Rethinking Multicultural Education: Teaching for Racial and Cultural Justice

by Wayne Au

From book bans, to teacher firings, to racist content standards, the politics of teaching race and culture in schools have shifted dramatically in recent years. This 3rd edition of Rethinking Multicultural Education has been greatly revised and expanded to reflect these changing times, including sections on “Intersectional Identities,” “Anti-Racist Teaching Across the Curriculum,” “Teaching for Black Lives,” and “K-12 Ethnic Studies,” among others. Practical, rich in story, and analytically sharp, Rethinking Multicultural Education can help current and future educators as they seek to bring racial and cultural justice into their own classrooms.

Genres: Education, Social Justice, Nonfiction, Professional Development, Grad School, Textbooks, Read For School

Paperback

First published March 3, 2014

About the author

Wayne Au is a professor in the School of Educational Studies at the University of Washington Bothell, and he is a longtime editor and contributor for the social justice magazine Rethinking Schools.

Reviews

[Leif Kurth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book for anyone interested in education, at any level/age group. The shared stories and essays on what works, didn't work, why, how, and where to go for help, is amazing. The numerous educators who shared their insights, their life work, and their passion for providing the best possible learning environments/curriculum for their students, are emblematic of so many others in the profession.
Ethnicity (the idea of race) is front and center throughout. Whether discussing opportunity and access, language, power, culture, politics, economics, or historical realities, the authors presented vivid portraits of how the lessons forced students to think in new ways (creatively & critically) and question previous learning. This collection of works should be required reading for every teacher (and administrator), regardless of who or where they teach.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best non-fiction pieces I've ever read, and it really does have me rethinking multicultural education. There were aspects of US history I'd never learned (as a history teacher myself) included in this text. Each chapter had a different author and a different topic- and the variety of expertise, writing styles, and topics kept me very interested all the way through. For the class I was taking, this was the assigned text, so we jumped around in the book a bit- but I found myself reading the chapters that were not assigned and finished the whole thing. I would highly recommend to educators who are working on improving their culturally relative practices. Excellent read!

[Kaylee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t believe how much I needed this book. I have never been so glad to be assigned a book to read for an assignment. It was eye opening and touched upon diversity that ranged from race, ethnicity, linguistics, curriculum, socioeconomics etc. I highly recommend this for ALL teachers, and even those who are not going into the education field too!

[Jonathan Haack · Rating 3 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed the articles and journals in this compilation, however, it was decidely one sided. The author should contact the Hoover Institution and would be presenting a more realistic view of multicultural education thereby ...

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rethinking Schools Ltd. is a nonprofit, independant publishing company that seeks to publish and produce educational literature and resources that focus on issues of racial and cultural justice.
Rethinking Multiculural Education, is a thoughtful collection of essays and articles, edited by Wayne Au, which seek to present the many views and options about multicultural education, explain why it’s an important topic for reflection, and give practical advice for how teachers can begin promoting multicultural education in their classrooms and schools. Au argues that the definition of multicultural education has not been fully explored or embraced by educators and needs a more thoughtful approach in order to fully integrate and benefit from the diversity of students who are within our educational system. Multiculural education is more then celebrating a culture by teaching about its history, or enjoying traditional food and holidays. Instead it is “part of a larger, more serious struggle for social justice…anti-systematic racism, colinalization, and cultural oppression.” (p. 3).

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book, really a series of articles about multicultural education, though quite redundant at times, was actually a wonderful take on the considerations that we need take when designing educational programs. In a country where we do not want to leave children at the starting gate, where we hyper-structure everything to fit into a series of standardized tests, are we really doing what we are intending, or rather crippling the children who these very programs are designed to help?

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for Diversity in Education class. I thought it was an interesting mix of articles that pushed hard in areas that need pushing. At the same time, I believe everything needs to be taken with a grain of salt, because the authors did have an agenda.

[Erin Bergner · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are an educator, READ THIS BOOK! There are so many pieces of history that I thought I understood, but this book shed an entirely different light on what I thought I knew. This book has made me a better teacher, no doubt.

[Beckie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for a grad school class and I actually enjoyed most of the articles.

[Mills College Library]

370.11709 R4382 2014

[R Zavala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it cause I had to, not because I chose it from a shelf. Not bad. Essays. For me, common knowledge.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic resource for teachers!

[Hali Scholl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone and everyone working in education or with children should read this book. It’s a collection of essays and stories that are individually quick reads.

[Keith Wilson]

Meh.

[Ashley Hart · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was such a generalized overview of different issues and multicultural education that you probably could’ve learned more by talking to somebody who works in the field