Chapter 1

The Origins and Principles of Multiculturalism from the American Perspective: Multicultural

Education in the United States

“America is so vast that almost everything said about it is likely to be true and the opposite is

probably equally true.” (James Farrell)

 1.1. Introduction

The United States of America is a country that has attracted millions of immigrants

from all over the world. It is a federal constitutional republic (McFerran, 2009), which

consists of 50 states, a federal district and several territories in the Pacific. The United States

is located in the North American continent, bordered by Canada in the north, and Mexico in

the south. It lies between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The most densely populated cities

are New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

1.2. Language

There is no official language in the United States (Potowski, 2010. However, English

is the most commonly spoken language and approximately 230 million people (about 80 % of

the total population) speak solely English at home. Spanish, spoken by 12 % of the

population, is the second most widely spoken and taught language in the US (U.S. Census,

2012).

Aside from English, there is linguistic diversity in the country. Among the mostly

spoken minority languages in the U.S. are Spanish (35 million people), Chinese (2.6 million

people), Tagalog (1.5 million people), French (1.3 million people), Vietnamese (1.2 million

people), German (1.1 million people), and Korean (1 million people), followed by Russian,

Italian, Arabic, and African languages (U.S. Census, 2012).

1.3. Religion

The United States is an officially secular country. The citizens’ entitlement to live

according to their religious choice has been taken under protection by law.
Figure 1.1. Religions in the US.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Religions_of_the_United_States.png

As seen in the pie chart above, 51.3 % of the population identify themselves as

Protestant. 23.9 % of Americans believe themselves to be Roman Catholic and 3.3 % of the

total population identified themselves as Other Christians. Jewish people constitute 1.7 % of

the population, while Buddhists are 0.7 %, Muslims are 0.6 %, Hindus are 0.4 % and other

religions are 1.2 %. However, 16.1 % of the population did not profess any religion (Religious

Landscape Survey, 2007).

1.4. The Cultural Mosaic in the US Society

According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2013), current resident population of the US is

315,714,819. There are six officially accepted ethnic groups in the US. They are White

Americans, African Americans, American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asians, Native

Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, and Hispanic and Latinos.

White Americans originated from Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. This

group also includes people who indicate their race a “White” or report their origin as Irish,

German, Italian, Lebanese, Arab, Moroccan, or Caucasian. White Americans are the racial

majority with a rate of 72 % of the total US population with 223 million people (U.S. Census

Bureau, 2010).
 African Americans, or Black Americans, refer to people who have their origins from

any district in Africa. It includes African American, Kenyan, Nigerian, and Haitian people

(U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). African Americans are the second largest minority group with a

percentage of 13.6 of the total US population with 43.9 million people (U.S. Census Bureau,

2011).

American Indian or Alaska Native group covers people who are having their origins

from North, South, and Central America. This group of people maintains their lives through

tribal affiliations and community attachments. Navajo, Blackfeet, Inupiat, Yup’ik, Central

American Indian groups and South American Indian groups belong to this racial category

(U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). American Indians comprise 6.3 million of the total US

population according to 2011 demographics (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010).

Asians are referred as people from Far East, Southeast Asia, and Indian subcontinent

including Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands,

Thailand, and Vietnam. Asians represent a population of 18.2 million and are the second

fastest growing minority group in the US (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010).

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander is a racial term used to describe people from

Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, and other Pacific Islands. Native Hawaiians had a population of 1.4

million in 2011 and have grown by 2.9 % since 2010 (Humes, Jones, & Ramirez, 2011).

Hispanic or Latino refers to the group of people who have their origins from Cuba,

Mexico, Puerto Rico, South or Central America, and Spain. Hispanics make up the 16.7 % of

the total US population. Hispanic and Latinos are the most populous group in the United

States, and numbered around 52 million people in 2011. In addition, they are the fastest

growing ethnic group in the US. Their population has increased 3.1 % since 2010 (Humes et

al., 2011).
 Educational statistics indicates that 23.2 % of total elementary school students are

Hispanic. The high school graduation rate for Hispanics is 62.2 %. Cuban Americans

constitute the highest amount of those who obtain a high school diploma with 68.7 %.

Mexican Americans constitute the lowest diploma rate by 48.7 %. College graduation is also

quite low among Hispanics. Only 6.2 % of college students are from Hispanic origin (U.S.

Census Bureau, 2010).

Turkish Americans

Apart from the official minorities, there are certain communities that have a wide

communication net throughout the country. Turkish Americans are among these communities.

According to Aydın (2012), Turkish immigrants have a population of 500,000 in the US. The

number of people, their communication, and position in the society is growing day by day.

There are three major immigration waves from Turkish boundaries to the US. The first

record of immigration belongs to the 19th century. The number of people who immigrated to

the U.S in the period between 1820 and 1920 is recorded as 291,435. This is the largest

amount of immigration when compared to other immigration waves and was the result of the

changing conditions from the boundaries of Ottoman Empire. Records indicate that among the

groups which came to the United States, including Turks, Armenians, Greeks, Jew and others,

Muslim groups only constituted 50,000 of those who settled into the U.S. Although some of

them stayed in the country most of the Turkish people returned to their lands after the

establishment of Turkish Republic in 1923 (Ahmet, 1993 as cited in Kaya, 2004).

The second immigration wave occurred during the 1950s after the Second World War,

when people immigrated to the U.S for professional purposes. Among these immigrants were

doctors, engineers, and academicians who had nationalistic and secular beliefs, in contrast to

the first wave. Unlike first wave immigrants, these newer immigrants attempted to keep in
touch with their culture and origins, and established Turkish Association to promote Turkish

culture in recent years (Kaya, 2009).

The final immigration wave came in the years between the mid-1980s and 1990s, in

which there were developments about transportation and political initiatives not to become an

enclosed country. The group of immigrants that came from the geographic and technological

shift constituted the most diverse group of Turkish immigrants of all, and included

professionals, business people, laborers, and students (Kaya, 2009).

In today’s America, Kaya (2004) affirmed that the majority of Turkish Americans live

in metropolitan cities and work as professionals for many different companies. The number of

Turkish businesspersons and workers in restaurants, shopping malls, and other places

increases day by day.

