In this second edition of Educating Citizens in a Multicultural Society which includes three new chapters Banks argues that an effective citizenship education helps students to acquire the knowledge, skills, and values needed to function effectively within their cultural communities, nation states, regions, and the global community. It also helps students to acquire cosmopolitan perspectives and values needed to attain equality and social justice for people around the world. In the new chapters, Banks draws heavily upon his recent work which focuses on how students in multicultural nations around the world can be educated in ways that will help them to develop the knowledge, attitudes, and values needed to make decisions and to take action to create a more just and humane world.
James A. Banks is the Kerry and Linda Killinger Endowed Chair in Diversity Studies Emeritus at the University of Washington, Seattle. He was the Russell F. Stark University Professor at the University of Washington, 2001–2006. Professor Banks is a past president of the American Educational Research Association and of the National Council for the Social Studies. He is a specialist in social studies education and multicultural education and has written widely in these fields.