What is multicultural education

1
What is multicultural education?

• Multicultural education is the recognition of the
  equality of all people regardless of their
  racial, ethnic, or cultural background.

2
Multicultural education is a process.

• This process involves
• developing respect for all groups of people
• transforming schools, educational curriculum and
  society to one that provides
• equity for all
• an accurate and more balanced account related to
  the backgrounds, experiences and contributions
  of all groups of people in the US.

3
Multicultural education is a process.

• changing attitudes through prejudice reduction
• empowering school culture to create one that
  empowers students from diverse, racial, ethnic,
  and gender groups.
• updating teachers with tools and knowledge on how
  to teach critical thinking skills
• establishing and maintaining high expectations
  for all students

4
Multicultural education is an educational
concept.

• All students, regardless of their gender, social
  class and ethnic, racial or cultural
  characteristics should have an equal opportunity
  to learn in school.

5
What is equity?Why is equity important?

• The current day structure of schools deny
  students with certain characteristics an equal
  opportunity to succeed in school. Examples are
  gender, race and ethnicity.

• Equity is equal access to
• best practice and teachers
• materials
• encouragement
• leadership opportunities
• field tripsextra curricular activities

6
Multicultural education is an educational reform
movement.

• outgrowth of Civil Rights Movement
• curricula reform movement to reflect
  experiences, histories, cultures, and
  perspectives of African Americans.
• 70s 80s focused upon women, Asian, Hispanic,
  Latino, Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans.

7
Diversity Concepts
8
Discrimination

• actions limiting opportunities
• rules, policies, practices limiting opportunities

9
What are stereotype and prejudice?
10
What is bias?

• Bias is a preference, especially one that
  inhibits impartial judgment

11
What is race?
Race is a socially defined concept related to a
group of people based on physical characteristics
that are genetically transmitted.
12
What is ethnicity
Ethnicity is membership in a group based on
common ancestry and generally a shared language,
religion, and other cultural patterns
13
Religion

• a system of beliefs including those about the
  supernatural
• myths,
• symbols,
• rituals
• shared by a community of believers

14
Socio-economic class

• refers to the status or position in society based
  on
• wealth
• family income
• education
• occupation

15
Disability
A physical or mental impairment that
substantially limits one or more major life
activity
16

• Diversity
• an all inclusive concept related to race,
  ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age,
  disability, religion, economic class, culture

17
Culture

• Culture is a groups program for survival
• knowledge
• concepts
• values of group members
• shared beliefs
• symbols

18
U.S. Core Culture

• The more we know about a students level of
  identification within a particular group, the
  more accurately we can predict, explain and
  understand a students behavior in the classroom