Art education scholars have redefined multicultural teaching practices to include a need for addressing social inequities. To understand art educators’ multicultural teaching practices, it is important to measure the extent to which they present cultural diversity in the classroom and present a racially diverse pool of artists. The purpose of this this quantitative, nonexperimental study was to measure the extent to which practicing K–12 art educators who are members of the National Art Education Association (NAEA) engage students with racially diverse artists and cultures within their curricula. The study aimed to measure the extent that educators address racial and cultural diversity in their classrooms. The study also gathered data on which resources participants indicated would help create and implement curricula that addresses racially diverse artists and cultures. Finally, the study explored the relationships between seven different teachers’ self-reported attributes and the extent that they taught about and valued racial/cultural diversity. The findings show that educators taught about racial and cultural diversity to regularly in their classroom practices and they also voiced a need for more resources to teach more about racially diverse artists and cultures, specifically visual resources and education/training regarding racially/culturally diverse content. Findings also indicated that educators who taught 21+ years, taught predominantly students of color, and those who were more comfortable with conversations pertaining to racial/cultural diversity were more likely to value the importance of racial/cultural diversity in their curricula. The results suggest that resources, such as education, training, or professional development, should be offered to educators in the field so that they may continue learning new language concerning diversity as perceptions and understandings continue to shift.

Racial and ethnic health disparities are highest in communities of color; providing culturally competent care could address these disparities. Culturally competent communication between the healthcare provider and the patient is an essential behavior that may improve health in racially and ethnically diverse women. A quality improvement project was completed with guidance from the 5 constructs of the Campinha-Bacote model as the conceptual framework, and the method used was the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey. The perspective of 20 Mexican American and 20 African American women in El Paso, Texas between ages 45 and 72 with menopausal symptoms was surveyed to determine if culture had an impact on the presence or absence of communication with their healthcare providers. Results showed women's perceptions of positive and negative communication behaviors with their healthcare providers was inconclusive; however, results showed that provider communication about health promotions, use of alternative medicine, and shared-decision making regarding health management needs improvement to promote adherence to medical regimen and feelings of mutual respect. Integrating cultural competence into existing evidence-based care can positively impact the delivery of services and help improve the quality of care. Healthcare providers can impact positive social change through the lessening of burdens associated with the lack of diversity in the workforce by including cultural competence training into the curriculum of nursing and medical schools.

Cultural diversity in early education has been taking an important role in schools for decades, but teaching in multicultural classrooms remains a challenge.  This systematic review proposed to highlight how preschool teachers make use of cultural diversity to develop educational tools and explore which tools are operationalized to address multicultural education in preschool. A search for articles has been carried out in online databases, resulting in ten articles included as a base for analysis. Educational tools and cultural diversity described in these articles covered important aspects to address multicultural education for children. A systematic review of the studies showed that firstly, preschool teachers have faced difficulties in applying cultural diversity in their practice. Secondly, although the teachers consider the curriculum to be an important tool it was revealed to be contradictory when referring to cultural diversity. The analyses concluded that curriculum, documentation and listen children’s needs and their prior experiences have an evident influence in teachers’ everyday work in addressing cultural diversity in preschool. Implications for future research were discussed in relation to the management of preschool teacher to develop a pedagogical plan in culturally diverse context and to consider the view of children and also the parent in the context of cultural diversity in preschool.

Despite the enduring relative popularity of teaching as a career, the research literature on teacher preparation suggests that there is growing concern about the state of the field. With each passing year, the demographic realities within k-12 classrooms bring new challenges for the teacher preparation enterprise. Shortages in high need communities and increasing numbers of provisionally certified (or uncertified) teachers represent two areas of concern. Notwithstanding the extraordinarily increasing cultural and linguistic diversity now found among the student population, the teacher population has failed to diversify in kind. The number of new teachers who are ill-prepared to respond to this "demographic imperative" is a glaring cause for concern. This study represents the author's attempt to contribute to this important discourse by studying a cohort of individuals who recently completed a teacher preparation program and started to apply what they learned in their first professional teaching position. The purpose of this research study is twofold. First, the researcher uses phenomenological research methods to investigate the first-year teaching experience. Through a series of interviews, he explores the participants' expectations, experiences, and reflections in order to distill the essence of the phenomenon. Second, the researcher examines the connections between the culturally responsive pedagogical competencies developed during teacher preparation and their attempts to implement the practices in their new classrooms. Analysis of the data showed that the essence of the first-year teaching experience featured the influence of the following: relationships with students, lessons learned through experience, importance of support and mentorship, and the negotiation of challenges. Analysis of their attempts to apply culturally responsive pedagogy revealed their intentions to implement programs and principles; however these were often compromised while managing other realities of the first year experience. The study concludes with a discussion of implications for practice and possibilities for future research.

