10 US Universities with the most graduates in multicultural education master's programs
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- 01 Mar 2023
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Non-native English speakers are the fastest-growing population within American schools. As of 2020, there were an estimated 4.9 million children enrolled in schools across the country still learning the English language.
Some areas, particularly the South and Midwest, had nearly zero non-native English-speaking students a decade ago. This marked shift in the student population has necessitated teachers that are specially equipped to address the unique cultural and linguistic needs of language-diverse students.
Teachercertification.com used data from the Department of Education to see which colleges graduated the most students with master's degrees for teaching bilingual, multilingual, and multicultural education, based on data from the 2018-19 academic year. Ties were broken according to the share of graduate students within this concentration. (Numbers were gleaned from the data point for "Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education.")
Schools are increasingly recognizing the benefits of offering bilingual education, in which students learn and are taught additional subjects in a foreign language. This pedagogical approach has been shown to improve student performance in not only language acquisition, but cognitive abilities overall. Additionally, it promotes cultural literacy and cross-cultural understanding among students of different backgrounds.
Aptitude for transcultural empathy is perhaps more important now than ever before, as debates rage over the relative merits and perceived dangers of the curriculum for the Advanced Placement course in African American studies. School districts across the country are torn over whether or not to include cultural or ethnic studies that could be labeled as teaching critical race theory—an academic framework used to analyze systemic racism in U.S. history—in the classroom.
The programs listed here are designed to equip incoming teachers to address these issues with their students, and, in turn, contribute to the development of a nationwide student body able to engage in these debates meaningfully and from experience.
10. Roosevelt University, Illinois
- Students completing program: 21
- Total master's degree students: 770
Graduate students at Roosevelt University can pursue a Master's in Dual Language Teacher Leadership, which trains already-licensed teachers to make their classrooms inclusive of dual language education. Others can choose the M.A. in Second Language Special Education, which has the benefit of addressing two underserved populations. The program is designed to "fill an enormous need for teachers who can address the needs of students who are learning English while facing other learning and behavioral challenges."
Culturally inclusive education is currently under scrutiny in Illinois, after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., inaccurately claimed that one elementary school in the state had received $5.1 billion to teach "equity and diversity" during a congressional hearing held on Feb. 1, 2023. In reality, that money was granted to Illinois under the COVID-19 relief fund in 2021 and was distributed to more than 800 school districts. Read More…
