The purpose of this research was to examine the influence of anti-bias educational programs on the bias and multicultural awareness of elementary school students. To accomplish this, an anti-bias educational program was developed that could be applied...
The purpose of this research was to examine the influence of anti-bias educational programs on the bias and multicultural awareness of elementary school students. To accomplish this, an anti-bias educational program was developed that could be applied to the Discretional Activities class and that aimed to help elementary school students, who will be growing up in a multicultural society, overcome any bias that they may hold against cultures to which they do not belong, and understand the principles of multiculturalism.
To attain this goal, the following research problems were set:
First, how should the anti-bias educational program for elementary school students be organized?
Second, what influence will the anti-bias educational program have on the bias of elementary school students?
Third, what influence will the anti-bias educational program have on the multicultural awareness of elementary school students?
Fourth, how is the bias and the multicultural awareness of the elementary school students changed after the anti-bias educational program is applied?
Tosolve the research problems, this paper organized an anti-bias educational program that consisted of 14 class hours, using literary works and video materials. 61 5th-graders in 2 classes of H Elementary School located in Gyeyang-gu, Incheon participated in the research. From April 15 to July 18, a test was given a total of 14 times. For the test group, the anti-bias educational program developed by this researcher was applied, and for the control group, the discretional activities that were planned in the school curriculum were taken. A questionnaire intended to measure bias and multicultural awareness was distributed to the group before and after the anti-bias educational program was offered. Through this questionnaire, the effect of the program could be quantitatively analyzed. SPSS 12.0 was used for statistical works, and t-test and ANCOVA were also conducted. To make up for the weak points of the quantitative research, the participants were asked to take an essay-type test, to write their feelings, to reply to a questionnaire, to keep records of their classes, and to make diary entries before, during, and after they took the program. This made it possible to quantitatively analyze any changes in their bias and multicultural awareness, and verified the effect of the research. The research results were as follows:
First, the test group to which the anti-bias educational program was applied showed a significant reduction in bias compared with the control group. Second, the academic accomplishment of individual students didn't have any significant effect on the reduction of bias in the test group to which the anti-bias educational program was applied. Third, the test group to which the anti-bias educational program was applied showed a significant difference in their level of multicultural awareness compared with the control group. Fourth, the academic accomplishment of individual students didn't have any significant effect on the multicultural awareness of the test group to which the anti-bias educational program was applied. Fifth, among individuals in the test group to which the anti-bias educational program was applied, a significant difference in bias could be observeddepending on the extent of their previous bias. Sixth, the test group who had showed high multicultural awareness didn't show any significant difference in their existing multicultural awareness after taking the program, but the test group who had showed low multicultural awareness showed a significant difference in their multicultural awareness. The qualitative analysis showed that the test group showed positive changes, as defined by a reduced level of bias and an increased level of multicultural awareness, compared with the control group. Both the quantitative and the qualitative analysis showed the positive influence of the anti-bias educational program that used literary works and video materialson the reduction of bias and the improvement in multicultural awareness.
In the future, more comparative studies of the effects of anti-bias educational program should be made to compare various approaches, to address bias areas that were not handled in this research, and to examine various classes of groups.