The aim of the study was to develop an in-depth understanding of the migration experiences of the Italian community of Australia, with a case study of the regional Friulan community of Sydney. For the ways in which people identify themselves at different times and in different environments may not always be consistent. The purpose of the study was to add to the exploration of the diversity, cultural variety and richness cultural communities have brought to Australia. The study set out to fulfill an important function in adding to the accounts of the diversity of ethnic groups in Australia, their structure and cultural backgrounds and the values of family members. Since culture is concerned with meaning, there is of course a very close relationship between culture and language, through which kin relationships, obligations and duties are expressed and appropriate behaviour defined. It is that meaning and relationship that led me to investigate the Italian and Friulan communities. The study took on the form of an ethnography enabling me, the researcher, to participate in order to develop an in depth understanding of the experiences of the Italian migrants, in particular the Friulan community. The data was collected by using key informant interviewing. The participants were encouraged to freely reflect on their past and present experiences to enable them to make a comparative analysis of their experiences in Australia and in their country of origin. This enabled the migrants to take on the role of culturally knowledgeable informants supplying information which was significant to them and which reflected their perceptions of their life experiences. The data has been faithfully recorded to represent the immigrant's point of view. The study revealed that many of the first and second-generation are highly involved with their Italian heritage and operate comfortably with a bicultural ethnic identity. The second generation have reconstructed the Italian-Australian family, thus changing the Italian community and providing links between the Italian, the Anglo-Australian and the other ethnic communities. Ethnicity is continually negotiated and is a constant source of transformation for people of immigrant background. If Italian-Australians continue to associate, both through family and cultural practices then the Italian-Australian identity will continue. The big question is what will happen in the third and fourth Italian-Australian generation. It is here that the question of ethnic and national identity becomes highly relevant. Cultural diversity presents challenging issues for Australia: what it means to be an Australian; the relationship between national and personal identities; identifying and working in both the cohesive and divisive forces in a multicultural society; and the form and flavour of a future republic. None of these issues are new, yet all are of immediate concern, and the symbolic importance of the approach of the twenty-first century invests them with particular meaning.

<p>This is a study of the Turkish discussion on minority rights. The minority issue in Turkey was placed on the Turkish agenda in connection with intensified negotiations with the European Union on Turkish membership. The unusual and complex circumstances regarding the minority issue in Turkey makes it interesting and relevant to study this topic. The particular focus of this study is on the Kurdish minority and on the alternative discussion regarding the minority issue pursued within civil society groups and the academic sphere. The aim is to contribute to the understanding of the debate on minority rights within these groups. Interviews and collection of literature were made during a field study in Turkey in 2006. A result of this field study was the observation that there are forces working for a change in the notion of Turkish citizenship, and that the minority concept is controversial in Turkey for a number of reasons. Another observation was that the tension between assimilation and cultural identity is an important aspect of the discussion on minorities in Turkey. The Turkish debate has been contrasted to the debate on multiculturalism within political theory. This debate on multiculturalism is about how to deal with culturally diverse societies. There is one main position in favour of multiculturalism and one against. The ideas put forward in the Turkish discussion have been compared with this debate and it has been found that the Turkish discussion differs from this debate in some respects.</p>

Identity have come to fore in daily life, political life and social sciences in recent years. Debates on the ways how identity can be studied and conceptualized have been varying. There needs to make critical studies on multicultural Mardin using current theoretical possibilities. The reason of why Mardin is selected as the case of this study is that the significant role of identity in people living in Mardin as a multi-religious and multi-ethnic site. However, because of that &quot / difference&quot / which is expressed in the &quot / cultural diversity&quot / is understood with only ethnic and religious belongings, social class and gender are generally neglected. In this thesis, identity is studied as intersectionality of ethnicity, social class, and gender differences. It is focused on where, how and how certain identity expressions are selected. Accordingly, it is tried to be revealed that identity is not fixed and essentialist, rather is historical, contextual and contingent in the case of Mardinian Arabs. The most suitable data generation method for this research question is interviewing and participant observation as a part of living experience in the researching site.

