Chapter 11:

 Infusing Multicultural Perspectives Into The Curriculum

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INTRODUCTION

This chapter highlights the evolution of multidimensional teaching perspectives that infuse culture, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality into the curriculum at San Francisco State University. For decades SFSU has been a leader in the creation of diverse academic programs rooted in multiculturalism. In the context of the leadership that the College of Ethnic Studies has provided to the university, the chapter discusses new efforts and strategies that are helping to further enhance the healthy state of multiculturalism at SFSU. In addition, the chapter describes the historical development of teaching strategies that shape the state of multiculturalism at SFSU and focuses on activities over the last two academic years that have been important in forging better partnerships among faculty, students, and staff. This is particularly evident in the planning of the Richard Oakes Multicultural Center, which presents a unique opportunity to influence the formal curriculum of the university and supplement other cultural resources on campus (see below). [Please see: www.sfsu.edu/~pubaff/prsrelea/fy99/053.htm].

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Let us begin, however, with organizational issues. The existing Task Force on Multicultural Perspectives in the Curriculum evolved through several stages of development following a series of resolutions on multiculturalism endorsed by the Academic Senate from 1991 to 1997. The initial Working Group on Multicultural Perspectives in the Curriculum was formed in 1991 and was later replaced by the Implementation Committee on Multicultural Perspectives in the Curriculum. After a period of inactivity, the committee was re-shaped as a task force at the end of the 1997-98 academic year. [Please see: www.sfsu.edu/~ senate/RS91-93.htm].

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All of the above groups have had similar objectives in helping to facilitate and support faculty curricular and instructional development by integrating multicultural perspectives into existing undergraduate and graduate programs. The methods, approaches, and certainly the philosophy of the individuals who have participated in the multicultural committees since 1991 have differed on what are often very sensitive and difficult issues to discuss and implement. The position statements that have resulted from the work of the committees all affirm the goal of inclusion of diverse perspectives in the education of all students at SFSU. Although the university has a strong and long-standing commitment to teaching and learning about diversity, which was initially led by the College of Ethnic Studies, multicultural education is not a fixed topic but a comparatively new and evolving pedagogy that will undoubtedly continue to change over time, especially as California and the San Francisco Bay Area become increasingly culturally diverse.

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TASK FORCE ACTIVITIES

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The following sections describe the activities of the task force between 1998 and 2000 that have affected curricular content and quality as it relates to multiculturalism at San Francisco State. The sections are organized around the task force's specific charges to:

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• Integrate related strategic plan and Academic Senate recommendations regarding further steps in the implementation process.

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• Design a program of faculty development within which opportunities will be provided for faculty and teaching assistants to infuse multicultural perspectives into the curriculum; this development is to include training workshops in the interpersonal as well as pedagogical/curricular aspects of teaching and learning in diverse settings.

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• Establish the criteria and determine the process of screening proposals for curriculum and instructional development.

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• Develop the criteria which may be used in academic program review for evaluating the presence and effectiveness of multicultural perspectives in the curriculum.

• Evaluate the need for the creation of a standing multicultural implementation committee to replace the task force.

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Integrate Strategic Plan Recommendations

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The university strategic plan made a number of recommendations relating to diversity. The recent activities of the task force directly relate to two of these recommendations—one regarding the development of a multicultural resource center and the second regarding the infusion of multiculturalism across the curriculum.

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The task force had extensive discussions about the need for a multicultural center or institute as a means of further infusing multiculturalism across campus. The Institute for Multicultural Research and Social Work Practice, an auxiliary unit of the School of Social Work, is one model that provides many resources for faculty and students relevant to social services. With the increasing need for broader teaching resources related to many other disciplines, the task force considered the importance of an additional center on campus. The group discussed the merits of such a new center to the campus, its staffing and organization, and its relationship to the College of Ethnic Studies. After discussions with Ethnic Studies, Academic Affairs, and senate leaders, the task force initiated contact with representatives from the Student Center Governing Board about the plans for a multicultural center in the renovated student center. The Richard Oakes Multicultural Center is part of the expansion project of the Cesar Chavez Student Center; and the task force is exploring the possibility of combining its interests with those planned for this new physical space. The Student Center Governing Board is receptive to initial ideas for a multicultural center of the type envisioned. Such a center could serve the following functions: (1) showcase multicultural activities across the campus, including scholarly works, literature, creative arts, and co-curricular activities; (2) house symposia, colloquia, fora, and workshops on multiculturalism; (3) provide a source of curriculum enhancement in the form of both print and electronic resource materials; (4) provide internship opportunities for students to engage in community service learning, as they assist faculty in researching materials and gathering resources that will enhance teaching and learning regarding diversity and multiculturalism.

