The majority of American educators are White, middle class, and female. Most textbooks and articles for pre-service teachers assume their readers reflect these characteristics. However, as the K-12 student population becomes increasingly diverse, so do the pre-service teacher candidates at our Southern California public university. This article…

A Chinese student of English is often faced with culturally based differences in denotation and connotation, idioms and proverbs, habits, and formulaic use of language. Since the native speaker of any language has built into his language repertoire his unique cultural assumptions and values, a culture-oriented curriculum in language teaching is…

Explores the relationships among cultural pluralism, ethnic prejudice, and multicultural education. Concludes that multiethnic and multicultural education can help students understand and appreciate cultural differences and the contributions of various groups to American culture. (Author/DB)

Because ethnicity is a salient part of the American social system, the author discusses the need for students to be tolerant of cultural differences. In addition, definitions of ethnicity are given, developments of recent trends are briefly traced, and criteria for selection of ethnic minority content and the value of this content are discussed.…

Described are advantages and disadvantages of pragmatism and phenomenology for developing intercultural curricula for the social studies. The conclusion is that the two philosophies can and should be joined to make a holistic philosophy to undergird intercultural education. (Author/DB)

As humanity moves rapidly toward a "one world" society, a new paradigm for curriculum development more fundamental than particular cultural traditions must be found. Such a model may be derived from the requirements for the survival of the human species. The content of the resulting curriculum would be: (1) socially cohesive, providing common…

Discusses a program at the John Eaton Elementary School in Washington, D.C. in which the students are taught about the People's Republic of China. Describes implementation of this interdisciplinary curriculum and concludes that the program helped promote better understanding of Chinese culture. (GEA)

This manual contains selected materials and ideas generated during the multicultural program implementation at Fremont Elementary School in 1974-75 which was funded under ESEA Title I. The program included: (1) the consecutive concentrated study of five individual cultures and (2) a comparative multicultural approach built around five basic…

In an effort to expand the teaching of culture related to the French language, a high school French teacher undertook a project to teach francophone culture in countries other than France. The report begins with an extensive discussion and review of literature concerning the extent and diversity of the francophone world, the role of cultural…

The ERIC digest examines the paradox posed to social studies educators by the new wave of immigrants and increasing ethnic diversity: namely, how do educators depict accurately and fairly the rich ethnic diversity of the United States and also teach core values of a common American heritage? With the underlying theme being the promotion of both…

The recent activity of anthropologists whose primary interest are in education and of educators whose orientation is anthropological suggests this division of labor: The first division, "anthropology and education," is the most expansive and the least specific. A second, "anthropology in education," concerns the anthropological presence, whether…

Discusses the success of a family folklore unit in a racially and ethnically diverse sixth-grade class (containing Black, White, Japanese-American, and Jewish students), provides suggestions for a folklore curriculum, and points out the significance of folklore. (SKC)

This article reviews the relationship between ethnicity and early academic success and examines the rationales of several ethnic groups for the education of their young children. An implication is made that "all" American children reflect cultural group diversity. It is recommended that early childhood educational programs should be…

This book provides a conceptual scaffolding and practical guide for educators and evaluators as they respond to the challenges of diversity in schools. It introduces ways to assess the capacities of various professional development programs, curriculum transformation projects, diversity initiatives, and study abroad opportunities to realize…

The handbook presents activities to aid elementary school classroom teachers as they develop and implement cultural arts lessons. A cultural arts program is interpreted as a way to help students develop perceptual awareness, build a basic vocabulary in some art cultural form, evaluate their own works of art, appreciate creative expressions, and…