1.5. The U.S Education System

Education is one of the most important public issues in the U.S. It has a complicated

structure, and hinges primarily on the standards determined from state to state. In other words,

the federal government has an influence on educational quality and standards through

education-related legislation and programs, but every state has a separate strategy plan it

applies towards its educational systems (U.S. Department of Education, 2003; Yanusehvsky,

2011).

The education system in the U.S has undergone some milestones throughout its

history. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 1963, as described by

Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (2013), was an act aimed at providing every

citizen with equal access to education. The law mandated that every state establish high

education standards within an accountability frame. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act in

2001, as Deville and Chalhoub-Deville (2011) emphasized, was another act in US education,
and increased the federal funding for each state to improve elementary and secondary

education. With the help of this act, flexibility of the states on state-specific implementations

increased. According to Abbott (2013), NCLB was the reauthorization of ESEA and aimed at

increasing achievement of every child by closing the achievement gap through certain

policies. However, the dominance of tests and assessments put a heavy emphasis on student

achievement, which in turn increased concerns and created unrest across the nation.

The Obama administration continues previous attempts to carry out educational

reforms. Apart from reshaping previous educational legislation, the administration authorized

a new educational policy, called The Race to the Top (RTTT). The program, as Duncan

(2009) highlighted, had an intention of encouraging states to receive additional federal

funding through qualifying the educational standards. These standards can be mentioned as

the following:

• Preparing students for college education and global competition through

construction of standards and assessment systems.

• Building data systems that reflects the personal improvement of each student,

which will also help teachers and administrators to improve the quality of

instruction,

• Employing quality teachers and administrators where they are needed the most and

rewarding them accordingly,

• Applying the three reforms mentioned above so that they turn around the lowest-

achieving schools.

With all the mentioned acts and educational reforms, the United States tries to construct

a frame for every child to reach his/her highest potential and avoid academic failure. The
structure of the U.S education system provides different ways of graduation and movement

between different types of schools for students. Figure 1.2 demonstrates the structure of

education system in the US:

Figure 1.2. The Structure of Education System in the United States (U.S. Department of

Education, 2003)

Although educational practices change from state to state, there are typical educational

practices and certain variations in the system. Nursery schools generally start at the age of

three or four, and last for one or two years. After nursery schools, kindergarten starts at the

age of four or five and continue for one or two years. Although nursery schools and
kindergartens do not vary according to the state, there are variations in the elementary and

secondary education. These depend on the state, school district, or the school itself (U.S.

Department of Education, 2003; Yanusehvsky, 2011).

The data from U.S. Department of Education (2003) indicates that the compulsory

education starts at the age of six and continues up to 18. In its first variation, elementary

(primary) school starts at the age of six, and continues up to the age of 13. After eight years’

duration in the elementary school, high school starts at the age of 14, where it takes four years

to graduate. In its second variation, elementary (primary school) starts at the age of six and

continues for four years. After elementary school, children start middle school between the

ages of 10-13 and have four years more of education. After middle school, high school starts

at the age of 14 and continues up to 18,. In the third variation, elementary (primary school)

starts at the age of six, continues for five years, and finishes at the age of 11. Between ages

12-14, junior high school – which is the same as middle school- starts and it goes on for three

years. The last segment of this variation is senior high school, which goes on between the

ages of 15-18 for four years. In variation four, elementary (primary school) goes on at the

ages of 6-11 for six years and combined junior/senior high school continues at the ages of 12-

18 for six years (Yanusehvsky, 2011).

After compulsory education, students can follow two education paths through either

vocational institutions and junior/community colleges or undergraduate programs. If a student

has a bachelor’s degree from an undergraduate program, s/he can follow a master’s degree

study, a doctoral degree study (Ph.D.), professional schools (Medicine, Technology, Law,

etc.). or postdoctoral study and research.

1.6. The Historical Foundations of Multicultural Education in the U.S

To understand what exactly multicultural education is for Americans, it is important to

examine the educational history of the United States. As the early settlers of America were

from Europe, they had brought a westernized model of education that meant that wealthy

children had the initial access to education. Their purpose was to provide a fundamental

education to their children. Ultimately, each colony differed in its manner to set up an

educational system the first efforts to create a framework for American education system can

be categorized as Colonial Education (Banks, 1991). As the settlement in the U.S lands began

on the Atlantic coast, three colonies initially began their educational systems. The Southern

Colonies were centered in Virginia, the Middle Colonies centered in New York, and the

Northern colonies centered in New England. The Colonial Education system did not have

strong bonds between each colonial region, and each colony had a unique system of education

(Johnson, Musial, Hall, Gollnick, & Dupuis, 2005).

In the early 18th century, the Southern Colonies consisted of people working in the

huge lands of tobacco as slaves. Most of the laborers were either white Europeans with

different backgrounds or Africa, who came to the New World as a source of cheap labor.

Since wealthy landowners constituted a small part of the total population, a general and well-

established system of education was not available at first. Landowners taught their children

with private teachers at home, and they sent them to colleges in Europe when they were old

enough (Ornstein, Levin, & Gutek, 2011).

The Middle Colonies were called the melting pot of the nation as they had a variety of

population from different national and religious backgrounds. Because of the complex

structure of the community, they could not agree upon a common education system, which

caused different groups to found their own system. The Northern Colonies lived around

Boston and consisted of Puritans. Unlike the Southern Colonies, they lived in close proximity

to each other, which helped them set up a standard of social and political life as well as a

common public school system (Ornstein, Levin, & Gutek, 2011).

 The Latin Grammar School established in Boston in 1635 was the first secondary

school of its kind in the soon-to-be United States. Its main purpose was to prepare wealthy

boys for the college. The idea spread very quickly and many other similar secondary schools

opened soon with the same purpose. Harvard College was the first colonial college and

opened in 1636. William and Mary (1693), Yale (1701), Princeton (1746), King’s College

(1754), College of Philadelphia (1755), Brown (1764), Dartmouth (1769), and Queen’s

College (1770) followed this. The instruction in all of these colleges followed the same

traditional principles of those established in England. This included religious education and

studying classical literature. The following decades witnessed the swift increase of Latin

grammar schools to the English Classical School, which was first opened in Boston 1821 .

