Multicultural education in the United States: reflections

The United States’ civil rights history provided the impetus for changes in schools regarding multicultural education. However, definitions and theoretical perspectives of multicultural education remain convoluted. No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the legislation in place purported to equalize achievement, and the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), an accreditation agency which sets standards by which teacher education programs prepare future teachers, have elements which maintain and/or fail to change schooling conditions which leave children in the status quo.