0.4 Multicultural education  (Page 2/12)

Ethnic, national, global identities

Continued from Edchange :

Every child comes to school with an ethnic identity whether these identifications are conscious or unconscious. Thisidentification must be recognized and respected by the teacher. It must be the basis for the learning activities in the classroom. This recognition ofindividual ethnic identities is the beginning point; it is a connector of both the teacher to the student and the students to each other. It is the basicbuilding block in the learning process, which requires knowing where the child is relative to him/herself and the content to be addressed. Thisethnic identification is a continual point of focus throughout the education process and is the basis for developing the next level ofidentification, which is a national identification.

The national identity of the individual requires his/her understanding and commitment to the democratic ideals such ashuman dignity, justice and equality. Here the focus is on becoming effective members of a democratic society. An individual's strongnational identification is essential to his/her development of a global identity.

As our society becomes more and more dependent on other societies, it is critical that the schools address the problems of the worldas a whole. The development of the global identification provides the students with the opportunity to see how as a nation we fit into the worldsociety. It allows students to better understand that the actions of a nation must not only be viewed in terms of the implications for that nation,but in terms of its effects on the whole world. Children who have developed both a strong ethnic and national identity can also develop a globalidentification, which should in turn make them better citizens of the world community.

At this point in time in history, it is important to realize that the identifications discussed above are hierarchial. Inother words, the curriculum and the learning needs to proceed by first recognizing the ethnic identity, then the national identity, and finallythe global. The development of the latter national and global identities are dependent upon the development of the former ethnic. It isalso important to note that the individual identities are not static, butcontinually evolving, and so it is important for the curriculum to emphasize all three types of identities as learning progresses.

(adapted from Multicultural Education: Issues and Perspectives , James Banks and Cherry Banks, 1997, 1989.)

Assumptions

(Adapted form the work of Hernandez, Multicultural Education: A teacher's guide to content and process, 1989.)

• For political, social, educational, and economic reasons it is increasingly important to recognize one's country as a culturallydiverse society.
• Multicultural education is for all students.
• Multicultural education is synonymous with effective teaching.
• Teaching is a cross-cultural encounter.
• The educational system has not served all students equally well.
• Multicultural education should be synonymous with educational innovation and reform.
• Next to parents (primary caregivers), teachers are the single most important factor in the lives of children.
• Classroom interaction between teachers and students constitutes the major part of the educational process for most students.