Contributions and Transformation Approaches
Abstract
This paper compares and contrasts the contributions and transformation approaches of multicultural education. It explains each from a Christian perspective and also analyzes each to show why the transformation approach is more useful in multicultural learning than the contributions approach. The main point of the paper is that the contributions approach relies too heavily on mainstream narratives in which ethnic heroes are reviewed with marginal attention given to minorities or to their experiences in the shaping of society. It explains that as all people are equal in Gods eyes, all people deserve to be heard and understood. Thus, the transformation approach, which focuses on changing the standard curriculum to welcome the views and voices of minorities who have been passed over in the past, facilitates a truly multicultural focus more fully than the contributions approach. It also aligns with the Christian perspective put forward in the epistle of James, which is that Christians should not show favor to any one group or peoples but rather should welcome and respect them all.
Keywords: contributions approach, transformation approach, multiculturalism
Introduction
When it comes to bringing multicultural perspectives and content into a classroom, two distinct approaches that can be compared and contrasted are the Contributions approach and the Transformation Approach. As Banks (2019) states, the Contributions approach uses mainstream ethnic heroes in the curriculum and presents multiculturalism as a little more than an addendum to history. The Transformation approach, on the other hand, sees multiculturalism as the real essence of history, and purposefully brings many different perspectives into the curriculum, changing it so that students see historical events and periods from more than one point of view only.
Contributions
The contributions approach uses already well-known figures from history as a way to frame subjects. Minority groups are typically represented by ethnic heroes, but usually only in an anecdotal mannertheir contributions to history or to any subject are not viewed as more than a footnote (Paul-Binyamin & Haj-Yehia, 2019). According to the theory of Freire, it is important that teachers challenge assumptions and help students to question the mainstream narratives that keep them oppressed and unacquainted with the truth of their own history and culture (Patton, 2017). Yet in the contributions approach, very little is challenged; instead, mainstream narratives are accepted and learners are exposed to different cultures only marginally at bestor they learn to see them only in the light of the mainstream culture. From a multicultural perspective, contributions approach fails to bring a truly multicultural perspective that matters. It does not present a deep-down penetration of different cultural traditions, perspectives, or roles in historical events or present-day society. Rather, it accepts and reinforces mainstream cultural narratives without exploring how everyone from every culture has a part to play in the shaping of society. Thus, the contributions approach is relatively easy to implement, as Arphattananon (2018) notes, but it does little to challenge mainstream nararatives.
From a Christian perspective, it is especially important to understand that all peoples from all cultures are equal in the eyes of the Lord. As Galatians 3:28 explains, "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor...
…fails to give proper respect and attention to all. The transformation approach is a helpful approach in multicultural education for that reason: it changes the stagnant curriculum of the mainstream perspective and introduces learners to various cultures, identifying similarities and differences, and showing how even though peoples have their own unique characteristics and values there are often ideals that unite them and give them a common humanity. Compared to the contributions approach, the transformation approach is much more difficult to implement because it requires a re-imagining and reconstructing of the curriculumbut it is worth it because in changing the curriculum to be truly more multicultural, it adds depth, context and meaning to the study (Mensah et al., 2018).Conclusion
The teaching of multiculturalism is important for shedding light on the experiences of all who contribute to society. In so doing, educators can create a more inclusive classroom that welcomes and appreciates diversity. Some approaches can facilitate this process more deeply than others, however; the contributions approach relies on mainstream narratives and the hallowed-by-time contributions of ethnic heroes; the transformation approach welcomes a more diverse and expansive understanding of the past, of society and of culture in general by seeking to change the curriculum in favor of a greater emphasis on the experience, voices and contributions of others for a truly multicultural approach to education. From the Christian standpoint, which emphasizes that all people are important and equal in the eyes of the Lord, educators have a duty to go beyond the officially approved narratives by bringing into the curriculum the narratives…
References
Arphattananon, T. (2018). Multicultural education in Thailand. InterculturalEducation, 29(2), 149-162.
Arsal, Z. (2019). Critical multicultural education and preservice teachers’ multiculturalattitudes. Journal for Multicultural Education, 13, 106-118.
Banks, J. A., & Banks, C. A. M. (Eds.). (2019). Multicultural education: Issues andperspectives. John Wiley & Sons.
Mensah, F. M., Brown, J. C., Titu, P., Rozowa, P., Sivaraj, R., & Heydari, R. (2018).
Preservice and inservice teachers’ ideas of multiculturalism: Explorations across two science methods courses in two different contexts. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 29(2), 128-147.
Patton, M. Q. (2017). Pedagogical principles of evaluation: Interpreting Freire. Newdirections for evaluation, 2017(155), 49-77.
Paul-Binyamin, I., & Haj-Yehia, K. (2019). Multicultural education in teacher education:Shared experience and awareness of power relations as a prerequisite for conflictual identities dialogue in Israel. Teaching and teacher education, 85, 249-259.
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