Unlike Latin Grammar schools, the curriculum consisted of mathematics, science, and history

and other disciplines such as chemistry, logic, trigonometry, and the philosophy of history in

the following years. (Johnson et al., 2005).

To provide mass elementary education for large numbers of children, the monitorial

schools, inspired by an English teacher named Lancester, opened in New York City in the

1800’s. In this type of school, hundreds of children were taught at the same time with the help

of successful children. As monitorial schools did not help children learn in an intended

amount, and the tracks of rote memorization were observed, they were closed in the 1840’s

(Vinovskis, 1992). As an important step in American education, as Johnson et al. (2005)

states, compulsory education became a law in Massachusetts in 1852.

After the legislation of compulsory education, every child had the right to receive

education, which accelerated the process of equal education according to gender. Although

the American Revolution was not totally and directly related to educational reforms, it

became a milestone for women’s education. The view that women were subordinate to men

and could only function as mothers and homemakers became a source of widespread concern.
In turn, this aroused the issue of education as a women’s right. The years after American

Revolution were the enlightening for women, whose role as mother educators were given

utmost attention after that time. Because of the fact that they grew up the leaders or members

of the society, the movement was conducted in an attempt to raise awareness of women about

world events, geography, and political concerns (Mays, 2004). Although the main purpose

was not educating women merely for their personal development, this movement brought a

new viewpoint in American education system.

As American Revolution’s being a milestone for women’s education, the American

Civil War, which lasted between 1861 and 1865, became a milestone for black children. The

tendency to educate upper class and white boys rather than slaves and the blacks was

demolished as blacks struggled for equality in every aspect of their lives during the Civil War.

The new federal government established after the war brought new funding, reshaped the

curricula and made efforts to standardize the American education. After the war, colleges like

Harvard, Yale or Princeton developed their relationships with the new government and

renewed themselves to provide educational opportunity to previously ignored American

citizens (Cohen, 2012. Hodges, 1998).

Providing education only for boys and efforts to ignore and exclude the students of

color, girls, or students with disabilities from the system of education despite the laws created

unrest in the society. Therefore, the 20th century became the highlighter of multicultural

education efforts, in which African American scholars started expressing their concerns

(Hilliard, 1978). The Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) fuelled this unrest even more as

African Americans, minority groups such as Mexican Americans, Indians Americans, and

Asian Americans started fighting for racial desegregation. As part of this struggle, The

Intergroup Education Movement was developed as a kind of act to diminish this segregation

and set up a harmonious interracial learning atmosphere. In addition, Banks (2004) argued
that the scholars tried to create a public opinion about the institutionalized racism and

discrimination through the publications that were once neglected or banned in the U.S.

Several scholars including Baker, Banks, Gay, Gorski, Sleeter and Grant followed the

path of previous African American scholars and made great efforts to establish multicultural

education in the U.S in the 1970s (Aydın, 2013). They were later followed by other

researchers such as Cortes, Forbes, Nieto, and Sue, who continued the struggle through

adding the dimensions of Mexican Americans, American Indians, Puerto Ricans, and Asian

Americans (Ozbarlas, 2008).

Banks (2004) underlined multicultural education in five stages: the first stage included

ethnic studies t intended to integrate into school curricula an African American perspective. In

the second stage, it was realized that African Americans were not the only disenfranchised

group and some studies about integrating other minority groups into the curricula started.

There were efforts to change the school system in accordance with the needs of all racial and

ethnic groups. In the third stage, women and exceptional people, especially the one with

disabilities, came into the discussion. Moreover, Banks (2004) argued that the curricular

structure emphasized their voices and schools represented their identities. The fourth and last

stages were the ones in which academic studies were carried out in order to determine the

relationship between multicultural components (race, gender, class etc.) and school.

Multiculturalist scholars emphasized that multicultural education went through a

painful process until the establishment of a well-accepted system for all people, which

witnessed major developments and significant changes. Multicultural education is

maintaining its journey to become more consolidated and widely accepted in the world, and

especially in the U.S.

 1.7. The Principles of Multicultural Education in the U.S

Multicultural education has different meanings for different people. In general, it can

be said that multicultural education is an educational strategy with its roots from the cultural

backgrounds of students (Banks, 2008. Gay, 2004. Gorski, Davis, & Reiter, 2012). Through

multicultural education, a positive school environment can be promoted as well as developing

effective classroom strategies, because it was originally developed to support and extend the

concepts of culture, differences, equality, and most importantly, democracy (Gollnick &

Chinn, 2012).

Multicultural education has three core principles dominating the whole system in the

U.S: diversity, social justice, and equality/democracy. These three principles lend a basic

impetus to the education system. According to Haring-Smith (2012), American education

system has a diverse student profile and engaging with diverse backgrounds improves the

quality of learning environment. Being in a homogenous group limits the learning outcomes,

as a learner shares the classroom with individuals having the same kind of experiences,

beliefs, and ambitions. Similarly, integrating social justice into a multicultural curriculum is

important, as it will enable educators to establish a broader context of school within social,

historical, and political dimensions. Schoorman and Botch (2010) emphasized that by

integrating social justice into practical aspects of life; there will be a shift from individual and

isolated efforts to more collaborative and institution-wide studies. In addition, equality and

democracy are among the building blocks of multicultural education. Schoeman (2010)

affirmed that education should have a mission to preserve the democratic rights of every

individual. Among the dilemmas at U.S schools is the education of more academically

talented students and turning a blind eye one the ones that are most likely to experience

failure. In the U.S multicultural education, three basic assumptions make sense when the

inclusion of every child is taken into consideration. These can be mentioned as diversity,
social justice and democracy, which are the basic arguments in the U.S multiculturalism

literature.

