Journal of Negro Education

Policy Issues in Multicultural Education in the United States

Author(s): Gwendolyn C. Baker
Source: The Journal of Negro Education, Vol. 48, No. 3, Multicultural Education in the
International Year of the Child: Problems and Possibilities (Summer, 1979), pp. 253-266
Published by: Journal of Negro Education
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2295046
Accessed: 10-10-2024 17:44 UTC

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide
range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and
facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
https://about.jstor.org/terms

Journal of Negro Education is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend
access to The Journal of Negro Education

This content downloaded from 198.203.84.3 on Thu, 10 Oct 2024 17:44:36 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
CHAPTER II

Policy Issues in Multicultural

Education in the United States
Gwendolyn C. Baker, Chief, Minorities and Women's Program,
National Institute of Education

It is of particular significance that this issue of the Journal of

Negro Education focus on Multicultural Education in this Inter-
national Year of the Child (IYC). The focus is significant because
it signifies a recognition of the fact that multicultural education
can have a significant impact on the education and lives of all
children. The purpose and content of this paper are directed to-
ward supporting the specific objective of the IYC-that is, "to
provide a framework for advocacy on behalf of children and for
enhancing the awareness of the special needs of children on the
part of decisionmakers and the public."
In exploring the issues as they relate to the development of
policy that impacts upon multicultural education, some attention
will be given to clarifying the term multicultural education and to
describing what it encompasses as it is addressed in this article.
Further, this discussion will assess the progress multicultural edu-
cation has made during the last decade and the effect that the de-
velopment of this concept has had on existing policy and practice.
Following the definition of the concept and the analysis of the
state of the art, some attention will then be directed toward fu-
ture considerations and implications for policy and legislation.

CLARIFYING THE CONCEPT

The beginnings of multicultural education can be traced to the
founding of this nation. However, the development of what is
known today as multicultural education has occurred during the
last ten to fifteen years. A review of the literature of the early
1960s finds educators making references to "diversity," "cultural
pluralism," and "ethnic content." Much of what was contributed
to the exploration of these terms was confined to what was needed
-i.e., change in teacher attitudes, curriculum, and textbook selec-
tion. Little was articulated that precisely gave direction and defini-
tion to specific concepts and/or approaches that could be applied
to educational practice. The discussions that surrounded "ethnic

Copyright ? 1979, Howard University. 253

Journal of Negro Education, Vol. XLVIII, No. 3 (1979).

This content downloaded from 198.203.84.3 on Thu, 10 Oct 2024 17:44:36 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
content" in the curricula of schools tended to be limited to the
study of Blacks, Mexican Americans, Native Americans, and
Asians. During the middle part of the sixties, the literature began
to reflect the terms "ethnic minority education," "ethnic educa-
tion," and to a lesser degree "multicultural education." However,
by the early seventies, "ethnic studies," "ethnic education," and
''multiethnic education'' were popular in the literature and had
become acceptable terminology with reference to the inclusion of
ethnic content into existing school curricula. Perhaps the most
exciting publication on ethnic studies and ethnic education at that
time was the January 1972 issue of Phi Delta Kappan, (vol. 53, no.
5), on The Imperatives of Ethnic Education, edited by James A.
Banks. The authors who contributed to this publication used a
myriad of terms, all implying basically the study of the history of
ethnic groups in the United States.
To this writer, multiethnic education, in 1972, implied the utili-
zation of a multiethnic approach to the curriculum. This approach
was defined as a method of teaching that integrated into all aspects
of the curriculum the influences and contributions of Black, Indi-
an, Japanese, Jewish, and Mexican American culture to the culture
of American society.1 This approach means planning and orga-
nizing the learning experiences for children in the classroom so
that these experiences reflect cultural diversity. This and similar
definitions, in addition to what was implied in analogous terms,
laid the foundation for what multicultural education means in this
current discussion.
Jack Forbes can be credited as being one of the pioneers in the
usage of the term "multicultural education." His 1969 publication
entitled The Education of the Culturally Different: A Multicultural
Approach (Berkeley, Ca.: Far West Laboratory for Educational
Research and Development) was recognized as one of the most
explicit contributions to the concept. In 1972, the American Asso-
ciation for Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE), through its
newly formed Commission on Multicultural Education, adopted a
statement on multicultural education which has served as the
foundation for much of the work in the area of teacher education.
The official statement, No One Model American, is extended but
for the purposes of analyses the introductory paragraph is cited:
Multicultural education is education which values cultural pluralism. Multi-
cultural education rejects the view that schools should seek to melt away