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During the 1999-2000 academic year, the task force co-chairs met monthly with the newly formed Richard Oakes Multicultural Center Committee and helped to develop mission and vision statements. Furthermore, the task force and the multicultural center committee are working jointly on the objectives and programming for the center which will have a grand opening and dedication in March 2001. This truly collaborative effort involving faculty, students, and staff is not only shaping the future vision of the center but also helping to forge new relationships that will better define what multiculturalism is at SFSU.

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The strategic plan's major recommendation was that learning objectives relating to diversity, multiculturalism, and discrimination should be infused throughout the curriculum in all departments and appropriate courses. Such an infusion of multiculturalism in courses was supported during the 1999-2000 academic year with funding made available by the Office of Academic Affairs. The task force wrote and distributed a three-page Request for Proposals (RFP) which elicited twenty-seven responses. Fifteen propo-sals were recommended for funding to support faculty members across many different departments and disciplines. The success of these funded activities has the potential to be very broad-ranging, as faculty cross-list and combine multicultural courses across academic disciplines. In addition to receiving these awards, recipients are expected to become involved in discussions about enhancing multiculturalism in the curriculum and to assist the task force in determining how these goals might be accomplished. The funded faculty members and the titles of their projects are listed in the following section that addresses the task force's second and third charges.

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Initiate Faculty Development Opportunities and
Establish Proposal Development and Review Criteria

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As was mentioned above, an RFP announced the availability of funding for the purpose of developing multicultural content in courses. Proposers were invited to examine the wide-ranging context of multiculturalism and to develop or revise existing courses, design workshops and instruct others on multiculturalism, or create interdisciplinary opportunities to promote cultural awareness and diversity between and among academic disciplines at SFSU.

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The specific guidelines and criteria for selection were as follows:

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• Development of a new course that infuses, expands, and enhances multicultural perspectives in a discipline (or across disciplines) by exploring the significance of culture, ethnicity, race, class, gender, sexuality, and disability in a particular field or fields.

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• Development of collaborative opportunities to merge, revise, or cross-list existing courses with the College of Ethnic Studies in order to enhance the teaching of multiculturalism across academic disciplines.

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• Improvement and expansion of an existing multicultural program at SFSU to better establish unity among programs, departments, and/or community groups in hopes of sharing ideas, resources, and common interests.

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• Faculty workshop development and training that will assist faculty in developing courses on multicultural perspectives in the curriculum, such as the role of ethnicity, race, class, gender, sexuality, and disability in all academic disciplines at SFSU.

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The fifteen proposals recommended for funding showed strong evidence of:

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• Becoming an integral part of teaching and professional development activities at SFSU after grant funding termination.
• Attaining goals and objectives in multiculturalism that enhance existing university programs.
• Enhancing the recruitment, advisement, and retention of students of diverse cultural backgrounds at SFSU.
• Being implemented during the Fall 1999 or Spring 2000 semester.

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The following proposals were funded:

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• Bill Nichols, Cinema, "Cross-cultural Representation"
• Gust Yep, Speech, "Multicultural Curriculum and Pedagogy in Communication: Challenging Unexamined Privilege and Infusing the Intersections of Race, Class, Gender, Sexuality, and (Dis)ability"
• Melanie Egorin, Sociology, "Diversifying the Curriculum of Medical Sociology: A Pilot Study for Reevaluation and Revision of Courses on Social Institutions"
• Hamid Khani, BECA, "Media Literacy for Multicultural Classrooms"
• Lee Davis, California Studies, "Peoples and Cultures of California: A Proposal to Develop Four Multicultural Courses for the California Studies Program"
• Anatole Anton, Philosophy, and Roberto Rivera, Raza Studies, "NEXA 392: Nature, Culture, & Technology"
• Angela Gonzales, American Indian Studies, "More than Bows and Arrows: Infusing an American Indian Perspective into Existing Course Curriculum Through Workshops, Collaboration, and Technology"
• Susan Zieff, Kinesiology, "Developing Cultural Competency: Infusing Multiculturalism Across the Kinesiology Curriculum"
• Helen Hyun, DAIS, "Race, Class, and Citizenship: Critical Policy Perspectives in Education"
• Doris Flowers, DAIS, "The Infusion of Culture and Equity into the Master of Arts Degree in Education"
• Ricardo Gomes, Design and Industry, "Skill Development and Articulation in Design for African American and Latino Students"
• Janet Sim, Hospitality Management, "A New Course Proposal to Enhance Multicultural Teaching in GE and Hospitality Management"
• Brigitte Davila, Raza Studies, "Proposal to Enhance Multicultural Teaching through Community Service Learning in Critical Thinking Courses"
• Susan Sung, Social Work, "Development of a Web Site for Teaching Strategies, Research Studies, and Writings on Multiculturalism"
• Swarna Moldanado, Nursing, "Enhancement of Multicultural Content and Teaching Strategies in NURS 111, Professional Nursing Concepts"

