Diversity and Citizenship Education: Global Perspectives

The increasing ethnic, racial, cultural, religious, and language diversity in nations throughout the world is forcing educators and policymakers to rethink existing notions of citizenship and nationality. To experience cultural democracy and freedom, a nation must be unified around a set of democratic values such as justice and equality that balance unity and diversity and protect the rights of diverse groups.

Diversity and Citizenship Education: Global Perspectives brings together in one comprehensive volume a group of international experts on the topic of diversity and citizenship education. These experts discuss and identify the shared issues and possibilities that exist when educating for national unity and cultural diversity. Diversity and Citizenship Education: Global Perspectives presents compelling case studies and examples of successful programs and practices from twelve nations, discusses problems that arise when societies are highly stratified along race, cultural, and class lines, and describes guidelines and benchmarks that practicing educators can use to structure citizenship education programs that balance unity and diversity. The book covers a broad range of issues and includes vital information on such topics as

• Migration, citizenship, and education
• The challenge of racialized citizenship in the United States
• The contribution of the struggles by Indians and Blacks for citizenship and recognition in Brazil
• Crises of citizenship education and ethnic issues in Germany, Russia, and South Africa
• Conflicts between religious and ethnic factions
• Diversity, globalization, and democratic education

Diversity and Citizenship Education: Global Perspectives shows how effective citizenship education programs promote national unity as well as incorporate important cultural components of diverse groups into the national civic culture.

The conference on which the book is based was supported by grants from the Rockefeller Foundation and the Spencer Foundation.