MECP 600: Foundations of Multicultural Education

Foundations of Multicultural Education is the first course in the Multicultural Education Certificate program (MECP).  This course provides participants with an understanding of the three categories of Multicultural Education theory, most importantly Critical Multiculturalism.  Participants will discuss the application of Critical Multiculturalism to their professional sector of education, health, law enforcement, social service, faith, non-profit, arts, military, or business and industry.  Participants will understand how a critical theory lens can inform their ideological beliefs and professional practices as they work with clientele as well as members of their households and communities. - MECP 600 Course Description, Professor Nicholas Wysocki, 2022. Please see your D2L/Brightspace course for the MECP Syllabus.

Multicultural education is a philosophical concept built on the ideals of freedom, justice, equality, equity, and human dignity as acknowledged in various documents, such as the U.S. Declaration of Independence, constitutions of South Africa and the United States, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations. It affirms our need to prepare students for their responsibilities in an interdependent world. It recognizes the role schools can play in developing the attitudes and values necessary for a democratic society. It values cultural differences and affirms the pluralism that students, their communities, and teachers reflect. It challenges all forms of discrimination in schools and society through the promotion of democratic principles of social justice.

Multicultural education is a process that permeates all aspects of school practices, policies and organization as a means to ensure the highest levels of academic achievement for all students. It helps students develop a positive self-concept by providing knowledge about the histories, cultures, and contributions of diverse groups. It prepares all students to work actively toward structural equality in organizations and institutions by providing the knowledge, dispositions, and skills for the redistribution of power and income among diverse groups. Thus, school curriculum must directly address issues of racism, sexism, classism, linguicism, ablism, ageism, heterosexism, religious intolerance, and xenophobia.

Multicultural education advocates the belief that students and their life histories and experiences should be placed at the center of the teaching and learning process and that pedagogy should occur in a context that is familiar to students and that addresses multiple ways of thinking. In addition, teachers and students must critically analyze oppression and power relations in their communities, society and the world.

National Association for Multicultural Education (n.d.), Definitions of Multicultural Education. Retrieved on May 2, 2022, from https://www.nameorg.org/definitions_of_multicultural_e.php 

Nicholas Wysocki - MECP 600 Course Professor

Kayla Olson - Course Librarian, available for consultations through June 16, 2022

LIBRARIANS are available through online Chat or Zoom Monday-Thursday. Online access to librarians is found on the bottom right side of library home page. 

This library guide was created in collaboration with Nicholas Wysocki, Kayla Olson, and Kendall Larson for the Winona State University MECP 600 course.