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Many of the grant recipients made significant progress on their projects throughout the 1999-2000 academic year, and they were invited to present the results of their efforts at the Center for the Enhancement of Teaching "Century of Innovation" forum held on April 13, 2000. Particularly notable in the projects is the degree to which faculty are using the web and other on-line resources to promote and disseminate multiple perspectives. The Institute for Multicultural Research and Social work Practice has been a leader in this process. [Please see www.sfsu.edu/~multsowk/.] This infusion of technology will be critical in the future enhancement of multicultural teaching strategies and the distribution of pedagogical materials.

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Develop Criteria for Program Review

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The new guidelines for the fifth cycle of academic program review explicitly ask the university's degree programs to demonstrate how they are incorporating multicultural perspectives into their respective curricula. (See the chapter on academic program review in Part Two.) The task force will attempt to articulate criteria for evaluating the presence and effectiveness of such perspectives during the 2000-2001 academic year.

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Evaluate the need for a Standing Multicultural
Implementation Committee

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The task force believes that the many years of discussions in reference to the subject of multiculturalism have prepared the faculty, staff, students, and administrators who have participated in those discussions to actively promote, organize, and further implement multiculturalism in all aspects of university life. The funding made available for the purpose of developing multicultural content in courses has also been a very welcome sign of our progress (particularly since the grants may not be "one time only" opportunities and there is a possibility that a new RFP will be issued during the 2000-2001 academic year). With all these efforts and progress, the task force is looking toward the possible establishment of a permanent university committee.

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STUDENT PERSPECTIVES ON THE CURRICULUM

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The university has assessed student perceptions of diversity and multiculturalism in the curriculum through the use of university-wide and program-based surveys. In 1998, a survey was conducted of alumni who had graduated in 1992 from the Liberal Studies program. When asked to rate the extent to which the Liberal Studies program helped them in specific areas, "understanding human diversity" received the highest average rating among 12 skill areas, with 73% of respondents rating their improvement in this area as either a 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale. A similar survey of 1992 graduates of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences found that "understanding human diversity" was ranked second among the 12 skill areas influenced by their major program, with 67% rating their improvement as either 4 or 5.

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Surveys of graduating seniors have also addressed their major program’s role in helping them to understand human diversity. The Spring 1999 Undergraduate Exit Survey found that 71% of respondents rated their major program as 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale in helping them understand diversity. Similarly, 69% of the respondents to the 1999-2000 survey rated their major program as 4 or 5 in helping them understand diversity.

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The Student Pulse surveys of enrolled students have also explored several aspects of multicultural curricular perspectives. Eighty-five percent of the respondents to the Fall 1998 Student Pulse and 77% of the respondents to the Spring 2000 Student Pulse rated their SFSU course work as excellent or good in helping them to work in an ethnically diverse society. Almost two-thirds of Fall 1998 respondents and Spring 2000 respondents rated their course work as excellent or good in exposing them to global issues beyond U.S. borders. Finally, almost all respondents (99%) strongly agreed or agreed with the statement "I like learning about issues from the point of view of different cultures."

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NEXT STEPS

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The implementation of multiculturalism on the campus, as reflected in the analysis of the existing university curriculum and teaching/learning endeavors (see Chapters 2, 3, and 7), is moving forward. The ongoing discussions and debate regarding multiculturalism and related issues are, overall, positive ones.

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The task force has made several recommendations, calling on the university community to clarify the role of the College of Ethnic Studies in the "multiculturalization" process; to increase opportunities for discussion and dialogue regarding multiculturalism; to work toward a clearer, broader definition of multiculturalism and engage more deeply such programs as the Disability Resource Center and the gender and sexuality-related academic programs; to develop a better understanding of the role of language, culture, and learning styles on a diverse student population; to continue faculty curriculum development grants; and to establish a permanent multicultural implementation committee.

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With new leadership in the College of Ethnic Studies—a nationally-recognized and respected scholar assumed the deanship in Fall 2000—there naturally will be renewed focus on the role and activities of that college. Through the activities of the Office of Human Relations, the Academic Senate, the Center for the Enhancement of Teaching, the Office of Academic Affairs, the Disability Resource Center, the College of Ethnic Studies, the School of Social Work, the Human Sexuality Studies program, the Oakes Center, and the task force itself, the opportunities for discussions of the kind the task force envisions are numerous. These discussions will be a major focus of campus activity during the 2000-2001 academic year.

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