The Christian Perspective in Teaching Multiculturalism

Contributions and Transformation Approaches

Abstract

This paper compares and contrasts the contributions and transformation approaches of multicultural education. It explains each from a Christian perspective and also analyzes each to show why the transformation approach is more useful in multicultural learning than the contributions approach. The main point of the paper is that the contributions approach relies too heavily on mainstream narratives in which ethnic heroes are reviewed with marginal attention given to minorities or to their experiences in the shaping of society. It explains that as all people are equal in God’s eyes, all people deserve to be heard and understood. Thus, the transformation approach, which focuses on changing the standard curriculum to welcome the views and voices of minorities who have been passed over in the past, facilitates a truly multicultural focus more fully than the contributions approach. It also aligns with the Christian perspective put forward in the epistle of James, which is that Christians should not show favor to any one group or peoples but rather should welcome and respect them all.

Keywords: contributions approach, transformation approach, multiculturalism

Introduction

When it comes to bringing multicultural perspectives and content into a classroom, two distinct approaches that can be compared and contrasted are the Contributions approach and the Transformation Approach. As Banks (2019) states, the Contributions approach uses mainstream ethnic heroes in the curriculum and presents multiculturalism as a little more than an addendum to history. The Transformation approach, on the other hand, sees multiculturalism as the real essence of history, and purposefully brings many different perspectives into the curriculum, changing it so that students see historical events and periods from more than one point of view only.

Contributions

The contributions approach uses already well-known figures from history as a way to frame subjects. Minority groups are typically represented by ethnic heroes, but usually only in an anecdotal manner—their contributions to history or to any subject are not viewed as more than a footnote (Paul-Binyamin & Haj-Yehia, 2019). According to the theory of Freire, it is important that teachers challenge assumptions and help students to question the mainstream narratives that keep them oppressed and unacquainted with the truth of their own history and culture (Patton, 2017). Yet in the contributions approach, very little is challenged; instead, mainstream narratives are accepted and learners are exposed to different cultures only marginally at best—or they learn to see them only in the light of the mainstream culture. From a multicultural perspective, contributions approach fails to bring a truly multicultural perspective that matters. It does not present a deep-down penetration of different cultural traditions, perspectives, or roles in historical events or present-day society. Rather, it accepts and reinforces mainstream cultural narratives without exploring how everyone from every culture has a part to play in the shaping of society. Thus, the contributions approach is relatively easy to implement, as Arphattananon (2018) notes, but it does little to challenge mainstream nararatives.

From a Christian perspective, it is especially important to understand that all peoples from all cultures are equal in the eyes of the Lord. As Galatians 3:28 explains, "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." What this means is that even though people may be different in various ways—gender, age, culture, ethnicity, experience—they are all united in Christ. For a Christian educator, therefore, it is not enough to only refer to others anecdotally when teaching about cultures. Christ came to save all; and for that reason all are important and their lives, voices, and contributions should never be viewed as incidental. James 2:1-4 reiterates this point: "My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favouritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, 'Here's a good seat for you,' but say to the poor man, 'You stand there' or 'Sit on the floor by my feet,' have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?" Scripture is thus clear that discrimination against persons based on pre-formulated opinions or assumptions is unchristian. If one is going to teach history, or sociology, or current events, or any other subject, it is unfair to teach primarily from a mainstream perspective—yet the contributions approach tends to accept the mainstream narrative, and refers only to mainstream ethnic heroes when touching on other cultures. Thus, learners hear only of Martin Luther King, Jr. or of Gandhi or of Booker T. Washington. These are the people who are accepted as ones “wearing fine clothes,” to use the metaphor of St. James. But an educator ought to be able and willing to challenge the myths of the mainstream perspective and bring a more robust approach to multicultural education. And that is where the transformation approach can most help.

Transformation

Instead of accepting mainstream narratives about culture, transformation approach challenges them and is based on a decision to look outside the box of standardized learning to adopt a more socially active stance (Arsal, 2019). As Paul-Binyamin and Haj-Yehia (2019) point out, the transformation approach aims “to bring about major change through new curricula based on multicultural ideology, namely, inserting major changes into curriculum, which transform it entirely” (p. 251). Just as there are many different types of learners, there are many different ways to view culture and history, and no perspective should be marginalized because of how the purveyors of history want the past to be understood. The transformation approach welcomes the different perspectives, questions, and experiences of learners, and uses them to transform the standard curriculum. It aims to include many different voices and to view events from the standpoint of many different cultures, never indicating any one culture as the acceptable one from which others are to be judged. From a multicultural perspective, the transformation approach is much more open to a truly multicultural perspective than contributions approach. It embraces the idea that everyone in God’s creation has value, meaning, and a voice worth hearing.

Colossians 1:16-17 emphasizes this point rather well: "For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." Thus, to exclude groups or figures in history because they are not well-known or accepted in the mainstream narrative is to violate what is taught in Colossians 1:16-17. God has not favored or lavished blessings on a single group; instead, He has loved all and has sustained all. Therefore, it is important to consider all and to change that which fails to give proper respect and attention to all. The transformation approach is a helpful approach in multicultural education for that reason: it changes the stagnant curriculum of the mainstream perspective and introduces learners to various cultures, identifying similarities and differences, and showing how even though peoples have their own unique characteristics and values there are often ideals that unite them and give them a common humanity. Compared to the contributions approach, the transformation approach is much more difficult to implement because it requires a re-imagining and reconstructing of the curriculum—but it is worth it because in changing the curriculum to be truly more multicultural, it adds depth, context and meaning to the study (Mensah et al., 2018).