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 The Founders of NAME envisioned an organization that would bring together individuals and groups with an interest in multicultural education from all levels of education, different academic disciplines and from diverse educational institutions and occupations. At the 1990 meeting of the Association of Teacher Educators’ (ATE) Multicultural Education Special Interest Group, Rose Duhon-Sells challenged members to create such an organization. The new association, NAME, was launched through a national conference held in conjunction with the 1991 ATE meeting in New Orleans. NAME today is an active, growing organization, with members from throughout the United States and several other countries. Educators from preschool through higher education and representatives from business and communities comprise NAME's membership. Members in a number of states have formed NAME chapters and more chapters are in the process of forming. The achievement of NAME's goals and objectives is supported by funds from membership, conference registration fees, and the volunteer work of members. As the organization's membership increased, NAME incorporated as a nonprofit organization, developed a publication on multicultural education, and established a national office. NAME continues to host national and international conferences and to provide leadership in national and state dialogues on equity, diversity and multicultural education. NAME's membership encompasses the spectrum of professional educators and specialists, including early childhood, classroom and higher education faculty, administrators, psychologists, social workers, counselors, curriculum specialists, librarians, scholars, and researchers. Persons affiliated with teacher education, ethnic studies, ESL and bilingual education, social science, anthropology, liberal and fine arts programs, and other departments, colleges, and schools with an emphasis on multiculturalism are also encouraged to become members.
Definition of Multicultural Education Numerous definitions of multicultural education have been proposed or espoused by scholars, researchers and organizations over the past 30 years. To assist researchers, teachers, educators, and parents in understanding and implementing multicultural education, the National Association for Multicultural Education defines multicultural education below. Multicultural Education Multicultural education is a philosophical concept built on the ideals of freedom, justice, equality, equity, and human dignity as acknowledged in various documents, such as the U.S. Declaration of Independence, constitutions of South Africa and the United States, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations. It affirms our need to prepare student for their responsibilities in an interdependent world. It recognizes the role schools can play in developing the attitudes and values necessary for a democratic society. It values cultural differences and affirms the pluralism that students, their communities, and teachers reflect. It challenges all forms of discrimination in schools and society through the promotion of democratic principles of social justice. Multicultural education is a process that permeates all aspects of school practices, policies and organization as a means to ensure the highest levels of academic achievement for all students. It helps students develop a positive self-concept by providing knowledge about the histories, cultures, and contributions of diverse groups. It prepares all students to work actively toward structural equality in organizations and institutions by providing the knowledge, dispositions, and skills for the redistribution of power and income among diverse groups. Thus, school curriculum must directly address issues of racism, sexism, classism, linguicism, ablism, ageism, heterosexism, religious intolerance, and xenophobia. Multicultural education advocates the belief that students and their life histories and experiences should be placed at the center of the teaching and learning process and that pedagogy should occur in a context that is familiar to students and that addresses multiple ways of thinking. In addition, teachers and students must critically analyze oppression and power relations in their communities, society and the world. To accomplish these goals, multicultural education demands a school staff that is culturally competent, and to the greatest extent possible racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse. Staff must be multiculturally literate and capable of including and embracing families and communities to create an environment that is supportive of multiple perspectives, experiences, and democracy. Multicultural education requires comprehensive school reform as multicultural education must pervade all aspects of the school community and organization. Recognizing that equality and equity are not the same thing, multicultural education attempts to offer all students an equitable educational opportunity, while at the same time, encouraging students to critique society in the interest of social justice.
There are six points of consensus regarding multicultural education that are central to NAME's philosophy, and serve as NAME's goals:
The following specific objectives highlight several of NAME's future directions:
The National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME) was founded in 1990 to bring together individuals from all academic levels and disciplines and from diverse educational institutions, and other organizations, occupations and communities who had an interest in multicultural education. NAME is committed to a philosophy of inclusion that embraces the basic tenets of democracy and cultural pluralism. NAME celebrates cultural and ethnic diversity as a national strength that enriches a society and rejects the view that diversity threatens the fabric of a society. NAME believes that multicultural education promotes equity for all regardless of culture, ethnicity, race, language, age, gender, sexual orientation, belief system or exceptionality. NAME believes that multicultural education enables the individual to believe in one's own intrinsic worth and culture, to transcend monoculturalism and, ultimately, to become multicultural. This developmental process is at the center of the individual's quest to define one's relationship and responsibility to our global society. NAME recognizes that individuals have not always been and perhaps never will be in complete agreement regarding the definitions and goals of multicultural education -- and that continuing debate is healthy. In order to maintain the highest standard of conduct within NAME and to enable NAME to continue its mission, it adopts the following Code of Ethics which applies to all paid staff, volunteer office holders, and committee members. No paid staff, volunteer office holder or committee members shall:
In the event that a paid staff, volunteer office holder or committee member becomes aware of a potential conflict of interest, the individual shall disclose such conflict to NAME as soon as he/she becomes aware of it. Further, they shall absent him/herself from the room during deliberations, and shall refrain from voting in connection with the matter. The individual shall not permit his/her presence at the meeting to be counted in determining whether there exists a quorum. August, 1999
NAME is committed to an anti-discrimination policy in all of its programs and services. NAME is consciously and proactively inclusive of all areas of diversity including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, socioeconomic status, marital status, language, disability, or immigration status.
The National Association for Multicultural Education is the leading international and national organization in the area of multicultural education. For additional information, contact NAME at name@nameorg.org. The NAME office is located at NAME, 5272 River Rd, Suite 430, Bethesda, MD 20816 and can be reached by phone at (301) 951-0022 or by fax at (301) 951-0023 SPECIAL NOTICE: NAME is receiving numerous inquiries regarding certain online, internet or distance learning educational institutions which appear, on their websites, to claim accreditation through NAME. NAME neither accredits nor endorses any educational institution. Any claims to this effect are not valid. We have requested that those institutions remove the NAME logo and information from their websites. Please report any claims of endorsement or accreditation to name@nameorg.org. |
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