Nieto and bode affirming diversity 7th edition

DIVERSITYAffirming Seventh Edition

The SOCIOPOLITICAL CONTEXT of MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION

SONIA NIETO • PATTY BODE

www.pearson.com

Seventh Edition N

IETO • B

O D

E AFFIRM

IN G DIVERSITY

The SOCIOPOLITICAL CONTEXT of MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION

Affirming Diversity

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Sonia Nieto University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Patty Bode Amherst-Pelham Regional Public Schools,

Amherst, Massachusetts

Affirming Diversity The Sociopolitical Context of

Multicultural Education

7 EDITION

330 Hudson Street, NY NY 10013

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Director and Publisher: Kevin M. Davis Portfolio Manager: Rebecca Fox-Gieg Managing Content Producer: Megan Moffo Content Producer: Yagnesh Jani Media Project Manager: Lauren Carlson Portfolio Management Assistant: Anne McAlpine Executive Field Marketing Manager: Krista Clark Executive Product Marketing Manager: Christopher Barry Procurement Specialist: Carol Melville Full-Service Project Management: Katrina Ostler, Cenveo Publisher Services Composition: Cenveo Publisher Services Printer/Binder: LSC, Crawfordsville Cover Printer: Phoenix Color Text Font: 10/12pt Slimbach Book

ISBN-10: 0-13-404723-0 ISBN-13: 978-0-13-404723-2

Credits and acknowledgments borrowed from other sources and reproduced, with permission, in this textbook appear on the appropriate page within text.

The book’s front cover is made up of self-portraits from students at Springfield Conservatory of the Arts public school in Springfield, Massachusetts in 2015 with art teachers, Patty Bode and April Wesley. Student artists from top left in clockwise order: Teyonce Nunnally-Bess, Caleb Rosario, Syonah Seabrooks, Kyarah Thomas-Archie, Cristian Matos, Savione Mohown, Kaseem Walters, Joemar Burgos, Dynesty Peña

Copyright © 2018, 2012, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc., 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. This publication is protected by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any pro- hibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. To obtain permission(s) to use material from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Education, Inc., Permissions Department, 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

On file with the Library of Congress.

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This book is dedicated to all those teachers who teach, believe in, and love their students, and to the students in our schools today, with the gifts of curiosity, energy, resilience, determination, and

awe they bring to our world. They are, after all, our future.

—S. N. and P. B.

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vii

Sonia Nieto has dedicated her professional life to issues and social justice. With experience teaching students at all levels grades through graduate school,

currently she is Professor Emerita Literacy, and Culture, University of Massachu-

setts, Amherst. The and numerous journal articles and book chapters, she is the

awards for her research, advocacy, and activism, including the Educator of the

Year Award from the National Association for Multicultural and the Social Justice

in Education Award from the American.

Patty Bode combines nearly 20 years in PK–12 classrooms, and a decade in higher education, to inform social justice perspectives in her current work as the

principal of Amherst-Pelham Regional Middle School in Massachusetts Public

Schools. Patty’s research, teacher leadership, and community collaboration focus

on imaginative school structuring and curriculum reinvention. She has received

awards for efforts in antiracist and antibias curriculum reform and bridging theory

and practice in multicultural education—including the 2017 Art Educator of the

Year for Supervision and Administration of the Eastern Region by the National Art

Education Association; the Massachusetts 2017 Art Educator of the Year from the

Massachusetts Art Education Association; the 2016 Women’s Caucus Carrie Nord-

lund Award in PK–12 Feminist Pedagogy, also from NAEA; and 2005 Multicultural

Educator of the Year Award from the National Association for Multicultural

Education.