Diversity

Diversity is a common characteristic of many countries in the world. Aydın (2013) and

Landson-Billings (1995) stated that differences in cultural backgrounds, religious beliefs,

individual mental and physical abilities, and daily living standards all constitute the

fundamentals of diversity in the school settings. However, cultural diversity is the issue of

concern attracting the interest of many scholars. For example, Banks (2008) argued that

diversity should not be oversimplified. Even if students have the same cultural background,

they may differ in their learning preferences. To face this diversity and promote a positive

learning atmosphere, teachers should first realize their own personal characteristics, cultural

backgrounds, and act according to the needs of the group. According to Gollnick and Chinn

(2012), helping the students to become aware of the cultural differences and showing them

that there might be similarities between originally different individuals should be an important

goal of educators.

Although there are many attempts by stakeholders to promote cultural diversity in the

schools, there has been an ongoing disagreement about the possible results of welcoming it.

The supporters of diversity, as Banks (2008) stated, claim that promotion of cultural diversity

will strengthen the nation, as every citizen will have the opportunity to learn about each other.

In addition, Banks (2007) and Bennett (1999) believed that diversity would be for the benefit

of all the people, as they could maintain their cultural identity and create a common civic

culture instead of being assimilated. However, opponents of cultural diversity do not have the

same viewpoint. For example, Gollnick and Chinn (2012) claimed that diversity will divide

the nation and promote greater conflict among groups. Despite the supporters and opponents
of this principle, Nieto (2004) emphasized that diversity is a fundamental principle that leads

the system in the U.S and it is accepted as an enriching component in the educational

practices.

Social Justice

Social justice is a societal vision in which there is an equal distribution of resources,

where all members of the society feel physically and psychologically safe (Bell, 2007).

Though justice alone refers to fairness and equity, the term social justice refers to a society’s

approach through which it helps the people in need. People’s needs might stem from being

homeless, sick, powerless, or uneducated. No matter what the reason is, social justice

guarantees the common wellness of the whole society, where each citizen is aware of his

responsibilities to secure prosperity (Johnson et al., 2005).

According to Banks (2004), social justice is an important vigor both in the community

and in the classroom setting. Educational authorities should provide a social justice system so

that each student, regardless of his/her background or social status, can benefit from the high-

quality education standards. The social justice theory attempts to eliminate inequalities in a

society by giving the utmost opportunities to students with the fewest advantages at schools.

In this way, Johnson et al. (2005) believed that it will be possible to ensure that every student

is equal -- at least through the privileges given at school.

In addition, Johnson et al. (2005) proposed several questions to bear in mind while trying

to settle down an educational system based on social justice as follows:.

• Is it fair for some students to receive education ruined buildings while some others

attend luxurious schools surrounded with high-technology equipment?

• Is it fair for wealthier students to receive education from the most experienced and
 qualified teachers?

• Is it fair to have an imbalance at school, where a carefully designed challenging

curriculum exists for to students, while low-income students are placed in classrooms

without a professional method?

• Is it fair for students of color or handicapped ones to be pulled out of the classes to

receive isolated education without communicating with their peers?

• Is it fair to offer unequal curricula that do not reflect the diverse needs of all students

in the classes?

Apart from the general principles to establish a social justice system, curricular

practices should also reflect the actions taken about this ideal. According to Bell and Griffin

(2007), there are some steps to incorporate into school practices in order to ensure social

justice at school. For instance, educators should start by identifying the characteristics of

participants and develop appropriate goals within the scope of their learning needs. Another

important step is matching the environment to students’ social-emotional learning processes.

Educators can achieve this goal by attending to the experiential phases through which learners

undergo and by drawing a frame supportive of them in the process. Content selection is

another important step in social justice integration. Educators should select specific class

activities to provide social justice education and should match them with student needs.

Another important step is sequencing learning activities. Both the content and process should

be appropriate to develop a convenient progress of activities. Other important steps are

accommodating different learning styles, being flexible to make changes where necessary,

and evaluating in accordance with content and other components.

As a core element in the education program, a social system guarantees the rights of

each student without bestowing a privilege to any citizen. Through the implementation of a
social justice system, as Bell (2007) highlighted, members of a society can develop a critical

point of view to understand oppression, they can stop showing oppressive patterns, and they

can change the implementations of the institutions in which they receive education.

Equality and Democracy

Equality is the underpinning idea of democracy and is the foremost principle of a

democratic society. In democratic societies where equality is provided, everyone --regardless

of their race, religion, language, gender, or wealth -- receive the same treatment without

privilege (Gorski, 2010).

Equality in the U.S is handled in two different ways. Supporters of the first approach

accept that inequalities exist in the society and think that meritocracy can solve the problem.

The others believe that it is possible to have an equal society if the citizens try hard (Gollnick

& Chinn, 2012). Meritocracy is a system of democracy by which individuals are treated

according to their hard work and they are promoted to higher levels if they really deserve it

(Johnson et al., 2005).

As one of the pioneers of the democracy in the United States, Dewey (1966) argued

that all members of the community must have an equal opportunity to have access to

resources, which, in turn, provides a variety of sharing and diverse experiences. In this

respect, democracy has a counterpart in equality. On condition that a country gives an equal

opportunity to all its citizens to receive services, the foundations of democracy can be

provided. Democracy is a way of reflecting the multi-dimensional views of people from

different origins in a constructive way. Cammarota (2011) described democracy as “a

dialogue of diverse perspectives with the right of any interlocutor to contest and dissent from

any given perspective” (p.65). Within this scope, the U.S education system is ideal to foster

multi-dimensional thinking by employing a positive way of paying attention to different ideas,

thoughts, and opinions.

1.8. Issues to Consider in Multicultural Education

There are certain issues to take into consideration in US multicultural education

system. Class, ethnicity/race, gender, language, religion, and exceptionality are among the

most common issues.

Class

Class is a critical concept in multicultural education. It is a way of social stratification

through which people are ranked according to their income, education, occupation, wealth,

and power. They all have a domino effect on each other and strongly influenced by one

another.

Income refers to the amount of money a person earns throughout a year. It is an

important predictor of a person’s or family’s lifestyle and it controls consumptions on a large

scale. Similarly, the wealth of a family determines its expenditures in insurance, corporate

stock ownership, or property. Wealth offers an economic security for the owners and it

enhances the power and prestige of people. Another determiner of class is occupation.