'Gwendolyn C. Baker, "The Effects of Training in Multi-ethnic Education on Preservice Teach-

ers' Perceptions of Ethnic Groups" (Ph.D. diss., University of Michigan, 1972).

254 The Journal of Negro Education

This content downloaded from 198.203.84.3 on Thu, 10 Oct 2024 17:44:36 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 cultural differences or the view that schools should merely tolerate cultural
pluralism. Instead, multicultural education affirms that schools should be
oriented toward the cultural enrichment of all children and youth through
programs rooted to the preservation and extension of cultural diversity as a
fact of life in American society, and it affirms that this cultural diversity is a
valuable resource that should be preserved and extended. It affirms that
major education institutions should strive to preserve and enhance cultural
pluralism.2
It is not difficult to see that the intent from this broad perspective
includes all children and speaks to cultural differences, not just to
ethnic content. As the statement continues, it incorporates the
encouragement of multiculturalism, multilingualism, and multi-
dialectism.3 Thus, bilingualism is supported. This is a significant
point that will be elaborated on later in this paper because what is
included in multicultural education has implications for the issue
of policy as well as legislative acts in this area.
As early as 1969, the Association for Supervision and Curric-
ulum Development (ASCD) began addressing multiethnic educa-
tion. However, it was not until a few years later that this associa-
tion's recognition of cultural pluralism was labeled "multicultural
education." The interpretation of the term by ASCD is as follows:
... is a humanistic concept based on the strength of diversity, human rights,
social justice, and alternative life choices for all people. It is mandatory for
quality education. It includes curricular, instructional, administrative, and
environmental efforts to help students avail themselves of as many models,
alternatives, and opportunities as possible from the full spectrum of our
cultures. This education permits individual development in any culture. Each
individual simultaneously becomes aware that every group (ethnic, cultural,
social, and racial) exists autonomously as a part of an interrelated and inter-
dependent societal whole. Thus, the individual is encouraged to develop
social skills that will enable movement among and cooperation with other
cultural communities and groups.4
This statement by ASCD is inclusive and all encompassing. The
following sentence taken from further explanations of the term
shows how it parallels the AACTE statement with reference to the
intended audience: "If multicultural education is to achieve its
goals, the concepts that constitute its foundations must pervade
the educational experiences of all students." This point, the intent
for benefiting all students, along with the inclusion of bilingual
efforts have implications for advocating policy decisions.
The authors of Teaching in a Multicultural Society offer the
following definition:

2William A. Hunter (ed.), Multicultural Education Through Competency-Based Teacher Educa-

tion (Washington, D.C.: American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education, 1977).
31bid., p. 22.
4Carl A. Grant (ed.), Multicultural Education: Commitments, Issues and Applications (Wash-
ington, D.C.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1977).

