Multicultural Education

According to banks and banks, (1995) multicultural education can be defined, as a field of study that is emerging as a separate discipline, whose major aim is to create and maintain equal educational opportunities. These opportunities are to be availed to all students from diverse cultural, ethnic and racial groups.

The major or its most important goal is to help all students acquire the desired skills, attitudes and knowledge needed for effective functionality given the pluralist democratic society that we live in. in addition the discipline will assist all students to communicate, negotiate and interact with people from diverse social groups and/or communities. With all these features then the student will be able to assist in the creation of a civic and moral society that works for the common good.

On its part multicultural education is an interdisciplinary field that involves aspects of ethnic and women studies. Despite being, just multidisciplinary multicultural education draws paradigms, theories, concepts and contents from all the disciplines it is involved with in the behavioral sciences. In addition to this, it also does challenge, interrogate and reinterpret the above concepts from the specialized disciplines.

Multicultural education can be divided into three distinct typologies depending on their form. These typologies include:

a)      CONTENT-ORIENTED PROGRAMS

. According to Banks (1994), these programs have mainly three goals:

a.       To assist in the development of multicultural content in all disciplines.

b.      To incorporate different varieties of viewpoints and perspectives designing curriculum.

c.       To assist in the transformation of discipline canons in order to develop a new curriculum for the discipline.

b)  STUDENT-ORIENTED PROGRAMS

                c)       SOCIALLY-ORIENTED PROGRAMS

These programs are intended to reform the schooling, political and cultural contexes. They usually have the bigger aim of broadening cultural and racial tolerance, as well as to enhance the reduction of social bias.

CONCLUSION:

These categories of multicultural education facilitate educators' attempts in developing programs that reflect the diversity of student bodies. The Public articulation of these programs and goals can help to address some of the political rhetoric surrounding multicultural education

Banks, J (1994), introduction to multicultural education, Allyn and Bacon, Boston.

    Nieto, S. (1992), affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education, Longman, New York.

 Sleeter, C, & Grant, C (1993), Making choices for multicultural education: Five approaches …: Merrill, New York.