Michigan State University Extension
Diversity and Pluralism - 11180116
12/95/
ERIC TITLE NUMBER: ED334320 AUTHOR: Young, Russell L.
TITLE: A Paradigm for Examining Multicultural Education.
YEAR PUBLISHED: 1991
NOTE: 23 p.; Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the
American Educational Research Association (Chicago, IL,
April 1991).
ABSTRACT: Scholars and practitioners in the field of
multicultural education need a historical perspective on
the role of cultural pluralism throughout U.S. history.
This paper begins by tracing the role schools have played
in socializing people to assimilate to an Anglo-Saxon
society and discussing the rise of the ideals of cultural
pluralism in U.S. schools. Rising nationalism after the
Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, combined with the
growing need for a work force in the Industrial Revolution,
spurred the rise of common schools in the 1800s. Large,
diverse urban populations made educators more aware of the
role of schools as a unifying force. As a result, all of
the states had compulsory education laws by 1930, the core
curriculum being strongly influenced by the Anglo-Saxon
interpretation of Americanism. The paper describes Banks'
model of ethnic revitalization, using it to frame an
understanding of assimilation efforts in New York and
Minnesota in the early 1900s, then discusses possible
reasons why the multiethnic movement of the 1970s failed to
replace Eurocentrism with democratic cultural pluralism.
The following suggestions are made for those in the field
of multicultural education: (1) provide equal access to
benefits for all members of society, shifting from a
win-lose to a win-win philosophy; (2) recognize the
diversity between and within cultures and not rely on
polarized education programs; (3) understand
oneself as a cultural being; (4) recognize and counter
deficit models of achievement; and (5) increase skills
necessary for a culturally diverse society. A list of 45
references is appended. (CJS)
KEY DESCRIPTORS: Acculturation-; American-Indians; Blacks-;
Cultural-Pluralism; Elementary-Secondary-Education; Equal
Education; Ethnic-Groups; Hispanic-Americans; Parochial
Schools; Politics-of-Education; Racial-Discrimination
KEY DESCRIPTORS: *Educational-History; *Educational-Trends;
*Multicultural-Education
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