Description
Heroes, cultural components,
holidays, and other discrete elements related to ethnic groups are added to the
curriculum on special days, occasions, and celebrations.
·
Famous Mexican
Americans are studied only during the week of Cinco de Mayo (May 5). African
Americans are studied during African American History Month in February but rarely
during the rest of the year.
·
Ethnic foods are
studied in the first grade with little attention devoted to .the cultures in
which the foods are embedded.
Strengths
·
Provides a quick and
relatively easy way to put ethnic content into the curriculum.
·
Gives ethnic heroes
visibility in the curriculum alongside mainstream heroes.
·
Is a popular approach
among teachers and educators.
Problems
·
.Results in a
superficial understanding of ethnic cultures.
·
Focuses on the
lifestyles and artifacts of ethnic groups and reinforces stereotypes and
misconceptions.
·
Mainstream criteria are
used to select heroes and cultural elements for inclusion in the curriculum.
Description
This approach consists of
the addition of content, concepts, themes, and perspectives to the curriculum
without changing its structure.
ExampIes
·
Adding the book The
Color Purple to the literature unit without reconceptualizing the unit or
giving the students the background knowledge to understand the book.
·
Adding a unit on the
Japanese American internment to a U.S. history course without treating the
Japanese in any other unit.
·
Leaving the core
curriculum intact but adding an ethnic studies course as an elective that focuses on a specific ethnic group.
Strengths
·
Makes it possible to
add ethnic content to the curriculum without changing its structure, which
requires substantial curriculum changes and 'staff development.
·
Can be implemented
within the existing curriculum structure.
Problems
· Reinforces the idea that ethnic history and culture are not an integral part of the U.S. mainstream culture.
·
Students view ethnic
groups from Anglocentric and Eurocentric perspectives.
·
Failes to help students
understand how the dominant culture and ethnic cultures are interconnected and
interrelated
Description
The basic goals,
structure, and nature of the curriculum are changed to enable students to view concepts,
events, issues, problems, and themes from the perspectives of diverse cultural,
ethnic, and racial groups
Examples
· A unit on the American Revolution describes the meaning of the revolution to Anglo revolutionaries and Anglo loyalists, African Americans, Indians, and the British.
· A unit on Twentieth century U.S. literature includes works by William Faulkner, Joyce Carol Oates, Langston Hughes, N.. Scott Mornoday, Saul Bellow, Maxine Hong Kingston, Rodolfo A. Anaya, and Piri Thomas.
Strengths
·
Enables students to
understand the complex ways in which racial and cultural groups participated in
the formation of U.S. society and culture. . Helps reduce racial and ethnic
encapsulation. . Enables diverse ethnic, racial, and religious groups to see their
cultures, ethos, and perspectives in the school curriculum.
·
Gives students a
balanced view of the nature and development of U.S. culture and society.
·
Helps empower
victimized racial, ethnic, and cultural groups.
Problems
·
The implementation of
this approach requires substantial curriculum revision, in-service training,
and the identification and development of materials written from the
perspectives of various racial and cultural groups.
·
Staff development for
the institutionalization of this approach must be continual and ongoing.
Description
In this approach, students identify important social problems and issues, gather pertinent data, clarify their values on the issues, and take reflective actions to help resolve the issue or problem.
Examples
·
A class studies
prejudice and discrimination in their school and decides to take actions to
improve race relations in the school.
·
A class studies the
treatment of ethnic groups in a local newspaper and writes. a letter to the
newspaper publisher suggesting ways in which the treatment of ethnic groups in
the newspapers should be improved.
Strengths
·
Enables students to
improve their thinking, value analysis, decision-making, and social-action
skills . Enables students to improve their data-gathering skills
·
Helps students develop
a sense of political efficacy
·
Helps students improve
their skills to work in groups
Problems
·
Requires a considerable
amount of curriculum planning and materials identification
·
May be longer in
duration than more traditional teaching units
·
May focus on problems
and issues considered controversial by some members of the school staff and
citizens of the community
·
Students may be able to
take few meaningful actions that contribute to the resolution of the social
issue or problem