THE MULTICULTURAL CURRICULUM: Children can and will learn important concepts while incorporating cultural diversity into daily lessons and the overall curriculum

A multiculturally-oriented curriculum… Enriches courses by including multiple perspectives on American culture and history, reflecting various viewpoints of different groups of Americans; Uses comparisons in describing and analyzing traditions, events, and institutions to help students know and appreciate similarities and differences among various ethnic groups; Communicates to students of various ethnic identities that they are valued members of the school community; Provides opportunities for students to have positive interpersonal relations with individuals of various ethnic groups;

Reaches beyond the textbook to use community resources on ethnic diversity; Strives to expand students' knowledge of ethnic groups in American history and contemporary society through reading programs that expose students to books of fiction, biography, and history, and to magazine and newspaper articles about ethnic diversity; Stresses values of ethnic diversity and national unity.

Culturally responsive teaching… Acknowledges the legitimacy of the cultural heritages of different ethnic groups…that affect students’ dispositions, attitudes, and approaches to learning and as worthy content to be taught in the formal curriculum; Builds bridges of meaningfulness between home and school experiences…and lived sociocultural realities; Uses a wide variety of instructional strategies that are connected to different learning styles; Encourages students to know and praise their own and each others’ cultural heritages; Incorporates multicultural information, resources, and materials in all the subjects and skills routinely taught in schools

Organization of the curriculum Multicultural curricula is organized around concepts/themes dealing with history, culture, contemporary experiences of ethnic groups in US life, contributions of ethnic groups to the mainstream culture, expressions such as immigration, discrimination, protest and resistance, cultural assimilation and acculturation, etc. Attention must be given to the developmental level of the students, e.g. in the primary grade curriculum, the focus must be given to concrete concepts such as examples, similarities and differences, historical facts and evens and not to abstract concepts such as “results of constitutionalized racism on the lives of minorities.”

Concepts that may be included in the multicultural curriculum Interdisciplinary concepts include: Culture, ethnicity and related concepts: culture, ethnic group, ethnic diversity, minorities Socialization and related concepts: prejudice, discrimination, racism, values Intercultural communication and related concepts: intercultural communication, perception Power and relations and related concepts: power, protest and resistance Migration and immigration

Get in touch with your own cultural and ethnic heritage Have knowledge about ethnic groups Analyze your own racial behavior and attitudes towards other cultural groups Be sensitive to racial and ethnic attitudes of students -- “children are not color blind” Classroom should convey positive images of various ethnic groups Guidelines for Teaching Multicultural Content

Be sensitive to the possible controversial nature of some ethnic studies materials Use trade books, films, videotapes, and recordings to supplement the textbook treatment of ethnic groups Avoid mainstream-centric-only views and present the perspectives of ethnic groups from within the group Set “high expectations for all students alike” Keep in mind that most parents of minority groups are very interested in education and their children’s academic success. Make sure classroom formal and informal groups are racially integrated

 Ethnic and cultural diversity should permeate the total school environment  School policies and procedures should foster positive multicultural interactions and understandings among students, teachers, and the support staff  A school’s staff should reflect the ethnic and cultural diversity within the United States  Schools should have systematic, comprehensive mandatory, and continuing staff development programs  The multicultural curriculum should provide students with continuous opportunities to develop a better sense of self National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS): Curriculum Guidelines for Multicultural Education

 The multicultural curriculum should provide students with continuous opportunities to develop a better sense of self  The curriculum should help students understand the totality of the experiences of ethnic and cultural groups in the United States  The multicultural curriculum should help students understand that a conflict between ideals and realities always exists in human societies  The multicultural curriculum should explore and clarify ethnic and cultural alternatives and options in the United States  The multicultural curriculum should promote values, attitudes, and behaviors that support ethnic pluralism and cultural diversity as well as build and support the nation-state and the nation’s shared national culture.  E pluribus unum should be the goal of the schools and the nation

 The multicultural curriculum should help students develop their decision-making abilities, social participation skills, and sense of political efficacy as necessary bases for effective citizenship in a pluralistic democratic nation  The multicultural curriculum should help students develop the skills necessary for effective interpersonal, interethnic, and intercultural group interactions  The multicultural curriculum should be comprehensive in scope and sequence, should present holistic views of ethnic and cultural groups, and should be an integral part of the total school curriculum  The multicultural curriculum should include the continuous study of the cultures, historical experiences, social realities, and existential conditions of ethnic and cultural groups, including a variety of racial compositions  Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches should be used in designing and implementing the multicultural curriculum

NPR.org : Multicultural Books Offer Diverse Reading Experience d= d= Materials for Developing Multicultural Content