The public educational system is comprised of diverse demographics wherein each student has a distinct cultural personal history (O'Brien, 1998). In America, the traditional perception was that a melting pot society existed. But deMarrais and LeCompte (1999) maintain that a stew pot or salad bowl would be a more appropriate analogy. Melting pot…

As part of the Small Schools movement in Chicago Public Schools, a high school dedicated to African-centered education was chartered. The virtues of Ma'at and the Nguzo Saba, otherwise known as the seven principles of Kwanza, were the foundational principles of the school and were to be integrated into all of the practices and policies of the…

For Gloria Ladson-Billings, culturally relevant pedagogy is characterized by three criteria: academic success, cultural competence and critical consciousness. Those engaged in culturally relevant pedagogy are connected by how they see themselves as teachers and how they see their students, how they view knowledge and how they structure social…

The authors share a successful Fulbright Group Projects Abroad grant award. The purpose of the grant was to enhance American educators' experience and knowledge of South Africa, in particular, and sub-Saharan Africa more generally. Toward that end, participants experienced a multifaceted view of South Africa's geographical diversity, both physical…

Describes dancer Katherine Dunham's philosophical system and her application of the "Dunham technique" in the Children's Workshop of the Katherine Dunham Museum in East St. Louis (Illinois). Contends that Dunham incorporates rites of passage to transform the lives of participants through intense involvement in art as a way of life. (AF)