The Journal of Negro Education 255

This content downloaded from 198.203.84.3 on Thu, 10 Oct 2024 17:44:36 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 Thus, a multicultural concept is an inevitable reality in any society where
there are people of various cultural backgrounds who are changing, moving
about, and learning. The multicultural concept implies a view of life in
which we recognize and cherish the differences among groups of people and
search for ways to help such traits to be positive influences on both the
individuals who possess them and all others with whom they associate in
our society.5
This statement is much broader than those by AACTE or ASCD
and allows for a greater degree of interpretation and application.
This definition and the other preceding statements are similar to
and supportive of the following definition that is offered at this
point and will serve to establish common understandings as the
topic is explored further.
Multicultural education in the context of this discussion is
viewed as a process through which individuals are exposed to the
diversity that exists in the United States and to the relationship of
this diversity to the world. This diversity includes ethnic, racial
minority populations as well as religious groups, language and
sex differences. The exposure to diversity should be based on the
foundation that every person in our society has the opportunity
and option to support and maintain one or more cultures, i.e.,
value systems, life styles, sets of systems. However, the individual,
as a citizen, has a responsibility to contribute to the maintenance
of the common culture. This last concept of multicultural educa-
tion is as inclusive as the previous examples but goes beyond in
that it specifically includes religions and sex. This process can be
illustrated by a three-circle model which contains a center or core
circle, an inner circle, and an outer circle. The concepts involved
in the model discussed here are not limited to the United States but
are applicable to any country in the world, using a specific coun-
try as the reference point.
The center circle (core) in the model represents multiethnic
education and refers to the content of ethnic studies. That is to
say, it is concerned with the historical, economic, political, social
and psychological perspectives, and involvements of a particular
ethnic group. Within the development of a nation, it may also
refer to all of the ethnic groups represented in the total society of a
given country.
The inner circle refers to multicultural education and represents
all cultural groups in the United States. This area contains the
interaction and reactions among and between ethnic and cultural
groups. The facets of the larger cultural group in the U.S. are

5D. Cross, G. C. Baker, and L. J. Stiles, Teaching in a Multicultural Society (New York, Mac-
millan Publishing Co., 1977).

256 The Journal of Negro Education

This content downloaded from 198.203.84.3 on Thu, 10 Oct 2024 17:44:36 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
affected, according to this concept, by the ethnic groups which
collectively make up the larger cultural group. The reactions and
interactions in the larger group are in part determined by the extent
to which ethnic experiences are demonstrated by individual ethnic
groups. For example, women and religious groups cannot or
should not be thought of as ethnic groups but may be viewed as
cultural groups. The study of women and religious groups as well
as a myriad of other cultural groups can best be understood when
the ethnic components and/or experiences are also analyzed. A
study of women or religious groups in the United States should
explore the relationship between various and/or specific ethnic
groups. Ethnicity is a substantial portion of what is studied in the
larger realm of culture.
To illustrate further, the feminist movement may be explored,
but the full impact of this movement will be ignored completely
unless we consider the interests, concerns, and responses to the
issues involved by women of various ethnic groups. The value and
interest which a Black, Native American or Hispanic woman
places on the feminist movement are quite different from those of
a white middle-class woman. The differences in perspectives
and/or responses are primarily due to the ethnic experiences each
has had in this country.6
To continue, the outer circle represents yet a third dimension
and that is international education-education about another or
other countries. So often, international education is taught in
schools under the guise of multicultural education. International
education does not become multicultural education until some
aspects of what is being taught about a country can be linked to
the behavior or life styles of ethnic groups who live in the United
States but whose ancestors originated from the country being
studied. In other words, a bridge must be established just as
bridges have been established in the past to connect European
cultures with Anglo-Saxon cultures in this country. In conclusion,
from this reference point, it is possible to implement multiethnic
education without multicultural education, but multicultural
education cannot be implemented without involving multiethnic
components. International education is neither multicultural nor
multiethnic until bridges have been established.
DEVELOPMENT OF POLICY AND LEGISLATION
Local Education Agencies
From a time perspective, it is not difficult to trace the develop-
ment of multicultural education policy and legislation because
6Gwendolyn C. Baker, "Cultural Diversity: Strength of the Nation," Educational Leadership,
XXXIII (January, 1976), 257-59.