In this thesis, it is aimed to make a study on Primary Schools of Rum Minority in Istanbul, and in light of this study, to define general principles for conservation studies on these schools. Rum Minority had an important part in social and cultural life in Istanbul and in late 19th Century, their impact in the city increased with their financial power, especially in Beyoglu. Increase in number of schools they built also occurred in the same timeline. Schools built in and after this term by Rum Minority were built as important public buildings of a minority group and possess strong authenticity, technical-artistic, socio-cultural and economical values. In order to decide which values, problems and potentials these buildings bear, a site survey study is done for this thesis. Primary Schools of Rum Minority in Istanbul are among strongest solid evidences of cultural diversity in Istanbul, and Turkey. While conserving these cultural assets, considering all their values, problems, and potentialities is vital. In addition to conservation studies, interpretation and presentation are also necessary steps for reintegration of these buildings to the city. This thesis performs as an effort made to document features and current state of these schools, decide their value, problems, and potentials / and defining general conservation principles for them.

In this thesis, it is aimed to make a study on Primary Schools of Rum Minority in Istanbul, and in light of this study, to define general principles for conservation studies on these schools. Rum Minority had an important part in social and cultural life in Istanbul and in late 19th Century, their impact in the city increased with their financial power, especially in Beyoglu. Increase in number of schools they built also occurred in the same timeline. Schools built in and after this term by Rum Minority were built as important public buildings of a minority group and possess strong authenticity, technical-artistic, socio-cultural and economical values. In order to decide which values, problems and potentials these buildings bear, a site survey study is done for this thesis. Primary Schools of Rum Minority in Istanbul are among strongest solid evidences of cultural diversity in Istanbul, and Turkey. While conserving these cultural assets, considering all their values, problems, and potentialities is vital. In addition to conservation studies, interpretation and presentation are also necessary steps for reintegration of these buildings to the city. This thesis performs as an effort made to document features and current state of these schools, decide their value, problems, and potentials / and defining general conservation principles for them.

<p>This dissertation investigates colonial and postcolonial practices of cultural representations in Namibia. The state sponsored Annual National Culture Festival in Namibia was studied with a specific focus on the Kavango Region in northeastern Namibia. I was particularly interested in how cultural representations are produced by the nation-state and local people in a post-colonial African context of nation-building and national reconciliation, by bringing visions of cosmopolitanism and modernity into critical dialogue with its colonial past. During the apartheid era, the South African administration encouraged the inhabitants of its &bdquo / Native Homelands‟ to engage in &bdquo / cultural‟ activities aimed at preserving their traditional cultures and fostering a sense of distinct cultural identity among each of Namibia‟s officially recognized &bdquo / ethnic groups‟. This policy was in line with the logic of South African colonial apartheid rule of Namibia, which relied upon the&nbsp / emphasis of ethnic differences, in order to support the idea that the territory was inhabited by a collection of &bdquo / tribes‟ requiring a central white government to oversee their development. The colonial administration resorted to concepts of &bdquo / tradition‟ and &bdquo / cultural heritage‟ in order to construct Africans as members of distinct, bounded communities (&bdquo / tribes‟) attached to specific&nbsp / localities or &bdquo / homelands‟. My central argument is that since Namibian independence in 1990, the postcolonial nation-state has placed emphasis on cultural pride in new ways, and on&nbsp / identifying characteristics of &bdquo / Namibian-ness‟. This has led to the institution of cultural festivals, which have since 1995 held all over the country with an expressed emphasis on the notion of &bdquo / Unity in&nbsp / Diversity‟. These cultural festivals are largely performances and cultural competitions that range from lang-arm dance, and &bdquo / traditional‟ dances, displays of &bdquo / traditional‟ foodstuffs and dramatized representations. The ethnographic study shows that while the performers represent diversity through dance and other forms of cultural exhibition, the importance of belonging to the nation and a&nbsp / larger constituency is simultaneously highlighted. However, as the study demonstrates, the festivals are also spaces where local populations engage in negotiations with the nation-state and contest regional forms of belonging. The study shows how a practice which was considered to be a &bdquo / colonial representation‟ of the &bdquo / other‟ has been reinvented with new meanings in postcolonial Namibia. The study demonstrates through an analysis of cultural representations such as song, dances and drama that the festival creates a space in which &bdquo / social interaction‟ takes place between participants, spectators and officials who organize the event as social capital of associational life.</p>