In the World Library of Educationalists, international experts themselves compile career-long collections of what they judge to be their finest pieces - extracts from books, key articles, salient research findings, major theoretical and/practical contributions - so the world can read them in a single manageable volume. Readers will be able to follow themes and strands of their work and see their contribution to the development of a field, as well as the development of the field itself.
James A. Banks is considered the "father of multicultural education" in the U.S. and is known throughout the world as one of the field's most important founders, theorists, and researchers. In this book, Banks has compiled a career-long collection of 21 of his most significant articles, book chapters, and papers which show the evolution of his research and scholarship over nearly four decades as well as the evolution of the field of multicultural education. This collection shows how the growth of the field has mirrored Banks' development as a scholar, teacher, and researcher.
A specially written Introduction gives an overview of the author's career and describes the personal, professional, and social context for his selections. Banks describes how his personal journey as an African American who came of age in the American South during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and 1970s influences his research and teaching and is a significant source of his commitment to social justice research and work.
Multicultural education in the U. S. emerged out of the Black Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. The focus of the field has expanded from Black Studies, to ethnic studies, tomulticultural education, and to diversity and citizenship education within a global context. The eight parts into which the book is divided reflects the evolution of Banks' scholarship as well as the development of the field of multicultural education:
?Black Studies and the Teachi

Part 1: Black Studies, the Teaching of History and Research 1. Teaching Black History with a Focus on Decision Making 2. Inquiry: A History Teaching Tool (with Ermon O. Hogan) 3. Varieties of History: Negro, Black, White 4. Remembering Brown: Silence, Loss, Rage, and Hope 5. Black Youth in Predominantly White Suburbs Part 2: Teaching Ethnic Studies 6. Teaching for Ethnic Literacy: A Comparative Approach 7. Ethnic Studies as a Process of Curriculum Reform Part 3: Teaching Social Studies for Decision-Making and Citizen Action 8. Decision-Making: The Heart of the Social Studies 9. The Social Studies, Ethnic Diversity, and Social Change Part 4: Multiethnic Education and School Reform 10. Imperatives in Ethnic Minority Education 11. Pluralism, Ideology, and Curriculum Reform Part 5: Multicultural Education and Knowledge Construction 12. Multicultural Education: Dimensions and Challenges 13. Approaches to Multicultural Curriculum Reform 14. The Canon Debate, Knowledge Construction, and Multicultural Education Part 6: The Global Dimensions of Multicultural Education 15. Multiethnic Education Across Cultures: United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico, France, and Great Britain 16. Multicultural Education and Its Critics: Britain and the United States Part 7: Democracy, Diversity and Citizenship Education 17. Multicultural Citizenship Education 18. Democracy, Diversity, and Social Justice: Educating Citizens in a Global Age