STUDENT'S CULTURE AND LEARNING

Student's Culture and Learning

Abstract

Some discuss multicultural education as a shift in curriculum, perhaps as simple as adding new and diverse materials and perspectives to be more inclusive of traditionally underrepresented groups. Others talk about classroom climate issues or teaching styles. Still others focus on institutional and systemic issues such as tracking, standardized testing, or funding discrepancies. Some go farther still, insisting on education change as part of a larger societal transformation in which we more closely explore and criticize the oppressive foundations of the world around us and how education serves to maintain the status quo -- foundations such as white supremacy, global socioeconomic conditions, and exploitation. This paper focuses on the theories of James Banks and Gorski and explores the affect of student's culture on learning in an American school.

Student's Culture and Learning

Introduction

Unlike most educational systems around the world, the American education system is distinctive in nature. In establishing “universal education for all,” the American public school system fosters ideals of equal educational access and opportunities for all citizens. conversely, when such concepts are put to test, theory defies practice. To further explain, African- Americans, Native-Americans, Asian-Americans, and within contemporary society immigrants from diverse backgrounds, have been historically marginalized and excluded from receiving equitable access and opportunities within public education. Thus, multicultural education as an educational alternative, attempts to critically analyze inequalities within the American pubic school system, and suggest strategies for further inclusion of marginalized groups. 

Multicultural Education

The 1980s saw the emergence of a body of scholarship on multicultural education by progressive education activists and researchers who refused to allow schools to address their concerns by simply adding token programs and special units on famous women or famous people of color. James Banks, one of the pioneers of multicultural education, was among the first multicultural education scholars to examine schools as social systems from a multicultural context (1981). He grounded his conceptualization of multicultural education in the idea of “educational equality.” According to Banks, in order to maintain a “multicultural school environment,” all aspects of the school had to be examined and transformed, including policies, teachers' attitudes, instructional materials, assessment methods, counseling, and teaching styles (1981; 1989).

Today, literally dozens of models and frameworks for multicultural education exist. While theory and scholarship has moved from small curricular revisions to approaches that call for full transformations of self, schools, and society, many implementations of multicultural education still begin with curricular additions of diverse sources. But with a fuller understanding of the roots of the movement, we are better equipped to follow the transformative path laid by many educators, activists, and scholars. And it is important to remember that multicultural education is a relatively new concept that will continue to change to meet the needs of a constantly changing society(Robinson 2001).

According to Gorski Multicultural education is a progressive approach for transforming education that holistically critiques and addresses current shortcomings, failings, and discriminatory practices in education. It is grounded in ideals of social justice, education equity, and a dedication to facilitating educational experiences in which all ...