ERIC Number: ED248991
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1982-Jul
Pages: 87
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Modifying Racial Attitudes of Second Graders in a Multicultural Setting Using a Curriculum Approach.
Ruiz, Andres Julian
An interdisciplinary unit designed to modify racial attitudes of primary school students was implemented in a multicultural setting. The target group was a class of 27 second-grade students representing nine countries: the United States, Haiti, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Mexico, Ecuador, Pakistan, and China. Classroom problems included name-calling, fighting, segregated seating, and refusal to share materials across races. Goals of the unit were to help the students learn respect for themselves and others, to teach them about other cultures represented by the students in the class, to modify negative racial attitudes, and to foster positive attitudes toward others in the class and toward the cultures represented. The program consisted of a 12-week intervention. The first week related the concept of self-respect and respect for others. The next 10 weeks involved multilevel studies of each of the cultures represented in the class. A review was conducted in the final week. The program was evaluated on a pretest-posttest basis with an adaptation of the Bogardus Social Distance Scale. Results indicated that the program was effective in reducing students' racial bias. (Appendices include the adaptation of the scale; a weekly progress questionnaire; an extended bibliography of additional resource materials; and a teachers' guide to "Fugue for Four Frogs," a trilingual musical. (Author/RH)
Descriptors: Action Research, Activity Units, Affective Objectives, Attitude Change, Behavior Change, Childhood Attitudes, Cultural Activities, Cultural Awareness, Cultural Background, Cultural Enrichment, Curriculum Development, Elementary School Students, Experiential Learning, Grade 2, Interdisciplinary Approach, Multicultural Education, Pretests Posttests, Primary Education, Racial Attitudes, Racial Bias, Student Attitudes
Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Practicum Papers; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Practitioners
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A
Note: Practicum Report, Nova University.