Occupation of an individual both provides an income and protects him/her from being

stigmatized as lazy or non-contributing. The more one’s occupation demands education and

training, the more it brings prestige and a higher social status. Education, similarly, is an

important determiner of occupation as well as being affected by family income. When people

receive a longer period of education, they are employed in occupations that are more

prestigious. Finally, power helps people to get what they want. Ultimately, people who have

the most power make the biggest decisions in the community (Gollnick & Chinn, 2012).

The above-mentioned components lead to a categorization of American people with

labels such as the underclass, the working class, the middle class, and the upper class.

Gollnick and Chinn (2012) stated that members of underclass usually have no occupation, nor

do they have the required skills or qualifications to have a permanent job. People who lost

their jobs and lost the hope of finding another one after a long period can also be in this

group. The underclass is not usually compatible with the dominant society and suffers from

economic insecurity and social, political, and economic deprival. They are offered the least

desirable jobs that include lower wages.

The working class is employed in jobs that require physical power. Operators,

fabricators, and laborers are the members of this class. Most people belonging to working

class are called blue-collar workers. They often receive a short period of training and can

work in dangerous situations without proper health insurance and shorter vacation benefits.

They often do not feel satisfied with their jobs and often perceive themselves as hardworking

and important members of the society (Leondar-Wright & Yeskel, 2007. Gollnick & Chinn,

2012).

The middle class consists of two groups: namely, white-collar workers and managers.

They usually have a good income, although they do not own property. White-collar jobs

include clerical workers, technicians, or sales usually supervised by managers. The middle

class have better job security than the working class, and more formal education

requirements.. People belonging to this group perceive themselves as respectable and valuable

members of the society (Leondar-Wright, 2005).

The upper class is formed either by a group top-level administrator or by individuals

who control a huge inheritance. Personnel of banks, entertainment companies, trade unions,

and governments, the military and industrial companies with highly paid positions constitute

members of this group. The social position of upper class helps them ensure their wealth, and
their wealth opens the doors to many critical decision-making positions. They receive a

prestigious education and they get married to the other members of their group. Since their

interaction is limited with other layers of the society, they remain as the most homogeneous

group (Weir, 2007).

With the reality of class stratification in mind, a multicultural curriculum should

reflect the experiences of all students from different classes. The overgeneralization that most

Americans belong to the middle class ignores the values and life styles of children from low-

income families. Unfortunately, it is quite common in American education system to be

assigned to learning groups associated with the social class. However, it is inevitable that

every child has his/her own capabilities regardless of their families’ income level. It is a kind

of discrimination to provide an unequal education system. Therefore, the education system

should serve a standard curriculum that gives voice to the experiences of every unique

personality, and should be based on the principle of reflecting the values of each class.

Ethnicity & Race

The term “ethnicity” is generally used to define the origins of an individual. The most

important indicator of ethnic identity is either living in a nation by sharing a common set of

certain values like language and culture, or keeping contact with the country even after

immigration. Marger (2012) emphasized that ethnic groups display a unique set of cultural

characteristics in a larger society. Ethnic groups have certain behavioral characteristics that

set them apart from the common cultural traits; they also demonstrate a sense community and

belongingness, which make them a special group in the society.

Race or ethnicity has been an issue of concern in the U.S. While it is nearly impossible

to have a homogeneous classroom, the U.S curriculum centralized the dominant ethnic or

racial groups to maintain education, which in the end served as a tool of inequality. The U.S
schools had a common curriculum reflecting the experiences of the dominant ethnic groups or

cultures up to the 1970s. Some newer curriculum approaches has been developed and ethnic

studies have become a part of the common curriculum (Perez & Hirschman, 2009).

The most common curriculum in the schools of the U.S is, as Gollnick and Chinn

(2012) emphasized, the curriculum that puts the dominant culture in the center. This

curriculum reflects the perspectives of the Western European people and it supports the

superiority of that group. In this curricular framework, courses about ethnic studies are

sometimes offered to students. Alternatively, ethnic studies are carried out under the roof of a

major. However, those studies are not integrated into prerequisite courses, nor do members of

the majority groups tend to take these courses. Instead, students from the oppressed or

marginalized groups study these courses to analyze the history of social, economic, and

political developments against those ethnic groups. After multiculturalism became an

important part of American education, ethnic diversity started being integrated into the

content. All the resources of teaching began to reinforce the reality of ethnic diversity by the

use of instructional materials. In this way, different ethnic groups started being accepted a part

of the U.S society instead of being covered only as a unit throughout a book.

A categorization of students by their ethnic or racial identity is no more than a kind of

overgeneralization. Although two students can be described as Asian, they might differ in

their original country such as Korea or Japan. In addition, their life style and family habits

might be quite different from each other. Therefore, ethnic or racial classification should serve

a minor role instead of being the core component of curriculum and instruction. Gollnick and

Chinn (2012) stated that the teachers can respond to all ethnic groups in an equal way by

considering the following:

• Teachers should help students to develop a positive self-concept of themselves.

 • Different ethnic backgrounds should be used as a tool to make the instruction

effective.

• Teachers should play a role in discouraging students from building prejudices against

different ethnic groups.

• Teachers should help students develop their communicative skills inside their ethnic

groups.

• Teachers should expand their knowledge and appreciation towards other ethnic groups

by examining the historical, economic, political and social experiences of those

groups.

• Teachers should help students to understand that the knowledge and culture in the

world are made up by the contributions of every ethnic group.

Ethnic identities can be an advantage to rely on in education and especially in classrooms.

If teachers avoid stigmatizing students by their racial or ethnic backgrounds, those identities

can be used as an advantageous tool to address all the students and include them in the

learning process in the classroom.

Gender

In spite of the dominance of the patriarchal system labeling women as subordinate to

men’s positions, biological observations have proved that there is little or no difference

between males and females in neither their biological or mental capabilities. In spite of this

fact, the roles of males and females differ in the society. The reason why men and women

have different roles is, according to Gneezy, Leonard and List (2009), the dominant culture

that teaches how to treat different genders from the beginning. In other words, cultural norms

determine the acceptable behaviors of the genders and we act in parallel with these
expectations.

