Showing papers in "Multicultural Education in 2006"

A critically compassionate intellectualism for Latina/o students: Raising voices above the silencing in our schools

Abstract: Julio Cammarota is an assistant professor and Augustine Romero is a graduate student in the Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology and the Mexican-American Studies and Research Center at the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona. Latina/o students often experience coursework that is remedial and unchallenging––benign at best, a dumbing-down at worst (Solórzano & Yosso, 2001). This potential limiting curriculum is not only failing to provide Latinas/os with the credentials necessary to advance economically, but their education denies them the opportunity to develop the critical voices and intellectual capacities necessary to do something about it. To borrow the words of Carter G. Woodson (1977), there is a “mis-education of Latinas/os,” in which their voices and potentialities to challenge an unjust world is suppressed by the consistent battery of standardized tests, rote learning, and curricular content that has little bearing on their everyday struggles as young people of color. Thus, the standard educational experience for young Latinas/os tends to submerge them into silence, where they are taught to be quiet and avoid independent and critical thinking. This is a dangerous lesson for them to learn, and it is dangerous for everyone. Young Latinas/os are the next generation that will signifi cantly change the composition of our society. And if they are encouraged to become silent adults, this new burgeoning majority will not have the capacity to effect social change that moves toward an egalitarian reality for all people. In this article, we present an educational model based on a critically compassionate intellectualism that can foster the liberation of Latinas/os as well as A Critically Compassionate Intellectualism for Latina/o Students:

New Paradigms for Diversifying Faculty and Staff in Higher Education: Uncovering Cultural Biases in the Search and Hiring Process

Abstract: In the last ten years, many colleges, universities, boards, and agencies have jumped on the diverse faculty/staff hiring bandwagon not only by issuing resolutions, policies, and mandates but also by inventing programs, initiatives, and strategies all intended to increase the number of faculty and staff of color in predominantly White institutions. The statistics illustrate the results: 80-90% of faculty and staff in most colleges and universities are still White. In fact, as Turner (2002) points out, “efforts to diversify the faculty continue to be amongst the least successful elements of campus commitments to diversity” (p.14). So, why, despite the best intentions, are most of these programs and policies failing to increase faculty/staff diversity? With the “window of opportunity” for diverse hiring limited to the next fi ve years or so of faculty retirements, many higher education administrators and bureaucrats are scrambling desperately to find an answer, especially since the growing gap between a multicultural student body and a monocultural faculty/staff has become an educational and political problem. Unfortunately what is often overlooked in the diverse hiring conundrum is the crucial role that both search committees and institutional culture play in the recruitment and retention of diverse faculty and staff at predominantly White colleges and universities.

The Role of Social Foundations in Preparing Teachers for Culturally Relevant Practice.

Abstract: 10 Ann Marie Ryan is an assistant professor with the School of Education at Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. The 2003 National Assessment of Educational Progress fourth grade reading results indicate that while 75% of white children across the nation read at or above a basic level—partial mastery of knowledge and skills required for grade level work—only 40% of African American and 44% of Latino fourth graders do (National Center for Education Statistics, 2003a). Results were similarly discouraging for children from low-income families of whom 45% scored at or above a basic level, while 76% of those not eligible for free/reducedprice school lunches scored at or above a basic level (National Center for Education Statistics, 2003b). The entrenched social inequities responsible for this crisis of access and equity in education are historically rooted in broad social and institutional issues that infl uence the pedagogical practices of schools and teachers. They play a signifi cant role in shaping teacher beliefs, teacher attitudes, and teacher expectations of students of color and those in poverty and how they should be taught. To leave these socialized beliefs unexamined can produce devastating consequences, as evidenced by the over-representation of African American children placed in special education. In 1998, while representing only 17% of the total school enrollment, African American children accounted for 33% of those labeled mentally retarded (Losen & Orfi eld, 2002, p. xvi). In a qualitative study of the special education referral process in a particular district, Harry, Klingner, Sturges, and Moore (2002) found that teachers referred children seen as behavior problems and oftentimes blamed that behavior on what they perceived to be dysfunctional families (p. 78). In this process, teachers often made “implicit or explicit references to ethnicity, culture, and/or socioeconomic status of the families” in explaining the reasons for students’ behavior (Harry, Klingner, Sturges & Moore, 2002, p. 79). Many preservice teachers hold similar beliefs about students of color and those in poverty. Bondy and Ross (1998) found that these misguided beliefs contribute to a notion that many African American children require special education. These myths held by teacher candidates include believing that poor African American students fail because their parents do not care about their education; that they are unmotivated and uncooperative; and that they have grown up with few literacy experiences (Bondy & Ross, 1998, pp. 243-246). These notions, derived from social stereotypes of African Americans and low-income families, perpetuate low teacher expectations and intensify an already disturbing picture of over-representation in special education and low student achievement in general education settings. Addressing the issue of teachers’ low expectations of students of color and those in poverty poses signifi cant challenges to teacher education. The growing body of research focused on this issue documents ways teachers can make a real difference in the educational lives of children. Ladson-Billings’ (1992; 1994; 1995) and others demonstrate that teachers can work with students to challenge socio-economic inequities, succeed academically, and retain pride in their cultural backgrounds. Based on a review of literature about preparing culturally competent teachers, this article argues that social foundations courses, especially courses in the history and sociology of education, are critical for teacher candidates to understand the power of racial, ethnic, and socio-economic inequities and the relationship of these factors to the pedagogical practices of schools and teachers in order for teachers to engage in culturally relevant practice.

