DEFINING CULTURE IN A MULTICULTURAL ENVIRONMENT - AN ETHNOGRAPHY OF HERITAGE HIGH-SCHOOL

The primary goal of this article is to examine how multicultural educa tion can alter the learning environment of a school and thereby influe nce student relations, attitudes, and behaviors. The study generated t hree primary findings. (1) By creating an engaging and close-knit lear ning environment, activities that recognize and celebrate cultural div ersity can increase motivation, effort, and school identification in m inority students. (2) Despite good intentions to lessen divisions amon g groups, multicultural education may provide terrain for intergroup c onflict, particularly among different minority groups. (3) The ways in which culture itself is discussed and understood can have a significa nt impact on student relations, attitudes, and behaviors. These findin gs inform current theories concerning learning environments, minority student achievement, and intergroup relations. Most important, educati onal theory and practice must pay greater attention to the relationshi p between ''minority'' groups rather than focus exclusively on the int eraction between the traditionally dominant and subordinate groups.