About the Authors

vii

Photo credit Mark Moriarty

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viii

Brief Contents Foreword xiv

Preface xvii

I Setting the Stage: Multicultural Education Within a Sociopolitical Context 1

Understanding the Sociopolitical Context of Schooling 3

Defining Multicultural Education for School Reform by Sonia Nieto 30

II Developing a Conceptual Framework for Multicultural Education 47

Racism, Discrimination, and Expectations of Students’ Achievement 49

Structural and Organizational Issues in Classrooms and Schools 91

Culture, Identity, and Learning 135

Linguistic Diversity in U.S. Classrooms 184

Understanding Student Learning and School Achievement 215

III Implications of Diversity for Teaching and Learning in a Multicultural Society 247

Learning from Students 249

Adapting Curriculum for Multicultural Classrooms by Patty Bode 289

Affirming Diversity: Implications for Teachers, Schools, Families, and Communities 321

References 341

Index 355

1

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ix

Task 6: Examining Political Struggles— Multicultural Education, Backlash, and Legislation 21

The Back-to-Basics Argument 21 • Eroding the Tradi- tional Educational Canon 22 • Political Struggles of Legislation and Policy 23

Conclusion 28 To Think About 28

Activities for Personal, School, and Community Change 28

Chapter 1 Notes 29

Defining Multicultural Education for School Reform by Sonia Nieto 30

Why School Reform? 31

A Definition of Multicultural Education 31 Multicultural Education Is Antiracist Education 32 • Multicultural Education Is Basic Education 35

About Terminology: The Conundrum of Race 36

Multicultural Education Is Important for All Students 37 • Multicultural Education Is Pervasive 38

What You Can Do “Multiculturalize” Your Lessons 39

Multicultural Education Is Education for Social Justice 39 • Multicultural Education Is a Process 40 • Multicultural Education Is Critical Pedagogy 41

What You Can Do Learn About, and Practice, Critical Pedagogy 42

Conclusion 45 To Think About 45

Activities for Personal, School, and Community Change 45

Chapter 2 Notes 46

2

Contents Foreword xiv

Preface xvii

I Setting the Stage: Multicultural Education Within a Sociopolitical Context 1

Understanding the Sociopolitical Context of Schooling 3

Assumptions Underlying this Text 3 Identity, Difference, Power, and Privilege Are All Connected 4 • Multicultural Education Is Inclusive of Many Differences: Lenses of Race, Ethnicity, and Language 4 • Teachers Are Not the Villains 5 • Quality Public Education Is a Cause Worth Fighting For 5

Defining the Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education 6

Task 1: Clarifying Three Goals and Four Key Terms of Multicultural Education 6

Defining Key Terms in Multicultural Education 7

Task 2: Dissolving Myths About Immigration and Difference 12

What You Can Do Your Story and the Stories of Others: Immigrant Nation 14

Task 3: Naming the Underpinnings of Educational Structures 14

School-Level Policies and Practices 15

Task 4: Studying the Demographic Mosaic of U.S. Schools and Society 16

What You Can Do Explore Your Own Heritage and the Heritage of Others 19

Task 5: Using Qualitative Research to Understand Students’ Sociopolitical Contexts 19

Choosing Methodology: What Are Case Studies? 19 • Beyond Generalizations and Stereotypes 20 • Learning from the Case Studies and Snapshots 21

1

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x CONTENTS

What You Can Do Detrack Extracurricular Activities 94

Retention 95

Standardized Testing 96 What You Can Do Be Proactive About Tests 98

The Curriculum 99 What You Can Do Use the Curriculum Critically 102

Pedagogy 103 What You Can Do Punch Up Your Pedagogy! 105

School Climate 105 School Climate: Social and Emotional Learning 106 • School Climate: Anti-Bullying Ini- tiatives 106 • School Climate: Physical Violence and Safety 107 • School Climate: School Buildings, Physical Environment, School and Class Size 109

What You Can Do Enliven Your Environment 110

Disciplinary Policies 110 What You Can Do Create Inclusive Disciplinary Practices 111

The Limited Role of Students 112

The Limited Role of Teachers 113 Multicultural Teaching Story Boston Teachers Union School: Teacher Leadership and Student Achievement 114

