Multicultural Strategies for Education and Social Change : Carriers of the Torch in the United States and Africa

This book describes a different approach to teacher education, designed to create “carriers of the torch”―teachers who have a sense of efficacy and the attitudes, dispositions, and skills necessary to teach students from diverse racial, ethnic, and linguistic backgrounds. Through her examination of teacher change and teacher education in two countries―the United States and South Africa―the author proposes new ways to prepare teachers for a rapidly changing global society.

Presenting the story of a dynamically successful program that was developed and implemented with over a hundred U.S. and South African teachers, this book shows us how to:

• Facilitate the development of teachers who see literacy as a tool for understanding and building upon student diversity in their classrooms.
• Restructure teacher education programs to cultivate teachers who are committed to teaching socially and economically disenfranchised students.
• Foster teachers’ interest in understanding the historical, cultural, political, and economic circumstances and resources that students bring to the classroom.
• Empower teachers to become agents of change and develop their own voices on critical issues related to diversity.

Arnetha F. Ball is Associate Professor of Education at Stanford University and has served as an Academic Specialist for the U.S. Information Services Program in South Africa.