An Introduction to Multicultural Education

What are the goals of multicultural education? What are the misconceptions? Why is it essential for students to acquire the knowledge skills, and attitudes needed to function as effective citizens in today’s diverse society? And, how can today’s busy educators decide upon and include sound concepts, principles, theories, and practices of multicultural education effectively into their everyday teaching and administration?

These questions and many more are answered by leading authority James A. Banks as he takes a forward-reaching look toward furthering an understanding of what multicultural education means for classroom teaching today. This succinct, yet comprehensive overview of the ideas and principles of multicultural education is written for readers who can devote only limited time to the topic. In it readers see clearly the many dimensions of multicultural education, the characteristics of schools which embrace multicultural diversity, and the ways in which multicultural education seeks to transform the curriculum. In addition, the text covers the characteristics of effective multicultural lessons and units, the major benchmarks educators can use to determine whether a school or educational institution is implementing multicultural education most effectively, important benchmarks to reform, and much more.

The new edition features:

• A new chapter on knowledge construction and curriculum reform. (Ch. 5)
• A new Appendix on learning in and out of school in diverse environments. (Appendix A)
• The most accurate and up-to-date information and data about the issues related to diversity and education in the U.S.
• Information from the Encyclopedia of Diversity in Education.
• Updated figures and tables throughout.

Also from James A. Banks:

0205594271 - Teaching Strategies for Ethnic Studies, 8/e - ©2009

0205461034 - Cultural Diversity and Education: Foundations, Curriculum, and Teaching, 5/e - ©2006

0801311659 - Teaching Strategies for the Social Studies: Decision-Making and Citizen Action, 5/e - ©1999

James A. Banks holds the Kerry and Linda Killinger Endowed Chair in Diversity Studies and is the founding director of the Center for Multicultural Education at the University of Washington, Seattle. He was the Russell F. Stark University Professor at the University of Washington from 2001 to 2006. Professor Banks is a past president of the American Educational Research Association and of the National Council for the Social Studies. He is a specialist in social studies education and multicultural education and has written widely in these fields. His books include Teaching Strategies for Ethnic Studies; Cultural Diversity and Education: Foundations, Curriculum, and Teaching; Educating Citizens in a Multicultural Society; and Race, Culture, and Education: The Selected Works of James A. Banks. Professor Banks is the editor of the Handbook of Research on Multicultural Education, The Routledge International Companion to Multicultural Education, Diversity and Citizenship Education: Global Perspectives, and the Encyclopedia of Diversity in Education, a four-volume reference work published by Sage in 2012.