Multicultural education

Multicultural education is a set of strategies and materials in education that were developed to assist teachers when responding to the many issues created by the rapidly changing demographics of their students. It provides students with knowledge about the histories, cultures, and contributions of diverse groups; it assumes that the future society is pluralistic. It draws on insights from a number of different fields, including ethnic studies and women studies, but also reinterprets content from related academic disciplines.

Multicultural education, also viewed as a way of teaching, promotes principles such as inclusion, diversity, democracy, skill acquisition, inquiry, critical thought, value of perspectives, and self-reflection. It encourages students to bring aspects of their cultures into the classroom and thus, allows teachers to support the child’s intellectual and social/emotional growth.

Multicultural education was found to be effective in promoting educational achievements among immigrants students. Thus, it is also attributed to the reform movement behind the transformation of schools. Transformation in this context requires all variables of the school to be changed, including policies, teachers' attitudes, instructional materials, assessment methods, counseling, and teaching styles. Multicultural education is also concerned with the contribution of students towards effective social action.

Multicultural affairs offices and centers were established to reconcile the inconsistencies in students' experiences by creating a space on campus where students that were marginalized because of their culture could feel affirmed and connected to the institution. Initial steps towards multicultural education can be traced as far back as 1896 with the United States Supreme Court case, Plessy v. Ferguson. During this controversial case the decision was made to uphold the constitutionality of racial segregation in all public establishments under the policy of “separate but equal.” Even after the adopting the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, where slavery was officially abolished, there was still great racial tension in the United States. To help support the ideals within the Thirteenth Amendment Congress soon after adopted the Fourteenth Amendment, which for all citizens provided the privileges and immunities clause, as well as the equal protection clause.

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