Discrimination by gender was a common sociological issue in the U.S society. From

the early foundations of education systems in the early 18th century, school served as a tool to

educate boys (Johnson et al., 2005). Latin grammar schools, middle schools, and colleges

only accepted male students, particularly from the upper class. The practice of gender

discrimination continued up to the 20th century. Even after women received the right to have

education, they remained in less prestigious and low-paying professions when compared to

men. Botkin, Jones, and Kachwaha (2007) emphasized that gender-based inequality in

schools was destroyed by three important acts, called feminist movements. In 1848, the first

Women’s Rights Convention was held in New York. In 1963, Betty Friedan’s manuscript The

Feminine Mystique was published. The essay of Rebecca Walker became the third wave of

feminist movement, which gave a new impulse on the issues of gender and discrimination.

To prevent sexism in schools and society, certain educational approaches were

developed in the United States. Gollnick and Chinn (2012) described them as women’s

studies and nonsexist education. Women’s studies has an aim of analyzing the historical and

contemporary experiences of women in separate courses, whereas non sexist education tries to

change the whole curricular system and establish a school culture in which females are not

oppressed and are given a voice in t content. In addition, the rights of citizen are under the

protection of law against differentiation, stereotyping, or discrimination. The federal

government protects its citizens though the Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments.

Religion

Religion is an important contributor to the shape of education. There is a religious

diversity in the U.S as well as the ethnic diversity. The religion one belongs to has a

significant effect on the individual’s daily routines or course of actions. As religion is an

important factor in the U.S and U.S education system, efforts to found religious schools or to

integrate it into school practices have been made several times. In the schools that are founded

on a religious base, it becomes an inseparable part of the curricula. Which religious education

is to be given to what extent is determined by the structure of that special community

(Gollnick & Chinn, 2012).

The United States has a religious history in which being Christian meant having

superiority, It was also commonly associated with being white. In addition, the Christian

norm is usually linked with the idea of goodness, while other faiths such as Islam, Judaism,

Hinduism seemed illegitimate. Despite the Christian hegemony and religious oppression that

continued for a long period of time, legal regulations and practices to create a tolerant society

have redeemed the unrest to some extent (Adams & Joshi, 2007).

In today’s United States, many curricular practices are held in order to prevent

religious discrimination and oppression. According to Adams and Joshi (2007), the most

common goals to design the curricula by considering religion should be to raise awareness

about history of religious oppression in the U.S and to plan ways of preventing different types

of religious oppression. Apart from this, building a supportive learning environment for the

believers of each religion should be the core objective of curriculum designs in such a

pluralistic community.

In a society that is enriched with different religions, classroom implications about religion

can be the following:

• The curriculum contributes to the understanding of students that the United States has

rich religious diversity.

• Educators show their respect for other religions through interacting with children of

different religious beliefs in a tolerant way.

 • Instructional activities can be based on students’ religious experiences to teach the

concepts in a more effective way.

• Educators avoid stereotyping children as members of one religious belief.

• Educators are aware of religious diversity and its influence on the school environment

in which they work.

• Educators observe their interaction with all students to make sure that they do not

discriminate against one or other group.

Exceptionality

The U.S population has a significant amount of exceptional citizens. There are

millions of exceptional people. Those from different socio-economic statuses can belong to an

exceptional category. Exceptionality may stem from either disabilities or superior ability.

Mental retardation, visual and hearing impairments, physical and health impairments,

emotional disturbance, or being gifted may be a source of exceptionality.

The main problem in the U.S education system is that exceptional students did not

receive the desired education if they belong to lower social classes. After certain regulations

in the law, exceptional citizens were taken under protection. As Gollnick and Chinn (2012)

highlighted, the Education for All Handicapped Children, the Individuals with Disabilities

Education Art, Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act Amendments, and Americans

with Disabilities Act guarantee that all exceptional citizens have the right to receive education

and the freedom from being discriminated because of their disabilities. Although the law

forces everyone not to discriminate against exceptional individuals, there are still problems of

insensitivity, intolerance and prejudice that are contributing to the problems of disabled

people. However, time and efforts can help the exceptional people to lead a happier life in the
future.

1.9. Curricular Practices in U.S Schools

The U.S is the starting point of multicultural education. Thus, it is among the leading

countries in adopting multicultural curricular practices. When the curriculum implementations

in the U.S are considered, four major practices and issues come to the ground. Integrating

cultural diversity and pluralism, constructing a non-biased way of communication, curriculum

designs for diversity and social justice, and equality of educational opportunity are among the

most common issues in almost every state.

Integrating Cultural Diversity and Pluralism in the Classroom

Multicultural education is a way to meet the expectations of academic achievement for

all students in the U.S. Although it is impossible to say that it can remove the social inequality

or prevent low student achievement, it can give young people a chance to gain required skills,

knowledge, and critical awareness to function in a diverse and democratic society (Nieto,

1992).

Creating a diverse viewpoint through curricular practices is the main impetus of

multicultural education. By forming a framework based on diversity, educators can enhance

students’ learning about tolerating cultural, linguistic, and other differences. Developing a

comprehensive multicultural framework with all its aspects is a difficult and time-taking

phenomenon, but individuals can work together to change their monocultural perspective, and

extend their personal limit (Nieto, 1992).

Constructing an Anti-Bias Way of Communication

Four basic goals constitute the skeleton of anti-bias education. The first goal is that

each child demonstrates self-awareness, confidence, family pride, and positive social
identities. The second goal of anti-bias education is to help children feel comfort and joy with

diversity. use an accurate way of speaking about human differences, and bridge deep, caring

human connections. The third goal is to help students learn unfairness and develop an

understanding that unfairness is hurting for everyone. The fourth goal of anti-bias education is

that each child demonstrates a set of skills to fight against prejudice and discriminatory

actions (Derman-Sparks, Edwards, 2010).

