Multiculturalism and Diversity

Curriculum Aids for K–12 Educators

NEA has established this page to assist educators in integrating multicultural and diversity education into the K–12 classroom experience. The following resources consist primarily of:

• Links to a few select Web sites containing multicultural education curriculum
• General bibliographical resources for multicultural educators
• Links to NEA Web pages containing information about multicultural and diversity education.

Web Sites

• EdChange
  A collection of resources for educators including free hand-outs, awareness quizzes, the Social Justice News Service, information on the Social Justice Speeches Project, a multicultural song index, awareness activities, information on Voices! Intercultural Poetry Exchange, plus quips and quotations.
• National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME)
  NAME brings together individuals and groups with an interest in multicultural education. An active, growing organization, it includes members throughout the United States and abroad who encompass the spectrum of professional educators and specialists, including early childhood, classroom and higher education faculty, administrators, psychologists, social workers, counselors, curriculum specialists, librarians, scholars, and researchers. Persons affiliated with teacher education, ethnic studies, ESL and bilingual education, social science, anthropology, liberal and fine arts programs, and other departments, colleges, and schools with an emphasis on multiculturalism are also encouraged to join. NAME publishes a quarterly journal on multicultural education, hosts national and international conferences, and provides leadership in national and state dialogues on equity, diversity, and multicultural education.
• National MultiCultural Institute (NCMI)
  NMCI works with individuals, organizations, and communities to create a society that is strengthened and empowered by diversity. Through its initiatives, NMCI leads efforts to increase communication, understanding, and respect among people of diverse backgrounds, and addresses important systemic issues of multiculturalism. NMCI sponsors leading edge projects as well as conferences in the spring and fall; holds individualized organizational training and consulting interventions; and produces publications.
• Teaching Tolerance
  Teaching Tolerance supports the efforts of K–12 teachers and other educators to promote respect for differences and an appreciation of diversity. As part of its mandate, Teaching Tolerance publishes a semiannual self-titled magazine that profiles educators, schools and programs promoting diversity and equity in replicable ways. In addition, they produces and distributes free, high-quality anti-bias multimedia kits. At the Web site, visitors can find:
  • Teaching Tolerance magazine, including current and back issues
  • Ordering instructions for multimedia kits, handbooks, and other resources 
  • Web-exclusive features such as "Writing for Change"—lessons that challenge bias in language
  • Classroom activities and resources, classified by subject and grade level.

In Print

• Adams, Maurianne, Lee Anne Bell and Pat Griffin, (eds.); Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice: A Sourcebook, New York: Routledge, 1997.
• Christensen, Linda; Reading, Writing, and Rising Up: Teaching About Social Justice and the Power of the Written Word, Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools, Ltd., 1998.
• Diller, Jerry V. and Jean Moule, Cultural Competence: A Primer for Educators, Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2005.
• Lindsey, Randall B., Kikanza Nuri Robins and Raymond D. Terrell; Cultural Proficiency: A Manual for School Leaders, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc., 1999.

NEA Resources

• Our booklists will help children discover a rainbow of multicultural possibilities:
  • Asian-American Booklist
  • Spanish-English Bilingual Booklist
  • 50 Multilcultural Books Every Child Should Know
  • Native American Booklist
  • African-American Booklist
• Multiculturalism and Children's Literature
  "Children's literature also teaches history, and when children do not see their history in school they began to think it is not worthy of learning."—Rudolpho Anaya
• Multiculturalism: Celebrate It Through Reading 365 Days a Year
  Multicultural Web links
• Beyond Taco Tuesdays
  NEA Today cover story, May 2000
• How Many Ways Can You Say "Merry Christmas?"
  Lesson plan from Education World
• Culturally Responsive Teaching I
  Can connecting with students’ personal backgrounds be a key to closing achievement gaps? Find out more in this NEA Today article.
• Culturally Responsive Teaching II
  A short page of links to related resources.
• On Educating for Diversity: A Conversation with James A. Banks
  James A. Banks explains how to "transform the mainstream" so that all students function better in their home communities as well as in the larger world.
• The Teacher-Student Mismatch: What the Research Says About Diversity
  "The mismatch between the racial and ethnic profiles of teachers and their students reduces the likelihood that teachers will connect learning to all their students in a meaningful way (Feiman-Nemser & Remillard, 1996)."