| As cultural, linguistic, and racial diversity increases in the U.S., the concept of multicultural education continues to gain importance in the field of education. Multicultural education is conceived of as a philosophy that aims to educate all students in a holistic manner within a supportive environment that understands and respects diversity. This framework also addresses the need to combat the elitist and racist ideologies, methodologies, and outcomes that the U.S. educational system has entrenched for centuries.; This study aimed to understand how bilingual teachers from four ethnolinguistic groups (Haitian Creole, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese) in New York City interpret multicultural education. The following questions guided the study: (1) How does bilingual teachers' understanding of multicultural education relate to the theoretical literature? (2) How do successful bilingual teachers from different ethnolinguistic groups compare and differ in their approach to multicultural education? (3) What obstacles to multicultural education do bilingual teachers experience?; A collective case study was conducted to look at the phenomenon of multicultural education within the bilingual context. Sixteen bilingual teachers (four from each ethnolinguistic group) were interviewed and observed. The interviews focused on four tenets of multicultural education. The institutional/structural tenet encompasses the top-down, traditionally mandated areas that teachers usually have minimal control over such as labeling, grouping, tracking, and testing. The curricular tenet includes the often imposed curriculum teachers must implement, which has the potential to become a "tool for cultural hegemony" (Bennett, 2001: p. 177). The pedagogical tenet addresses how teachers take into account their students' culture, language, and values in order to draw upon these strengths to facilitate academic achievement. Finally, the humanistic tenet addresses the unplanned day-to-day implicit and explicit interactions around areas such as race, religion, and sexuality, which bring out the inherent beliefs and attitudes of teachers and students.; The study reveals the areas of convergence and divergence as teachers create spaces for the inclusion and affirmation of multiple languages and cultures within the teaching and learning process, in spite of policies that push for standardization and the increasing presence of the "teacher-proof" curriculum. The comparison across groups illustrates how as educators we should expect all students to reach the same high standards, but the process to arrive at the standards may look different as teachers consider their students' distinct cultural, linguistic, and academic backgrounds and needs. |