To make anti-bias education work, it is put into practice through considering particular

principles. It is generally acknowledged that anti-bias education goals are for every student

and his/her benefits. Therefore, anti-bias practices pay attention to the realities in students’

lives. While creating an anti-bias framework, it is considered that the education given in the

classroom is appropriate for students’ developmental stages. Another principle is that anti-

bias activities are both student-driven and teacher-driven. Although educators are sensitive

about anti-bias education, it is widely accepted that anti-bias learning cannot happen in a short

time. In addition, anti-bias education is an opportunity for teachers to realize their courses of

action. However, it is crucial that anti-bias education is not confused with tourist curriculum.

Because one of the most important principles of anti-bias education is establish strong

relationships within the staff and among the staff and families (Derman-Sparks, Edwards,

2010).

Curriculum Designs for Diversity and Social Justice

Although teaching tolerance and appreciating diversity is the starting point for social

justice practices in a multicultural education perspective, it cannot be the ultimate meaning of

founding social justice in the classroom. Educators should be aware of how the dynamics of

racism, sexism, ableism, heterosexism, nationalism, linguistic privilege, religious intolerance

and class bias operate. Being aware of them should also be combined with the skills to
understand they are generally expressed in the curriculum and practices (Oyler, 2011).

The U.S schools have covered a long distance about integrating diversity and social

justice into curricula. One of the most striking practices is Fairness for All Individuals through

Respect (FAIR) Curriculum (Zimmerman, Aberle, & Krafchick, 2005). The FAIR Curriculum

was created in Colorado State University by the Department of Human Development and

Family Studies in 2001. Despite the additions to the curriculum through the years, the main

purpose of FAIR is to facilitate social justice education in the classes. The FAIR curriculum

has grasped the attention of many scholars and it has been the topic for many publications and

doctoral dissertations. Teachers implement The FAIR Curriculum by covering five activities

in the schedule. These activities include certain metaphors, which include both parents and

students in the program (Colorado State University Department of Human Development and

Family Studies, 2013). Overall, the FAIR Curriculum is an attempt to provide social justice

education through using certain metaphors and is one of the widely used curricular practices

in the United States.

Another school practice about social justice education is ‘Using Their Words.’ It is a

kind of authentication of social justice education through certain actions in elementary

schools. Using Their Words includes certain units that are focused on issues like racism,

fairness, and child labor. The main purpose of the project is to help students reason with the

world and engage in social action to change the current conditions (Using Their Words,

2013). The project Using Their Words is based on six key elements. These six elements are:

self-love and knowledge, Respect for others, Issues of social injustice, Social movements and

social change, Awareness rising, and Social action (Picower, 2012). With the implementation

of these basic elements in the curriculum, children are shown behavior patterns in a more

concrete and constructive way.

 Apart from social projects, there are numerous curriculum implementation suggestions

for diversity and social justice. Adams et al. (2007) offered different curriculum alternatives

to facilitate the integration of diversity and social justice into the instruction. Among their

suggestions, racism, immigration, sexism, religious oppression, and classism are the

alternatives to broaden the horizons of the students for a diverse community based on social

justice.

The Equality of Educational Opportunity

The equality of educational opportunity stipulates a school system in which every

student has equal access to the educational system and has an equal chance to receive

education (Spring, 2009). Although equality of educational opportunity is protected under

law, practical differences in different states raise concern among the citizens. As it is clear,

the source of concern is not about desegregation of the poor or minorities. The concern

actually stems from the content coverage differences in states. Schmidt, Cogan, and

McKnight (2011) claimed that there is inequality among the states due to practical differences

in mathematics education, teacher training, and professional development. As the grants

allocated by the government and budgets for education differ from state to state, children

living in different states cannot receive the same service. Therefore, children living in a state

can take various courses and prepare better for the tests while others have limited access to

diverse instruction to compete with them.

The primary national goal of the United States is, as Rebell and Wolff (2012) stated, to

raise academic standards and eliminate the achievement gaps among the students. Although it

is a common saying of nearly all the presidents and administrators for years, it is difficult to

say that the majority of the citizens are content with the practices. A high-quality education

based on equality of educational opportunity is inevitable both for the satisfaction of the
society and the effective competition of the American citizens in the global marketplace.

Even though the civil rights movement has changed the fortune of minorities and

exceptional students, there are ongoing problems in the U.S about a generalized system of

equal education. Differences between school regions also differentiate the expenditures of the

government. While elite suburban and private schools receive a bigger amount from the

budget, the schools in which Hispanics, African Americans, and Native Americans attend

receive reduced expenditures, which, in turn, affect the students’ future to compete in the

labor market (Spring, 2009). Therefore, it is of crucial importance that educational policies

should be restructured and state-specific practices should have a general frame in order to

eliminate an inequality of opportunity.

As stated previously, the United States strives for an effective way to extend the

equality of educational opportunity. Equal access to resources is the democratic right of every

child, and should not be underestimated. Within this frame, the United States is still working

hard to generalize the distribution of resources and provide a comprehensive way of offering

educational services.

1.10. Multilingual Education

The multicultural structure of the U.S affects the language structure, too. Although

most students start school by speaking Standard English, there are many exceptional cases

such as bilingualism, non-standard dialects, or sign language. Spending the time with students

coming from different backgrounds and speaking different languages is both a privilege and

challenge as Denos, Toohey, Neilson, and Waterstone (2009) stated. It is a privilege because

teachers and students have the chance to learn to communicate in other ways of speaking,

thinking, and feeling. It is a challenge because learning and discovering in such a diverse

community is not always so comfortable.

 According to Mohanty (2009), children have better academic performance when they

receive education in their mother tongue. Although this is a widely known fact, bringing the

theory into practice is a difficult task. The reason is that multilingual education is the

acceptance of the languages of the poor, the oppressed, or the marginalized. While the

voiceless minorities live their destiny in the exclusion of their mother tongues, the majority

groups enjoy the dominance of their languages, such as English. However, one of the

potential problems about language may be the accent or dialect in a multicultural classroom.