Limited Family and Community Involvement 118 What You Can Do Vigorously Promote Family Outreach 118

Conclusion 119 To Think About 120

Activities for Personal, School, and Community Change 120

Chapter 4 Notes 120

CASE STUDIES Avi Abramson 121

Jasper and Viena Alejandro-Quinn 128

About Terminology: American Indians, Native Americans, Indigenous People 133

Culture, Identity, and Learning 135

Countering Color-Blind Classrooms 135

Defining Culture 137

Hybridity: Another Way of Understanding Culture 138

Beyond Race and Ethnicity 139

Influence of Culture on Learning 139

Learning Styles, Preferences, Intelligences, and Power 142

5

II Developing a Conceptual Framework for Multicultural Education 47

Racism, Discrimination, and Expectations of Students’ Achievement 49

Racism and Discrimination: Definitions and Dimensions 49

Critical Race Theory and Other Frameworks 50 • Obstinacy of Conventional Norms 50 • Institutional Practices 51

What You Can Do Directly Confront Racism and Discrimination 53

The History and Persistence of Racism in U.S. Schools 53 • Manifestations of Racism and Discrimination in Schools 54

Racism, Discrimination, and Silence 56 Multicultural Teaching Story Immigration Rights and Family Stories 57

Expectations of Students’ Achievement 61

SNAPSHOT Aiden and Daniel O’Carroll 62 About Terminology: White Privilege 63

What You Can Do Start Early 64

Considerations About Research on Teacher Expectations 65

High Expectations as Antiracist Teaching 65

SNAPSHOT Kaval Sethi 66 What You Can Do Promoting Racial Literacy in Your Classroom and School 68

Conclusion 69 To Think About 69

Activities for Personal, School, and Community Change 69

Chapter 3 Notes 70

CASE STUDIES Delilah Rogers 71

Linda Howard 77

About Terminology: Whites, European Americans 85

Rashaud Kates 86

Structural and Organizational Issues in Classrooms and Schools 91

Tracking 92

3

4

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CONTENTS xi

Power Differences 143 • Multiple Intelligences and Multicultural Education 143

Communication and Pedagogy 144 What You Can Do Teach Through the Transformational Inquiry Method 145

What You Can Do Research Families’ Funds of Knowledge 147

Cultural Discontinuities and School Achievement 147

Discontinuities in Language 147 • Discontinuities in Perspectives on School Achievement 148 • Confronting Myths to Address Discontinuities 148 • Historical Causes of Discontinuities 149

Culturally Relevant, Responsive, and Sustaining Education 150

Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy 150

A Critical Appraisal of Culture-Specific Accommodations 151

Conclusion 152 To Think About 153

Activities for Personal, School, and Community Change 153

Chapter 5 Notes 153

CASE STUDIES Yahaira León 154

About Terminology: Latinos, Hispanics, and Others 162

James Karam 162

Hoang Vinh 169

Rebecca Florentina 177

Linguistic Diversity in U.S. Classrooms 184

Definitions and Demographics 184

Language Diversity in U.S. Schools: A Brief History 186

Language Diversity, the Courts, and the Law 186

Linguistic Diversity and Learning 189

Understanding Language in a Sociopolitical Context 190

SNAPSHOT Liane Chang 192

Approaches to Teaching Emergent Bilingual Students 193

About Terminology: Asians/Pacific Islanders 193

Understanding Language Development and Second- Language Acquisition 194

6

Developing an Additive Bilingual Perspective 194 What You Can Do Accept Students’ Identities 195

Consciously Fostering Native-Language Literacy 195

Program Models for Teaching Emergent Bilinguals 196

Structured English Immersion (SEI) 196 • English as a Second Language 196 • Bilingual Education 196

