Research:

Multicultural Curriculum/ Program

Development

Pacific Oaks College

By:
Miranda Valdescona
HD412
January 08, 2017
Thesis Statement

This research focuses on an after-school multicultural program specifically

based on the arts, providing multicultural children in the community the

appropriate environment where they can come together and openly express their

authentic selves through their creativity, without the constraints or boundaries of

any prevailing culture or a standardized grading system.

Introduction

One of the most difficult tasks we encounter as members of a multicultural

society is making sure that every individual, especially children, are taught,

recognized and given the equal opportunity to grow and develop according to their

respectable ethnic background. It is important to be able to provide multicultural

individuals the common ground, sufficient resources and appropriate learning

environment inclusive to them to be able to obtain the goal of diversifying,

expanding and informing the rest of the community. This research will propose a

multicultural curriculum for an after-school daycare program setting composed of

and made for multicultural children in the community. Although there are many

factors that can be used and applied into a multicultural program, I specifically

wanted to focus on creative expression and art appreciation as a medium for

children of color to express their thoughts and emotions, be liberated from social

biases and standards, and discover appreciation of cultures other than their own.

This is because art is a subject that is not bounded by standardized, normalized and

generalized grading norms nor is it monopolized by any culture.

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Curriculum Assertions vs. Analysis

The main argument of the research is that art as a subject and art production and

appreciation as activities will enable children from diverse backgrounds to openly share

about their experiences without the judgment that comes from a graded activity or subject

matter. Art and creative expression in itself go beyond standardized learning. As opposed

to academic learning that is generally based on hard facts, pre-calculated solutions and

proven theories, art and its many forms (music, visual, dance, and literature to name a

few) are developed and created from the heart and soul of the individual - comprised of

his or her unique emotions, events and experiences. Art as a medium of expression taps

into a persons subconscious, allowing him and others to discover thoughts and emotions

that are hidden away or forgotten during the daily transactions of life. It also has qualities

that are similar to playing, making it relatable and enjoyable for children. Moreover, art

can be utilized as a means for children to reconcile their subconscious thoughts and

feelings with reality. As Vygotsky points out Freud mentions two forms of subconscious

manifestation which approach art more closely than either dream or neurosis: childrens

games and daydreaming fantasies...the child distinguishes very well between the world

created by him and reality and looks for support for imaginary objects and relations in the

tangible and visible objects of real life. (Vygotsky, 1971) A key component for this

program to work is to allow and encourage children not only to share their own unique

experiences, but to open themselves to other experiences and cultures - those of their

peers - by looking at the works produced through the program. This will enable children

to find a connection between the foreign culture and themselves. As Berger asserted We

only see what we look at. To look is an act of choice. As a result of this act, what we see

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is brought within our reach...We never look at just one thing; we are always looking for

the relation between things and ourselves. (Berger, 1972)

Let us take a look at how an after-school arts program can meet multicultural

education goals and explore practical applications for facilitating multicultural children.

A key goal that can be set for multicultural education is to help all children experience

differences as culturally diverse people and similarities as human beings. (Klein & Chen,

2001) Art production and appreciation help showcase the cultural differences among

children from diverse backgrounds, and at the same time emphasize the parallels in their

experience. The immediacy of this program is also made apparent by the developmental

stages children go through. By age seven to nine, children gain the ability to talk about

feelings and understand things from another persons perspective, making this the prime

cognitive period to teach the cultural history and heritage of people from different

countries. (Klein & Chen, 2001) It can be argued that the most visceral medium for this

instruction is art. As Godlberg states, (u)sing the artwork of a culture as a core element

of a curriculum introduces students to the voices, images, feelings, and ideas of a people

in a way that lends it authenticity...it offers dramatic documentation of the struggles,

achievements, celebrations, and complexities of living together in our diverse global

community. (Goldberg, 2006) Art also equips multicultural children with the tools to

understand cultures foreign to their own. (Goldberg, 2006) Art also addresses the

challenge of creating a sense of community among children from a variety of cultural

backgrounds. This is where art figures as a source of educational equity, where all

students have an equal opportunity to share their unique and equally-valid knowledge and

experiences, therefore enabling them to cooperate and work through their intercultural,

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interethnic, and intergroup differences and similarities. (Goldberg, 2006) A case can also

be made for multicultural children who are have English as their secondary language. In

considering the arts as languages of expression, teachers offer bilingual and limited

English students more freedom to work with ideas and express their understandings

without having to depend solely on the English language. (Goldberg, 2006). By its very

essence as a (literal and figurative) universal language, art goes beyond verbal

expression, past any language barrier that gets in the way of mutual understanding and

common ground. In its practical application, arts as a medium for self expression through

an after-school program should foster creativity. For this, it is vital to plan process-

oriented activities that encourage self-expression, imaginative ideas (and) divergent

thinking. (Catron & Allen, 1993)

The proposed arts-based, after-school multicultural program will be consciously

developed to be a venue for ethnic and immigrant children to express themselves through

creative art activities and projects. The program will be designed to engender

inclusiveness, where childrens specific and unique experiences are validated and shared

through the universal language of art. The children will be given the choice to participate

in individual or group activities that run the spectrum of the different forms of art, from

music to painting to performance. This will be followed by a presentation where children

can show their work and share the story or thought process behind it. The rest of the

group will then be encouraged to ask questions about the culture, tradition, or point of

view behind the work. For this second aspect of the multicultural program - art

appreciation - there will be an emphasis on cultural discovery rather than critiquing of

the works themselves. This structure utilizes not only art production but art appreciation

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as a means of bridging the gap and gaining an understanding of multiple cultures. Arts

being the primary medium of facilitation will drive home the point that no experience is

more valid than another experience, and that no culture is more valid or superior than

another. It will also engender appreciation not only of the artworks themselves but the

multiplicity of culture that fuels them.

Conclusion

This research expands on the assertion that art aids children in expressing their

authentic selves and appreciating cultures aside from their own, and explores practical

applications through a proposed after-school multicultural program. Through the

program, children from different ethnic backgrounds will find a means to share,

showcase, and celebrate their own culture without fear of judgment that is part and parcel

of standardized academic curricula. This because art is a subjective endeavor that is

beyond the assigning of grades or a number to denote value. Art production, the first

component of the program, prevents the dominance of any single culture as it is an

inclusive, universal language that gives a voice to all cultures, ethnicities, traditions, and

points of view. Some of its forms (such as music, visual, dance, and performance) even

empower English language learners to express themselves beyond verbal literal language.

Art production also allows multicultural children to convey ideas and emotions that may

be suppressed by their subconscious. The second half of the program, art appreciation,

enables children from different ethnical backgrounds to discover and gain a deeper

understanding of cultures different from their own. It informs their views and actions and

allows them to better participate in a manifold global community. Lastly, art production

and appreciation are highly personal yet communal activities that promote intercultural

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and interethnic cooperation, with multicultural children working on common artistic

projects.

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References

Vygotsky, L. (1971). The Psychology of Art. Cambridge, MA: M.I.T. Press

Berger, J. (1972). Ways of Seeing. London: Penguin Books.

Klein, D. & Chen, D. Working with Children From Culturally Diverse Backgrounds.
Albany, NY: Delmar.

Goldberg, M. (2006). Integrating the Arts An Approach to Teaching and Learning in

Multicultural and Multilingual Settings. CA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Catron, C. & Allen, J. Early Childhood Curriculum. NY: Macmillan Publishing

Company