Including Multicultural Education in Science Education: Definitions, Competencies, and Activities M a r y M. A t w a t e r

Everyone agrees that preservice teachers need content knowledge and skills to teach secondary school science students. In addition, there is a consensus that pedagogical knowledge and skills contribute to successful teaching. The debate continues, however, over what pedagogical knowledge and which pedagogical skills are needed by teachers. Regardless of the debate, all would agree that secondary school science teachers must be able to instruct students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. It is reasonable to assume, therefore, that the place for science teachers to acquire the requisite knowledge and skills for this task is in their teacher education programs. Many states have experienced an increase in the size of ethnic minority student populations (Synder, 1987). Florida, for example, has had an increase in its Hispanic and Asian/ Pacific Island student enrollments; Georgia, Louisiana, and Alabama continue to have increases in their African American student populations; and states in the Southwest, such as California, Texas, and New Mexico, continue to experience increases in their Hispanic student populations. In many cities of these States, ethnic minorities now constitute a majority of the student population, and this trend will continue well into the 21 st century. Defining Multicultural Education

Given the demographic trends, multicultural education must be included as a component of science teacher education programs, and its nature, goals, and practices should be discussed. The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) has high standards for multicultural education in both preservice and graduate teacher education programs, and has defined multicultural education as:

The Universityof Georgia prejudices, and basic needs for self-esteem." It should provide teachers with a realistic perspective of cultural diversity, women's concerns, the rights of children, and issues important to many other groups in society. In order for science teachers to most effectivelyinstruct culturally diverse students, they need exposure to certain philosophies, knowledge, and skills. Multicultural science teachers must have democratic attitudes and values, and a pluralistic ideology, a belief that society can be composed of different cultural groups which can function and interact for the good of society. Diverse ethnic groups are not expected to merge into one generic group with all of its members embracing the same culture. For preservice science teachers to become multicultural teachers, they need to understand the emerging stages ofethnicity, the complexity of ethnic groups in Western societies, and the process of conceptualizing multicultural ideas in a science class. Banks (1984, 1988) has described the emerging stages of ethnicity as follows: Psychological Captivity - teachers have

internalized the negative beliefs society holds about their ethnic group. Encapsulation - teachers are ethnocentric and practice ethnic separation. Ethnic

Ethnic Identity Clarification - teachers have accepted self and have clarified their attitudes toward their own ethnic group. Biethnicity - teachers have the necessary

attitudes and skills and commitments to participate within their own ethnic group and another ethnic culture.

The preparation of the social, political, and economic realities that individuals experience in culturally diverse and complex human encounters. This preparation provides a process by which an individual develops competencies for perceiving, believing, evaluating and behaving in different cultural settings. (NCATE, 1980)

- teachers possess both reflective ethnic and national identifications and the necessary skills, attitudes, and commitments to function in several ethnic and cultural groups in their own country.

According to Tiedt and Tiedt (1986), multicultural education deals with "morality, attitudes, and values....the factual information, controversy inherent in stereotypes and

Reflective Nationalism - teachers identify reflectively and positively in ethnic, national, and global groups and have the knowledge,

Journal of Science Teacher Education 9 Spring 1989 Volume I, Number I, Pages 17-20 9 Copyright by The Association for the Education of Teachers in Science

Multiethnicity and Reflective Nationalism

Con~spondence regarding this article should be addressed to: Dr. Mary M. Atwater, Department of Science Education, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602

17

skills, and commitment to function within cultures in the United States and the world.

derived from those of Baptiste which I believe are pertinent to science teachers in the United States.

Understanding the complexity of ethnic groups in the United States and the ability to have a multicultural viewpoint are interwoven. To view society from a multicultural viewpoint, teachers must be able to function at the biethnic stage or above. Science teachers who have amulticultural viewpoint understand concepts such as acculturation, intercultural communication, perception which includes stereotyping, racism, power, and immigration-migration.

.

Possess a knowledge of the cultural experience in both a contemporary and historical setting of any two ethnic, racial, or cultural groups in the United States.

.

