Date of Award
6-1-1990
Document Type
Dissertation - NSU Access Only
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Center for the Advancement of Education
Abstract
The purpose us the study was to develop a state of the art inservice curriculum on Multicultural Education (MCE) to used with all staff in Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS). This course was designed to increase teachers' understanding of and effectiveness with students of diverse ethnic backgrounds. The suggestion is that the training curriculum will enhance the overall development of staff and improve the climate of the teaching/learning environment. It will provide examples of specific programmatic ideas, useful teaching strategies, and helpful analyses of MCE and its attendant issues to be applied in their schools and classrooms. Seventy-five percent of the staff of an elementary school served as subjects for testing the effectiveness of the inservice course, wherein they examined the current literature on MCE and focused on thirteen identified major issues in MCE. The format involved discussion, selected readings, exercises, "do-able" actions and a guest presenter. Initially, three measures were administered to participants, which analyzed their current beliefs, attitudes, and practices in MCE. At the conclusion, participants completed two written evaluations and took part in one oral interview to determine the level of change resulting from this training experience. The results led the author to conclude that participants: 1) better understood several working definitions of MCE, 2) were more prepared both to implement MCE strategies and to classrooms and throughout their school, 3) better understood the interactive effects of race, gender, and class in the broader context of teaching and student achievement, and 4) had assimilated effective strategies for promoting self-esteem among students. The most salient recommendations for teachers, schools, and schools districts were that: 1) MCE should not be treated as a separate issue in education, but rather as a way of looking at schooling as a whole; 2) schools should make inservice (as well as preservice) training in MCE for personnel a major focus; 3) MCE training should emphasize peer to peer learning and coaching, 4) MCE training should accentuate the affective aspects of MCE by using experiential exercises and activities; and, 5) that consideration be given to developing curriculum which teaches that racism, sexism, and classism have common underpinning processes.