Running head: MULTICULTURAL CURRICULUM

Multicultural Curriculum
Dewi Ochoa
November 2015
HD412: Working with Diverse Families

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Multicultural Curriculum
Diversity can be a part of every aspect of a classrooms curriculum. Literature is a
catalyst I often use in my planning to bring out topics that may be difficult to talk about in a
classroom. A book can provide the common language or experience that becomes the catalyst to
the conversation. In a preschool classroom, with a mixed age group of two to five year olds, it
may appear to be more difficult to incorporate the more difficult topics. I believe that however
difficult a topic can be, when we have a common language from a shared story or experience, we
can take that on together.
A classroom in which a diverse group of people are all represented allows for learning
about others, but also welcomes all families. During the first years of life children begin to form
their identity in relation to the group. A healthy self-identity supports learning and acceptance of
those around them, particularly when it comes to receiving those different from them. According
to Dora Pulido Tobiassen along with Janet Gonzalez-Mena in the article Supporting Healthy
Identity Development wrote: A healthy sense of identity also helps children to be more open to
people from other backgrounds because they are less likely to fear differences or put other
children down to feel better about themselves (Gonzalez-Mena & Pulido-Tobiassen, 1999).
Children need to be exposed to a variety of people, backgrounds, occupations, family structures,
etc. They can also be seen for who they are, with the many aspects of their lives and familys
lives.
Families also experience the benefits of becoming a part of the diverse community, they
can learn alongside their children about other cultures, they can even become friends with people
that they may not have had the experience to meet otherwise. The social aspect of inviting people
of different backgrounds to a school is one that is often neglected, but it is a crucial aspect of the

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school community to have opportunities to socialize. When families get the chance to be
together in the classroom environment they also get a chance to make friends with people who
are different from them, people that perhaps wouldnt be a member of their church group or their
neighborhood association. In this way we can affect change not only within the classroom
community, but also allows for a change in perspective in a larger scene.
A program that is geared to cater to the needs of children and family will be intentional in
all aspects of the program from the environment to the materials that are offered, including the
parent participation and education. There would be special attention to integrating materials and
experiences to empower children to build their self-identity, to deal with issues of bias and
prejudice, to empower them to create social justice work and involve families in the program.
An inclusive environment for diverse groups of people is home like, this would mean that
the colors represented are nature like, minimizing the amount of bright colors into a more neutral
tones, while also incorporating touches that may represent the cultures and backgrounds of the
families of the class, family photos that represent every person in the class. When family photos
are included in the environment then each family is represented, they can see their different
family structures, families with many children or just one, families with one parent, children with
two families, or two dads or moms. This validates each child, their family is important, their
family is valued as a part of our community. Family photos would also allow for opening up the
conversation about bias, questions like: why does your family look different than mine? How did
you get two families? All the questions have to be intentional and with a purpose. To allow for
even further conversation, persona dolls would also be integrated into the classroom, their family
backgrounds would also be diverse, perhaps their family structures would fill in the gaps in
diversity that dont naturally happen in the class. Julie Bisson talks in her article Storytelling

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with Persona dolls about the possibilities for using a persona doll in this way, If Christmas is
the only winter holiday celebrated by children in your class, you might introduce a doll that
celebrates Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or Solstice. (Bisson, 2012). Persona dolls can be a very useful
source of conversation for difficult conversations that come up, and even those topics that might
not have come up naturally on their own.
Classroom environment can also support the building of positive self-image by including
adding mirrors to different areas of the classroom. When a child sees their own image it allows
them to have a different perspective in the work that they are doing. They get to observe their
own image, appreciate the different parts of them, their skin and hair, their facial expressions. A
mirror can also aid in giving children a different view on other people, they may be able to
closely see their playmates from different perspectives.
Materials in the classroom need to support the building of identity. This can mean
anything form fabrics with traditional folk patterns to dolls of different skin tones. To support
the building of positive self-identity and create awareness of other tones of skin, particularly in
homogenous school communities, children can participate in different intentional activities to
explore skin color. Children can participate in mixing a skin color palette, this would give the
opportunity to look at their skin and their classmates skin. It will also allow for children to see
that every shade of brown can be made starting a shade of brown and adding different shades of
white, yellow, or red. This particular classroom activity can open up many conversations in
which children can explore racial differences, they can talk about the differences in color, while
still talking about biases on why people with different shades of skin tone might want to separate
or like each other more or less. These activities help children talk about the physical attributes
that may be the external symbols of racial differences.

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Parents are a most important piece in a programs curriculum. In a program that

embraces and celebrates diversity the parents of the children need to be involved in the creation
of curriculum. We want to support them in establishing relationships with the program, with
other parents and with us as their childs teacher. The program needs to have opportunities for
parent participation that is flexible to parents schedules and opportunities to participate during
school hours. The first step to creating parents who are willing to participate in the classroom
would be to have parents be on board with the values of the school, this starts with
communication. Communication with parents can be tricky particularly when the parents and
teachers speak different languages, resources should be reached to provide information for the
parents in written form and if necessary seek to contract translator if the situation should arise.
Teachers who are a part of the school community need to be specifically trained to be
sensitive to the needs of families. The LGBT center can be an excellent resource for teachers,
according to their website, Our Creating Safe Schools program offers free customized trainings
to help teachers, staff and administrators create welcoming campuses (LGBT Center, 2015).
These trainings will train teachers in diversity and creating a classroom community that
welcomes families of many different structures. Trainings for teachers are more than only just
professional development, they are what sets a foundation for a welcoming community. Every
teacher needs to uphold the values of the school community, this is particularly important to be
aware of the hidden curriculum. Peter McLaren speaks about a hidden curriculum which
encompasses the unspoken parts of our curriculum, the things that are not said, but they are felt
and assimilated by the children who are experiencing, the tacit ways in which knowledge and
behavior get constructed, outside the usual course materials and formally scheduled lessons
(McLaren, 2009, p. 75). Teachers particularly have to be conscious of the words that they use

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when referring to female children, they have to think about the way that they refer to families of
different backgrounds and languages. If a teacher isnt participating in their trainings, they might
not even be aware that their language is not conscientious of the diversity of these families.
Parents and families who uphold the values of the school community for diversity and
empowerment might feel inspired to take action in the broader community. Every family can
take on social action work that contributes to making the children be visible in the greater
community. This work can be as simple as speaking to neighbors and invite other members of the
community to come in, such as fire fighters or librarians. It can extend to talking to councilmen
and asking for specific services for the school community.
A program in which diversity is acknowledged and embraced creates a positive
environment for children and families. The parents and teachers create a partnership for the
children. In creating an environment that respects the background of every person diversity is
welcomed and embraced.

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References
Bisson, J. R. (2012, 08). Storytelling with Persona Dolls. Retrieved from Teaching for Change:
http://www.teachingforchange.org/wpcontent/uploads/2012/08/ec_personadolls_english.pdf
Gonzalez-Mena, J., & Pulido-Tobiassen, D. (1999). Supporting Healthy Identity Development.
In A place to begin; Working with parents on issues of diversity. California Tomorrow.
LGBT Center. (2015). Family Services. Retrieved from Los Angeles LGBT Center:
http://www.lalgbtcenter.org/family_services
McLaren, P. (2009). Critical Pedagogy: A look at major concepts. In A. Darder, M. P. Baltodano,
& R. D. Torres (Eds.), The Critical Pedagogy Reader. New York, NY: Routledge.