The Journal of Negro Education 257

This content downloaded from 198.203.84.3 on Thu, 10 Oct 2024 17:44:36 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
most of it has occurred during the past decade. A natural approach
to our discussion is to first look at what has taken place in local
education agencies, then explore what has developed on the state,
Federal and national levels. Unfortunately, there is no information
available on local education agencies that is comprehensive enough
to aid our discussion. Most of what is available is in piecemeal
fashion. This fact alone tells us that there is a need for collecting
this kind of data. It also tends to suggest that perhaps there is not
as much activity on the local level as one would hope. There does
exist some evidence of isolated situations where the activity within
a local school district has affected the policy in that system. A case
in point is the Ann Arbor, Michigan, public schools.
In response to racial discontent and disruption that occurred in
their schools during the early seventies, the Ann Arbor Michigan
Public School System adopted a report that specified the incorpo-
ration of multiethnic content, concepts, and principles throughout
the entire educational system. The adoption of this report began
to establish policy within and beyond the district. It is interesting
to note that policy established on a local level had implications for
developing policy in the surrounding teacher training institutions
that placed pre-service teachers in the Ann Arbor public schools.
The adoption of this report also caused the 1972-73 Master Agree-
ment between the local board of education and the teacher's asso-
ciation to reflect new policy that directly affected teacher training.
The policy read as follows:
Beginning in the 1972-73 school year, no student teacher shall be accepted
by the Ann Arbor Schools unless he can demonstrate attitudes necessary to
support and create the multiethnic curriculum. Each such student teacher
must provide a document or transcript which reflects training in or evidence
of substantive understanding of the multiethnic or minority experience.7
This local school policy affected policy in at least two local teacher
training institutions. Each institution developed policies within its
respective training programs that required compliance with the
policy set forth by the local school district. Other local districts in
Michigan independently adopted similar policy. For example, the
Jackson, Michigan Public School System established policy that
required all teachers to have training in multicultural education
prior to receiving tenure.
In other states, informal attempts to establish policies can be
identified. For example, Wichita Public Schools, Wichita, Kansas,
7Gwendolyn C. Baker, "Development of the Multicultural Program: School of Education,
University of Michigan," in Pluralism and the American Teacher: Issues and Case Studies (Wash-
ington, D.C.: American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education, 1977), pp. 163-69.

258 The Journal of Negro Education

This content downloaded from 198.203.84.3 on Thu, 10 Oct 2024 17:44:36 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
has not formerly adopted policy in multicultural education, but it
is the practice of that district to provide training in multicultural
education for all new teachers entering the system. Lake Washing-
ton School District, Kirkland, Washington, cooperates with Seattle
Pacific University to provide multicultural instruction for teachers
as the result of local initiative. What is being discussed here is the
impact of local initiative on policy. There is some evidence of
multicultural training taking place at the local level but in these
situations the stimulus was provided by Federal legislation, i.e.,
Title IV of the 1964 Civil Rights Law and Title VII of the Elemen-
tary School Aid Act. Currently, local involvement as it relates to
the initiation of local policy for the promotion of multicultural
education needs to be encouraged.
State Education Agencies
Interesting and exciting aspects of the development of multi-
cultural education policy and legislation have occurred on the state
level. The variety of approaches used to accomplish either teacher
in-service training or curriculum revision are many. They range
from a more conservative approach such as the one included in the
California Education Code to a more comprehensive and ambitious
approach as that encouraged by the Iowa State Board of Education.
Article 3.3 of the California Education Code requires "multi-
cultural education in school districts with one or more schools
composed of at least 25% minority students ... [and] that districts
provide teachers and other staff with in-service training in the
history, culture and current problems of racial and ethnic minor-
ities."8 This legislation encourages multicultural education only
for certain schools. It overlooks the important aspects that multi-
cultural education is as important for the nonminority child as
well as for the minority child. It also discriminates against the
minority child who attends predominantly all-white schools. This
legislation has the potential for encouraging the adoption of more
extensive policy on the local level within the state of California.
The following approach used by the state of Iowa is more
comprehensive:
The Iowa State Board of Education encourages school districts to initiate in
all subject areas, at all grade levels curriculum changes, teaching practices,
and instructional materials which foster respect and appreciation for the
cultural and racial pluralism of this country, and the achievement and con-
tributions of minority groups, ethnic groups, and women as well as men."9

