Integrating Multiculturalism into the Teaching of Psychology: Why and How?
Annette S. KluckTexas Tech University (This essay originally appeared as the monthly “E-xcellence in Teaching” e-column in the PsychTeacher Electronic Discussion List for December 2005.) There is growing movement, as exemplified by the American Psychological Association’s (APA; 2003) guidelines on the matter, to recognize and attend to issues of diversity within the field of psychology. These guidelines include a recommendation to incorporate multiculturalism and diversity into psychology curricula. In part, the need for psychology to attend to multiculturalism is a reflection of our increasingly diverse population (Trimble, Stevenson, & Worell, 2003). Moreover, a science grounded in the study of human behavior cannot afford to ignore the influence that culture has on shaping, interpreting, and guiding behavior (Trimble et al., 2003). Indeed, psychology’s historical omission of issues of diversity contributed to the marginalization of individuals who differed from the majority group (e