Problems and Challenges 198 What You Can Do Accept Students’ Language 199

Conclusion 200 To Think About 200

Activities for Personal, School, and Community Change 200

Chapter 6 Notes 201

CASE STUDIES Manuel Gomes 201

Alicia Montejo 208

Understanding Student Learning and School Achievement 215

Caring Relationships, Hope and Healing 216 Caring as Hopeful Power to Transform Trauma 217

Teacher Expectations and Asset-Based Pedagogy 218

Asset-Based Perspectives in Policy and Systemic Change 219

Out-of-School Factors 220 Economic and Social Reproduction and Out-of-School Factors 220 • Communities Respond to Out-of-School Factors 220 • Out-of-School Factors (OSFs) and Policy Proposals 221

What You Can Do Build Collegial Relationships for Solidarity Rooted in Research 222

Discipline Disparities and Restorative Justice 223 Resistance, Discipline Disparities, and the School-to- Prison Pipeline 223 • Restorative Justice Practices in Schools 224

What You Can Do Engage in Collaborative Research to Promote Teaching as Intellectual Work 225

SNAPSHOT Nini Rostland 225 About Terminology: Mixed Race/Multiracial/ Multicultural/Multiethnic 227

Student Identities Within School Structures 227 Racial Opportunity Cost and a Re-Examination of “Acting White” 228

7

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xii CONTENTS

Conclusion 230 To Think About 230

Activities for Personal, School, and Community Change 231

Chapter 7 Notes 231

CASE STUDIES Paul Chavez 232

Latrell Elton III 241

III Implications of Diversity for Teaching and Learning in a Multicultural Society 247

Learning from Students 249

Redefining Success and Achievement 249

Pride and Conflict in Culture and Language 250 Conflict and Ambivalence 251 • Self-Identification and Conflict 253

SNAPSHOT Gamini Padmaperuma 254

Creating New Cultures 255 • Identity and Learning 257

What You Can Do Become Knowledgeable About Arab and Arab American Students 258

Beyond Academics 258 Keeping on Track 259

What You Can Do Widen Horizons by Acknowledging What You Do Not Know 260

Shields Against Peer Pressure 260 • Developing Critical Thinking and Leadership Skills 260 • Belonging 261

Family, Community, and School Environments for Success 262

The Crucial Role of Family 262

Multicultural Teaching Story Dr. Renee Spanos Klein and Teacher Caring 264

Teachers, Schools, and Caring 267

Conclusion 268 To Think About 268

Activities for Personal, School, and Community Change 269

Chapter 8 Notes 269

CASE STUDIES Nadia Bara 270

Savoun Nouch 276

Christina Kamau 282

8

Adapting Curriculum for Multicultural Classrooms by Patty Bode 289

Curricular Adaptation 1: A Study of Cambodia and the Cambodian American Experience 290

What We Don’t Know 291 • Preparation 291 • Goal Setting 291 • The Work of Learning 292

What You Can Do Teach for Interreligious Understanding in Your Multicultural Curriculum 297

Curricular Adaptation 2: Expanding Definitions of Family 298

Why the Topic of Family? 298 • Who Is Included? 299 • Avoiding Pitfalls 299 • First-Grade Curriculum Based on Big Ideas in Gina Simm’s and Susie Secco’s Classrooms 300

Middle School Interdisciplinary Curriculum on the Theme of Family 304

What You Can Do Make Your School a “Welcoming School” 305

What You Can Do Use Technology to Expand Multicul- tural Curriculum 309

Curricular Adaptation 3: LGBTQ Literature: Expanding Topics for Inclusive High School Content 310

Imagining Possibilities 310 • Student Requests and Requirements 311 • Student Voices 312 • Evolution of Curriculum 312

Multicultural Teaching Story Bill Blatner: Teaching Math with Belief in Every Kid 313

SNAPSHOT Eugene Crocket 317

Conclusion 318 To Think About 318

Activities for Personal, School, and Community Change 319

Chapter 9 Notes 319

Affirming Diversity: Implications for Teachers, Schools, Families, and Communities 321