Show a basic knowledge of the contributions of minority groups in America to our society, especially in science and technology.

Multicultural Competencies of Preservice Science Teachers

.

Assess inclusion models which are relevant and feasible for ethnic minority groups to use in classrooms and schools.

4.

Detect biases and deficiencies in commercial and teacher-made curriculum materials.

.

Perceive linguistic and cultural biases in assessment and evaluative instruments, and in the prescription of a testing program.

6.

Develop aphilosophy on bilingual education.

.

Develop science curricula and curriculum materials, and teach science lessons appropriate to the students, taking into account the cultural diversity of the students.

.

Create a classroom environment and help create a school environment representing a multicultural approach to education.

How can a science teacher education program be designed to prepare multicultural science teachers? What should be the goals of such a program? A design by faculty members at FortWright College of the Holy Names in Spokane, Washington was selected by the AACTE Commission on Multicultural Education to serve as a model for developing a set of knowledge and skill competencies for the multicultural teacher (Gollnick, Osayande, & Levy, 1980). The competencies were defined for elementary school teachers, but all are appropriate for secondary teachers. Along with the written competencies, rationales were provided, possible learning experiences were identified, and methods of evaluating competencies were listed. Pusch, Seelye, and Wasilewski (1979), along with Baptiste and Baptiste (1979), have also delineated competencies for multicultural teachers. Pusch and others have divided the criteria for these competencies into five categories: personality, affective skills, pedagogical skills, the target student population, and desired student competencies. Personality focuses on a teacher's social and psychological adaptations to a variety of cultural environments, while affective skills relate to a teacher's response to others and to novel experiences. The criteria for pedagogical skills and target student population are interconnected, and the skills are viewed in terms of education tasks rather than competencies. According to Pusch et al. (1979), the educational tasks include: (a) diagnosing and evaluating language learning needs of students, and using appropriate testing methods and procedures, and (b) using paraprofessionals and community resources to diversify teaching strategies, to facilitate individualized and group instruction, and to promote peer teaching in the student population. And lastly, teachers should be able to identify performance objectives as they relate to multicultural issues in science disciplines and the interactions among science, technology, and society. Baptiste (1979) has also identified eleven competencies which teachers should possess. Some of the competencies are specific to academic disciplineS, while others relate to professional aspects of teaching. Following are competencies

There are a variety of places in the science teacher education program where these competencies can be developed. For instance, preservice science teachers can take history and literature courses which have a non-European component, rather than the traditional courses focusing on Western history or literature. But the strongest exposure to multicultural competencies should be provided in science education courses: the foundation course, the methods and curriculum coursework, the science teaching practica, and student teaching. It is helpful to have an ethnically diverse preservice population, but it is not necessary. It is imperative, however, that programs lacking ethnic diversity in the student population have a multicultural component. Selected Activities

Valuable activities can be designed to focus on stereotyping, racism, classroom environment, and characteristics of a multicultural science teacher. Following are descriptions

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Journal of Science Teacher Education 9 Spring 1989

of four activities which a science educator may adapt to a variety of situations. First, the National Urban Coalition has produced a videotape entitled,'q'he New ABC'S: Preparing Black Children for the 21st Century." The taped presentation provides a chronological history of the contributions that Africans and African Americans have made in science. The videotape can be used in science curriculum courses to initiate a discussion on the inclusion of this information in science courses and to afford an opportunity for preservice teachers to develop lesson plans focusing on career opportunities in science and the contributions made by non-Europeans. Secondly, Frank Chaennel, a secondary science teacher in the film "School Report," was asked if his experience in multicultural education had changed his science teaching. He answered this way: It's difficult to bring a multicultural aspect to science teaching, but when I came to this school [Birley High School in Manchester] I noticed that in the lower school, science teachers were using the old combined science scheme which has only white, middleclass imagery. On the work cards [of "Insight into Science"] there are pictures of children many of them Black. That alone, having a Black hand, for example, holding a test tube, is something that we have not had before in science materials ..... we test foods, in a section on energy, and we encourage children to bring their own food, so not only do we test bread and cereals, but we have a chapati or some paw-paw or sweet potatoes as well. While the skills and the concepts we are teaching in maths and science are abstract, we find we can be multicultural in context of examples we choose for exercising those skills. (Twitchin & Demuth, 1981, p. 78) Provide science curriculum materials such as textbooks and laboratory activities for preservice science teachers to evaluate in response to the insights of Frank Chaennel. What should science curriculum materials be like for the multicultural classroom? The third activity which can be included in a science methods course is a discussion on the findings of G. M. Harbor (cited in Tiedt & Tiedt, 1986). She wrote the following:

number of minority students or whether they were in the majority. Also, minority students who had been in the U.S. longer sat more centrally than students with foreign-born parents. Since we know that students who sit near the front get better grades, what do you suppose this seating pattern implies in terms of academic achievement? A discussion can take place in the methods course on the accuracy of these statements based upon observations made in the practicum or field component of the methods course. To give such a discussion further realism for preservice teachers, the question can be asked, "If you discover this to be the seating pattern in your classes during your student teaching experience, suggest what you would do, if anything, about this?" The last example is a role-playing activity. Imagine that a university professor has gained permission to plant genetically engineered seeds in a small farming town. The population of this rural town is composed of a small, highly educated White middle class, a large, poorly educated White population of low socio-economic status, and a large ethnic minority population of low socio-economic status, most of whom have a high school education. How do you think the different groups which live in this small farming community will respond to the planting of the genetically engineered seeds? Act out these reactions in class. To make this activity more relevant to preservice teachers, select several ethnic minority groups which are found in your community to portray. It may be necessary to assign some readings before doing the roleplaying. There is ample documentation, according to Banks (1988), that teachers have nondemocratic attitudes and interactions with ethnic minority and low-income students. Activities such as those described here would providepreservice science teachers the opportunity to develop their abilities to recognize ethnic differences, show respect toward ethnic students, and establish a classroom climate that invites all students to participate equally in science class. Conclusion

Where do your students sit? One report indicates that racial, ethnic, and religious minority students tend to choose seats around the edge of the classroom, while WASP students sit near the center. The seating pattern seemed independent of the

Overall, too few science teachers are being prepared in this country, and ethnic minority students are rarely enrolling in science teacher education programs. Thus, it is particularly important that multicultural education be included in science teacher education programs. I do not believe that science teacher educators will be able to prepare significantly more minority science teachers in the near future to teach the growing number of minority students in schools. Consequently, science teacher education programs must begin producing multicultural teachers. If we do not, then millions of children will not receive an adequate science education, let alone a good one.

Journal of Science Teacher Education 9 Spring 1989

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programs (Vol. 1). Washington, DC: American Association

References

Banks, J. A. (1984). Teaching strategies for ethnic studies. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Banks, J. A. (1988). Multiethnic education theory and practice. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Baptiste, H. P., & Baptiste, M.L. (1979). Developing the multiculturalprocess in classroominstruction: Competencies for teachers. Lanham, MD: University Press of American.

Baptiste, H. P., Baptiste, M. L., & Gollnick, D. M. (Eds.). (1980). Multicultural teacher education: Preparing educators to provide educational equity. Washington, DC: American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. Gollnick, D. M., Osayande, K. I., & Levy, J. (1980). Multicultural teacher education: Case studies of thirteen

of Colleges for Teacher Education. Grant, W. V., & Synder, T. D. (1984), Digest of Education Statistics 1983-1984. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Pusch, M. D., Seelye, H., & Wasilewski, J. H. (1979). Training for multicultural education competencies. In Pusch, M.D. (Ed.). Multicultural education: A cross-cultural training approach. La Grange Park, IL: Intercultural Network. Synder, T. D. (1987). Digest of education statistics 1987. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Tiedt, P., & Tiedt, I. (1986). Multicultural teaching: A handbook of activities, information, and resources. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Twitchin, J., & Demuth, C. (1981). Multicultural education. Colchester, England: Soittiswoode Ballantyne.

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Journal of Science Teacher Education 9 Spring 1989