Helping Whites Develop Anti-Racist Identities: Overcoming Their Resistance to Fighting Racism.

Abstract: In our current work to confront privilege and dismantle racism, White students and teachers who are exposed to information about how oppression works seem to recognize that there is a problem and want to do something to ameliorate the situation. They show up for meetings of diversity clubs, attend conferences and workshops, and will speak to others about their growing understanding of how privilege/racism works. Yet, for all of this commitment, the system is not really changing. It feels as if we continue to tinker around the edges of the problem, but we still haven’t reached the core. These students have intellectualized the problem, but failed to really connect with racism as something that impacts them: the work is still about other people. This attitude is manifested in comments such as: “I really want to do something, but I have no idea what to do,” or, “What can I really do as an individual? Changing my behavior won’t affect the whole, so why should I do anything?” Some of these comments are simply more manifestations of White privilege, a means of insulation that allows a White person to express awareness, but that also keeps the White person from really having to do anything with that awareness. This is similar to what we often hear from White people who fi rst start the work of unlearning racism: “I feel so bad. This is so terrible. I feel so bad for people of color.” This expression of guilt becomes a substitute for real action: “As long as I say I feel bad, that’s enough.” Similarly, many White students are “on board” as long as they don’t really have to change their lives in any substantial way. Those of us who consider ourselves “long term” players in the work feel frustrated by this behavior. It is diffi cult to respond to because these resisters are present; they show up and say they want to do the work. Their critique that there is no roadmap for them now that they are on-board paralyzes those who have been doing the work because it feels like we are defi cient. We have failed to lay it out clearly, and so no wonder these White folks don’t stay committed. If only we, as the self-appointed leaders, had done a better job of explaining what folks could do, then they wouldn’t fade away. Yet again, a system of oppression has carefully disguised itself. What we need to get smart about is how systems of oppression reinvent and preserve themselves.

Asian American Teachers: Do They Impact the Curriculum? Are There Support Systems for Them?.

