TCE 599: Multicultural Children's Literature for Teachers

• Paula McMillen, PhD
• Office Hours:
  4th Floor, Valley Library. by appointment: phone 541.737.7272
• Contact Info:
  

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  This course is designed to introduce children's literature created by or about parallel cultural groups in our society in a respectful and informative manner. No single work is intended to fully convey the significance of cultural belonging, but exposure to multiple viewpoints will bring greater awareness of histories, lifestyles, customs, beliefs and experiences different than our own. Quality multicultural literature for children also offers a validation for members of the culture under consideration. The focus will primarily be on non-dominant or parallel cultures within the United States.

   

Forty-two percent (42%) of public school students were considered to be part of a racial or ethnic minority group in 2005, an increase from 22 percent of students in 1972...

• In 2005, Hispanic students represented 20 percent (20%) of public school enrollment, up from 6 percent in 1972....
•  in 2005, Black students made up 16 percent (16%)  of public school enrollment compared with 15 percent in 1972...
• while 7 percent of public school enrollment in 2005 (compared with 1 percent combined in 1972) is made up of ...

• Asian (4 %)
• Pacific Islander (0.2 %)
• American Indian/Alaska Native (0.7 %)
• students of more than one race (3 %)

 (Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, http://nces.ed.gov/ , accessed 9/5/07)

In 2005, 20 percent of school-age children spoke a language other than English at home (Childstats, http://www.childstats.gov/americaschildren/, accessed 9/5/07)

The number of minority children will rise more rapidly than the number of white children (Figure 1). White 3- to 5-year-olds will increase by about 2 percent between 2004 and 2010, compared to increases of 9 percent for black children, 16 percent for Hispanic children, and 19 percent for Asian children. Among 6- to 9-year-olds, the 1 percent increase of white children is substantially smaller than expected increases of 4 percent for black children, 18 percent for Hispanic children, and 17 percent for Asian children.

(National Assoc. of  Elementary School Principals, http://www.naesp.org/ , accessed 9/5/07)

The nation's Hispanic and Asian populations would triple over the next half-century and non-Hispanic whites would represent about one-half of the total population by 2050, according to interim population projections by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hispanic share ... of the nation's population would nearly double, from 12.6 percent to 24.4 percent.

The Asian share of the nation's population would double, from 3.8 percent to 8 percent.

Black Americans... would raise their share of the country's population from 12.7 percent to 14.6 percent.

(U.S. Census, FactFinder, http://factfinder.census.gov/, accessed 9/5/07)