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Home > Workshops and Classes > Teaching to Diversity > What does being white have to do with diversity? > Framework of Multicultural Education

Framework of Multicultural Education

	Step 1 Understanding Culture	Step 2 Learning About Other Cultures	Step 3 Recognizing and Deconstructing White Culture	Step 4 Recognizing the Legitimacy of Other Cultures	Step 5 Developing a Multicultural Outlook
Cognitive Goal	To develop a complex understanding of culture (culture shapes people's lives and people shape culture).	To develop a more advanced understanding of diverse cultures.	To develop an understanding of how White culture has been universalized as the norm and to begin To question its privileged position.	To recognize that culture other than one's own is just as valued to another individual.	To recognize that cultures within a given society shape each other and that The inclusion of all cultures requires the reconstruction of U.S. society.
Beginning Problem Statement	I see culture as something a society creates.	I know that differences between cultural groups exist but the differences are only superficial.	I see culture as something that some have, but others do not.	I understand that there are many cultures, but we should agree on a common culture.	I value living in a society that is multicultural.
Ending Problem Statement	Culture is something I create but that also creates me.	I understand that many cultural groups exist within the U.S. and each reflects deeply held norms, values, beliefs, and traditions.	I see culture as something that all people have.	I see that many diverse cultures can coexist including my own and that this is a good thing.	I can work to make society an equitable place for people of all cultural backgrounds because our vitality is intricately tied to one another's.
Activity	Understanding Culture-Observing and critically analyzing everyday events.	Exploring Cultures-Attending cultural events and reflecting on their meaning as well as dialoguing with culturally diverse others.	Analyzing White Culture-Learning to recognize White culture and to begin to challenge its normalization.	The impact of Culture-Students identifying aspects of own cultures that play important roles in their lives and sharing these with other students.	Multiculturalism leads to Action-Discovering how institutions shape the ways in which culture is expressed.

Assumptions

1. Culture is a misunderstood construct, but one that is key for helping students understand diversity and confront their own racism.
2. Students in general and White students in particular have a difficult time identifying their own cultural connections.
3. Cultural diversity is a fact of life and efforts to build a common culture inevitably privilege the dominant culture.
4. Multiculturalism is a valued and desired view for students to develop.

Ortiz, A., & Rhoads, R. (2000).
Deconstructing whiteness as part of a multicultural educational framework: From theory to practice.
Journal of College Student Development, 41 (1), 81-93.

 

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