Incorporating Multicultural Content
Multicultural content is essential to the education of ethnically diverse students. It promotes a sense of pride, confidence, and belonging when students learn about people who look, think, behave like them and have similar experiences. When ethnically diverse students are taught from a Eurocentric dominated curriculum it is not engaging for them because it does not help to shape their cultural identities, teach them where they come from nor show them where they belong in this world. Ethnically diverse students need curriculum content that they can connect to. They need a curriculum that is going to motivate and inspire them to reach their fullest potential. Resentation matters.
Positive images of people from historically underrepresented communities is validating and affirming for ethnically diverse students. It hooks them into their learning and provides a deeper objective for learning the content. In addition, when students’ background knowledge matches their academics they are able to access the text easier. Representation gives ethnically diverse students someone to identify with. The saying is, “if they can see it, they can become it.” Therefore, providing ethnically diverse students with positive images, stories, and knowledge about people who look like them helps them to achieve. Knowledge has no innate value unless it is linked to the needs, interests, and desires of students (Gay, 2018).
As a teacher, I had to teach a unit on ancient Southeast Asian empires, however, the demographics of my classroom consisted of a predominately Muslim population with students from African, Middle Eastern, and Hispanic cultures. I wanted to engage all of my students in the learning and validate their cultural identities. Consequently, I incorporated African, Muslim, and Hispanic kingdoms into my lesson. It was important for me to represent all cultures in my classroom because I needed show my students that they mattered, they have a place in society, and that their cultural heritages played a role in the shaping of our world. Nonetheless, the smiles on their faces and the stares at each other with a sense of pride when their culture was represented during the lesson was invaluable. I gave them a deeper understanding of who they are and a strong connection to the content in order to impact their achievement.
Thus,, multicultural content is beneficial for all students, especially those who have minimal interactions with ethnically diverse people. It fosters respect, understanding, and empathy. Multicultural content expands the ideas and perspectives of all students, diminishes negative stereotypes, and helps students to connect to others better. By providing knowledge that deepens students’ understanding of who they are, where they come from and what they can be is a purposeful practice that will put ethnically diverse students on a trajectory of success.