Abstract: The significance and importance of global education and a culturally relevant curriculum have been thrown into relief by the events of Sept. 11, 2001, emphasizing the urgency to understand and be accepting of diverse cultures. This has a strong bearing on the “enculturation” role of schools, as agents of cultural reproduction. The traditional curriculum transmits Euro-American norms that are seen as the primary American culture. The possible positive effects of a culturally responsive and diverse curriculum (CDC) have been detailed, including affi rming the value of cooperation, helping students and teachers build an identity by comparing what they have learned in the classroom with their own experiences, and the importance of a caring community (Gay, 2000; LadsonBillings, 1992b; Sleeter & Grant, 1991; Zimpher & Ashburn, 1984). There is little doubt that schools should be more inclusive and that schoolbased personnel should appreciate and affi rm what minority teachers bring to facilitate the development of a culturally relevant curriculum that is academically rigorous (Quiocho & Rios, 2000) but there is no systemic effort to genuinely shift from a Western perspective to include other perspectives and materials (Foster, 1994, cited in Quiocho & Rios, 2000; Gay, 2000). However, adopting CDC or culturally congruent approaches to teaching has its own pitfalls. They can render teachers suspect by the broader school community since such approaches do not conform to the mainstream (Conner, 2002; Foster, 1994; Lipka, 1994, cited in Quiocho & Rios, 2000). Further, race and race-related pedagogy are not considered appropriate topics for discussion among faculty members, and issues regarding them are not raised in faculty forums (Foster, 1994, cited in Quiocho & Rios, 2000). Where there is no self-examination, there is unlikely to be an expectation of overt support. The result is that the voices of minority teachers have been silenced and many of them do not have a role as decision-makers beyond the everyday decisions that teachers make in the classroom (Goodwin, Genishi, Asher, & Woo, 1997; Irvine, 2002; Quiocho & Rios, 2000). These issues as they relate to Asian Americans have other features that complicate the matter. The term “Asian American,” classed as one group for purposes of census and political policy, embraces sub-groups that differ widely in matters of language, religion, and cultural practices and beliefs. This multicultural, multi-ethnic, multi-literate profi le engenders a lack of coherent cultural identity so that only a narrow slice is represented in the broad spectrum of the curriculum (Gay, 2000). In the past three decades, the AsianAmerican population has been overlooked in terms of the demographic profile in spite of a dramatic increase of about 63%. Of Asian Americans, nearly a fourth is under 17 and of school-going age, accounting for about 3% of the total K-12 student population (Smith, Rogers, Alsalam, Perie, Mahoney, & Martin, 1994) while accounting for only 1.2% of the nation’s teaching force (Snyder & Hoffman, 1994). Their low visibility is compounded by the fact that they are not evenly represented across the country in all regions; clustered along the East and West coasts, they are largely “missing in action” in the Midwest and South (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000). Unlike other minority communities, there is no scarcity of qualifi ed persons in this community in which 37% aged 25 or older is college educated. Yet, specifi cally among Asian-American women who hold degrees, only 1% goes into teaching, a profession still dominated by women. Many of the rest opt for jobs in technical and scientifi c fi elds which are higher-paying and where discrimination is perceived to be less of a barrier to advancement (Rong & Preissle, 1997; Su, Goldstein, Suzuki & Kim, 1997). Emerging literature on Asian Americans shows that perceptions about the community are often at odds with reality. Asian Americans desire to be ‘normal,’ to fi t in (Gordon, 2000). Whether it is to be accepted as “honorary Whites” so as not to remain “forever foreigners,” or to get by in a racist society by staying quiet and behaving so that nobody would bother them (Tuan, 1998), Asian Americans indicate a desire to assimilate and to nullify their Asian roots. Their integration seems to depend on how mainstream they are, which argues for assimilation not accommodation. Viewed as a “model minority,” selfesteem issues that are cited in support of African-American and Hispanic profi les in the curriculum may not appear to be applicable to Asian-American students. While Research

Collaborative Recruitment of Diverse Teachers for the Long Haul--TEAMS: Teacher Education for the Advancement of a Multicultural Society.

Abstract: The recruitment of qualifi ed teachers is an immense and demanding job, particularly for high-poverty urban schools. Urban schools often turn to the common practice of recruiting teachers who are underqualifi ed, most of them with no teaching experience and limited training. Because of their lack of preparation, coupled with the diffi cult working conditions they face and the inadequate support within their schools, these beginning teachers are likely to leave the profession soon after they enter. The attrition data is challenging: 33% of beginning teachers leave within the fi rst three years of teaching, and almost 50% leave within fi ve years. This attrition in turn produces yet more recruitment, again of a new group of under-prepared teachers, creating a “revolving door” phenomenon that has come to characterize the teaching profession. Thus, students in high-poverty schools often see new, underprepared teachers year after year, despite the fact that these very students are in most need of quality, experienced teachers. These students are denied the opportunity to learn from well-prepared, committed teachers who are in the profession for the long haul. The TEAMS (Teacher Education for the Advancement of a Multicultural Society) Teaching Fellowship Program is a collaborative model of positive recruitment that prepares diverse teachers, paraprofessionals, and counselors for service in urban, public school with the goal of increasing the academic success of all students. The TEAMS Program has evolved a unique model that provides a winning situation for all who are involved by using creative partnering to recruit, prepare, and support a confi dent, critical, and diverse teaching force prepared to tackle the challenges of inner-city teaching for the long haul.