Lessons from Students: Maintaining and Affirming Identity 322

Supporting Native-Language Approaches 322 • Develop- ing Comprehensive Multicultural Programs 323

SNAPSHOT David Weiss 324 Support Beyond Academics 325

Creating Affirming Environments for Learning 325 Mutual Accommodation 326 • Teachers’ Relationships with Students 326 • Working with Families to Promote Student Learning 328

9

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CONTENTS xiii

Expanding Definitions: What It Means to Be American 329

Challenging “Heartbreaking Dilemmas” 329 • Toward Additive Multiculturalism 330 • A More Expansive Defi- nition of American 330 • Eliminating shame and culti- vating pride 331

Levels of Multicultural Education 331 Starting Out 332 • Becoming a Multicultural Person 332 • A Model of Multicultural Educa- tion 333 • Balancing Hope and Despair 337

Final Thoughts 338 To Think About 339

Activities for Personal, School, and Community Change 339

Chapter 10 Notes 340

References 341

Index 355

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xiv

Foreword

I t is a privilege to be associated with this seventh edition of Affirming Diversity, a book that has exerted a profound impact on American schools and teacher education programs since its first edition in 1992. This is a textbook like no

other. It refuses to “play it safe” by glossing over the historical and current realities of discrimination and exclusion in American and other societies. Over 25 years, it has drawn from the lives of teachers and students to illustrate the impact of overt racism and more subtle forms of institutional racism on the educational experi- ences of students of color. It has highlighted the challenges experienced by LGBTQ students as they negotiate their evolving identities in the face of widespread soci- etal rejection. And it has exposed the irrationality of educational policies that encourage bilingual students to abandon their home languages despite extensive research evidence that the continued development of bilingualism and biliteracy promotes academic achievement (e.g., August & Shanahan, 2006).

Affirming Diversity provides educators with a powerful set of conceptual tools to push back against these societal power relations that constrict the instructional space experienced by minoritized students. A central message throughout the book is that teachers have choices. Teacher agency is the key to implementing instruction that connects with students’ lives and affirms their identities. In their own classrooms, teachers can foster critical literacy and extend instruction to “uncomfortable” topics and issues. Many teachers, particularly in relatively afflu- ent suburban schools, may prefer to avoid discomfort for themselves and their students. As one of the young people highlighted in this book, ninth grader Delilah Rogers insightfully observes, “Talking about race is like a ticking time bomb.” However, if we avoid talking about race, power, and multiple forms of diversity, are we simply transmitting a sanitized curriculum, rather than educating our stu- dents? Are we perpetuating and complicit with societal discourses that implicitly but clearly state that black lives don’t matter, that demonize immigrants and refu- gees, and that ignore the rapidly increasing gap between affluent and impover- ished communities?

As these questions illustrate, teacher identity is central to effective instruction. Despite many constraints imposed by federal and state policies, as teachers, we always have at least some degrees of freedom in how we interact with students, how we connect with their cultural experiences and language talents, how we involve parents in their children’s learning, how we adapt content to link with students’ background knowledge and experiences, and in the levels of cognitive engagement we try to evoke through our instruction. Alternative modes of assess- ment (such as portfolio assessment) can also present a counter-discourse to the inaccurate and misleading account of student progress and effort often reflected in standardized test scores. In articulating our choices, both individually and collec- tively, we rediscover and shape our own identities as educators and we also become aware of the identity options that our instruction helps construct for our students.

Sonia Nieto and Patty Bode open up a dialogical sphere of both affirmation and resistance: affirmation of student and teacher identity and resistance to coer- cive and misguided top-down control. When we realize that we do have choices, and when we articulate these choices explicitly, we take the first steps toward empowerment, which can be defined as the collaborative creation of power. Dis- empowered teachers are not in a position to create contexts of empowerment for

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FOREWORD xv

xv

their students. We need to understand, and rediscover, the power that we bring to the classroom, not as instructional technicians who simply transmit the curricu- lum, but as educators whose instructional choices exert a dramatic impact on the lives of our students.

