The Role of Multicultural Education in Citizenship - Essay Example

?The Role of multicultural education in citizenship. Article Milner) Milner’s 2005 article is written from the perspective of an African American teacher of English working in a predominantly white suburban teaching context. The author is an African American male academic and the teacher that he writes about is an African American female teacher called Dr Wilson. The article opens with the observation that there are many studies of the way that teachers engage in transforming schools there are few which deal specifically with the experience of a black teacher operating in a predominantly white environment. Milner goes on to emphasize the important role of teachers: “teachers are themselves curriculum developers; they are more than mere curriculum implementers.” (Milner, 2005, 394) Using the Banks model of curricular integration Milner describes four levels ranging from the lowest approach of minor contributions, to additive, transformation and finally social action approaches and states without much preamble that “the teacher in this study is operating at one of the highest levels of Banks’s (1998) model, the transformational approach.” The study that underpins this remark was conducted via weekly context observations and 5 interviews over a 5 month period. Milner summarizes some of the discussions that he had with Dr Wilson and describes various interactions between this teacher and her students inside the classroom and in some contexts beyond the school grounds also. He concludes that this teacher is transforming the experience of mainstream white students by encouraging them to see themselves as part of a hierarchy, and to appreciate what it is like for students who are in a different, usually lower part of that hierarchy. Although the author cites many articles in his study, using a bibliography more than four pages long, he relies on the testimony of only one teacher. There is a danger in this approach that he will find precisely what he is looking for, since part of his method is consciously “thematic” and based on “patterns” that he perceives in his observations. There is no quantitative analysis and little triangulation, since the views of students and other teachers are mainly reported via the interviews with Dr Wilson. This is an interesting single case study, but it would be risky to extend any major conclusions to other contexts. A further weakness of this article is that the theory is largely separate from the observation. The lengthy introduction sets out the findings of previous scholars, but it is not always obvious how this relates to the particular teacher being studied in the article. The hybrid method of academic argument followed by snippets of interview leads to an implied devaluation of the teacher’s words as mere anecdote. It is as if the teacher is cited as an illustration of someone else’s theories, rather than a speaker and thinker in her own right. For this reason the article presents a strange aura of superficiality and the fact that the author is male and the subject is female creates a certain gender specific tension as well. This article shows a potential of researcher bias due to strong tone of advocacy that emerges. The choice of method leaves the male professor in control of the way a single female teacher’s voice is edited and presented. Status and gender issues make this a potentially unfair representation, and adding gender hierarchies to the obvious racial hierarchies that are discussed in the article. In summary, then, this article is clearly knowledgeable about theory, but somewhat inadequate in explaining the connection between theory and practice. Its focus on one researcher and one teacher makes it also very limited in scope and open to the charge of bias. Article 2 (Mathews and Dilworth) This article addresses three main questions relating to the way that preservice teachers view multicultural citizenship, namely 1) the type of citizen that preservice teachers aspire to promote in their future classrooms; 2) the way that preservice teachers talk about multicultural citizenship and 3) the ways this talk about multicultural citizenship is consistent with and incorporated into their thinking and planning. The research method is a case study method, with a sample size of 5 student teachers who were at the midpoint of their training program. The individuals were selected by the researchers on the basis of their completion of a questionnaire: “The authors were looking for participants who expressed a range of perspectives on teaching social studies” (Mathews and Dilworth, 2008, 360). The three male and two female students were all white, and a sixth female student dropped out of the study. There are some issues about the small sample size and the method of selection which render this article unsuitable for broad generalization. Participant observation of classroom interactions was used, and the lesson plans and reflective assignments of the students were also analysed. Follow up interviews with the preservice teachers were conducted. A technique called “reconstructive horizon analysis” was used to make sense of the large amount of detailed qualitative data that was gathered. This involves close analysis of the terminology that the students use, and the hidden implications behind the way that they frame and describe issues. There were many interesting observations in this article, but one of the most important was that preservice teachers are not very self-aware, particularly on the issue of race: “The narratives produced from these participants demonstrate how these individuals negotiate and reconcile the tension between living in a racist society and their desire to not be perceived as racist themselves” (Mathews and Dilworth, 2008, 381) The discussion section of this article identified some contradictions in the preservice teachers’ ideas and narratives. They appear to accept transformative academic knowledge but then are reluctant to use it in their classroom work. Above all they seem unable to be self- critical, and this is a great weakness, because it will inhibit their later effectiveness as teachers of multicultural citizenship. The authors urge educators to revisit preservice training programs, because this case study has thrown up deficits in the awareness of students in very critical concepts and practices. This article is convincing because it cites long passages of student dialogue, illustrating the theoretical points that the researchers draw from written work and observation. A sensitivity to the linguistic utterances of the students, and to their non-verbal behavior in class provides a host of useful empirical data on the subconscious motivations of the students in the study. The sample size is small, and demographically skewed towards white people, but in this restricted context it provides very valuable insights. Article 3 (Cutri) The research method of this study is described as “narrative enquiry” and consists of the reflections of a single researcher, narrating her experiences as a teacher educator who is engaged in curriculum making with the express aim “to elicit teacher candidates’ emotional and analytic engagement with multicultural education” (Cutri, 2011, 195) This is a non-traditional research method, which the author claims is ideally suited to the field of multicultural education because it allows space for “storied ways of approaching diversity” (Cutry, 2011, 197). The narrative approach, which is used in the article and likewise recommended as a teaching and learning strategy, goes beyond simple labels and fills out the particular details that characterize individual experiences. An example of this technique is seen in the series of “Vignettes” which illustrate significant moments in the author’s experience. One of these describes a decision to use video-taped material from the home of an English language learner showing interactions between this learner and her mother. The use of non-text sources is thus revealed to be a powerful ingredient in awareness raising. Students are encouraged to be contributors to the course, as well as consumers. The integration of digital material presented itself as a useful tool, not for its own sake, but because it was the medium of choice for the “digital native” generation. (Cutry, 2011, 199) Three modes of analysis are recommended, namely “burrowing, broadening and restorying” (Cutri, 2011, 200) The author argues persuasively for the power of narrative: “the closest one can come to feeling another’s experience is through engaging in their story” (Cutri, 2011, 208). The method of the article is more than just personal rambling thoughts, but a carefully contstructed story, based on detailed field notes, and integrated within the context of teacher education. The relevance of each person’s past, present and future experience is also important, because this helps form the meaning of each event in a bigger framework than the immediate lesson in hand. An interesting by-product of encouraging students to create and share their own narratives is that it can create a fruitful tension for teacher and students alike as they work through competing points of view. This article was extremely valuable in bringing to the fore a relatively new technique both for building one’s own self-reflection and for creating space in which others can do the same. The article is not so much concerned with the ideological content of multicultural citizenship programs, although it is clear that the author has very clear and firm views on this point. The focus of the article is much more on how people learn, and in particular how they can be encouraged to engage with the heart as well as the head on contentious moral or social issues like immigration, sexism etc. Synthesis of the key points from the 3 articles, with limitations and reference to external materials. The experience of teachers from non-traditional backgrounds is a vital contribution because it highlights areas that mainstream teachers in predominantly white schools may be oblivious to. This problem is not unique to the United States, and researchers report similar tension in The Netherlands (Leeman and Pels, 2006), Hong Kong (Pun, 2007) and South Korea (Choi, 2010). In many parts of the world there have been significant political developments which have caused large scale migrations and a certain amount of tension between different ethnic and social groups. Because modern societies are complex, and subject to frequent and unpredictable change, teachers who are involved in citizenship education cannot rely on a set collection historic examples and hope that they will be relevant to the contemporary world. The articles discussed here prove Pun’s observation that “to reflect is to deconstruct the meanings and assumptions embedded in the discourses and material practices of a profession so as to understand them as historically specific products” (Pun, 2007, 220). Constant personal reflection is a pre-requisite for teachers, and especially for teacher educators, because each generation has to construct for itself way of thinking about citizenship issues and an authentic vocabulary for articulating its tensions and its opportunities: “In a multicultural society, citizenship need not be static in terms of a set of rights and responsibilities; instead, it is always being made through practice.” (Pun, 2007, 224). The increasing globalization of knowledge and movement of goods and peoples across states is changing the way that even ultra conservative nation states such as Singapore define citizenship and overcome their anxieties about incursion from other cultures. From a tradition of “inculcation..to instill the state-defined national values in students” the Singaporean