Integrating multicultural and gifted education: a curricular framework

In Level 4, the Social Action Approach, teachers help students to make decisions about important social issues and take action to help solve them. Students are not socialized to accept the status quo, or mainstream ideologies, practices, and institutions. Instead, students feel empowered and are proactive; they are provided with the knowledge, values, and skills necessary to initiate or participate in social change. Self-examination becomes central in this approach through value analysis, decision making, problem solving, and social action skills (note that these skills are at the higher levels of Bloom's taxonomy). For example, in examining issues related to prejudice and discrimination, students develop strategies and plans to improve race relations. While increasing their knowledge about cultural diversity, students of color acquire an ethic of social justice; their sense of personal independence, social interdependence, personal responsibility, and social responsibility increase, as do interest, engagement, motivation and learning (Gay, 1993, 1997). Unfortunately, this approach is least likely to be adopted by educators, primarily because teachers lack formal training, experience, understanding, and personal knowledge of other racial and cultural groups (e.g., histories, values, beliefs, customs, etc.).

Ford and Harris (1999) created Table 3 to guide the development of questions, experiences, and products. It serves as a conceptual framework for infusing multicultural content into the curriculum. The table contains definitions or descriptions for each particular level of the matrix. For example, at the knowledge--contributions level, students are taught and know facts about cultural artifacts, events, groups, and other cultural elements. At the application--transformation level, students are asked to and can apply their understanding of important concepts and themes from different perspectives. At the synthesis--social action level, students create a plan of action to address a social or cultural issue; they seek important social change.

From Theory to Practice: Putting the Conceptual Framework to Use

Multicultural content is often limited to language arts, history, or social studies. However, educators must realize that multicultural education can be effectively integrated into all subject areas--mathematics, science, language arts, physical education, social studies and history, art, consumer science, dance, theatre, foreign language, and more. Table 4 applies the matrix using the topic of multicultural music. At the knowledge--contributions level, students are asked to name three songs that were popular among slaves. At the analysis--transformation level, students are asked to imagine being enslaved and write a song about this feeling. At the analysis-additive level, students explain the main idea or message of a multicultural song they have heard. At the synthesis--social action level, students convert a multicultural song into a play and perform it for the school. Other multicultural gifted education lessons appear in Ford and Harris (1999).