Toward a Pedagogy of Transformative Teacher Education: World Educational Links.

Abstract: Judith Reed is an assistant professor and Deborah J. Black is an associate professor, both in the Education Department at Keene State College, Keene, New Hampshire. As a classroom teacher, I used to believe that valuing diversity in the classroom meant learning about our differences and similarities and fi nding ways to work together. Creating a peaceable classroom for learning became central in my teaching. I taught strategies for confl ict resolution, developed culturally responsive curriculum that promoted cross cultural understandings, and worked to help my students build self-esteem. Now as I refl ect on my own past practice, I have come to believe that teaching the skills for a peaceable classroom without a focus on social justice and activism is a way of managing behaviors, silencing the marginalized, and maintaining the status quo. My limited worldview as a privileged person shielded me from seeing how my “peaceable classroom” failed to expose the inequities inherent in our political-economic system. Worse, by ignoring gross inequities or treating them as mere “differences,” I was actually abetting the forces of injustice. From this painful realization and critical refl ection on my own practices, I dared to imagine how teaching could be different. –WEL faculty member

Successful Multicultural Campus: Free from Prejudice toward Minority Professors.

Abstract: With the heightened interest in multiculturalism in higher education, universities and colleges have sought to become multicultural institutions by recruiting faculty with diverse cultural backgrounds. Consequently the faculty of formerly predominantly White colleges throughout the country have become more diverse and it is no longer unusual to fi nd either foreign-born or minority professors in most departments. This has contributed to a growing racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity among professors (Achinstein & Athanases, 2005). According to the “National Study of Postsecondary Faculty” report on faculty and instructional staff, the percentage of full-time minority professors in degree-granting institutions has increased steadily to 20%, from 15% in 1998, and 9% in 1990 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2004). As these census statistics show, impressive progress has been made in increasing the numbers of minority faculty in higher education. While there have been significant improvements, the increased numbers of minority professors alone does not ensure a fair and equitable learning environment SUCCESSFUL MULTICULTURAL CAMPUS: Free from Prejudice toward Minority Professors

Finding the Poetic High: Building a Spoken Word Poetry Community and Culture of Creative, Caring, and Critical Intellectuals.

Abstract: Underneath dim light of our transformed classroom, the sea of middle school youth goes wild with cheers and applause. Lydia spurts up like a splash of water from the crowded couch that sits in the middle of what we call the “Lyricist Lounge.” She drizzles onto the miniature stage and glistens underneath the spotlight that illuminates each poet who takes control of the mic. Placing her piece on the music stand, she now frees her hands and arms, allowing them to dance in synchronicity to the rhythm of her words. With natural sass tugging at her smile and right hand on her hip, she pauses briefl y to command attention and gather the thoughts needed to introduce her piece. As silence sweeps the room, Lydia gazes out into her audience. Finally, she releases her soul.

Fearless Innovation--Songwriting for Our Lives: Inspiring Learners with Arts-Based Practices that Support Creativity.

Abstract: James S. Cantor is an associate professor in the Department of Teacher Education of the College of Education at California State University, Dominguez Hills, Carson, California. As long as I can remember I’ve had songs in my head. A song will repeat itself over and over again until another one bumps it out. In fact, it took me most of my adult life before I realized that I could be a songwriter because I always had other people’s songs playing in my mind. Most of the songs I grew up with were about relationships between man and woman, and the songs were written, performed, and recorded to entertain and provide escape. However, as I matured as an educator and a scholar, I increasingly became interested in the role of songwriter as minstrel, the artist who sings his or her take on contemporary life and times. I began to explore ways that I could create entertaining musical op-ed pieces about my fi eld, public school education. In addition, I looked for ways that I could develop a pedagogy that would result in teachers helping children to express themselves through songwriting. This is important because it expands the modes from which people can learn information as well as opening up creative ways for learners to express their knowledge and beliefs. This article does not report on research. Instead I describe the evolution of a promising practice, my story of how I developed theory out of my teaching experiences. Using songwriting as an example, I articulate how teachers can inspire learners with arts-based practices that support innovation and creativity—promoting teaching and learning, and success for all children. Quality education is currently being defi ned and regulated in narrow, restrictive Fearless Innovation—Songwriting For Our Lives:

Making Connections with the Past: (Un)Masking African American History at a Neighborhood Community Center.

