This document provides an overview of multicultural educational perspectives across 5 topics: 1) Definitions of culture from sociological, anthropological, and other lenses. Culture includes shared beliefs, traditions, and goals of a group. 2) The importance of not mistaking ethnicity for exceptionality, as behaviors considered abnormal in one culture may be normal in another. 3) Key aspects of multicultural and bilingual education including culturally appropriate instruction, assessment, and addressing disproportionate representation in special education. 4) Examining how one thinks about culture, including the origins of mankind in Africa and how cultures developed based on factors like environment, beliefs, and politics. 5) How cultural pride and shame

1. MULTICULTURAL EDUCATIONAL
PERSPECTIVES
Presented By
Adrienne Akinsete, Shannon Berger, Julie Burton, Ashley Busby

2. TOPICS:
1. Definitions of Culture
2. Ethnicity or Exceptionality
3. Multicultural Bilingual Education
4. How One Thinks About Culture
5. Cultural Pride and Shame

3. DEFINITIONS OF CULTURE
 "Cultures are the maps
of meaning through
which the world is made
intelligible."
- Peter Jackson

4. DEFINITIONS OF CULTURE
 Traditional definition – A shared set of beliefs,
traditions, values and goals that define a
group, institution or organization

5. DEFINITIONS OF CULTURE
 Sociological view of culture - the words, artifacts and
symbols which interact with forms of social life
 Anthropological meaning of culture - “Culture, or
civilization, taken in its broad, ethnographic sense, is
that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief,
art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and
habits acquired by man as a member of society.” - Sir
Edward Tylor
 Romanticist definition of culture – consumption and
leisurely activities
 Cultural studies – the meaning and practices of
everyday life

6. DEFINITIONS OF CULTURE
Similarities and Differences
 All definitions
of culture
include some
description of
what people
do.
 What varies is
the
construction
and
manifestation
of human
development

7. ASPECTS OF CULTURE

8. COMPONENTS OF CULTURE
 Sub culture - A sub culture is a group of people
with a culture that sets them apart from the larger,
dominant culture to which they belong.
 Counter culture - is used to describe a group of
people who are characterized by their defiance or
opposition to the dominant culture.
 Dominant culture – establishes the rules,
language, behaviors, religion and social norms for
the society and maintains control of social
institutions.

9. HISTORY OF CULTURE:
 18th/19th Century Europe – Culture was an agricultural term used to describe
cultivation or improvement.
 Early 19th Century Europe – Culture came to mean the improvement or development
of the individual, primarily through education.
 Mid 19th Century Europe – Culture was a term used by scientists to refer to
universal human capacity.
 20th Century – Culture expanded to be an anthropological term that had two
meanings:
 1. human capacity to classify and represent experiences with symbols*
 2. the unique ways that people living in different parts of the world classified
and represented their experiences*
 *Both definitions include the ability of humans to act creatively
 After World War II the term culture was adopted by different disciplines, with each
discipline uniquely defining culture.

10. ETHNICITY OR EXCEPTIONALITY
 How can ethnicity can be mistaken for
exceptionality when one's own ethnic group is
viewed as setting the standard for all others?

11. ETHNICITY
AN ETHNIC GROUP HAS IN COMMON
 A historic origin.
 Identity, heritage and traditions.
 Value orientations.
 Behavioral patterns.
 Political and economic interests.

12. EXCEPTIONALITY
 A group sharing a set of specific abilities or
disabilities that are especially valued.
 Requiring special accommodations within a
given subculture.
 A person may be considered exceptional in one
ethnic group but not in another.

13. ETHNICITY OR EXCEPTIONALITY
Examples of Differences
Among Ethnic Groups
 Patterns of eye contact
 Physical contact
 Use of language
 Ways of responding to people in positions of
authority.

14. ETHNICITY OR EXCEPTIONALITY
What one group may see as deviant or
unacceptable in their own group might be
normal and adaptive in another.
We must not mistakenly conclude that a
student has a disability or is gifted just because
he or she is different.

15. MULTICULTURAL AND BILINGUAL EDUCATION
What are the most important aspects of multicultural and bilingual special education?

16. MULTICULTURAL AND BILINGUAL EDUCATION
Disproportional representation between
general population and special education.
 Adolescents of color are more likely to be
identified with disruptive behavior disorders
than Caucasian peers.
 Males living in poverty are more likely to be
identified as having a behavior disorder.
 White, Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic
students are under represented.
 Black and American Indian overrepresented.

17. MULTICULTURAL AND BILINGUAL EDUCATION

18. MULTICULTURAL AND BILINGUAL EDUCATION
Acceptance of and respect for those
whose culture is different

19. MULTICULTURAL AND BILINGUAL EDUCATION
curricula that provide
equal educational
opportunities to
students regardless of
their gender, social
class, ethnicity, race,
disability, or other
cultural identity

20. MULTICULTURAL AND BILINGUAL EDUCATION
Instruction that uses:
 The students cultural
strengths
 That involves teaching
tolerance
 Appreciation of culture
 Working with families
 Improving language
instruction
 For language-minority
students,
 Improving literacy

21. MULTICULTURAL AND BILINGUAL EDUCATION
 Culturally
appropriate
assessment that
honors the
student’s cultural
heritage and does
NOT penalize any
student

22. MULTICULTURAL AND BILINGUAL EDUCATION
Socialization to multicultural norms
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSPjQsmMqhk&feature=player_embedded

23. WE NEED TO INCREASE THE UNDERSTANDING OF SUBCULTURES.

24. MULTICULTURAL AND BILINGUAL EDUCATION
 Multiculturalism is a very important aspect to the
human experience and the advancement of our
societies.

