as meaningful Ø Provide formal and
informal coaching, mentoring, and counseling activities Ø Provide scaffolding that
links the academically challenging and inclusive curriculum to cultural resources
that students bring to school |
Ø Increases self motivation,
creative thinking, and confidence Ø Promotes diversity of
learning styles Ø Increases student learning
opportunities Ø Promotes student buy in Ø Decreases discipline
problems Ø Develops responsibility
and ownership for learning Ø Students’ emotional well
being influences their readiness to learn |
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Strategies |
MCO |
Rationale |
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Internet |
Ø Connects students to first-person sources, many of
whose experiences and perspectives are accurately or inaccurately described Ø Compendium of viewpoints and perspectives Ø Students can become researchers with greater access
to more voices and perspectives than afforded by textbooks, films, libraries Ø Challenge students to consider the significance of
diverse perspectives available online and the relation between these
perspectives and their own Ø Encourages and facilitates intercultural and
international dialogue among students Ø Connects people with people Ø Inclusion of materials and curricular resources that
are representative of the experiences of the students in the classroom Ø Students as well as teachers are given opportunities
to share their perspectives and learn from each other Ø Students have the
opportunity to learn about a particular topic in a variety of ways using a
variety of senses
|
Ø Engages students Ø Facilitates dialogue among students Ø Develops and inclusive classroom and collaborative
relationships Ø Includes a diversity of student voices in the
learning process Ø Develops student research skills Ø Facilitates global connections |
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Strategies |
MCO |
Rationale |