The History of Cross-Cultural School Psychology in the United States
- PDF / 1,004,684 Bytes
- 60 Pages / 547.087 x 765.354 pts Page_size
- 51 Downloads / 220 Views
Multiculturalism has been an integral part of United States (U.S.) history since the pilgrims arrived. The early American settlers came from many different European nations, seeking religious freedom and relief from oppressive governments. Although most early settlers were White, they each had their own language, culture, values, and beliefs. It is fair to say that, from the very beginning, America and subsequently, the U.S., was settled and built by a multicultural group of people. Colonial America has been described as having an acceptance of cultural and linguistic differences among early settlers and establishing various schools to teach the various languages of the time (e.g., French, German, and English) (Gonzalez, Brusca-Vega, & Yawkey, 1997). However, in the late 1800s, as English began to be the dominant language and as many immigrants entered the U.S., attitudes toward bilingualism and diversity changed (Gonzalez et al., 1997; Ochoa, 2005). After the initial settlers arrived in America from Europe, immigration from various parts of the world to America followed. The largest immigration of Europeans to the U.S. occurred during the early 1900s and continued until the outbreak of World War I (Holliday & Holmes, 2003). Around the same time, the Southwest’s Mexican American population radically increased by more than one million persons as a result of displacement from the Mexican Revolution and the massive recruitment of Mexicans for agricultural, mining, railroad, and industrial labor (Holliday & Holmes, 2003). In addition, immigration of Japanese and various ethnic and cultural groups continued to increase during the remainder of the twentieth century. However, American society in the mid-1800s and 1900s was focused on the White population; it excluded Native American slaves, and did not address the needs of minority students (Gonzalez et al., 1997; Merrell, Ervin, & Gimpel, 2006). Immigration has been a part of America’s history and continues to be prevalent in today’s society. In 2001, the U.S. Census Bureau described the primary
ethnic minority groups to be Latinos, African Americans, Asian Americans, American Indians, natives of Alaska, and Pacific Islanders. These various ethnic groups composed nearly 50% of the population in the U.S., of which approximately 57% was 18 years old or younger (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2001). It is estimated that by 2010 Latinos will be the largest ethnic group, followed by African Americans (Bernal, Trimble, Burlew, & Leong, 2003). One out of every five school-aged children in the U.S. speaks a language other than English (Gonzalez et al., 1997; Kindler, 2002). In addition, there are more than 400 languages represented within the student population with limited English proficiency (LEP), with Spanish (77%) and Vietnamese (2.3%) being the most common (Kindler, 2002). Issues about diversity have been prevalent in American society and have therefore influenced psychology and education in the U.S. Moreover, various historical events, such as segregation, racism, discrimina
Data Loading...
