Abstract of

It's Not on the List: An Exploration of Teachers' Perspectives on Using Multicultural Literature

B. Joyce Stallworth

Louel Gibbons

Leigh Fauber

English teachers must consistently design high-quality and balanced curricula that involve the purposeful integration of multicultural literature. But making decisions about the content of the literature curriculum continues to be a complex and political process. Which authors are included? Which are excluded? How do teachers make these decisions?

If we are to update the curriculum, individual classroom teachers must believe that significant exposure to diverse literature can positively affect students' development as readers, writers, and thinkers. This article investigates classroom teachers' practices in an effort to discover the extent to which multicultural literature\xA0is integrated within the curriculum. One major finding from this study is that although many teachers advocate the inclusion of diverse works, the practice of teaching from a dynamic and diverse literature program does not always reach English curricula at the local level. The study also reveals a degree of confusion among many teachers about the teaching of multicultural works, leading the authors to conclude that English teachers and teacher educators must work together to create a more balanced curriculum that portrays a range of people with different characteristics.

Abstract from Stallworth, B., Gibbons, L., & Fauber, L. (2006, March). It's Not on the List: An Exploration of Teachers' Perspectives on Using Multicultural Literature. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 49(6), 478–489. doi: 10.1598/JAAL.49.6.3