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"This dissertation is a contribution to the debate over the centrality or marginality of race and\r\nethnicity in the production and dissemination of knowledge. It calls for more broad-based knowledge\r\nand values that represent ethno-cultural diversity in Canada, with special reference to Black/African-Canadians. The study describes the development and implementation of an African-centred Art and Cultural Education Program (AACEP) as an alternative curriculum and pedagogy. The AACEP was developed in response to historical experiences of Black/African-Canadians and research data that revealed systemic exclusion of their artistic and cultural perspectives from mainstream curricula and\r\ngeneral school organization. Three major questions relevant to art education, critical multicultural education and the educational experience of Black/African-Canadians in Vancouver, British Columbia are considered: in what ways do school curricula, textbooks and general school organization affect\r\nBlack/African-Canadian children's participation in visual art and general education; how do\r\nBlack/African-Canadian students react to a community-based African-centred art and cultural education program; and what impact do the African-centred art and cultural learning experiences have on students in a multi-ethnic public elementary school. Data was generated through the implementation of the AACEP at the Multicultural Family Centre (MFC) and an east Vancouver public school. The MFC is a community-based social service provider whose range of services includes a program that fosters positive cultural awareness and increased self-esteem among Black youths in Vancouver. Evidence is based on two years of participatory observation at the MFC and on a two-week art and cultural education workshop. Data was also obtained through interviews with Black/African-Canadian students and parents, MFC's cross-cultural facilitators,\r\nstudents from the east Vancouver school, an art teacher, and the school principal. The study is grounded in Afri-centric theory, critical education theory and ethnographic research.\r\nIn response to the first primary question, this study identified seven issues that emerged from\r\nparticipants' perceptions of the education system and its effects on Black/African-Canadian learners. These factors include curricula deficiency, racism and institutional barriers, lack of relevant art and cultural education models, inadequate background preparation of teachers and exclusionary teacher\r\nrecruitment practices, lack of positive role models, inadequate family and community support and inadequate attention to gender issues. Second, findings from this investigation suggest that culturally relevant curriculum can provide effective means of inducing positive attitudinal change and increased self-confidence among Black/African-Canadian students. This became evident through a review of students' knowledge and views about the program, as well as their attitudes toward their own cultures\r\nand other cultural groups. In response to the third primary research question, this study concludes that positive inter-personal and inter-ethnic attitudes could be induced through multicultural art education that focuses on cross-cultural similarities. It was also revealed that the issue of inclusive schooling\r\ntranscends the calls for curricula and pedagogic reforms. It has socio-economic and political dimensions\r\nthat raise wider public policy questions.\r\nSeveral conclusions and recommendations are made about multicultural education as it relates to\r\nart education, the education of Black African-Canadians, and community-based education programs: 1)\r\nincorporation of the experiences and perspectives of Black/African-Canadians and people of colour into\r\nmainstream curricula would be valuable for expanded knowledge and multicultural literacy of all\r\nstudents; 2) multicultural art education provides a viable force for ethnic minority students to identify\r\nwith their cultural heritages and develop their self-esteem; 3) community-centred education processes\r\ncan provide important resources to facilitate multicultural art education programs in local public schools;\r\nand 4) multicultural education must move beyond cosmetic \"relevance\" to making curriculum and\r\npedagogy genuinely transformative. A recommendation is made for further in-depth research of ethnic\r\ngroups of students from real-life situations in community-based ethnic settings, and their interactions\r\nwith school contexts, to build holistic theories of multicultural education."@en
<https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/831/items/1.0055078>