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“If the structure does not permit dialogue the structure must be changed”
― Paulo Freire
Multicultural Education: A Brief History
The history behind multicultural frameworks is rooted in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. With the Supreme Court ruling in the Brown vs. Board of Education, the country saw people fighting for their human rights, particularly the right for children to attend decent schools. There was also growing awareness of the inequalities that existed in African American communities and the power that certain communities had to maintain White supremacy. We then saw other movements such as the Women's Rights Movement, Civil Rights Movement, the Occupation of Alcatraz and even the Stonewall riots, all challenging the White status quo. The racial makeup of the power structure, social mobility, and the achievement gap called for new ways to look at history and academia. Recognizing the reality of cultural diversity and the unique needs every student requires to become successful educators incorporated this new thinking into school curriculum.
(Tiedt, P., & Tiedt, I. 2010)
(Tiedt, P., & Tiedt, I. 2010)
Multicultural and Social Reconstructionist Education Framework Overview:
Multicultural Education:
Focuses on promoting human rights, social justice, equal opportunities, cultural diversity and equitable distribution of power for oppressed groups.
The curriculum incorporates knowledge of diverse U.S. population and taught from a multicultural perspective.
Goals of this model:
Social Reconstructionist:
This framework focuses on changing the structure of American education and social justice and is considered more radical than the multicultural education perspective.
Goals of social reconstructionist educators:
Focuses on promoting human rights, social justice, equal opportunities, cultural diversity and equitable distribution of power for oppressed groups.
The curriculum incorporates knowledge of diverse U.S. population and taught from a multicultural perspective.
Goals of this model:
- students become bilingual
- decrease use of standardized testing
- make extracurricular activities available to ALL students
- focus on parent/community involvement
- school staff reflects diverse population
- represent and empower diverse groups of students
Social Reconstructionist:
This framework focuses on changing the structure of American education and social justice and is considered more radical than the multicultural education perspective.
Goals of social reconstructionist educators:
- help students become aware of issues and problems associated with injustice and inequality
- building students’ commitment to spending time and energy to change the world
- enhance students’ skill for enacting change through communication and listening, information gathering, conflict resolution and social action
(Ali and Ancis, 2005.)
References:
Saba Rasheed Ali and Julie R. Ancis, Multicultural Education and the Critical Pedagogy Approaches, 2005.
Tiedt, P., & Tiedt, I. (2010). Multicultural Teaching: A Handbook of Activities, Information, and Resources (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Saba Rasheed Ali and Julie R. Ancis, Multicultural Education and the Critical Pedagogy Approaches, 2005.
Tiedt, P., & Tiedt, I. (2010). Multicultural Teaching: A Handbook of Activities, Information, and Resources (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.