Affirming Diversity challenges us, as educators, to make explicit the image of our students and of our society that is implied by our interactions in the school context. What kind of people do we hope our students will grow up to be? What kinds of abilities and knowledge are accessible to them in our classrooms? What kind of society do we hope they will create? The answers to all these questions are written in the daily record of our interactions with our students. Our interactions with students and communities constitute a moral enterprise, whether we define it explicitly as such or not.

Students’ and teachers’ voices occupy a central place in this book. They com- plement and illustrate the theoretical analyses and remind us that the interactions between educators and students dramatically affect not only the acquisition of knowledge and skills but also the creation of both student and teacher identity. Unfortunately, in many classrooms, the curriculum has been sanitized such that opportunities for critical reflection on personal and collective identity and on issues of social justice are minimized. The image of our students and society implied by this pedagogical orientation is an image of compliant consumers who will gratefully accept their place within the existing power structure and who can easily be manipulated to exercise their democratic rights to preserve that power structure.

A radically different image is implied by the pedagogical orientations articu- lated in Affirming Diversity. Students are viewed as critical thinkers capable of, and responsible for, creating change through action both in their own lives and in the broader society. Their interactions in school provide opportunities to collabo- rate across cultural and linguistic boundaries in the generation, interpretation, and application of knowledge. The curriculum orients students toward critical reflec- tion on issues of social justice and how personal and collective identities are inter- twined with historical and current societal power relations.

The term “multicultural education” does not figure prominently in the educa- tional prescriptions of what historian Diane Ravitch (2013) has called the “corpo- rate reformers” whose focus is increasing test scores and privatizing as much of education as possible. Multicultural education is frequently dismissed within this perspective as, at best, an off-task frill or, at worst, a radical challenge to funda- mental values of American society. However, the alternative to multicultural edu- cation is monocultural education. The history of monocultural education is written in the certainties of the Crusades and the Inquisition, the smug brutalities of slav- ery, the casual eradication of the language, culture, and identity of generations of Native American children “educated” in boarding schools, as well as in contempo- rary claims of fundamentalist groups, from various religious persuasions, to have exclusive access to ultimate truths. Surely, 9/11 should have brought home to us the destructive power of monocultural fundamentalist belief systems and the need to figure out ways of living together in a global context where cross-cultural con- tact and population mobility are at an all-time high in human history.

Affirming Diversity not only constitutes an eloquent and forceful statement about the importance of multicultural education to our society, it also affirms the central role that individual educators play in nurturing and shaping the lives and identities of our youth. To be a teacher is to be a visionary—as we interact with our students, we envisage what contributions they will play in shaping a better society and we orchestrate our classroom interactions to enable them to realize these possibilities. The pages of this book resonate with the voices of educators whose vision of education encompasses equal opportunity for all students and whose instruction focuses on expanding minds as the primary means of attaining curriculum goals.

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xvi FOREWORD

Affirming Diversity does not supply prescriptions or formulaic solutions, but it does present extensive empirical research and invites us to think and talk about our own identities as educators and the potential and consequences of the choices we make on a daily basis. As such, it represents a powerful source of inspiration, ideas, and solidarity for all of us who see social justice and equity as important core values within our educational systems. Affirming Diversity also highlights the fact that our global society can use all of the multilingual and multicultural intelli- gence it can get. The consequences of squandering the intellectual, linguistic, and cultural resources that our students bring to school can be seen in our domestic prisons, in our battlefields abroad, and in the spiritual malaise that afflicts our society. This book does not provide a map, but it is a powerful source of inspiration—it breathes new life into those of us who believe that education is fun- damentally an ethical imperative, rather than just an economic or bureaucratic exercise.

