Women are more visible than men in almost every area of education; however, they are underrepresented in top-tier leadership positions. There is no shortage of female educators; however, there is a shortage of female leaders. Scholars have highlighted this discrepancy, shedding light on a century-old problem. This article explores some of the…

The cultural view of disability presents the issue of disability from the perspective of group identity distinct from other groups who do not share the disability identity. This article attempts to articulate the importance of disability identity, culture, and acceptance while advocating for the inclusion of disability culture in the conversation…

Historically, American public schools played an important role in assimilating immigrants with different cultures into the mainstream. This process is currently occurring in other parts of the world that are undergoing demographic changes due to immigration. Some of these countries have turned to multicultural education as a tool to respond to…

According to this author, the Earth is in trouble. Decades of mining, over-fishing, and the pumping of toxic chemicals into the atmosphere have taken an enormous toll on an otherwise robust and healthy planetary ecosystem. Those responsible have prioritized financial gain over sustainability, over life--plant, animal, and human. Short-term profit…

In this article, the author presents a three-part analysis of the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, her own doctoral experience in a chemistry program, and similar experiences of other underrepresented minority (URM) graduate students found in the literature as examples of the social and cultural structures URMs experience…

To learn productively and experience academic success, students need access to curricula and instructional approaches that are "culturally relevant" and "culturally responsive". Culturally relevant/responsive pedagogy uses "cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills, and attitudes" and thus "empowers students…

It is essential for teachers and teacher educators alike to understand how teachers conceptualize multicultural education. It is such understandings that will help a teacher education program meet the real needs of both the teachers and their students. After all, it is the teacher who works with diversity in the classroom and who must make…

As they begin their teaching careers, many new teachers have never attended school with, or lived in neighborhoods with, people of color. About 84% of the nation's teachers are White (U.S. Department of Education, 2009), and are often from middle-class backgrounds, while only a little more than half of U.S. public school students are White. The…

Six brief vignettes illustrate the potential for misunderstandings arising from differences in Asian and Asian-American cultures and the majority culture in the United States. What is good manners in one culture is not necessarily so in another. (SLD)

Offers questions to guide educators in responding appropriately to culturally sensitive situations concerning Native American mascots and mechanisms for sports teams. Although there are no simple answers, communication and consensus seeking are ways to ensure the appropriate use of American Indian mascots. (SLD)

Viewed in the history of American public education, the current debate over multicultural education can be seen as a new word for the old problem of how to respond to the diversity of students. American public education, especially in cities, has rarely been free of this issue. (SLD)

St. Paul's Episcopal School in Oakland (California) addresses the needs of its multicultural community by promoting decision making by students. A commitment to diversity is really a commitment to respecting each individual, and real respect means respecting each student as a decision maker. (SLD)

Reviews the complex nature of multicultural education, which as it advocates recognition of the values of many cultures, is nevertheless grounded in a Western culture and subject to Western deconstruction. Considers the challenge of the multicultural educator to recognize his or her own voice as representative of the dominant culture. (SLD)

Explores multiculturalism in art and design education, considering whether the tenets of design education are biased in favor of Western cultural traditions. Moving beyond traditional teaching to the reflexive study of non-Western design asks students not to assume that principles of design exist unless they can prove such principles to…

The cultural-pluralism model would permit the development of a positive cultural identity without interfering in universal criteria for access to economic and power structures. This will require fundamental social change in the United States and will also require greater international agreements and equity throughout the world. (SLD)