8E. D. Cross and James Deslonde, "The Impact of Teacher In-Service Programs on Attitudes
Toward Multicultural Education," Educational Research Quarterly, II (Winter, 1978), 96-105.
9State Board of Public Instruction, Guide to Implementing Multicultural Non-Sexist Curric-
ulum Programs in Iowa Schools, June, 1976.

The Journal of Negro Education 259

This content downloaded from 198.203.84.3 on Thu, 10 Oct 2024 17:44:36 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
This approach is more inclusive and represents one of the few
statements that is explicit as to the inclusion of women. These are
but two examples of the kind of policy and/or legislation that ex-
ists on the state level.
The Multicultural Education Commission of the American
Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, under a grant from
the National Institute of Education, conducted a survey in 1976 of
state legislation, provisions, and practices related to multicultural
education. The survey was designed to solicit from state depart-
ments of education the degree to which each was involved in multi-
cultural education. Recognizing the confusion that exists over the
definition of "multicultural" and what is included, the survey
instrument asked for responses to activities in the following spe-
cific areas: (1) provisions for multicultural education and ethnic
studies, (2) provisions for bilingual/bicultural education, (3) teach-
er education requirements, (4) specific departments and persons
assigned to coordinate multicultural education, (5) in-service train-
ing, and (6) curricular resources. As a result of the survey, the
following information was obtained:
-Thirty-four states address multicultural education through legislation,
regulation, guidelines, and/or major policies.
-Nineteen State Boards of Education have issued resolutions, position, and
policy statements, or priority/goal statements related to multicultural
education.
-Twenty-one State Education Agencies (SEA's) have developed guidelines,
regulations, or teacher certification requirements in order to comply with
legislation or mandates from the State Board of Education.
-In addition to the State Boards of Education and State Education Agencies,
several states reported that other agencies had also produced Policy State-
ments related to the need for multicultural education, i.e., New York State
Board of Regents provided a statement of policy on equal opportunity for
women. The Vermont State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission
on Civil Rights published a report that highlighted the need for teachers
and teacher training related to human rights and minority groups.10
It is encouraging to note that at the time of this survey, sixty-eight
per cent of the states had passed legislation, promulgated regula-
tions and/or guidelines, and developed policy. Of these states,
fifty-five per cent of the state boards of education have taken
definite steps to adopt policy statements. Teacher certification is
being affected in approximately fifty-five per cent of these thirty-
four states.
In general, most of the activity that can be identified on the
local school district level will be a result of legislation and policy
that has been enacted on the state level. This suggests that multi-

'0American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education, State Legislation, Provisions and
Practices Related to Multicultural Education (Washington, D.C.: AACTE, 1978).

260 The Journal of Negro Education

This content downloaded from 198.203.84.3 on Thu, 10 Oct 2024 17:44:36 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
cultural policy decisions can be viewed as being interactive. In
other words, in some cases, initiative from the local level can in-
duce policy that can have a widespread effect. Certainly state pol-
icy directly affects local policy decisions as does Federal legislation.
Policy decisions made in associations at the national level also
affect the state and local involvement in multicultural education.

