Teachers  as  Agents  of  Change  Sc  Ed  353:  Mul,cultural  Educa,on      Roni  Jo  Draper,  Ph.D.  

How  is  education  a  moral  endeavor?  

 Educa,on  is  a  “moral”  endeavor  because  it  is  a  deliberate  effort  to  develop  values  and  sensibly  as  well  as  knowledge  and  skills.    

Hidden  Curriculum  

  UnwriHen  social  rules  and  expecta,ons  of  behavior  that  we  all  seem  to  know,  but  were  never  taught  (Bieber,  1994).  

  The  curriculum  is  published,  thus,  visible.  The  hidden  curriculum  includes  all  things  that  happen  in  schools  that  reflects  the  values  of  the  educators.  

Example:  Great  Explores  

  Hernando  de  Soto    Explorer  

  Conqueror  

  Led  the  first  European  expedi,on  deep  into  the  territory  of  the  modern-­‐day  United  States  

  Extorted  na,ve  villages  for  their  chiefs  

  Historians  have  recently  considered  archeological  reconstruc,ons  and  the  oral  history  of  Na,ve  Americans  

With  your  group:  

  Each  group  has  been  given  a  quote.  With  your  group  decide:    What  is  the  author  saying?  

  How  do  the  ideas  presented  in  the  text  fit  with  the  concept  of  hidden  curriculum?  

  How  does  it  fit  with  your  current  understanding  of  the  vocabulary  words  that  accompany  this  session?  

  What  are  the  consequences  for  teaching?  

• Hegemony  

• Tracking  • Equality  • Equity  • Culturally  relevant  pedagogy  

• Content  integra,on    

• Reflec,ve  self-­‐analysis  

• Cri,cal  consciousness  

Multicultural  Education  

  Content  integra,on  

  Knowledge  construc,on  process  

  Prejudice  reduc,on  

  Equity  pedagogy  

  Empowering  school  culture  and  social  structure  

Banks  and  Banks,  1995  

On  your  own…  

I  am  ,red  of  the  blatant  inadequacies  of  this  university's  American  Heritage  course.  In  that  class,  we  are  led  to  believe  that  …  inequality  is  a  bad  thing.  The  class's  asser,on  that  inequality  is  a  bad  thing  goes  against  the  en,re  grain  of  the  capitalist  system  and  the  plan  of  salva,on.  Inequality  makes  America  the  sparkling  paradise  it  is  today  and  enables  mankind  to  rise  above  the  shackles  of  mediocrity  to  aHain  our  ul,mate  goal  of  exalta,on.    

a  BYU  Student  Readers'  Forum  Jan.  29,  2007    

With  a  partner:  Equality  vs.  Equity  

  What  does  it  mean  for  things  to  be  equal?  

  What  does  it  mean  for  things  to  be  equitable?  

  Equity  is  the  work  of  elimina,ng  systemic  barriers  to  learning.  

  Equity  is  achieved  by  elimina,ng  the  predictability  of  success  or  failures  that  currently  correlates  with  any  social  or  cultural  factors,  especially  race,  class,  and  primary  language.    

  Equity  requires  that  teachers  discover  and  cul,vate  the  unique  gigs,  talents,  and  interests  that  every  human  being  possesses.  

• Hegemony  

• Tracking  • Equality  • Equity  • Culturally  relevant  pedagogy  

• Content  integra,on    

• Reflec,ve  self-­‐analysis  

• Cri,cal  consciousness  

Contrasting  Obligations  

  The  obliga,on  of  diversity  or  being  nice  to  each  other/apprecia,ng  each  other  

  The  obliga,on  of  equality  or  insuring  that  everyone  has  the  same  resources  and  privileges,  even  if  it  means  giving  up  some  of  your  own.    

Multiculturalism  

  A  general  descrip,on  of  a  na,on  or  society  that  is  composed  of  diverse  peoples  

  The  name  for  an  aitude  of  openness,  tolerance,  respect,  and  democra,c  inclusion  as  concerns  cultural,  ethnic,  and  religious  diversity.    

  An  historic  specific  movement  for  educa,onal,  poli,cal,  and  social  reform  emerging  ager  the  1960s.  

  A  way  to  talk  about  the  social,  poli,cal,  and  cultural  challenges  produced  by  decoloniza,on  and  globaliza,on.  

Two  Approaches  

Celebratory    An  affirma,on  of  the  value  

of  diversity  

  Appreciates  the  beliefs,  tradi,ons,  and  values  of  different  cultural  groups  

  Government  and  educa,on  and  business  create  policies  and  events  to  celebrate  diversity  

Cri,cal    An  analysis  of  inequality,  

power,  and  privilege  among  groups  

  Shows  how  cultural  differences  have  been  poli,cized  

  Suggests  policies  for  ending  discrimina,on  and  advancing  minority  opportuni,es  

With  your  partner…  

 Brainstorm  possible  answers  to  the  following  ques,on:  What  is  the  goal  of  mul,cultural  educa,on?  

• Hegemony  

• Tracking  • Equality  • Equity  • Culturally  relevant  pedagogy  

• Content  integra,on    

• Reflec,ve  self-­‐analysis  

• Cri,cal  consciousness  

“The  ques,on  is  not  necessarily  how  to  create  the  perfect  ‘culturally  matched’  learning  situa,on  for  each  ethnic  group,  but  rather  how  to  recognize  when  there  is  a  problem  for  a  par,cular  child  and  know  how  to  seek  its  cause  in  the  most  broadly  conceived  fashion.”  Lisa  Delpit,  2006  

Equity  Pedagogy  

  Focuses  on  instruc,onal  tools  that  facilitate  deep  learning.  

  Highlights  an  apprecia,on  for  the  intellectual  accomplishments  all  young  learners  bring  to  school.  

  Emphasizes  building  on  student  strengths  rather  than  remedia,ng  deficits.  

  Recognizes  a  student’s  culture  as  an  important  element  in  teaching  and  learning.    

  Uses  inquiry  as  a  strategy  for  con,nuous  improvement  in  how  teachers  teach  and  how  students  learn.  

Culturally  Responsive  Teaching  

  CRT  is  using  the  cultures,  experiences,  and  perspec,ves  of  diverse  students  in  the  classroom  as  filters  through  which  to  teach  academic  skills  and  knowledge.  It  is  also  impera,ve  to  be  aware  and  sensi,ve  to  distribu,ons  of  power  and  privilege  in  teaching  students  about  themselves  and  others  in  a  mul,cultural  society.    

Impediments  to  Achievement  

1.  Underes,ma,ng  what  “disadvantaged”  students  are  capable  of  doing.  

2.  Organizing  instruc,on  around  the  belief  that  basic  skills  must  be  mastered  before  “advanced”  skills  can  be  taught.  

3.  Failing  to  provide  adequate  support  for  learning  new  material.  

4.  Postponing  more  challenging  and  interes,ng  work  for  too  long—some,mes  forever.  

5.  Depriving  students  of  a  meaningful  or  mo,va,ng  context  for  learning  or  using  skills  that  are  taught.