Evaluates whether inservicing teachers on reading and writing about culturally diverse literature translates into better thinking and writing on the part of ethnic and linguistic minority students. An evaluation study involving 283 high school students reveals very positive results in the cognitive and affective impact on ethnic and linguistic…

Identifies how students perceive racism and its effects on student learning and whether antiracist/multicultural arts (ARMA) curricula can empower students to address racism in schools. Results show racism, through students' eyes, damages learning, attitudes, and behavior. ARMA positively effected students' ability to confront racism within their…

Gaps between multicultural theory and practice present some serious challenges and opportunities for future directions in the field. Instead of arguing about the best way to do multicultural education, it is more useful and empowering to legitimize multiple-levels appropriateness in working toward systemic reform. (SLD)

A study focusing on 113 ninth graders of Mexican descent indicates that most students and their parents adhere to a strategy of additive acculturation (incorporating skills of the new culture and language), but that the school curriculum and general school climate devalue Mexican culture. (SLD)

The affirmative action efforts of the College of Engineering at the University of California Davis campus demonstrate affirmative action at its best. Eight programs are described that represent positive and constructive affirmative action that gives women and minorities the opportunity to advance through hard work. (SLD)

Two contemporary films, "Braveheart" and "Rob Roy," depict Scottish ethnicity from a rather narrow perspective. The positions that are sentimentally admired when attributed to white natives of Scotland are horrifying when expressed by contemporary peoples of color. These films raise interesting questions about the true nature…

Analyzes two textbooks currently used in teaching eighth-grade students South Carolina history to determine how issues of race and ethnicity are addressed. The analysis shows that neither textbook offers students a desirable picture of race in South Carolina, nor will they help to change young readers' views of the history of race relations and…

Provides a rationale for teaching about Malcolm X and recommends instructional strategies and suggested materials. The author also offers additional suggestions for activities that can engage students to make other historical connections. (GR)

Considers, within the multicultural context, the extent to which the elements of "story" are present in the classroom curriculum and how the "telling" momentarily preempts the possibility of all but a single interpretation. The author reconsiders content sources and the blind adherence to these sources which can bias learning…

Examines the movie "White Man's Burden" and, by its reversing of social ideologies and stereotypes, the questions arising from it about race relations in America. The author addresses the movie's shortcomings in dealing with race relations in part because it leaves intact ideologies and moralities based on class without defining…

Examines mass media's power and techniques as an influential teacher of multicultural issues, and explores how schools can build on the media-based construction of multicultural education. It is argued that when schools increase student involvement in analyzing the media's message system dealing with diversity, they play a greater role in…

Criticizes the movie "Schindler's List" as portraying the Holocaust in a profane manner. The author suggests Schindler is a bad choice as a protagonist because his story distracts the audience from the real victims. He views the choice of a non-Jew in a heroic portrayal of this type as one culture's way of popularizing another culture's…

Describes New College of California's implementation of the year-long Elementary Teacher Credential program, a broad multicultural vision with extensive pedagogical goals. The article focuses primarily on innovative aspects of the program designed to provide teachers with the skills and understanding needed for the culturally diverse twenty-first…

Analyzes obstacles facing multicultural/bilingual teacher education reform in the context of California's Crosscultural Language and Academic Development (CLAD) or Bilingual Crosscultural Language and Academic Development (BCLAD) programs, which try to translate theoretical frameworks concerned with cultural difference into credentialing policy.…

This collaborative review finds much to criticize in this fictional portrayal of the experiences of a young girl at the Carlisle Indian School, including a lack of clarity about the fictional nature of the story. Stereotyping and historical inaccuracies make this book add to the great body of misinformation about Native-American life in the United…