2023.Mar.13

REPORTS

Report on the 17th B’AI Book Club
James A. Banks, Cultural Diversity and Education: Foundations, Curriculum, and Teaching, 6th Edition (2016)

On February 28, 2023, the 17th edition of the B’AI Book Club, a book review meeting attended by B’AI Global Forum project members, was held online. In this meeting, Research Assistant Masao Oi reviewed James A. Banks, founding director of the Centre for Multicultural Education at the University of Washington and an expert in social studies education, multicultural education, diversity education and citizenship education, for his 2016 book Cultural Diversity and Education: Foundations, Curriculum, and Teaching 6th Edition.

Professor Banks’ research on how educational institutions can improve race and ethnic relations has had a significant impact on schools and universities in the US and around the world, and he has been called the “father of multicultural education.” The book featured in this meeting is regarded as one of the Professor Banks’ major works.

The book is unique in that Banks, a leading authority on multicultural education, provides a text that provides backgrounds on the conceptual, theoretical and philosophical issues of multicultural education, and even refers to practical perspectives in the field of education. In the opening chapter, the author presents the widely used concept of “dimensions of multicultural education,” which allows the reader to understand how the various elements of multicultural education are interrelated. The book is structured to begin with an overview of preparing students to function as competent citizens in a global world, followed by a discussion of the dimensions, history, and goals of multicultural education, an examination of issues related to curriculum and instruction by presenting conceptual, philosophical, and research issues related to education and diversity, and a focus on intergroup relations and principles of teaching and learning with attention to gender equality, disability, talent, and language diversity.

RA Oi presented the discussion focusing on Chapter 14, “Principles of teaching and learning in a multicultural society,” which has been revised in the new edition (6th edition). Chapter 14 presents research-based guidelines for reforming education and schools to enhance the academic achievement and social development of students from diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds, which are summarised from the perspective of each actor, such as “teacher learning,” “student learning,” “intergroup relations,” “governance,” and “assessment.” In addition, after extracting the cultural and institutional differences between the U.S. situation presented in this book and the Japanese situation, questions were posed regarding what can be referenced in Japan and what seems difficult to directly introduce the same frame of reference.

For example, it was noted that it is a common argument in Japan in curriculum, educational units and textbooks, students often learn about historical events, concepts and issues only by one side or mainly from the perspective of the winners, while the perspective of the losers is often silenced, ignored and marginalized.

Also, with regard to the book’s assertion that for the diverse groups that make up the United States, teaching students about the different and often conflicting meanings of concepts and issues can help them better understand the complex factors that contributed to the birth, growth, and development of the nation, empathize with perspectives and ideas that are considered normative within various groups, and enhance their ability to think critically, it could be referenced in Japan. However, it was mentioned that fostering a national outlook as a way to create a unified nation-state to which the people pledge allegiance seems difficult to apply in Japan.

After the introduction by Oi, the discussion was linked to the participants’ impressions of the book and their research interests. First, participants with extensive experience of studying in different countries clarified how the US philosophy, which is implicit in the background of the book, differs from that of Japan. In addition to the US, reference was also made to the education system in Germany due to its cultural and historical background, and through a comparison of the US, Japan and Germany, the commonalities and differences regarding multicultural education in each country and the impact of these differences were discussed with reference to the Chicago School’s immigration framework and other factors.

For example, a participant mentioned that it is interesting to consider the fluid teaching perspectives, such as from inside to outside and from outside to inside, described in Chapter 10, “Teaching Methods of Decision-Making and Social Action; Skills for Social Change,” in the context of teaching situations in Japan in light of differences in cultural backgrounds and academic knowledge. Furthermore, it was suggested the importance of highlighting the problems in Japanese society, while keeping in mind the embedded habit of propaganda as a characteristic of the US education system, the state of school boards and budget allocation, economic disparity, treatment of teachers, and differences between private and public schools. In particular, it was suggested that, as the number of children with diverse nationalities and backgrounds is increasing in Japanese public schools, it is important to address the impact and dilemma of unacknowledged assimilationism on children and to systematically ensure that children from diverse backgrounds can value their own language and culture without being marginalized with the policies at the national and municipal levels, as well as to further examine the power and effects of the media.

Finally, although this book does not directly discuss digital, AI and technology perspectives, how can multicultural education be discussed from the perspective of AI society x digital society x gender? What are the benefits that this perspective could bring? How can specific actions based on this perspective be addressed in this BAIRAL project? These were presented and spun off as matters to be considered in the future.