Desegregation, multiculturalism, and Afrocentrism have sought to shape the self-perceptions of African-American students. Research findings imply that some African-American children already have adequate self-esteem despite low academic achievement. Although important, development of ethnic identity should be subordinate to academic excellence and…

Introduces a special section containing three articles and six commentaries, which discuss the form that multicultural education should take and consider whether children are well-served by a unified curriculum for all or ethnocentric curricula for various ethnic groups. Provides several examples of a multicultural approach. (SLD)

Various disciplinary perspectives can help in understanding relationships among cultural identity, spirituality, and sociopolitical development and their role in teaching for transformation. Educators must consider how the spirituality omnipresent in the learning environment informs emancipatory education. Cultural identity development is coming…