Restructuring Schools for Multicultural Education

Abstract

A study of a 2-year staff development project in multicultural education that involved 30 teachers from 2 contiguous school districts is described. The discussion focuses on structural constraints to change, including time, class size, the required curriculum, the structure of programs, disjuncture between schools and communities, and the administrative and bureaucratic context of teacher work. An argument is made that staff development for multicultural education should be a part of a whole-school reorganization process, rather than a separate activity that focuses on changing teachers as individuals.