Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society

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Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic
Society Sixth Edition Donna M. Gollnick and
Philip C. Chinn Chapter 3 Synthesis
Presentation Ethnicity and Race Christine
Finn Rob Nikc Thomas Fasano
EDU 5105
Prof. Roxanne Mitchell July 22,
2005
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Essential Questions What factors contribute to
racial and ethnic conflict in schools? What
racial groups are most likely to see themselves
reflected in school curiculum? How can a
classroom reflect the diversity of its students
so that all feel valued and respected?
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Presentation Approach
As presented in The Need for Multiculturalism in
the Classroom as Perceived by Mexican-American
Schoolchildren (Tan, 2002) Step 1-
Awareness Step 2- Knowlege /
Learning Step 3- Skills
Step 4- Action
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Ethnicity and Racial Diversity Historical
Perspective
United States... 276 ethnic groups (including
170 Native American Groups who make up less than
1 of the total U.S. population)
Immigration... Reasons for immigration
varied. (Opportunity or Escape?)

(Or other reasons.) Africans
Europeans (Western / Northern v. Southern /
Eastern) Chinese

Results of Immigration... Separation
and Isolation Patterns Early European
settlers brought political institutions that
provided framework for our government...As a
result, the melding of their cultures became the
dominant culture to which others were forced to
assimilate.
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African Experience Kidnapped
and sold into bondage. Separated from families
and homeland. Robbed of freedom and their
culture. Forced to develop new culture based
on experiences in this country. Eventual
migration north. (Need for labor in industrial
jobs.) Racism and political terror.
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Industrial Opening of the Western U.S.
Mexican-American Experience
Chinese, Japanese, Phillipinos
Eastern and Southern Europeans
Hardships, living conditions... Social and
welfare needs... Ethnic institutions
are established.
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United States Government Laws and Policies
As early as 1729... Pennsylvania Alien
and Sedition Acts ...Refelcted nativism
of the era. 1881 Chinese Exclusion Act 1917
Dillingham Commission...Literacy tests 1924
Johnson-Reed Act...Not abolished until 1965
INS reports 5 million undocumented immigrants
- 80 from Mexico and other nations in the
Western Hemisphere.
1982 Plyer v. Doe
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In 1960... Nations contributing the most legal
immigrants were Mexico, Germany, Canada,
United Kingdom, and Italy
In 1997... Five leading countries were
Mexico, Philippines, China, Vietnam, and
India
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Ethnic and Racial Groups
The uniqueness of an individual, a family, and a
neighborhood can be identified as ethnic by an
outsider. Children become aware of gender, race,
ethnicity, and disabilities between the ages of
two and five. At the same time, they become
sensitive to the positive and negative biases
associated with those groups.
(Derman-Sparks A.B.C. Task Force, 1989)
Physical characteristics, language, observed
behaviors, skin color.
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Ethnic Group (as defined in this text)
...Individuals national origin. (As
distinguished from religion.)
Nation ...Historically constituted, stable
community of people formed on the basis of common
language, territory, economic life, and culture.
...Changing boundaries...Changing culture?
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Loyalty to One?s Ethnicity
As generations pass... External support for
ones country of origin. Maintain cultural
uniqueness / traditions / rituals, resulting in
common bonds. Inherent ethnocentrism?
Identity with an ethnic group becomes more of a
choice, and is no longer ascriptive. (Nostalgic
allegiance)
Members of oppressed groups sometimes coalesce to
fight the harsh economic, political realities and
injustices imposed on them.
African-Americans in the 1960s
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Race Caste?
Both are distinctions imposed at birth on a group
of people to justify the inequitable social
distribution of power and privilege.
The Passing of the Great Race, Madison Grant
(1916) Northern / Western Europoeans of
Nordic race considered political and military
geniuses of the world. Immigration Quotas
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Race Identification Becomes Codified
Acceptable, even necessary to identify
oneself by race.
-Federal forms and reports. But how
accurate are these categorizations?
Pan-ethnic classifications.
Race is no longer a function of biological or
genetic differences among groups. It is not a
stable category for organizing and
differentiating people. Instead, it is a
social-historical concept dependent on societys
perception that differences exist and that these
differences are important. The cultural
distictions between racial groups become the
rationale for an inferior status, discrimination,
and inequality.
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It is interesting to note...
