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The aspect of multicultural education is a controversial one in the history of American education. In fact, discrimination by race or color has deep historical roots in the US in different spheres, including education. Despite the attempts to eliminate discriminative practices, racial disparities persist in American schools (Ahmed, 2016). This paper provides an analysis of two works on the problem of multicultural education in the US, the article by Ladson-Billings (2007) about the achievement gap and two chapters from a book by Howe and Lisi (2014) dedicated to the work of a multicultural educator.
The authors of both works agree that there is a problem of inequality in educational opportunities for the Whites and other racial minorities in the United States. Ladson-Billings (2007) provides the research evidence that proves the existence of a performance gap. For example, white students showed better results during the reading assessment compared to their African American and Hispanic or Latino classmates. Both works support the idea that there is a need for change to shorten or eliminate the existing gap. Howe and Lisi (2014) suggest that the approach to these children should be based on understanding and sensitivity. It is also important to consider cultural peculiarities and students’ backgrounds as well as their perspectives. For example, it is necessary to concentrate on student’s strengths and contribute to the development of a positive self-image. At the same time, Ladson-Billings (2007) focuses on disclosing some persistent myths that justify the lower performance of poor students or students of color and suggests ways to minimize the negative impact of those myths. Thus, both works provide an overview of a problem and provide possible solutions.
There are no significant disagreements in the works under analysis. Still, there are some differences in presenting the problem of the education gap in American education. Thus, Ladson-Billings (2007) focuses on the problems of African American and Hispanic/Latino population groups, while Howe and Lisi (2014) also include peculiarities of Native Americans, Asian Americans, and European Americans, providing classroom focus for these minorities able to increase their academic performance. Another difference is a deeper historical insight presented in the book starting from Native American history. However, the fundamental difference is that the book by Howe and Lisi (2014) provides foundational knowledge for culturally responsive teaching and thus is more practically oriented.
The major similarity of both works under analysis is that the authors discuss the concept of “deficit” related to educational opportunities for the representatives of African American and Hispanic population. Thus, Howe and Lisi (2014) introduce the “deficit model,” which is the approach that focuses on the things that these children are deprived of due to their race. Ladson-Billings (2007) pays more attention to the finance provision of schools with the majority of White and Black or Latino students. The authors of both works conclude that poor children of color mainly study in urban schools, which are characterized by such problems as discrimination, prejudice, crime, poverty, or substance abuse.
On the whole, both works attract attention to a burning problem of American education. The gap in educational opportunities existing between the Whites and the students of color mean further and deeper disparities in social aspects because people who do not receive a good education are likely to earn less, have worse access to healthcare and other privileges. Therefore, there is a necessity to eliminate the problem and provide equal opportunities for all American citizens disregarding race or skin color.
References
Ahmed, S. (2016). Racial disparities persist in U.S. schools, study finds.CNN. Web.
Howe, W. A., & Lisi, P. L. (2014). Becoming a multicultural educator: Developing awareness, gaining skills, and taking action. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Ladson-Billings, G. (2007). Pushing past achievement gap: An essay on the language of deficit. The Journal of Negro Education, 76(3), 316-323.
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