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What is a multicultural curriculum, how is it applied? How does it connect students to their worlds? A multicultural curriculum teaches empowerment, according to Nieto and Bode (2018), because it legitimizes and validates what students know before entering the classroom—and what they should know about a fairer world is explored through investigating others' experiences. A multicultural curriculum consists of multi-genre literature, multicultural performances (art, music, dance), varied socio-political philosophies, and associated historical events that teach about inequities that exist beyond any one classroom.

For example, multicultural literature could include Trevor Noah's "Born a Crime," as it is a story about racial identity and police-maintained inequities.

A comparative perspective could involve comparing and contrasting South Africa's apartheid to America's segregation to find similar racial policies and efforts of resistance. In addition, a multicultural perspective allows for economic and social inequities to be assessed across cultures. Ultimately, exposure to international art and media allows students to appreciate what's special about them.

Nieto, S., & Bode, P. (2018). Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education (7th ed.). Pearson.

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Category 2: Culturally Responsive Teaching Methods

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Category 2: Culturally Responsive Teaching Methods

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An inclusive classroom is one in which teaching styles integrate cultural backgrounds where applicable among the diverse populations, yet differentiated teaching styles where necessary to meet different needs. Inclusive practices include student-centered learning, language inclusion, culturally relevant examples, and collaborative learning structures. For example, student-centered learning is an inclusive practice that gives students a voice and the chance to tell their stories and provide cultural input, which, in turn, makes teaching opportunities more relevant to their experiences. In addition, language inclusion is essential, for example, when teachers acknowledge multilingual students with bilingual materials or when teachers scaffold language development through visuals or connections with bilingual peers. Culturally relevant examples mean that teachers create word problems based on various cultural histories or scientific phenomena from around the world to create meaning for those particular students in their classroom. Finally, this applies to collaborative learning structures where peer teaching, group work, and share circles allow students to teach one another. Hammond (2015) notes that culturally responsive teaching connects cognitive abilities as it connects new knowledge with experience.

Hammond, Z. (2015). Culturally responsive teaching and the brain: Promoting authentic engagement and rigor among culturally and linguistically diverse students. Corwin.

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Category 3: Fostering a Multicultural Classroom Environment

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Category 3: Fostering a Multicultural Classroom Environment

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A multicultural classroom is one that automatically respects, acknowledges, and celebrates cultural diversity through lessons and activities daily; creating a multicultural classroom setting involves multicultural decorations, language, and the rules and activities of the inclusive, integrated community educated by the students. For example, multicultural decorations that are relevant and constant include multicultural posters and books, books of multicultural literature relative to class themes of diversity, and student-created pieces with varying nuances. Moreover, adults must adjust language to operate from a gender-neutral perspective and call out any culturally inappropriate terms used. Furthermore, teachers must be willing to have students teach them about their own backgrounds and any linguistic differences.

The rules of the multicultural community must follow aspects of dialogue where equitable, respectful listening is encouraged and differing opinions are welcomed. Activities can consist of culture awareness days led by students or days where students can read their favorite stories in multiple languages for peer exposure. The culturally responsive teacher understands that such a classroom creates involvement, excitement, and achievement (Gay, 2018).

Gay, G. (2018). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice (3rd ed.). Teachers College Press.

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Category 4: Engagement with Families and Community

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Category 4: Engagement with Families and Community

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Greater cultural awareness because of developed school, family, and community connections ultimately makes for a better experience in school. Avenues for greater cultural awareness include community learning projects, cultural nights, parent workshops, and multilingual communication efforts. For instance, community learning projects allow teachers to partner with community agencies to make lessons applicable to cultural heritages, social concerns, and landmarks relevant to diverse populations. For example, community learning projects and cultural nights such as international night, storytime nights, and potluck dinners allow students and families to share their culture and personal narratives.

Parent workshops regarding culturally responsive pedagogy, bilingual literacy focus, or how to apply for an IEP give families opportunities to become more involved in the educational process. In addition, multilingual communication efforts such as newsletters in different languages or translations of presentations at school provide more avenues for non-English speaking families to be welcomed. According to Nieto and Bode (2018) and Gay (2018), when educators take the classroom to the home and the community, children feel that their cultural identities are validated and acknowledged in school, making them more engaged with better educational experiences and outcomes.

Gay, G. (2018). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice (3rd ed.). Teachers College Press.
Nieto, S., & Bode, P. (2018). Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education (7th ed.). Pearson.