A state-of-the-art resource concentrating on the practical applications, philosophical and social policy motivations, and historical development of various approaches to multicultural education in the United States.In this comprehensive introduction to multicultural education, author Peter Appelbaum reveals that Native American-run schools in the early 19th century produced nearly 100 percent literacy rates-higher among western Oklahoma Cherokees than among whites in nearby Texas or Arkansas. Today, as the country rapidly becomes more racially and ethnically diverse, he discusses how success in diversity education requires that administrators, teachers, and students change the way they look at each other, the curriculum, and the structures and policies that govern schools.Diversity and Multicultural Education: A Reference Handbook examines the political and educational arguments for and against multicultural education, provides a range of curriculum approaches, describes the dilemmas of assessment, and explores political and legal issues. Also included are a chronology, directories, and bibliographies.