According to a recent report, by the year 2020, more than 50% of the U.S. public school population will be classified as persons of color; that is, students from African, African-American, American Indian, Latino, and Pacific Islander backgrounds (Aud, Fox, & KewalRamani, 2010). As a result of these changing demographics, it is essential for…

Parental engagement in education has proven to be important to children's academic success. Research suggests that when parents are involved in their children's schooling, children tend to be motivated learners, have high educational aspirations, get good grades, and experience a sense of school belonging (Cheung & Pomerantz, 2012;…

In India, multicultural experience is represented by what is called a "unity in diversity" pattern. This includes the diversity of religious communities, languages, ethnicities, and the minority populations in each of the states and regions that comprise the nation. Thus, theories of multicultural accommodation are one of India's…

In "The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America," Kozol (2005) asked a question that many educators and other education stakeholders still wonder about in regards to the educational progress for many urban school students in the United States, "What do we need to do to alter these realities?" (p.…

Humanity has recently steered itself into an era of environmental instability where the earth is ravaged of its natural resources, where the biodiversity of living organisms is decreasing everyday, and where a rapidly growing human population has become a driving factor in an impending ecological crisis (Rockström et al., 2009; Steffen et al.,…

The collection of articles presented in this special issue of "Multicultural Education" takes on an enhanced level of topicality and immediacy in light of the crossroads at which both multiculturalism and multicultural education find themselves in both the United States and the West generally. What can be taken from this collection is…

The U.S. Census Bureau (2009) reports that over 50% of school-age children will be other than non-Hispanic Caucasians by 2023. In an effort to help meet the imperative need for preservice teachers who are well prepared to work with these students from diverse cultural backgrounds, as well as for teacher education programs to more fully…

Schools in Guam function to Americanize immigrants by adjusting different sociocultural values to American mainstream beliefs and practices which are considered norms, such as the matters of hygiene, manners, and farming and food preparation process. However, the educators in this study manifested their different ways of understanding and an…

Research suggests that while students in public schools in the U.S. are becoming increasingly diverse in terms of race, ethnicity, class, and culture, the pool of prospective teachers is made up largely of White, middle-class women. The demographic imperative indicates that this trend will remain stable for the foreseeable future, reinforcing the…

In today's ever changing multicultural society, it is imperative for early childhood educators to be adept at facilitating the learning and progress of all children. In the United States, children of color make up about 40% of the population, and across the world children of color make up approximately 70% of the population. A primary goal in…

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM, 2000) has created a set of standards to reform mathematics teaching procedures to ensure that all students understand mathematics and learn to think mathematically. The standards also require teachers to use strategies that allow all students to reason and communicate mathematically and…

The authors of this article work in a university-based teacher preparation program designed to prepare teachers to serve in urban, historically underserved schools. Entrance to the program is competitive. Preservice teachers are selected, in part, for their rich life experiences and interest in working in high-needs schools. Even with this…

The course the author teaches in Cultural Diversity is a requirement for pre-service teachers seeking a Preliminary Teaching Credential as well as for in-service teachers who have returned to earn the California Teachers of English Learners (CTEL) Certificate. As part of this course the author requires a literature analysis assignment. In this…

Scholars for decades now have argued for the importance of multiculturalism in the United States, as they become a more diverse society. Multicultural education has the potential to provide a curriculum that is inclusive, offering multiple perspectives, and concerned with equity. It is without question the responsibility of colleges and…

In the very near future, Latino students will become the majority in California's public schools and because of their great numbers and presence, the pattern of lackluster academic achievement must be a major concern of teachers, school leaders, and policy makers. Despite having made great strides in narrowing the gap that separated them from…