Genres of Research in Multicultural Education

TLDR

The article develops a conceptual framework of research genres for multicultural education, offering educators a lens to design or rethink inquiry and teacher‑preparation programs, encouraging theorists to consult diverse original research, and highlighting hopeful practice possibilities. The framework is derived from the author’s three‑decade immersion in multicultural theory, research, and practice, with illustrative examples clarifying genre nature, interconnections, and implications for practice.

Abstract

This article develops a conceptual framework of research genres that illustrate the complex multidisciplinary roots of multicultural education. The primary objective is to provide educational researchers and teacher educators with a lens as they design new (or rethink existing) inquiry and teacher preparation programs in the meta-disciplinary field of multicultural education. Other objectives are to encourage multicultural theoreticians to consult a range of original research (as opposed to other theoreticians and secondary or tertiary sources in the field), and to underscore hopeful possibilities for practice. The framework also invites a rethinking of the genres as conceptualized in this paper. The proposed genres originate from the author’s immersion in multi-cultural theory, research, and practice spanning over three decades. Examples of research are included to clarify the nature of the genres, as well as the interactive connections across genres within the framework as a whole and implications for practice.