Federal Government
Much of the multicultural education, however, is taking place
perhaps because of recent Federal legislation. Even though that
legislation has not been particularly aggressive or comprehensive,
it has provided a stimulus for some activity. According to Giles
and Gollnick,11 there was little support for multicultural educa-
tion on the Federal level prior to the passage of Title IX of the Ele-
mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). The Ethnic
Heritage Program legislation in 1972, which emerged from ESEA,
appears to have been the first to encourage the study of ethnic and
racial minority culture by children in the United States.
Other Federal legislations that have implications for multi-
cultural education have been primarily contained in Title IV of the
1964 Civil Rights Bill, Title VII of the Emergency School Aid Act
of 1972, and in Title VII of the 1972 amendments of ESEA. Other
legislations, such as the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, are often
cited as having enhanced multicultural education but these tend to
fall more into the affirmative action or civil rights categories.
Many school districts have benefited from the provisions of
Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title IV provides technical
and financial assistance to desegregating school systems. However,
the effect of this Act is limited because assistance can only be given
when it is requested. With increased emphasis on the development
of policy by the local level, it is possible that an increase in requests
for the kind of services that Title IV can provide will be forth-
coming.
The thrust of Title VII of the Emergency School Aid Act of
1972 is to meet the needs of students and faculty that have resulted
from discrimination and group isolation. This piece of legislation
could have a tremendous impact upon the development of policy
in this area because it focuses upon the development and use of
curricula and instructional methods, practices, and techniques that
support a program of instruction for ethnic and racial minority
children. School districts must also take the initiative in requesting
assistance from Title VII.
"Raymond Giles and Donna Gollnick, Pluralism and the American Teacher: Issues and Case
Studies (Washington, D.C.: American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education, 1977), pp.
115-15.

The Journal of Negro Education 261

This content downloaded from 198.203.84.3 on Thu, 10 Oct 2024 17:44:36 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 Title VII, also known as the Bilingual Education Act, provides
assistance to programs that are designed to address language dif-
ferences. As indicated in our discussion on the definition of multi-
cultural education, language differences are an important aspect of
cultural diversity and, therefore, bilingual education is an impor-
tant part of multicultural education.
The elimination of discrimination related to sex differences is
also a very real part of multicultural education. For this reason,
Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments can be considered as
another piece of legislation that supports multicultural education.
This Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in federally-
assisted educational programs or activities.
While these legislative moves may not have been deliberate
attempts on the part of the Federal Government to support multi-
cultural education, it is perhaps accurate to say that they can have
an impact on the development and promotion of multicultural
education. There has been no specific lobbying effort directed at
the Federal level to secure legislation that will precisely support
multicultural education. Policy decisions at this level will need to
be influenced and developed.
The impact that professional and related education organiza-
tions can have on multicultural education cannot be overlooked.
As a part of the survey that was conducted by the Multicultural
Education Commission, American Association for Teacher Educa-
tion, and cited earlier in this discussion, a profile of multicultural
education activities of professional and related education organiza-
tions was compiled. The following information was obtained from
the profile:
-Thirty-three of the thirty-nine responding organizations indicated they
had activities related to multicultural/bilingual education.
-Eighty per cent stated that the funding for this activity came from mem-
bership.
-Almost sixty per cent reported they had developed policy statements on
multicultural or bilingual education.12
The profile makes it clear that although a large number of those
responding to the survey have developed statements that promote
multiculturalism, none outlines what the organization itself should
do to bring about the changes implied. This is an example of how
ineffective policy can be if commitment and procedures for moni-
toring the policy are not evident.
One of the organizations included in this profile has taken a
major step toward the implementation of policy. The National
Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) is
l2Profile of the Multicultural/Bilingual Education Activities of Professional and Related Educa-
tion Organizations, AACTE, May, 1978.

