The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive analysis of multicultural education. To this end, the paper first describes multicultural education in terms of its goals and objectives. This is followed by a discussion of the theoretical underpinnings of this form of education. Also examined is how multicultural education programs are designed. Finally, the curriculum implications of multicultural education are explored.
Multicultural Education: Definition, Goals and Underlying Theory
According to Ornstein and Hunkins (1993), multicultural education consists of an attempt to teach an understanding and appreciation of differences among the many ethnic groups that compose American society. Further, it is an attempt to teach this understanding through the curriculum, and at all levels of education, kindergarten to grade 12, and in some cases even beyond into college.
Wessinger (1994) states that, in general, multicultural education programs have four objectives or goals. These are:
(1) to remedy ethnocentrism in the traditional curriculum; (2) to build understanding among racial and ethnic groups, and appreciation of different cultures;
(3) to defuse interracial tensions and conflicts; and
(4) to make the curriculum relevant to the experiences, cultural traditions, and historical contributions of minority groups.
As to theoretical perspectives underlying multicultural education, different authors espouse different theories. For example, Farmer (1984) holds that humanistic theory underlies a great deal of multicultural education, particular theories of self-actualization. Multicultural education is said to be humanistic in that its basic concern is focused on the development and growth of the student as a whole person and not just a classroom learner. In other words, there is a sense in which multicultural education attempts to assist a person toward the ultimate goal of being self-actual...