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Racism in United States schools: Assessing the impact of an anti-racist/multicultural arts curriculum on high school students in a peer education program
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore and assess creative avenues that challenge racism in urban high schools. A project study was established at one racially and ethnically diverse high school through the development of an anti-racist peer education curriculum model that used perspectives from multicultural education, the arts and media. The school system, with a student population of 25,000, had been experiencing racial problems and welcomed the study. The project study approach was used in order to analyze student responses to creating an anti-racist/multicultural arts and media curriculum. The participants of the project created a problem-solving play entitled "Let's Stop Racism in Our Schools," and performed it three times during the course of the study. The major goal of this research was to discover, through the eyes of students, if their learning, attitudes and behavior were affected by racism. Another goal was to demonstrate the significance of using multicultural arts to address racism in schools. Data collection methods included student interviews, field notes, audience surveys, and production videotapes. In addition, quantitative surveys on race relations and multicultural arts were used as support data. As a result of this study, students were able to identify creative ways of addressing racism in school and share their perceptions of how racism has affected their learning. All of the participants agreed that utilizing their "voice" throughout the project made them feel empowered to reach out to others. The study found that students experienced feelings of discouragement, guilt, anger, and pressure to over-achieve because of racism. The implications of this study are relevant for grades K-12 and beyond because it brings the issue out in the open, thereby enabling a greater chance for reduction. It is important for educators nationwide to take a look at students' points of views and ability to take a stand and make a difference in school curricula. Administrators should consider allowing students to become more involved with curricular development. In addition, this study should encourage all school personnel to consider the arts and multicultural education as integral aspects of education in all basic subject areas.
Subject Area
Art education|Bilingual education|Multicultural education
Recommended Citation
McLean Donaldson, Karen B, "Racism in United States schools: Assessing the impact of an anti-racist/multicultural arts curriculum on high school students in a peer education program" (1994). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9434473.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9434473