Democracy, diversity, dialogue: Education for critical multicultural citizenship.

Abstract

This dissertation explores the role of education in fostering citizens willing and able to participate meaningfully in diverse democratic living. I examine theories and practices of both democratic and multicultural education in order to lay the foundation for a critical pedagogy for multicultural democratic citizenship, what I call critical multicultural pedagogy. Such a project builds on critical views of both democracy and difference, and underscores the transformative nature of both education and citizenship. The Program on Intergroup Relations, Conflict, and Community (IGRCC) at the University of Michigan is a model of education that brings together students from diverse social identities to dialogue across their differences, practice constructive intergroup relations and coalition building, and develop the vision and skills for creating democratic multicultural communities. Through analysis of questionnaires, interviews, and student papers, I examine how a particular group of students, IGRCC facilitators, were impacted by their experiences in the program. The data evidence the impact of IGRCC as an example of critical multicultural pedagogy. Facilitators developed identity consciousness, more complex understandings of issues of identity and difference, increased comfort with their roles as individuals and group members in systems of oppression; learned to value the role of conflict, critical compassion, and empathy in building communities within and across difference; and gained communication, conflict, and facilitation skills with which to translate their growth into action. This consequently affected facilitators' commitment to social justice work by giving them a clue, the tools, and a real way to do this work, and by investing them in their own and others' learning. This research underscores the importance of the learning process in facilitating students' transformations. The data reveal the power in being part of a diverse, supportive, mutual learning community in which personal, emotional, and experiential learning are nurtured. The long-term impact of these learning experiences is seen in the ways in which they continue to draw on their IGRCC experiences in their lives now. This research thus contributes to theories and practices of education, by highlighting the necessary conditions, processes, and skills that contribute to building democratic multicultural communities in schools and in society.