Abstract: As educators, we generally focus on promising practices that emerge from traditional classroom settings. Remediation, derived from scientifi cally-based research, is typically viewed as a treatment to be applied in public school settings in order to improve academic achievement. But are we overlooking other sources of creative and compelling curricula, forms of data, and inspirational pedagogy? Are we ignoring community-based initiatives and successful strategies used in non-traditional settings? Do community centers and neighborhood day care programs have anything to teach us about improving the academic achievement of all students? This article describes one such setting and program that has much to offer. Our work at the Carver Community Center demonstrates that non-traditional community organizations also ascribe to high academic standards and use curricula in ways that enhance self esteem and promote academic achievement. Overview

Creating a Bridge from High School to College for Hispanic Students.

Abstract: Early College High Schools (ECHS) are defi ned as “small schools where students can earn both a high school diploma and two years of college credit toward a bachelor’s degree” (Early Colleges, 2005). ECHSs are designed as places of learning to help young people progress toward the education and experience they need to succeed in life and in family-supporting careers. The Utah County Academy of Sciences (UCAS) is innovative in its approach in assisting Hispanic students. Successful transition into college begins at UCAS by having students take college courses while still enrolled in the high school program. This new approach helps students to prepare for college as they begin taking college courses while still in the small, caring, and multiculturally sensitive environment of the Utah County Academy of Sciences. The innovative program that is offered at UCAS aims at successfully transitioning Hispanic students into a four-year college program. In 2002 the then Governor of Utah, Mike Leavitt, announced in his State of the State address that Utah needed to be more competitive in the areas of math and science. He proposed that six ECHSs open throughout the state of Utah, sugCreating a Bridge from High School to College for Hispanic Students

Pens on the Prize: Linking School and Community through Contest-Inspired Literacy.

Abstract: Korina Jocson is an AERA/IES postdoctoral fellow in the School of Education at Stanford University, Stanford, California; Sherdren Burnside is a former high school teacher in the Oakland Unifi ed School District, Oakland, California; and Mualimu Collins is an independent fi lmmaker with the Digital Education Foundation in Oakland, California. It was eight o’clock on a Friday morning. The sun was peeking through cirrus clouds, and traffi c on downtown interstate freeways was minimal. A high school teacher was at home awaiting the arrival of two colleagues, one a university researcher and the other an independent fi lmmaker. Her house in East Oakland served as the central meeting place of what was to be a delightful day of critical work. After a quick but thorough debriefi ng for a 10:30 a.m. panel presentation, we packed our equipment bags and carpooled to San Jose to participate in the California Council on Teacher Education’s (CCTE) spring conference. The theme was “Artful Teaching for Testy Times.” That Friday morning was hardly the start of a typical day, at least for us, in the San Francisco Bay Area. This article is partly based on what transpired that day. What we attempted to do at CCTE was new to all of us and forced us to see our role(s) in education a little differently. However, our story is not about that presentation, but about the context that led to it, a context which, we believe, tapped into and linked school and community resources to create a unique learning opportunity for high school students. It was also a context that built upon the pedagogical beliefs of three adult collaborators to engage students in critical poetry and digital media production. The collaborative work as we will describe here was inspired by our on-going exchange of ideas about how to innovate teaching practices in urban multicultural classrooms. These exchanges eventually moved us towards collective action—that is, to work together, build on each other’s strengths, and maximize the use of available resources to serve the needs of students attending what has been identifi ed as a low-performing high school in the East Bay Area. Before we turn to our story, we fi rst offer a theoretical framework on literacy from which we operated.

Deepening Teacher Knowledge of Multicultural Literature through a University-Schools Partnership.

