A Different Approach to Teaching Multiculturalism: Pragmatism as a Pedagogy and Problem-Solving Tool

Abstract

This article explores the moral imperative for teaching multiculturalism from a classically pragmatic point of view. Through an examination of the principles of classical pragmatism, embodied in the work of John Dewey, this analysis suggests that approaching multiculturalism from a pragmatic perspective lends a necessary moral foundation for the work of the multicultural educational reform movement. Critique of the conventional race-based approach reveals several durable dichotomies that can serve to distinguish Students of Color from White students in unproductive ways. I suggest that conceiving of the multiculturalism classroom's primary purpose as a developmental tool for individual students diminishes its potential as a location to sponsor a moral community that fosters a sense of the collective and of mutual multicultural problem solving.