Title: African American Scholarship and the Evolution of Multicultural Education
Abstract: Consensus among scholars within multicultural education about its aims and boundaries is emerging. Most multicultural education specialists believe that a major aim of the field is to restructure schools, colleges, and universities so that students from diverse racial, ethnic, and socialclass groups will experience an equal opportunity to learn (Banks, 1988; Banks & Banks, 1989; Gay, in press; Grant, 1977). As schools, colleges, and universities are currently structured, some groups of students, such as middle-class White males, have a better chance for academic success than have others, such as African American males, especially those who live in low-income, inner-city communities (Gibbs, 1988). Although there is a high level of consensus among multicultural education theorists and specialists about the broad aims of the field, there is less agreement among them about its exact boundaries, dimensions, and specifics. Some theorists focus their work primarily on ethnic groups of color (i.e., African Americans and Latinos) (Baker, 1983; Bennett, 1990). Other theorists conceptualize multicultural education more broadly and include race, class, gender, and exceptionality-and the interaction of these variables-as important components of the field (Banks & Banks, 1989; Garcia, 1991; Gollnick & Chin, 1990). Banks (1988) makes an important distinction between multiethnic education, which focuses on ethnic and racial groups, and multicultural education, which deals with race, class, gender, and exceptionality and their interaction. However, this distinction is rarely made by other theorists and investigators.
Publication Year: 1992
Publication Date: 1992-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 58
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