Discusses barriers to the effective mentoring of students of color by white faculty members and presents concrete approaches for dealing with sensitive issues that often arise in the course of the mentoring relationship. The main stumbling block is the faculty member's fear of the task. (SLD)

Explores distinguishing between the group-defining function and other adaptive functions of culture is to show why educators need to accommodate cultural commonalities and differences. Recognizing similarities when they exist is an aspect of multicultural education that is sometimes overlooked when concentrating on cultural discontinuities. (SLD)

Provides a definition of multicultural education (ME) and challenges the six myths most frequently voiced about it. The myths addressed include the argument that ME does little to eliminate structural inequalities, that it impedes learning the basic skills, that ME is the same as political correctness, and that ME rejects the notion of common…

Explores pluralism and the expanding community through a brief examination of the community-mural movement in the United States. It looks at the recent history of mural painting and discusses examples of community murals that deal cogently with multicultural themes. The implications to educational practice are also discussed. (GLR)

Discusses the difficulty inherent in teaching multiculturalism within a nation as culturally diverse and changing as the United States. Teaching cultural awareness from an anthropological perspective is explored. The article argues that the educational community must develop curricula and pedagogies that incorporate an understanding of cultural…

Examines three ways that constructivism is aligned with multicultural education in formal educational environments: (1) learners organize ideas in unique ways; (2) learners' self-awareness and self-concept influence learning; and (3) a learner's personal history filters new information. (GR)

Discusses why a broad and pluralistic conception of culture and cultural group will work to the advantage of multicultural teacher educators, particularly those who make use of some form of ethnic and cultural self-disclosure in their courses. The essay examines ethnic and cultural self-disclosure and provides examples of its use in the author's…

Discusses the tendency of whites to deflect attention from racism, which is the main problem underlying the need for multicultural education, and suggests a role for whites in examining their own generally unrecognized white racial bonding. To mitigate effects of white racial bonding, advocates of multicultural education must recognize them. (SLD)

Discusses the relationship between liberal democratic principles and multiculturalism as it applies to implementation of educational policies. An ethnographic/ethnic studies and critical multiculturalism model is proposed to ensure the acknowledgment and empowerment of the ethnic identity of the students. (MMU)

Explores the need for recognizing and respecting different learner perspectives in order to better develop culturally responsive pedagogy. It argues for a new constructionist paradigm for teaching within a multicultural setting, which does not emphasize assimilation into the dominant culture, but enhances the learner's potential for creating anew…

Discusses language intolerance in the United States and its relation to the culture wars now emerging. Responses to nine questions raised by those who want English to be the official language of the United States are presented to untangle the issues and correct the misconceptions behind the question. (GR)