Jim Cummins University of Toronto

References August, D., & Shanahan, T. (Eds.). (2006). Developing literacy in second-language learners. Report of

the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Ravitch, D. (2013). Reign of error: The hoax of the privatization movement and the danger to America’s public schools. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

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xvii

Preface

M uch has changed in our society and in the world since the sixth edition of Affirming Diversity was published. The United States is still engaged in two long-running wars (in Iraq and Afghanistan), and most recently, the conflict

in Syria, while the threat of violence and terrorism still looms large on the world stage. Interethnic, interracial, and interreligious hostility around the world, a leading cause of ever more conflicts and wars, remains rampant. As a result, the number of immigrants and refugees fleeing such conflicts is at an all-time high, and although they have been welcomed in some nations, they have been roundly rejected in others. The range of cultural and social differences in our communities, schools, and class- rooms has increased tremendously over the past several decades. All of these issues have considerable consequences for our nation’s classrooms. Moreover, with the elec- tion of a president in 2016 with seemingly little knowledge, or appreciation, of public education, the federal government’s growing commitment to privatization, vouchers, and charter schools places public schools in a precarious position. These changes sig- nal a dramatic shift in our nation’s historic commitment to public education.

The changing landscape of our world, our nation, and our schools confirms the pressing need for interethnic understanding and cooperation, a need that is more evident than ever before. At the same time, while multicultural and social justice education are recognized by many as essential for living in today’s world, many teachers and other educators are woefully unprepared to deal with the tre- mendous diversity they will face in their classrooms—diversity not only of race, ethnicity, and gender, but also of religion, ability, social class, life opportunities, and more. In addition, the growing inequality in our schools and society, an inequality leading to ever more alienation and anger among segments of the popu- lation who have been overlooked and underappreciated, is leading to more con- flict in our streets, legislatures, courts, and, of course, our schools.

This leads us to the need for this book. It is not only about cultural diversity but also, and just as significantly, about why students succeed or fail in school. The subject of much research and debate, this topic has particular salience for students whose racial, ethnic, linguistic, or social identities differ from those of the dominant group. In this book, we consider these matters in relation to a comprehensive understanding of the current sociopolitical context. That is, rather than focus only on individual experiences or psychological responses to schooling, we explore how societal and educational structures, policies, and practices affect student learning, and we suggest some ways that teachers as well as other educators, individually and collectively, can provide high-quality education in spite of obstacles that may get in the way. For us, multicultural education needs to consider not just schooling but also the social, economic, and political context of the world in which we live.

In this seventh edition of Affirming Diversity, we continue to explore such matters as diversity, equity, and equality, bringing our discussion up to date by considering issues of current policy, practice, and legislation. For example, high- stakes testing, the growing standardization of the curriculum, vouchers, “choice,” charter schools, and a marketization of schooling have had a tremendous impact on public schools in the past several decades. Increasingly, education is being defined by policies far removed from daily classroom life but nevertheless having enormous consequences for teachers, students, families, and communities. The growing diversity in our nation and debates over immigration, the U.S. invasion of Iraq and subsequent wars in which the United States is engaged, the economic

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xviii PREFACE

recession and slow recovery, and its impact on many segments of the population, inter-ethnic and interracial strife here and abroad, regional wars around the world, global warming, the devastation of the environment—all of these call for a differ- ent way to interact in the world. Not coincidentally, burgeoning awareness and militancy have developed among educators who have tired of the unjustified blame they receive for many of the problems in education. Their growing mili- tancy is evident in numerous organizations focused on calls for social justice in education and teacher empowerment, sometimes through teacher unions and many times separate from them. This, too, is a significant situation that must be considered in writing a book on education in today’s world.

