MULTICULTURAL
EDUCATION
Five goals are identified by
Gollnick through a review of the
literature
Promote:
Strength of cultural diversity
Human rights for all persons
Alternative life choices for people
Social justice and equal opportunity
Equity in distribution of power
Ideology and Theories
• Ideology: What ought to be.
– A change in the social fabric of society.
• Theory: How things actually work.
– What makes things function and how can this
be changed?
Ideologies
• Cultural Pluralism: Tossed Salad
– Maintenance of diversity
– Respect for differences
– The right to participate fully without giving up
identity
– “Given the real diversity that exists in
American society, how can we learn to support
and respect diversity rather than suppress and
deny it?” (p. 161)
Ideologies
• Equal Opportunity: Main pillar of ME
– Brown v. Board of Education
– Business as usual
• Official barriers are removed
– Advocates
• Equal outcomes needed for opportunity to be equal
• All students need the opportunity to achieve in
school and have a choice in future without regard to
race, gender, language or class status
Theories
• Cultural Pluralism (Newman, 1973)
– Assimilation (A+B+C=A where A is dominant
group)
– Amalgamation (A+B+C=D where D is the
development of new group incorporating parts of
other groups)
– Classical Cultural Pluralism (A+B+C=A+B+C
where each group maintains identity over time)
– Modified Cultural Pluralism (A+B+C=A1+ B1+C1
where shared culture is created while maintaining
part of culture)
Theories
• Cultural Transmission: Cultural values etc.
are transmitted through complex interaction
of people and institutions (family, school,
church, etc.).
– Multiple modalities which often conflict
– Multiple (sub)cultures
• Those from other than the dominant group need
access to dominant group culture
• All need to be able to function in different cultural
settings
APPLICATION
Teachers implement Multicultural
Education lessons through
thematic units focusing on the
contributions and perspectives of
several different microcultures
including gender, ethnicity,
religion, socioeconomic class,
exceptionality, age.
THEORY AND IDEOLOGY
CULTURAL TRANSMISSION
(Anthropology)
There are many contexts for
cultural transmission.
Cultural contexts may be
different but transmission
process is similar.
Educational implications: Show,
don’t just tell. Various cultural
contexts may have different
demands.
CURRICULUM AND
INSTRUCTION
Curriculum
Presentation of diverse perspectives,
contributions, and experiences
Visual displays are free of stereotypes
and include members of all groups in a
positive manner
Emphasis is placed on contemporary
culture
Instructional language is nonsexist
Endorsement of bilingual education
Background knowledge and experiences
of students are reflected in the
curriculum
Instruction: Principles
Curiosity, ability to learn complex
material, ability to perform at high
skills levels
Unique way of learning
Background knowledge and
experiences
Realistic expectations
Fostering cooperation
Treatment of both boys and girls
in nonsexist manner
Development of positive selfconcept
This Information from:
Sleeter, Christine C. and Grant,
Carl A. Making Choices for
Multicultural Education. New
York: John Wiley & sons, Inc., 2003.
Fourth Edition