Pluralism can be defined as a society in which members of diverse ethnic, racial, religious, and social groups maintain participation in and development of their traditions and special interests while cooperatively working toward the interdependence needed for a nation's unity. Pluralism is being practiced, taught, and expanded in community,…

This Digest guides the elementary teacher in choosing accurate and appropriate works of fiction for teaching about Japan. It suggests important content to watch for and includes a checklist of questions to be used when selecting a book. The questions deal with literary qualities, accuracy, authenticity, stereotyping, language, and morals. Contains…

American society and classrooms are culturally multifaceted. However, people of color are woefully underrepresented in many professions, particularly those related to the sciences and allied technical fields. An expanding gap, for example, continues to separate the degrees of participation in science programs and careers among European Americans…

Until recently there have not been many links to students' culture in the mathematics classroom. This may be one of the major barriers to achievement of many groups historically underrepresented in mathematics, for these students may see mathematics as a subject that has very little meaning or value for their current or future lives. This digest…

Arguing that schools need to prepare all children to become competent citizens and to create an environment that fosters mutual understanding, this Digest discusses multicultural children's literature in the elementary classroom. It discusses the importance of multicultural children's literature and presents guidelines for selecting multicultural…

This ERIC Digest discusses recent trends in global or international education. Global linkages are increasingly visible to the general public through environmental issues, telecommunications networks, and international trade. The increasing interdependence of nations necessitates a global perspective on the part of young people as they face the…

This brief paper offers an overview of strategies, with practical examples, to infuse multicultural content into the curriculum for gifted students. It proposes a framework for multicultural gifted education based on the four levels or approaches of J. Banks and C. Banks and within each approach, the six levels of B. Bloom's taxonomy. The four…

Schools play an important role in combatting racism, which, despite a quarter century of desegregation, may be increasing. Possible solutions offered in this report are: public declarations of repugnance for racism; multicultural educational programs; use of teachers as role-models; and effective use of tolerance-generating resources. Several…

Because rural communities have different needs and resources from those found in urban settings, nontraditional education programs provide alternatives to those features of modern mass education that respond primarily to urban needs. This digest looks at a few nontraditional programs and strategies, the problems to which they respond, and the…

Recent studies suggest that the involvement of parents and teachers with young children provides natural opportunities for modeling and nurturing positive cultural attitudes. Strategies that support children's multicultural learning within a context of family involvement are of three types. The first of these is parent education and support.…

In global education programs, emphasis on commonalties shared by all peoples and the understanding and appreciation of differences within various cultures and subcultures may provide strong rationales for those who wish to teach art in a social context. Global education should not be viewed as a discipline with particular content or subject…

Schools have introduced numerous programs and activities, intended to recognize the achievements of ethnic groups, in the belief that a multicultural education prepares students for life in an ethnically diverse society and also results in cognitive and affective benefits. Multicultural activities have the following goals: (1) to remedy…

This ERIC Digest examines: (1) the meaning of the term "Pacific Rim"; (2) reasons for emphasizing the Pacific Rim in the social studies curriculum; and (3) useful strategies for teaching about this part of the world. The terms, Pacific Rim and Pacific Basin, are used. interchangeably; however, the "Rim" refers to those nations…

This digest explores the community college's mission to increase student attendance and performance by improving faculty diversity. Community colleges are filled with multicultural, diverse students who bring different knowledge and skills to educational institutions. These students are also attracted to the community college for different…

With the rapidly changing population demographics of the United States and significant growth of diverse multicultural groups, schools and professionals are being challenged on how to provide the best comprehensive educational and support services to their increasingly diverse student population. The changes between 1980 and 1990 have been…