Multicultural Education: Issues and Perspectives

The purpose of this six-part curriculum of articles was to provide future teachers and in-service teachers with the knowledge, insight, and understanding needed to work effectively with both male and female students, with exceptional students, and with students from various social classes and religious, ethnic, and cultural groups. A major assumption is that substantial reforms must be made in schools to give each student an equal chance to succeed academically. These reforms are conceptualized as an institutional process that involves changing the total school environment through multicultural education. Part I, "Issues and Concepts," concerns the implications of culture for teaching in a pluralistic society, and comprises the following chapters: (1) "Multicultural Education: Characteristics and Goals" (J. A. Banks); (2) "Culture: Its Nature and Meaning for Educators" (B. M. Bullivant); and (3) "Race, Class, Gender, Exceptionality, and Educational Reform" (C. A. Grant and C. E. Sleeter). Part II, "Social Class and Religion," concerns the effect of these two variables on student behavior and the educational process, and comprises the following chapters: (4) "Social Class and Educational Equity" (C. H. Persell); and (5) "Religious Diversity and Education" (J. K. Uphoff). Part III, "Gender," takes up the questions of how educational opportunity differs for female and male students and how schools can foster gender equity, and comprises the following chapters: (6) "Gender and Educational Equality" (M. Sadker et al.); (7) "Integrating Content about Women and Gender into the Curriculum" (M. K. T. Tetreault); and (8) "Transforming the Curriculum: Teaching about Women of Color" (J. E. Butler). Part IV, "Ethnicity and Language," treats the problems of and opportunities for educating racial, ethnic, and language minorities, and comprises the following chapters: (9) "Ethnic Minorities and Educational Equality" (G. Gay); (10) "Integrating the Curriculum with Ethnic Content: Approaches and Guidelines" (J. A. Banks); and (11) "Language Diversity and Education" (C. J. Ovando). Part V, "Exceptionality," describes the issues involved in creating equal educational opportunity for handicapped and gifted students, and comprises the following chapters: (12) "Educational Equality for Exceptional Students" (W. L. Heward and M. D. Orlansky); (13) "Teaching Handicapped Students in the Regular Classroom" (J. B. Schulz); and (14) "Teaching Gifted Students" (R. F. Subotnik). Part VI, "School Reform," focuses on multicultural education as a process of school reform, and comprises the following chapters: (15) "Alternative Paradigms for Assessment in a Pluralistic Society" (J. R. Mercer); and (16) "Parents and Teachers: Partners in Multicultural Education" (C. A. M. Banks). Each chapter includes a summary, a list of questions and activities, and a list of references. Some chapters include illustrations and statistical data on tables and graphs. A glossary, a list of contributors, and an index are included. A bibliography of 113 multicultural resources is appended.