Multicultural Understanding Degree Requirement: Criteria for Courses
INSTRUCTORS: PLEASE USE MU CORE COURSE CRITERIA COURSE PROPOSAL FORM ON CURRICULUM COMMITTEE WEBSITE – POSTED 2-6-08
Instructors use this form to evaluate an existing course or create a new course to meet the degree requirement for Multicultural Understanding. When you present a course for consideration, please be ready to explain how course outcomes, assessment methods and outline / topics address each of the established criteria.
Curriculum Committee uses this form to decide whether a class meets the criteria so as to fulfill the MU degree requirement. In order to do so a class must meet all six criteria and meet each one to a significant degree. The committee may refer the course and instructor to the Multicultural Working Group for help if criteria are not met in full.
Evidence of Criteria found in MCO / For CC UseCriteria / Course outcomes / Outcome assessments/
assignments / Course outline or topics / Meets/ Doesn’t meet criteria
1. Content: The course reconceptualizes the disciplinary canon to reflect multiple perspectives.
2. Content: The course explores the power/privilege dynamic as related to multiple categories of oppression in the United States and to ideals of Social Justice.
3. Pedagogy: The course Incorporates
active learning experiences in and/or outside the classroom that stimulate transformation.
4. Pedagogy: The course challenges traditional classroom power dynamics by promoting both teacher and student responsibility for critical investigation of course content.
5. Learning Outcome: The course supports personal transformation to recognize areas of power and privilege and to act within spheres of personal influence.
6. Learning Outcome: The course promotes empowerment of learners to become more socially/politically aware, skilled, and active.
Approved:
Curriculum Committee 11-2-06
Faculty Senate 2-14-07
Content of Addendums
1. Curriculum Committee wants to know what is meant by reconceptualization. Is there a more explanatory term?
For example, viewing Columbus as an invader, slave trader, businessperson, and conquering colonialist as opposed to a great navigator and explorer who “discovered” America.
Another example would be, Art history ignoring the contributions of communal cultures and the functional dimension of art instead of “art for art’s sake”.
2. CC wants us to clarify: related to multiple categories of oppression in the US
The phrase: “related to multiple categories of oppression in the United States”, means that when focusing on global issues they must be linked to the US. This is an attempt to tie the curriculum to the experiences of people in this country. For example, discussing the pandemic Black Plague in relation to how it impacted Native American communities after contact with Europe.
3. CC wants examples of transformation to distinguish it from conversion
The term “stimulate transformation” is meant to convey that change often occurs as part of a gradual and developmental process that should be sparked in the multicultural classroom. There should be a focus in the curriculum on furthering the process of student understanding and not necessarily their agreement, and that the evidence of change, to be assessed, will appear across a continuum, in different areas, and manifests at different points in time for different students.
4. CC suggested omitting: thereby …through dynamics. The criterion has been re-written
To emphasize the course should reflect that students are invited to challenge the teachers assertions encouraged to investigate topics that reflect their own interests and concerns as related to course content
5. CC suggested that “personal spheres of influence” be spelled out
What is meant by the term “personal spheres of influence” is that the course should attempt to measure transformation as an individualized process that occurs across a continuum from recognition to social action. For example progress addressing the power/privilege differential between the sexes (sexism) looks different for different students. At one extreme a person might simply think that a sexist practice (joke) is wrong, another student might walk away, another might voice their discontent, another might try to educate the agent, until we arrive at the other extreme where a student is stimulated to take organizational action to address issues of social injustice (including sexism).
6. Was not discussed, but could probably use a clarifying example or two.
This outcome could be measured by having students:
Self reflect and assess their involvement in issues of inequality, examining their personal behavior in relationship to becoming positive change-agents.
Perform self selected skits of their own experiences which allow for the examination of issues of oppression such as exclusion, avoidance, or stereotyping of a person because of the category to which he/she belongs.
Working Definitions of Multicultural Education
The following two definitions provide a framework for understanding the criteria:
1. Multicultural education is a progressive approach for transforming education that holistically critiques and addresses current shortcomings, failings, and discriminatory practices in education. It is grounded in ideals of social justice, education equity, and a dedication to facilitating educational experiences in which all students reach their full potential as learners and as socially aware and active beings, locally, nationally, and globally. Multicultural education acknowledges that schools are essential to laying the foundation for the transformation of society and the elimination of oppression and injustice.
The underlying goal of multicultural education is to effect social change. The pathway toward this goal incorporates three strands of transformation: 1) transformation of self, 2) transformation of schools and other social institutions, and 3) transformation of society. (adapted from Paul Gorsky, 2000)
2. The aim of multicultural education is to actualize American democratic ideals, such as equality, justice and human rights. Multicultural education assumes that race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, religion, differing abilities and social class are salient parts of U.S. society and that this diversity enriches the nation. Major goals of multicultural education include the development of skills, attitudes and knowledge needed for individuals to gain greater self-understanding by viewing themselves from the perspectives of other cultures, in order to understand and affirm their home and community cultures, and to free themselves from their assumptions and biases. Multicultural education assumes that “with acquaintance and understanding, respect may follow.” (Adapted from Banks, 2002)
Works consulted in creating the Multicultural Understanding
Degree Requirement Criteria
Banks, James. “Multicultural Education: Characteristics and Goals.” Multicultural Education: Issues and Perspectives. Eds. James Banks and Cherry Banks. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1989.
Banks, James. An Introduction to Multicultural Education, 3rd edition. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2002
Banks, James. “Approaches to Multicultural Curriculum Reform.” Multicultural Education: Issues and Perspectives. Eds. James Banks and Cherry Banks. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 1993.
Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum Books, 1993.
Gorski, Paul. “The Challenge of Defining a Single ‘Multicultural Education’.” 2001. Multicultural Supersite. <http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/education/multi/define.html>.
Gorski, Paul. “Transforming Self to Transform Schools.” 2001. Multicultural Supersite: Multicultural Philosophy Series, Part 3. http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/education/multi/define.html >.
Gorski, Paul. “Steps Towards Multicultural Curriculum Transformation.” 2001. Multicultural Supersite: Curriculum Transformation. <http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/education/multi/define.html>.
Lee, Enid, Deborah Menkart and Margo Okazawa-Rey, eds. "Introduction" Beyond Heroes and Holidays, 2nd ed. Washington, D.C.: Teaching For Change, 2002.
McIntosh, Peggy. “Interactive Phases of Personal and Curricular Re-Vision with Regard to Race.” Multicultural Resource Series: Professional Development for Educators. Eds. Gene-Tey Shin and Paul Gorski. Washington, D.C.: National Education Association, 2000.