Many whites see themselves as raceless. They are
the norm against which everyone else is
other. Because many whites believe that their
mobility was based totally on individual
achievement, they cannot understand why members
of other groups have not experienced te same
success. Just as gender studies should not focus
solely on girls and women, the study of race
should not be limited to persons of color.
Whiteness and privilege should also be
addressed to expose the privilege and power it
bestows on its members in the mainenance of an
inequitable system.
What happens as whites begin to lose their
majority status?
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Intergroup Relations
In a survey by the National Conference for
Community and Justice (2000), only 29 of the
respondents are satisfied with how well different
groups in society get along, and 79 consider
racial, religious, or ethnic tension a very
serious or somewhat serious problem.
Reasons for interethnic conflict?
Prejudice and Discrimination
Us vs. Them
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Prejudice v. Discrimination
Prejudice focuses on attitudes while
discrimination focuses on behavior.
Discrimination is the arbitrary denial of
privileges and rewards of society to members of a
group.
Institutional Discrimination
Criteria Consequences
Hate Groups -causes and effects
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Hate Groups (cont.)
Freedom of Speech The Turner Diaries, William
Pierce (pseudonym Andrew McDonald), (1978).
Recruitment Efforts
Reasons and justifications
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Educational Implications
In predominantly white college classrooms, Tatum
(1992) found three sources of resistance 1-
Race is considered a taboo topic for discussion,
especially in mixed racial settings 2- Many
students, regardless of racial group membership,
have been socialized to think of the United
States as a just society. 3- Many students,
particularly white students, initially deny any
personal prejudice, recognizing the impact of
racism on other peoples lives but failing to
acknowledge its impact on their own.
Link to the Classroom (activity)
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Educational Implications
It is essential to identify the degree of
students assimilation into the majority culture
to understand value systems, the educational
expectations of the family, and learning
styles. This will also impact social
interaction, keeping in mind existing societal
constraints.
It is important to identify resistance to
assimiliation social as well as academic.
Oppositional Identity
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Educational Implications
Immigrants today are younger than in the
past. Birth rates are higher among some groups.
Cultural Discontinuity Theory - language and
cultural differences generally ignored or that
cause difficulty.
Structural Inequalities Theory - status of
particular minorities in the socio-economic
strata of the host society. - Systems that
maintain the status quo, eg. Academic placement.
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Educational Implications
In responding equitably to ethnic differences,
educators should do the following
Encourage students to build and maintain a
positive self-concept. Build on the cultural
backgrounds and experiences of students. Help
students face and overcome their prejudices.
Assist students in improving their intergroup
skills. Expand the knowledge and appreciation
of the historical, economic, political and social
experiences of ethnic and racial groups.
Assist students in understanding that the world?s
knowledge and culture have been, and continue to
be, created from the contributions of all ethnic
groups and nations.
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Educational Implications
Schools need to provide environments in which
students can learn to participate in the dominant
culture while maintaining connections to their
distinct ethnicities if they choose.
It is the educators responsibility to ensure that
ethnic groups become an integral part of the
total curriculum. - Evaluation of textbooks -
Multiethnic learning experiences - Safe
educational environment for dialogue free from
derogatory terms. - Supplementary materials
reflective of students lives.
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Educational Implications
Student Acievement
Education Watch The 1996 Education Trust State
and National Data Book reports the following
disparities between groups
Low-income and minority students are less
likely than their more advantaged peers to be in
classes taught by teachers who majored in their
field. In schools where more than 30 of
students are poor, 59 of teachers report that
they lack sufficient books and other reading
resources, compared with 16 of teachers in more
affluent schools. Low-income and minority
students are more likely to be taught a low-level
curriculum with low standards for performance.
About 55 out of every 100 white and Asian
American students complete Algebra II and
geometry. Only 35 of African-American and Native
American seniors take these courses.
African-American and Latino high school graduates
are much less likely than whites to go to college.
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Action
Questions for Review
Activity