Multicultural Education: A Solution to Meeting the Needs of Today’s Underserved Students

Presenter Information

Julia Anderson

Document Type

Oral Presentation

Campus where you would like to present

SURC 301

Start Date

16-5-2013

End Date

16-5-2013

Abstract

In its current state, the United States’ Education system is failing to meet all students’ needs, shown by the inconsistencies of success between minority group members and their Caucasian peers. Studies done by the Achievement Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee in 2010 and the Pew Hispanic Center in 2008 confirm that Hispanic-Latinos and African-Americans are scoring lower on standardized tests, are more likely to drop out, and are less likely pursue to post-secondary education than their Caucasian peers. More disturbingly, according to the US Census released in 2012, these groups, and many others that are receiving second-rate educations, are some of the most rapidly increasing in total United States’ population. A possible solution to the given problems is the adoption of multicultural education to reform current practices. According to James A. Banks, a professor in education at the University of Washington, the integration of the five dimensions of multicultural education will help create an equal opportunity classroom and school for all students. The first dimension, content integration, brings authentic multicultural curriculum into the classroom. The second, the knowledge construction process, asks students to examine different perspectives and frames of reference. The third, prejudice reduction, will create an environment that encourages positive attitudes toward different cultures. The fourth, equity pedagogy, differentiates teaching to meet individual needs. The last dimension, empowering school culture and social structure, promotes all the aspects beyond the classroom into the real world.

Faculty Mentor(s)

Naomi Petersen

Additional Mentoring Department

Education

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Multicultural Education: A Solution to Meeting the Needs of Today’s Underserved Students

SURC 301

In its current state, the United States’ Education system is failing to meet all students’ needs, shown by the inconsistencies of success between minority group members and their Caucasian peers. Studies done by the Achievement Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee in 2010 and the Pew Hispanic Center in 2008 confirm that Hispanic-Latinos and African-Americans are scoring lower on standardized tests, are more likely to drop out, and are less likely pursue to post-secondary education than their Caucasian peers. More disturbingly, according to the US Census released in 2012, these groups, and many others that are receiving second-rate educations, are some of the most rapidly increasing in total United States’ population. A possible solution to the given problems is the adoption of multicultural education to reform current practices. According to James A. Banks, a professor in education at the University of Washington, the integration of the five dimensions of multicultural education will help create an equal opportunity classroom and school for all students. The first dimension, content integration, brings authentic multicultural curriculum into the classroom. The second, the knowledge construction process, asks students to examine different perspectives and frames of reference. The third, prejudice reduction, will create an environment that encourages positive attitudes toward different cultures. The fourth, equity pedagogy, differentiates teaching to meet individual needs. The last dimension, empowering school culture and social structure, promotes all the aspects beyond the classroom into the real world.