25. MULTICULTURAL AND BILINGUAL EDUCATION
Diversity Like Nature
 The landscape of Earth is an intricate
mix of shapes, forms, and colors each with
its own identity and spirit, separate, and yet a
piece of a whole.
 The land we live in probably best reflects this
notion.
 The landscape of the United States, a quilt
woven of dramatically different terrains, is
populated by people equally as unique and
diverse.
 Glancing over the entire country from the
Pacific to the Atlantic, you see many different
environments coexisting: warm deserts,
snowcapped mountains, golden plains, green
valleys, lush marshlands, sandy beaches,
and bustling cities.
 All are different, yet one: the United States.
No less than its geography, the people who
inhabit the United States also exemplify
nature’s diversity
 (De Melendez & Beck, 2007, p. 4).

26. MULTICULTURAL AND BILINGUAL EDUCATION
Effective multicultural
education allows all
students pride in their
own cultures,
understanding and
appreciation of different
cultures, and ensures
equal educational
opportunities for all
students, regardless of
cultural background.

27. MULTICULTURAL AND BILINGUAL EDUCATION

28. HOW ONE THINKS ABOUT CULTURE
We Are All Emigrants
 Contemporary theory traces
the ancestry of mankind to
the African continent
(National Geographic,
2003).
 Through DNA we have been
able to trace the beginnings
of mankind to a tribe in
Africa, whose genetic code
is most similar to the
earliest human remains that
we have discovered JOURNEY OF MAN tells the remarkable story
(National Geographic,
2003). of the human journey out of Africa and into
 Based on the biological, the rest of the world, tracing history through
anthropological and evidence uncovered in the Y-chromosome of
archeological evidence it is man’s DNA. Traversing six continents, the
safe to posit that mankind film takes viewers on a fascinating journey
began on the content we
now call African. From there, into the hidden world of their ancestry and
the human race dispersed offers a modern look at our ancestor’s
throughout the world. lives(National Geographic, 2003).

29. HOW ONE THINKS ABOUT CULTURE
 Civilization brought about city
states to govern the people
and lands occupied by human
migration.
 Claims of ownership to the
inhabited lands emerged.
 As man politicized the lands,
distinct culture emerged based
on several factors.
 A few of these factors are
physical environment:
• religious beliefs
• communication
• technology
• political organization

30. HOW ONE THINKS ABOUT CULTURE
Once a Melting Pot Now a Salad
A unique blend of distinct flavors
 A melting pot was the metaphor use
to describe the assimilation of
various emigrant groups arriving in
America from the 1800 through the
20th Century. Historically, public
education aimed to assimilate
emigrants into American society.

31. HOW ONE THINKS ABOUT CULTURE
 How we think of
culture influences
our educational
system.
 Today we celebrate
diversity and
recognize America
as part of a global
society.

32. CULTURAL PRIDE AND SHAME
African Americans are a
people rich in culture
that Includes
innovations in:
 Art
 Music
 Religion
 Sports
 Technology
In February of each
year we celebrate
the accomplishments of
African Americans
in the United States.

33. CULTURE PRIDE AND SHAME
 One source of shame is termed
as “Self-Hate.”
 Gang violence, drugs, and the
disproportionate number of
African American men in the
penal system is a reflection of
self-hate.
 There is evidence that the wide
spread availability of Crack
Cocaine was propagated by
United State Government
agencies. If these allegations
are true, it exposes attempted
genocide.
Cultural Shame
http://www.justice.gov/oig/speci
al/9712/ch01p1.htm

34. American
Multiculturalism

35. SOURCES
 Clark, William A.V.(2007). Assimilation, Multiculturalism and the Challenge of Marginalized Groups. UC Los Angeles: California
Center for Population Research. Retrieved from: http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/9zh4z33j
 Exceptional Learners: An Introduction to Special Education, Eleventh Edition, by Daniel P. Hallahan, James M. Kauffman, and
Paige C. Pullen. Published by Allyn & Bacon.(2009). Page 86-112.
 FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE © (1992) Lynn Johnston Productions. Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate.
Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
 From J. A. Banks, Cultural diversity and education: Foundation, curriculum,
and teaching (p. 76). Copyright © 1994 by Allyn & Bacon. Reprinted/adapted
with permission.

 FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE © (1992) Lynn Johnston Productions. Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate.
Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
 National Geographic, (2003) Retrieved November 14, 2009 from
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/12/1212_021213_journeyofman.html
 Retrieved November 17,2009 from www.youtube.com and www.peopleholdinghands.com
 Wikipedia. Culture. Retrieved November 16, 2009, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominant_culture
 Wikipedia. Culture. Retrieved November 12, 2009, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture