Multicultural education course put into practice

Abstract

This study examines the ways in which two teachers who have previously taken a multicultural education course put into practice multicultural teaching in a first grade afterschool program. Banks’ five dimensions of multicultural education are used as the theoretical framework for analyzing past research on multicultural education courses and for understanding the teaching practice of two teachers [see Banks, J. A. (2004). Multicultural education: Historical development, dimensions, and practice. In J. A. Banks & C. A. M. Banks (Eds.), Handbook of research on multicultural education (2nd ed., pp. 3–29). San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass]. Results of the study indicated that the two teachers were mindful of what they had learned from the multicultural education course and applied their knowledge into practices that are culturally relevant to their students. Recommendations for teacher educators include incorporating a practical component in teaching multicultural education courses such as exposing preservice teachers to multicultural curricular content and having them practice utilizing it, and rethinking the scope of multicultural education and providing preservice teachers with opportunities to explore creative ways of approaching multicultural education beyond the explicit curriculum and pedagogy.