Multicultural education is a construct that has been very useful for many years in harboring sensitivities teachers need in addressing diverse students. Now the discipline needs refreshing. In the global society, the idea of multicultural education, a decidedly Western formation, needs to expand its conceptual boundaries. Salient issues in multicultural education such as individual identities, social justice, and equity are bedrock concerns of multicultural educators. These concepts are considered necessary but not sufficient in shaping an evolving model of multicultural education. The complexity of humans and modern and emerging societies requires a broadened scope of the understanding of contemporary multicultural theory and practice. Evolving Multicultural Education for Global Classrooms addresses multicultural education from a comprehensive viewpoint that acknowledges the historical benefit of multicultural education and recognizes a need to inform the discipline with a broader viewpoint. As most knowledge on multicultural education comes from a Western perspective and the scholarship on the topic is weakening, the chapters in this book present new practices and classroom applications that are internationally transferable. Topics covered include teacher education, social justice, educational equity and inclusion, online education, and cultural sensitivities. This book is ideally intended for teachers, educational theorists, sociologists of education, inservice and preservice teachers, administrators, teacher educators, practitioners, researchers, academicians, and students interested in a fresh global perspective on multicultural education.

Provides examples of how teachers can involve students in projects that promote cultural understanding and includes lesson plans, handouts, self-assessment questionnaires, and an extensive resources list.

This conceptually rich and empirically grounded book draws upon expertise from a panel of emerging and established international scholars to explore the institutionalization and effect of multicultural education on a global scale. Previous studies of multicultural education have largely ignored the significance of understanding the combination of multiple sociopolitical influences on multicultural education in both policy and practice. Filling this void, this book sheds light on the two main reasons for taking a “glocal” perspective on multicultural education. First, children should be provided with meaningful learning opportunities to acquire the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to live in a culturally and ethno-linguistically diverse society, where the distinction between the local and the global is becoming blurred. Second, understanding both the “global grammar” and the “local semantics” of multicultural education helps researchers and policy-makers grasp the whole picture of multicultural education as an evolving social construct and phenomenon. This new book provokes a new round of discussion and research to expand and enrich our inquiry into cultural diversity and educational inclusion.

I created The Global Purpose Approach to help people gain the interest, knowledge, and skills needed for them to become more global-minded individuals. The idea for the book evolved from the need to enhance instruction in multicultural education so that people may be more knowledgeable, respectful, and appreciative of the geographies, languages, and cultures of people across the globe. The principles, content, and strategies that result comprise The Global Purpose Approachan instructional framework to introduce and integrate multiculturalism in schools, classrooms, private corporations, public agencies, and individuals daily lives. The purpose of The Global Purpose Approach is to foster multicultural awareness and education by helping to understand, respect, and appreciate similarities and differences across cultures. It consists of six guiding principlespurpose, environment, observation, perspective, language, and exploration (PEOPLE)together with an outline (NO FEAR) and resources for interactive and immersive learning of the core elements of culture. The intended impact of The Global Purpose Approach is to develop people who have enhanced knowledge and appreciation of diverse cultures and who can, therefore, interact and contribute innovatively in an interconnected, global society. Human resource professionals, organizational leaders, school districts, and teachers may use this book as a guide to integrate multicultural education in their departments, organizations, school systems, and classrooms. It also allows for educators to easily adapt the approach to fit their curriculum requirements and existing teaching plans and to implement it within their daily teaching. In this way, The Global Purpose Approach can be seen as a way to strengthen current teaching practices by adopting a set of philosophies and utilizing activities to foster more globally connected, engaged citizens without the need to fully revise or change.

This edited book highlights the identities and practices of ethnically diverse families and schools in contexts where multicultural policies are not always a priority. In an era of globalization and ensuing population mobility, it places a focus on Asia-Pacific, a continent with diverse customs, populations, and languages, but grapples with what it might mean to be multicultural. The book features studies and frameworks that illustrate how minoritized communities engage with the diversity they live in and strategies in adjusting and adapting to their sociocultural environments, including practices that might support these efforts. This book represents initiatives and interdisciplinary scholarship from Japan, Hong Kong, mainland China, Australia, South Korea, Thailand, and Taiwan, which underscore the intersection of identities, cultural values, efforts, conflicts, and religions in making diversity work in their contexts. Collectively, these works make a unique contribution by invigorating debates on the flows and evolvement of cultural values and practices within and across families and institutions. This book will appeal to researchers, practitioners, and readers with interest in the current state of cultural diversity among minoritized families in Asia-Pacific and beyond.

This book describes a different approach to teacher education designed to create "carriers of the torch"--teachers who have a sense of efficacy and the attitudes, dispositions, and skills necessary to teach students from diverse racial, ethnic, and linguistic backgrounds. Through her examination of teacher change and teacher education in two countries--the United States and South Africa--the author proposes new ways to prepare teachers for a rapidly changing global society.

Reports on and analyzes how teachers and students in three high schools have engaged in global education. Intended to help social studies educators reflect on their own thinking and practice.