Abstract: 17 Steven Z. Athanases is an associate professor with the School of Education at the University of California, Davis. E-mail szathanases@ucdavis.edu How can professional development help teachers tune up subject matter knowledge to better reach their culturally and linguistically diverse students? When teachers evaluate such work as effective, what do they learn, and what makes the work possible? These questions guide this examination of a group of educators involved in a summer institute and follow-up activity. The work was part of a university-schools partnership designed to better prepare underrepresented youth for college. The specifi c institute goal was to strengthen knowledge of multicultural literature for use with high school students in a highly diverse, high needs urban school district. The teachers’ goal was one among several common to multicultural education—that of content integration, infusion of cultural content in curricula (Banks, 1993). This work can occur in all subject areas but is particularly important and possible in social studies and English, where students encounter stories of challenges and confl icts in building cultures and civilizations and of how humans narrate and refl ect on life journeys. Texts taught send strong messages about “offi cial knowledge” and what schools are for (Apple, 1993), about power and social relationships and whose stories and perspectives warrant curricular space (Apple, 1992). For literature study, multicultural resources include bibliographies and critiques of literature by and about people of color (Duff & Tongchinsub, 1990; Sasse, 1988) and specifi c groups such as African Americans (Sims, 1982; Trousdale, 1990), Latino/as and Chicano/as (Morales, 2001; Schon, 2005), and interracial children (Lee & Johnson, 2000). Other resources are literature selection guidelines (Sims Bishop, 1992; Yokota, 1993) and critical treatment of curriculum on culture and diversity in K-8 (Harris, 1992) and high school (Willis, 1997). It is possible, maybe likely, that literature curricula in United States schools have diversifi ed since the last national study found works selected for classrooms remained primarily those authored by White men (Applebee, 1993). However, given the stability of the literary canon between a prior study (Squire & Applebee, 1968) and the more recent one, and despite major U.S. social changes, such a claim is still speculation. Impediments to diversifying curricula persist. Beyond the larger sociopolitical context that often has marginalized contributions of people of color are other factors. These include teachers’ lack of familiarity with works by non-White authors and lack of time to read them (Applebee, 1993). Anthologies often limit works by women and authors of color to short sections at the backs of these books, or present women as weak and people of color as victims (Apple, 1992; Applebee, 1993; Pace, 1992). Narrow guidelines of testing agencies and state and district organizations limit teachers’ selections. A conservative political climate has engendered defense of the traditional literary canon and attacks on including multicultural literature as no more than politically correct advocacy (Taxel, 1997). Some teachers also resist confronting their own narrow knowledge base or issues of social privilege highlighted by perspectives such as critical race theory (e.g., Ladson-Billings, 1999), issues raised in some literature by women, authors of color, and religious and sexual minorities. Consider, however, a diverse group of teachers working with mostly students of color, in a district where cultural inclusion was on the agenda for several years. Consider, also, support from a university-schools partnership. Three impediments remained: lack of familiarity with works outside the canon, lack of time and structure to read and discuss works and to prepare units, and lack of books and support materials. My colleagues and I removed the impediments with a partnership-sponsored summer institute to enable teaching of more multicultural texts. We examined institute products and processes and schoolyear follow-up activity, asking two research questions: (1) What themes emerged in teachers’ engagements with diverse literary works? and (2) What features of context and institute process enabled teachers to stretch and explore in their work with diverse texts? Deepening Teacher Knowledge

Tolerance in Teacher Education: Restructuring the Curriculum in a Diverse but Segregated University Classroom.

Abstract: Many of us teach undergraduate and graduate teacher education courses that include a cultural hodgepodge of future teachers who differ not only in ethnicity, but in age, sexual preference, religion, language, and a host of other microcultural areas. Occasionally it is clear within the fi rst couple of class sessions that these groups are reluctant to interact with one another in any format. In these instances, those few cliques that could possibly develop do so early on and class discussions may be almost nonexistent at the outset of the courses. In later discussions we have witnessed angry encampments of student groups lashing out at one another. What follows is our attempt at bringing diverse and segregated class groups together in some sense of understanding and respect for one another through a restructured, reconceptualized, multicultural curriculum. After all, these very groups of non-cooperative students will very soon be serving as teachers in schools across the United States and will need to develop the skills necessary to foster multicultural tolerance among their own students. The Call for Multicultural Education in Higher Education