Since the 1990s, ethnic studies and other components of multicultural education have been criticized by neo-conservative and assimilationist scholars who maintain that school diversity initiatives weaken national identity and fail to help students attain the knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to function effectively in the national mainstream…

Immigration is increasing racial, ethnic, cultural, linguistics, and religious diversity in nations around the world, which is challenging existing concepts of citizenship and citizenship education. In this article, I challenge assimilationist conceptions of citizenship education and argue that citizenship education should be transformed so that…

The 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a propitious time for educators to examine its implications for educating citizens in multicultural nation states. The author argues that students must experience democratic classrooms and schools that reflect their cultures and identities to internalize human rights values,…

The tremendous racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity that characterizes Western societies today presents both challenges and opportunities. Ethnic conflict and tension are inevitable consequences of pluralistic societies. People must learn to live with a degree of conflict and tension in a culturally diverse nation-state. However, citizens should…

Reviews recent and historical immigration trends in the United States focusing in particular on education. Argues that schooling of immigrants must result in their ability to compute, read, write, and speak standard U.S. English, and to express and to act on the nation's democratic beliefs and ideals. (JDH)

Examines the challenge of educating increasing numbers of minority and impoverished students to produce effective citizens and future workers. Offers a lesson on reconceptualizing European westward expansion to analyze the social construction of knowledge. Argues that schools can and must help students think critically, deal with social and…