government evolved towards “the ideals of meritocracy and Confucian values of hard work and harmony” and is now in the new millennium caught between conservatives who want to maintain a distinct Singaporean cultural identity, and liberals who see a need for more engagement with western ideas and new cosmopolitan identities. (Baildon and Sim, 2010, 14-15). The context beyond America is showing a much increased pace of change both from government policy directives and from the impact of global cosmopolitan identities. Cutri hints at these dimensions in her tentative exploration into the world of the facebook generation, and it is likely that in the near future American citizenship education will have to accommodate the multi-faceted and globalized kind of citizenship that is emerging worldwide. In short, “Identities are increasingly up for grabs” (Baidon and Sim, 2010, 14) and this makes the work of educators all the more difficult. The innovative approach used in the Cutri article on narrative as a method of teaching and learning multicultural citizenship is applicable is a good example of new thinking being applied to a familiar context. It stands out as a new technique among many old and tired approaches, and although it may not suit everyone, and might seem suspect for researchers who prepare quantitative approaches and more triangulation from different perspectives, it can safely be recommended as an exciting tool to help trainee teachers set out their own narrative starting points and begin to engage students with the personal and the emotional aspects of the subject. The problems which Mathews and Dilworth report in connection with a lack of self-awareness in preservice teachers are just the sort of weakness that Cutri’s technique is designed to address. The literature on multicultural citizenship is full of examples of ways in which narrative, and various types of reading, drama and mentoring, can assist groups of students in living out the theories of the classroom. An example of seventh graders joining a multicultural storybook reading program for children aged 2-4 years in Brooklyn is cited by Singer and Singer (2000), for example, as a way of breaking down some inner city stereotypes about volunteering and engaging in a real life practice of the values that the curriculum aims to teach. The older children had absorbed some negative messages from citizenship classes in the past: “for them, citizenship means membership and obeying rules” (Singer and Singer, 2000, 33) and it was a pleasant surprise for them to learn that it can also mean bringing pleasure to younger children and being a mentor for them. These findings are echoed by Taylor and Trepanier-Street (2007) in an examination of the connection between student involvement in the Jumpstart programme and their understanding of both democratic processes and social involvement. Conclusion and summary of learnings. The close study of the three articles highlighted at the start of this paper has led to a greater appreciation of the difference between surface knowledge and deeply held beliefs. All three studies provide useful insights into the teaching of multicultural citizenship, and especially into the methods that should be used to train teachers of this discipline. The authors all stress the need for preservice teachers and teachers and also teacher educators to engage in a process of continuous reflection and application of theories to the teaching situation. It is clear that the majority of teaching and research in the field of multicultural civilization in the United States is still being conducted by white people and that engagement with some of the issues at a deep level is not taking place in many training programs. Greater familiarity with international scholarship, and a willingness to try new methods are two recommendations which would go a long way to remedying the narrow focus of these American studies. The validity of interview methods is demonstrated in all three studies, and the most innovative narrative approach taken by Cutri shows promising avenues for further research, especially where qualitative data is required. References Baildon, M. and Sim, J, B-Y. (2010) The Dilemmas of Singapore’s National Education in the Global Society. In A. Reid, J. Gill and A. Sears (eds) Globalization, the Nation-State and the Citizen. New York, Routledge. Choi, J. (2010) Educating Citizens in a Multicultural Society: The Case of South Korea. The Social Studies 101, 174-178. Cutri, R.M. (2011) Storied Ways of Approaching Diversity: Reconceptualizing a Blended Learning Environment in a Multucultural Teacher Education Course. Narrative Inquiries into Curriculum Making in Teacher Education Advances in Research and Teaching 13, 195-216. Cresswell, J.W. (2007) Educational Research: Planning, conducting and evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research. 3rd Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Leeman, Y. and Pels, T. (2006) Citizenship Education in the Dutch Multiethnic Context. European Education 38 (2), 64-75. Mathews, S.A. and Dilworth, P.P. (2008) Case Studies of Preservice Teachers’ Ideas About the Role of Multicultural Citizenship Education in Social Studies. Theory and Research in Social Education. 36 (4) 356-390. Milner, H.R. (2005) Developing a Multicultural Curriculum in a Predominantly White Teaching Context: Lessons from an African American Teacher in a Suburban English Classroom. Curriculum Inquiry 35 (4), 391-427. Pun, S-h. (2007) Cultivating citizenship: paradox and possibility in a multicultural society. Education, Knowledge & Economy 1 (2), 211-228. Singer, J.Y. and Singer, A. (2000) The Multicultural Literacy and Citizenship Project. Multicultural Perspectives 2 (2), 32-34. Taylor, J.A. and Trepanier-Street M. (2007) Civic Education in Multicultural Contexts: New Findings from a National Study. The Social Studies 98 (1), 14-18. Read More