Developing a curriculum is an important and delicate process. Currently, most curriculums are developed using state-defined rules. Also, curriculums help to standardize modern learning processes. A well-developed curriculum is important because its suitability is a measure of achievement for learners, teachers, schools, and school administrators.
In recent times, most efforts are directed towards making a curriculum that can replace a mediocre education with an outstanding one. One way of making a curriculum inspirational is by ensuring that it is sensitive to the needs of modern multicultural students. Developing a multicultural curriculum is the key to inspiring effective changes in any education system.
It is not easy to create a multicultural curriculum. The first step towards achieving a multicultural curriculum is to understand all its aspects in an educational setting. For instance, multicultural classrooms are made up of students and teachers from different cultural backgrounds.
Therefore, multicultural adaptations in classrooms are in various forms. Moreover, it is important to understand the cultural differences that are present in the learning environment. Multicultural curriculums are also dependent on social communities.
An inspiring curriculum has to be considerate of the cultural differences of various students. There is evidence that “certain cultural differences in the learning styles and patterns of cognitive processing exist among different ethnic groups” (Banks and McGee 54). Consequently, learners whose cultural attributes are different from those of the majority are at a learning disadvantage.
This disadvantage is prompted by the fact that these learners are exposed to a different culture other than the one they are used to at home. When cultural differences are not accounted for in a curriculum model, some students might end up failing in their studies. If the effect of cultural discontinuities in a curriculum is to be eliminated, the curriculum-development process should involve various cultural groups and elements.
Another way of constructing a multi-cultural curriculum is by ensuring that the sociopolitical contexts of learners are put into consideration. For example, most curriculums in the United States went through various changes during and after the Civil Rights Movement. Most of these curriculum changes were meant to incorporate the sociopolitical contexts of African American students.
Use of cooperative learning techniques is another important component of a multicultural curriculum. Cooperative learning makes it possible to employ instructional strategies in a classroom setting. Furthermore, this strategy can easily accommodate various cultures and learning methods.
Some examples of cooperative learning include class debates, group discussions, use of class blogs, and oral history narrations. If learning tools are included in a curriculum, it is easy to incorporate all students’ cultural attributes in the classroom environment.
One of the most common aspects of multicultural curriculums is the inclusion of famous heroes and holidays from diverse cultural groups. Some examples of famous heroes who are celebrated across cultural groups include Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Ann Frank. In most curriculums, students are expected to review the life and works of these cross-cultural heroes.
Nevertheless, an inspiring curriculum should seek to motivate students to get them involved in such activities. ‘Forcing’ students to participate in cross-cultural holidays is not as effective as getting them excited about other cultures because voluntary involvement is the key to effective modern learning processes.
A multicultural curriculum is essential in the modern learning environment. There is a need to change some aspects of the current learning process to accommodate the growing number of multicultural-placed students. An effective multicultural curriculum should be considerate of students’ cultural and sociopolitical aspects.
Works Cited
Banks, James and Cherry McGee. Multicultural education: Issues and perspectives, New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. Print.