Research indicates that minority students are more "field sensitive" and less "field independent" than non-minority students in their approach to learning. This means that minority students are more group oriented, more sensitive to the social environment, more responsive to adult models, less competitive, less sensitive to spatial incursions by others, less comfortable in trial and error situations, and less interested in the details of non-social tasks. Differences in cognitive styles, which are greatly influenced by cultural and family socialization, must be considered in improving educational programs. A cognitive styles framework would be useful in developing multicultural education that reinforces familiar ways of learning and at the same time encourages flexibility in cognitive style by introducing students to new ways of learning. Learning experiences for multicultural educational programs based on this framework have been developed from assessments of students' learning experiences and preferences gathered through direct observation rather than through traditional research and testing tools. In schools where such programs have been tried out, program participants have performed better on achievement tests than non-participants of comparable background and have shown improvement in self esteem and respect for cultural diversity. Furthermore, teachers involved in the program have demonstrated increased sensitivity to individual differences among children. (Author/MJL)