ERIC Number: ED323480
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1989-Nov
Pages: 10
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
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Available Date: N/A
Teaching Diversity through Pluralism: A Model for Teaching about Racism.
Russo, Tom; Allsup, Carl
Based on 134 undergraduate student responses to two dilemmas, one concerning Affirmative Action programs and the second concerning minority student admission to college, it was discerned that these students largely held viewpoints that were consistent with conceptions of a "uniform" culture as opposed to conceptions of diversity and pluralism. In addition, there was a note of pessimism throughout many of the responses, suggesting that little could ultimately be done about racial prejudice and discrimination. The problem, then, was to attempt to develop a learning program adaptable in the college classroom that could address issues of diversity and pluralism phrased in the "language of possibility." A three-step learning cycle is described that used recent research and writing in narrative and critical thinking processes. The steps involved: (1) narrative development of students' personal "dilemmas;" (2) facilitating structural connections between individual experience, structures of knowledge, and the structure of society; and (3) intergroup relations and cooperative learning, linking individual identity and the social structures of culture to cooperative learning and conflict resolution. Thirteen references are included. (Author/TE)
Descriptors: Affirmative Action, College Students, Critical Thinking, Cross Cultural Training, Cultural Context, Cultural Pluralism, Higher Education, Minority Groups, Multicultural Education, Non Western Civilization, Social Environment, Social Values, Sociocultural Patterns, Student Attitudes, Western Civilization
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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Authoring Institution: N/A
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Note: Paper presented at the Challenge of Diversity: Curriculum Development for the 21st Century Conference (Madison, WI, November 17-18, 1989).