| MONOCULTURAL A perspective or situation which reflects "assimilationist values" captured by the ideal of the melting pot. Groups, institutions, and societies with multiple races (or ethnic groups, genders, social classes) among their constituencies can easily be monocultural-one group defines the parameters of what is "normal" and "normative," while others" must accommodate to that norm. (See assimilation, melting pot, cultural pluralism. MULTICULTURAL This term is used in a variety of ways and is less often defined by its users than terms such as multiculturalism" or multicultural education". One common use of the term refers to the raw fact of cultural diversity: "mul-ticultural education ... responds to a multicultural population" (Ravitch, 1990:44). Another use of the term refers to an ideological awareness of diversity: "multi-cultural theorists] have a clear recognition of a pluralistic society" (Void, 1989:13). Still others go beyond this and understand multicultural as reflecting a specific ideology of inclusion and openness toward "others" (cf. Giroux, 1991). Perhaps the most common use of this term in the literature is in reference simultaneously to a context of cultural pluralism" and an ideology of inclusion or "mutual exchange of and respect for diverse cultures" (McCormick, 1991:117). When the term is used to refer to a group of persons (or an organization or institution), it most often refers to the presence of and mutual interaction among diverse persons (in terms of race", class,gender", and so forth) of significant representation in the group. In other words, a few African Americans" in a predominantly European American" congregation would not make the congre-gation "multicultural." Some, however, do use the term to refer to the mere presence of some non-majority persons somewhere in the designated institution (or group or society), even if there is neither significant interaction nor substantial numerical representation. (See cultural pluralism, monocultural) MULTICUTURAL EDUCATION The meaning of this term is much debated and often defined both descriptively and prescriptively in the literature. In her 1989 artide "The Evolution of Multicultural Education," Edwina Battle Vold describes multicultural education as an educational philosophy that seeks: the initiation of children into critical-rational acceptance of cul-tural diversity and the creative affirmation of individual and group difference within a common humanity. That means that it is a process conducted according to explicit, rational evalua-tive criteria: an ethical process, celebrating both diversity and unity, social differentiation and cohesion, stability and deliber-ate, systematic and evaluated changes ... (Void, 1989:13). Others are concerned to define multicultural education as having to do with a more basic set of issues regarding how to convey a greater sense of the diversity in U.S. society without distorting the major role played by the immigrants from Britain and other European countries (cf. Vcrhovck, 1991). |
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