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But there is more to multicultural education than integrating content from diverse cultures. Among other
features, it also requires an equity pedagogy, which is an effort to allow or even encourage, a variety of learning
styles—styles at which students may have become skillful because of their cultural backgrounds (Crow, 2005; C.
Banks & J. Banks, 1995). In elementary language arts, for example, there may be more than one “best” way to tell a
story. Should a student necessarily have to tell it alone and standing in front of the whole class, or might the student
tell it jointly with a friend or in a smaller group? In learning to write a story, is legitimate variety also possible
there? Should a written story necessarily begin with a topic sentence that announces what the story is about, or can
it save a statement of topic for the ending or even it leave it out altogether in order to stimulate readers to think?
The best choice is related in part to the nature and purpose of the story, of course, but partly also to differences in
cultural expectations about story telling. Choosing a story form also points toward another feature of multicultural
education, the knowledge construction process, which is the unstated, unconscious process by which a
cultural group creates knowledge or information. The popular media, for example, often portray Hispanic-
Americans in ways that are stereotypical, either subtly or blatantly (Lester & Ross, 2003). A fully multicultural
curriculum finds way to call these images to the attention of students and to engage them in thinking about how
and why the images oversimplify reality.
Yet there is even more to a fully multicultural education. In addition to content integration, equity pedagogy,
and knowledge construction, it fosters prejudice reduction, or activities, discussions and readings that identify
students’ negative evaluations of cultural groups (Jacobson, 2003; J. Banks & C. Banks, 2004). The activities and
discussions can of course take a somewhat philosophical approach—examining how students feel in general, what
experiences they remember having involving prejudice, and the like. But the activities and discussions can also take
a more indirect and subtle form, as when a teacher periodically speaks in a student’s native language as a public
sign of respect for the student. Gestures and discussions like these are especially effective if they contribute to the
fifth element of multicultural education, empowering the school and social structure, in which all teachers
and staff members find ways to convey respect for cultural differences, including even during extra-curricular and
sports activities. A sports team or a debate club should not be limited to students from one cultural background and
exclude those from another—or more subtly, accept everyone but give the more desirable roles only to individuals
with particular social backgrounds. To the extent that cultural respect and inclusion are school-wide, teaching and
learning both become easier and more successful, and instructional planning in particular becomes more relevant
to students’ needs.
Enhancing student learning through a variety of resources........................................................................
Whether instructional goals originate from curriculum documents, students’ expressed interests, or a mixture of
both, students are more likely to achieve the goals if teachers draw on a wide variety of resources. As a practical
matter, this means looking for materials and experiences that supplement—or occasionally even replace—the most
traditional forms of information, such as textbooks. Precisely what resources to use depend on factors unique to
each class, school, or community, but they might include one or more of the following.
The Internet as a learning tool
The Internet has become a fixture of modern society, and it offers a huge variety of information on virtually any
topic, including any school subject and any possible grade level from kindergarten through university. At the time
of writing this book (2007), about two-thirds of all households in the United States and Canada have at least some
Educational Psychology 226 A Global Text