Thomas Monteiro: Multicultural Curriculum. A Case Study of “Vasant Part II”

Abstract

By applying the concept of a multicultural curriculum and approaches to it as advocated by James Banks, this paper critically analyses the presence and absence of a multicultural curriculum in Indian text books after NCF 2005 through the case study of the “Vasant Part II” (Hindi text book for 7th Std). A multicultural curriculum is the need of the hour in contemporary India to create a learning environment for people from diverse cultures and backgrounds so that they can access education free from all insecure feelings and have fair chances of learning. NCF 2005 calls for an epistemological shift in the curriculum that accommodates multiple ways of imagining the Indian nation. The analysis of the case study clearly presents a different picture away from this call. The majority of the units propagate mainstream Hindu culture instead of taking along multicultural perspectives. The non-transformative and uncritical representations of women, minorities, and differently abled people often lead to a reinforcement of stereotypes and misconceptions. In this gloomy picture a couple of units send rays of hope for a multicultural curriculum in the future, so that our future generation may be a generation with transformed attitude and convictions to form a better citizenry.

[India, multicultural, equity, inclusiveness, equality, accessibility, learning environment]

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