262 The Journal of Negro Education

This content downloaded from 198.203.84.3 on Thu, 10 Oct 2024 17:44:36 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
devoted to the evaluation and accreditation of teacher education
programs throughout the country. The National Council has been
authorized by the Council on Post-Secondary Accreditation
(COPA) to adopt standards and procedures for accreditation and
to determine the accreditation status of institutional programs for
preparing teachers and other professional school personnel.13
Accreditation is determined by how an institution is assessed by
the Standards used in conducting the evaluation of its teacher
training program. Prior to 1979, these Standards did not include
reference to multicultural education but the revised Standards, that
went into effect as of January 1, 1979, do address multicultural
teacher education. A new and separate Standard has been included
and existing Standards have been revised so as to reflect appro-
priate multicultural approaches. This will have a major impact on
schools, colleges, and departments of education because NCATE
accredits approximately forty per cent of the teacher training insti-
tutions in the nation. It is also accurate to say that this change in
reference to the NCATE Standards did not occur without a good
deal of encouragement from external forces that organized to
provide meaningful advocacy and assistance.
The proponents of multicultural education feel that the devel-
opment of policy and legislation relevant to their interests has not
occurred quickly enough, nor is the available support sufficient. If
there is to be adequate and effective policy that will aid the devel-
opment of multicultural education, strategies for accomplishing
this is needed. If there is to be legislation that will support multi-
cultural activity in the nation's schools, techniques for promoting
it will also be needed.

NEEDED POLICY AND LEGISLATION

National
One of the major recommendations of The Conference of Edu-
cation and Teacher Education for Cultural Pluralism held in 1971
addressed an essential step crucial to policymaking at the national
level. The recommendation states that:
Cultural pluralism should be recognized in the selection of personnel for
decision-making bodies in all federal education programs so that minority
communities will have a policy role in such programs. This principle should
be applied at all levels of a program, from top-level positions in the U.S.
Office of Education (USOE) to the personnel of individual projects, and at
the state and local levels.14

13National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education, Standards for the Accreditation
of Teacher Education (Washington, D.C.: NCATE, May, 1977).
14Madelon D. Stent, Cultural Pluralism in Education: A Mandate for Change (New York:
Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1973), pp. 153-58.

The Journal of Negro Education 263

This content downloaded from 198.203.84.3 on Thu, 10 Oct 2024 17:44:36 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Other recommendations from this same conference speak to the
importance of policy that would effect multicultural instructional
materials, a clearinghouse for the dissemination of such materials
and to an array of other issues that need to be effected by policy
that would ensure multicultural approaches. What can be inferred
from these recommendations and from what the previous discus-
sion has suggested is that there needs to be national policy estab-
lished that would permeate all decision making and practices in the
United States Office of Education.
As was noted earlier, policy can exist; but without firm commit-
ment to the content of such statements to enforcement, and to the
provisions for monitoring the implementation of policy, it might
as well be non-existent. That is to say, if policy were established
on the national level, it follows that legislation would be needed
to reinforce the implementation of multicultural education. The
implementation could be reinforced via funding and monitoring
provisions. A condition for Federal funding could be based on the
degree to which the state and/or local district is committed to and
involved in multicultural education for students and for teachers.
Policy and legislation at the national level could have a great
impact on teacher training. Teacher training might look very dif-
ferent from its current pattern with regard to multicultural educa-
tion if some means of accountability were encouraged. The devel-
opment of curricula, selection of instructional materials, staffing
patterns, and evaluation could be more effectively impacted if pol-
icy and legislation at the national level were directed to the issue
of multicultural education.

State

On the state level, there exists a great need for more compre-
hensive policy and legislation -that would support multicultural
education. State education agencies and state boards of education
could play important roles in providing effective policy through a
number of avenues. Teacher certification could include provisions
that would provide for training and experiences in this area. It is
important to note that in some instances if only existing policy is
enforced, nothing else would be needed. An example of this was
cited by the State of Michigan:
While the Guidelines for Multicultural Education seek to initiate innovation
in the schools of Michigan, many of the crucial elements of multicultural
education already exist in current policies and practices of the Michigan
State Department of Education. Some of the current policies in which these
elements can be found include: Common Goals of Michigan Education;
Guidelines for Eliminating and Preventing Sex Discrimination; Guidelines

