The Education of Minorities in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East - (Research on Education in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Midd)

About the Book

This book explores efforts to adapt curricula for minority students in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. It covers education from early childhood to university, addressing ethnicity, class, gender, and ability/disability. Researchers document challenges and critical issues in providing relevant public education to minorities.

Book Synopsis

Educators have focused on creating and adapting curriculum content and pedagogy to reflect the diverse backgrounds of their minority students. Parallel to public school curricula, some minority groups have created and introduced curricula and pedagogy to maintain, honor, and develop their group's identity. The scope of these efforts is large and covers different levels of education from early childhood to university. It also covers a wide range of social forms such as ethnicity, class, gender, and ability/ disability. Because these efforts involve possibilities and challenges, discourses on the education of minorities are complex. Mainstream reports may be far removed from how minorities actually experience the educational contexts in African, the Caribbean, and the Middle East.

We are seeing different dynamics in what it means to educate all students in these regions. Understanding the functions of curriculum and instruction to provide educational opportunities is essential. Addressing the inclusion and possible marginalization of minorities in public education systems in these world regions continues to be challenging, if not problematic.

In this book, The Education of Minorities in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East; educational researchers document, describe, and/or raise critical issues and questions on efforts intended to make relevant and appropriate public education available to minorities in the regions.

About the Author

Cynthia Szymanski Sunal is Professor Emerita at The University of Alabama in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. She is an author of over 150 refereed journal articles, over 110 book chapters and books, over 100 technical reports, and has made over 300 presentations at professional conferences. With a research focus on critical thinking, social studies education, teacher induction, and mentoring in pre- and in-service teacher education. her work continues to incorporate and reflect the ever-growing and ever-changing development of teacher education.

Oluseyi Matthew Odebiyi Ph.D. is Assistant Professor at Arizona State University. His research interests include the intersection of epistemic beliefs and teacher development across cultures, curricula-instructional meaning-making, elementary social studies education, and translation of inquiry ideas and structures into practice by teacher candidates. His current research has expanded to curricular expectations for critical thinking and teachers' pedagogical design capacity for inquiry methods.