Chapter 1: Educating Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners with Special Needs: The Rationale

Educating culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) learners with and without special needs appears to be in the dark and multicultural education is not getting the deserved attention in general and in special education. In many quarters, multicultural education has been cajoled and denigrated even though it is a progressive approach for transforming education that holistically critiques and addresses current shortcomings, failings, and discriminatory practices. It is a phenomenon grounded in the ideals of social justice, fairness, equity, and a dedication to facilitating educational experiences. Its emphasis is on students reaching their full potential as socially aware and active beings, locally, nationally, and globally. Multicultural education acknowledges that schools are essential to laying the foundation for the transformation of society and the elimination of oppression and injustice (Gorski, 2000). It grew out of the civil rights movement of the 1960s (Banks, 2002; Banks & Banks, 1997; 2003) and has gone through many transformations both in theory and practice. As a field of study, it is as important as other theoretical frameworks such as humanistic education, behavioristic education, and cognitive education methodologies (Smith, Richards, MacGranley, & Obiakor, 2004). Researchers in the field have coined several definitions for the term multicultural education (Gollnick & Chinn, 2002, 2004; Gorski, 2000); and despite a multitude of differing conceptualizations, it is a movement that proposes to increase equity for victimized groups without limiting the opportunities of others (Banks, 2002; Banks & Banks, 1997; Diaz, 2001).