264 The Journal of Negro Education

This content downloaded from 198.203.84.3 on Thu, 10 Oct 2024 17:44:36 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 for Providing Integrated Education Within School Districts; and Bilingual
Education legislation.15
This document continues by illustrating the language contained in
current policy. For example, in "The Common Goals of Michigan
Education," the following is included:
Michigan education must provide for each individual an understanding of
the value systems, cultures, customs and histories of one's own heritage as
well as others. Each student must learn to value human differences.16
In this instance, nothing more with regard to policy would be
needed if this stated policy were implemented and monitored.
Comprehensive policy and legislation on the state level would
ensure more effective teacher certification with regard to multi-
cultural education. The content of the curricula of the schools
through each state could also reflect that which would be appro-
priate for a given state. State endorsement of textbooks, the selec-
tion of personnel, and many other important areas in education,
could be affected by state level action which is supportive of the
principles inherent in multicultural education.

Local

The development of multicultural education at the local level

would certainly be enhanced if local school boards committed
themselves to the concept. Ann Arbor, Michigan, is an indication
of the effect policy can have at this level. The selection of teachers,
curriculum development, curriculum content, the development of
evaluation instruments and procedures, selection of instructional
materials, and many other areas at the local level, need to emerge
from Board policy that will not only encourage the application of
multicultural approaches but also enforce it.

REQUISITES FOR ACHIEVING POLICY AND

LEGISLATION
One of the most crucial aspects of attempting to encourage
support on any issue, but certainly with respect to education, is
the degree to which people can be convinced that what is being
advocated will benefit them. In the 1977 Washington Policy Semi-
nar,'7 one of the panelists stressed the importance of keeping in
mind what the American people feel is worthy. It was reported that
in a November, 1976, Louis Harris poll, eighty-nine per cent of
those surveyed indicated that one of the most important aspects of
the 'quality of life' to them was "achieving quality education for
l5Michigan State Board of Education, Guidelines for Providing Integrated Education Through
Multicultural Education, 1974, p. 6.
l6Ibid., p. 7.
17The Washington Policy Seminar, Report of a Joint Activity of the Far West and California
Teacher Corps Networks and Institution for Educational Leadership, May, 1977.

The Journal of Negro Education 265

This content downloaded from 198.203.84.3 on Thu, 10 Oct 2024 17:44:36 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
children."18 This fact is important to this discussion because it
indicates that if multicultural education policy and legislation is to
be advocated, then the value it has for providing quality education
for all children must be stressed. The inclusiveness of the concept
is an equally important point to be conveyed. The public as well
as legislators are weary with the myriad of new thrusts and inno-
vations they must respond to in the field of education. While
multicultural education is not a n innovation, it is a recent thrust
designed to improve the education of all children. The "all" must
be emphasized and the fact that what is being advocated is not
only study about ethnicity and culture but includes bilingual edu-
cation as well as efforts for the elimination of sexism. If policy and
legislation that will make multicultural education become a reality
is to be achieved, there must be advocacy that will accomplish the
following: the acceptance of a comprehensive and unifying defini-
tion of the concept, the acceptance of the inclusiveness of multi-
cultural education, and increased awareness of the importance of
multicultural education for all children and their teachers. If we
are to realize the benefits of advocacy, attention needs to be given
to organizing efforts so that effective methods of lobbying for
policy can be identified. Methods of attaining legislation at the
national, state, and local levels also need to be identified and
utilized.
A recognization of the importance and value of multicultural
education is essential to the development of the approach. How-
ever, sensitivity and awareness on the part of a few will do little
to promote the implementation on a grand scale unless that sensi-
tivity, awareness, and interest is captured and transformed into
meaningful support systems. In other words, the most effective
way to ensure multicultural education in the schools of the nation
is to organize for successful advocacy via policy and legislation.

l8Ibid, p. 33.

266 The Journal of Negro Education

This content downloaded from 198.203.84.3 on Thu, 10 Oct 2024 17:44:36 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms