EDUCATIONAL ISSUES

Educational Issues



Educational Issues

Introduction

Multicultural education means different things to different people. However, the differences are not as great, confusing, or contradictory as some critics and analysts claim. Many of these differences are more semantic than substantive, a reflection of the developmental level in the field and the disciplinary orientation of advocates. One should expect people who have been involved in a discipline or educational movement for a long time to understand and talk about it differently from those who are new to it. Similarly, educators who look at schooling from the vantage point of sociology, psychology, or economics will have differing views of the key concerns of schooling. Yet, these disparate analysts may agree on which issues are the most critical ones. Such differences over means coupled with widespread agreement on substance are naturally found in discussions of multicultural education. But this diversity should not be a problem, especially when we consider that multicultural education is all about plurality.

The field includes educational scholars, researchers, and practitioners from a wide variety of personal, professional, philosophical, political, and pedagogical backgrounds. Therefore, we should expect that they will use different points of reference in discussing ethnic diversity and cultural pluralism. Yet, when allowances are made for these differences, a consensus on the substantive components of multicultural education quickly emerges. Such agreement is evident in areas such as the key content dimensions, value priorities, the justification for multicultural education, and its expected outcomes. Only when these fundamentals are articulated do variations emerge.

Some advocates talk about expected outcomes, while others consider the major determining factor to be the group being studied; the arena of school action is the primary focus for one set of advocates, and still others are most concerned with distinctions between theory and practice. Some people are selective about where to begin and what to emphasize in cultural pluralism. Others are more inclusive and want its impact to be felt in all dimensions and on every level. Regardless of these variations, all conceptions of multicultural education share four characteristics: (1) they are based upon a common set of assumptions, (2) they evolve out of common concerns, (3) they contain common guidelines for action, (4) they share a desire to make cultural pluralism and ethnic diversity integral parts of the educational process.

When planning for multicultural education in school programs, it is important to allow different conceptions of multicultural education to be expressed in the school decisionmaking process rather than to insist on one definition. Conceptions of multicultural education contain value beliefs and reflect the varying levels of understanding among people involved in the school decisionmaking process. Conceptions of multicultural education and the value beliefs within them delineate the scope, focus, and boundaries of the field of multicultural education. These conceptions are guidelines for action and need to be clearly understood early in the process of making educational decisions. Accordingly, this synthesis includes various conceptions and definitions of multicultural education and outlines the implications of these definitions for ...