According to Gollnick and Chinn (2012), students with different origins may have different

pronunciation mistakes or different dialects may lead to both pronunciation and grammar

errors, which in turn might cause communication errors. For instance, a Japanese student may

pronounce the word light as right, because the letter l is not available in Japanese alphabet. In

addition, a student speaking Hawaiian Pidgin English may say “No make like that” instead of

saying “Don’t do that”. At this point, what is required of educators to be aware of these

differences in the classes and help students where necessary. Educators should be aware of the

fact that students learning a new language may not be good at choosing right words or words

to use in a context.

Multilingual education brings out numerous positive outcomes to a learning

environment. Cummins (2009) argued that there are significant positive relationships between

the development of academic skills in the first (L1) and second (L2) languages. Moreover,

long-term dual language programs are successful in developing L1 and L2 literacy.

Bilingualism fosters programs offering this kind of instruction. Another important outcome of

bilingual education is that it helps minority students develop better L2 literacy skills than in

monolingual education. Although it is not the sole panacea for low academic achievement, it

can help minority students through the period of developing dual literacy skills. Apart from

that, bilingual education can enhance the application of problem-solving and critical thinking
skills to other learning areas such as reading, mathematics, or science. By taking the

advantage of knowing two languages and their specific systems, students can be successful in

integrating the required skills into necessary fields.

As the demographics of the United States change every second, these result in an

increasingly diverse student profile. It is a stubborn fact that a large number of these diverse

students lack the desired level of English to succeed at school. Although they deserve quality

education as part of a system based on social justice, they often demonstrate low academic

success because of their inadequate level of English. Offering multilingual instruction to

learners of English can be an alternative to prevent impediments of success. Mohanty (2009)

concurrently expressed his concern about multilingual education as :

In a true multilingual system, all languages can have their legitimate place: mother tongues, languages of

regional, national and wider communication. English and all other languages can play their role. they can

be healer languages and not ‘killer languages’ (pp.5-6).

Initiatives about multilingual education started in the 1960s in the United States. The

U.S federal government played a central role in the inclusion and promotion of the other

languages in instruction. The government both increased the expenditures for students who

lacked English proficiency under the ESEA and promoted the enforcement of civil rights laws

in education (Macias, 1982). The first legal regulation about fostering multilingual education

at schools was Bilingual Education Act (BEA) of 1968, which authorized both the use of

federal funds for the education of speakers of languages other than English and the use of

non-English languages in instruction (Lyons, 1992. Baker & Jones, 1998). However, the

1980’s became the years of discreditation of bilingual education, as attempts were made to

make English the official language. In 1994, BEA was reauthorized after the Improving

America’s Schools Act. The law described bilingual education as a potential asset to improve

the country’s prospect to gain bilingual skills and a multicultural understanding. After the
passage of NCLB Act in 2002, which imposed a test taking system and promoted the adoption

the instruction only in English, the anti-bilingual tendency came to a front and BEA ended

(Nieto, 2009).

Although the advantages of multilingual education are not limited to immigrants, the

ongoing debates and altering policies indicate that multilingual education is still in progress.

According to Nieto (2009), the implementation and promotion of multilingual education can

accelerate both the quality of education and the implementation of equal opportunity. While

fundamental for the pursuit of democratic rights and academic achievement of minority

students, multilingual education is also necessary to represent a common will and movement

to make educational reforms real. Therefore, it is necessary that teachers, parents, and

community organizations should cooperate to put multilingual education into practice. In a

multinational country like the U.S, the diverse and rich language systems serve as the

indicators of diversity and richness of the American culture. As long as educators recognize

and appreciate the value of this diversity through classroom practices, the U.S education

system can benefit from this pluralistic structure and get fruitful results.

1.11. Conclusion

This chapter was written in an attempt to depict the multicultural perspective in the

U.S from the beginning of life in the continent of America. The U.S has always been a

country of immigrants who have different origins, perspectives, and identities. Although

minority groups have suffered because of this diversity agreements have been reached and

every citizen has achieved the right to live as an American citizen. The American Revolution,

American Civil War and Civil Rights Movements were milestones of recovery from the pains

of bigotry..

Multiculturalism first emerged as an urgent need to give rights to American blacks

who are tyrannized by the American slavery system of the early 1800’s. At the colonial stage

of the U.S, few members of the upper class thought that blacks also had the need to be treated

as equally as a human being or receive education. The prevailing system ignored not only the

black people but also women, other minority groups and the disabled. The movements against

those overarching rules shaped the country’s new vision. The 20th century became a rebirth for

the oppressed.

The vision of today’s America welcomes every individual to live his/her life

independently and receive education without any desegregation by gender, race, or class. In

schools where cultural diversity and pluralism is widely accepted and people are not judged

by prejudices, students continue their education in peacefully. In having a developing

multicultural education system, the U.S is promising to go beyond its prior capabilities and

reach the highest degree in student achievement through opportunities the provided by the

government for its citizens. As a country in which there is an ethnic diversity, Turkey needs to

improve its education system based on a multicultural perspective, and the U.S is a good

example for this.

1.12. Recommendations for Turkey

As stated previously, the U.S is the source and starting point of multiculturalism.

Although the country has endured some painful realizations, these have served as crucial

examples of potential progress. As such, they should be adapted to the Turkish education

system to attain a multicultural environment.

1. Teacher education is the most important part of educational reform. As the applicators of

educational strategies, teachers’ multicultural awareness should be raised through pre-service

and in-service teacher training.

2. The equality of educational opportunity is another important part of multicultural

education. An education system based on inequalities cannot function properly to serve the

needs of citizens. Thus, all practices should involve every citizen and every region to reach a

standard system of multicultural education.

3. Multicultural education should not be perceived as integrating only some pieces of cultural

components into the content. Indeed, it should be an extensive change and this change should

be carried off in every piece of the whole system.

4. Multiculturalism is a philosophy and viewpoint that should be developed beginning in the

years of childhood. Children should be equipped with essential skills to have broad

viewpoints from the very beginning.

5. An anti-bias point of view should be adapted. Administrators, teachers, students, and

citizens should get rid of the prejudices and adopt an anti-bias point of view. In this way, it

will become possible to feel glad with the diversity Turkey has.

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