Democratic citizenship, critical multiculturalism, and the case of Muslims since September 11

Abstract

Key to democratic citizenship is understanding in a basic sense other people and groups in society. In the United States there has been a lively debate regarding how educators and students should set about doing this, however—how they should respond to differences from mainstream norms, inside and outside their classrooms, and the presence of minorities in society. In this essay, I want to illuminate specific aspects of the challenges public school educators face in constructively and accurately teaching about controversial groups in their classrooms by exploring the case of educating about Muslims since September 11 (9/11). I argue that in this particular instance the ability of multicultural educators1 to provide students with accurate, balanced understandings of the religion and group is hindered by limitations internal to the traditional approaches to multicultural education in the United States, as well as by expectations set by current educational standards and related constraints set by typical teacher education programs. I examine the challenges multicultural educators face in this case to clarify within a concrete context what is involved in and necessary to adequately educating students about groups considered “different,” or controversial in contemporary society. After critically exploring common multicultural education theories and practices, I will flesh out a strategy I discuss here as “critical multiculturalism,” which I argue is more apt for representing controversial minority groups in a balanced and accurate way in classroom settings, toward the end of enabling democratic citizenship. In the final section I consider the training teachers would need to prepare for these practices in pre-service teacher education programs. My ultimate aim then is to provide a more contextualized understanding of multicultural education in the United States, students’ needs in learning about difference and minorities, and the options we face in relation.