Given the situation briefly sketched above, we believe teachers and prospec- tive teachers need, more than ever, to understand how the larger societal context affects students, particularly those most marginalized in schools, and in society in general. Why do some students succeed academically, while others fail? What do race/ethnicity, social class, language, gender, sexual orientation, ability, and other differences have to do with learning? What is the real significance of the “achieve- ment gap”? How does the societal context influence what happens in your school? Do your school’s and your school system’s policies and practices exacerbate and perpetuate inequality? Can teachers and other educators turn this situation around? What is your role and how can you face these challenges with hope and joy? Affirming Diversity is an attempt to answer these questions—and more—that both new and veteran teachers face every day in increasingly diverse classrooms and in schools that are becoming more bureaucratic and standardized.

About This Book Affirming Diversity explores the meaning, necessity, and benefits of multicul- tural education for students from all backgrounds through an extensive review of research that explores:

• Influences on schooling and learning, such as:

• The sociopolitical context of schools and society

• Racism and other biases and expectations of students’ achievement

• School organization and educational policies and practices

• Cultural and other differences, including ethnicity, race, gender, language, sexual orientation, religion, and social class

• A conceptual framework for multicultural education based on that investigation

• Case studies and snapshots—in the words of a selected group of students from a variety of backgrounds—about home, school, and community experiences and how these have influenced their school experiences

• Teaching stories that highlight specific teachers and the inspiring work they do in their classrooms to address issues of equity and diversity in a variety of set- tings, course content, and grade levels

The book presents data on the multicultural nature of schools and society, including information about different sociocultural groups, their experiences in schools, and the issues and challenges they face.

Affirming Diversity consists of 10 chapters organized in three parts. Part I sets the stage for understanding the sociopolitical context of multicultural education. Part II develops the conceptual framework for multicultural education, emphasiz- ing institutional and cultural factors in schooling and individual and group responses to diversity. This section explores the multiple forces that may affect the school achievement of students from a variety of backgrounds.

To provide insights into the interrelated roles that discrimination, school poli- cies and practices, and culture play in the education of students in the classroom,

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PREFACE xix

we present 16 case studies and 7 snapshots. Incorporated throughout Parts II and III, the case studies and snapshots highlight salient issues discussed in particular chapters, and they provide a concrete means for addressing issues of diversity and success or failure in schools. We hope that the case studies and snapshots will help you more fully understand the lives and school experiences of a variety of young people who reflect our nation’s growing diversity. Parts II and III also con- tain a number of multicultural teaching stories that epitomize what teachers can do, individually and in collaboration with one another, to put into practice some of the theories developed throughout the text.

Part III focuses on the implications of the case studies, snapshots, and teach- ing stories for teaching and learning in a multicultural society such as ours. We use themes that emerged from interviews with students and teachers to emphasize conditions that may affect learning for different students. In Chapter 9, three spe- cific curriculum ideas for elementary, middle, and high schools are comprehen- sively described. These examples embody what the previous chapters have defined as multicultural education, that is, education that affirms diversity, encourages critical thinking, and leads to social justice and action. Chapter 10 offers sugges- tions for developing environments that foster high-quality education, concentrat- ing on multicultural education as a process. In addition, in Chapter 10, we propose a model of multicultural education that affirms all students.

Each chapter concludes with (1) a series of problems or situations for you to contemplate and (2) suggestions for classroom activities and community actions. By including these, we are not implying that there are immediate or easy answers to the dilemmas you face in schools every day. The purpose of posing particular problems and proposing activities to address them is to suggest that careful atten- tion needs to be paid to the many manifestations of inequality in our schools and that productive resolutions can be achieved when teachers, students, families, and communities reflect critically on these problems and work together to solve them.

New to This Edition Previous readers may notice a broad range of changes in this new edition.

About Terminology In the sixth edition, we took each section of the chapter that in previous editions was titled “About Terminology” and incorporated those sections throughout the book. In this seventh edition, we continue to include the same feature, one that clarifies what terms to use when referring to specific kinds of people, and how to identify respectful language that describes group affiliations. You will see these terms highlighted in boxes nearby case studies and snapshots when relevant to the identities of the students discussed in those features. One About Terminology box is new to this edition; titled “White Privilege,” it appears in Chapter 3.