Diversity & Motivation: Culturally Responsive Teaching was co-authored by an educational psychologist and a former teacher/professor. Both are practioners and researchers examining effective classroom techniques that promote learning. The primary concern of the text is identifying key elements that can be used among a diversified student population by instructors in classroom relationships. In approaching "diversity" and "multiculturalism,",which are used interchangeably, the authors look at a wide range of characteristics including race, gender, class, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, language, and disability. The overall impression after completing this text is that the authors bit off more than they could chew while simulataneously failing to adequately address teaching at the university level. If the authors had narrowed their topic and/or limited it to the elementary and secondary school levels it would have been much more effective in its attempt to deliver useful information.

The absence of sufficient pertinent background in the authors' experiences and education severely limits the authority of many insights into crossing the cultural divides that are often present in the classroom. For example, in addressing inclusiveness in the classroom it is advised that instructors create an "atmosphere of mutual respect" (p.62). They go on to suggest "Norms for Establishing Inclusion":

1. Coursework emphasizes the human purpose of what is being learned and its relationship to the learners' personal experiences and contemporary situations.
2. Teachers share the ownership of knowing with all learners.
3. Collaboration and cooperation are upheld as the expected ways of proceeding and learning
4. Course perspectives assume a non-blameful and realistically hopeful view of people and their capacity to change.
5. There is equitable treatment of all learners with an invitation to point out behaviors, practices, and policies that discriminate

Initial responses to these "Norms" may be quite positive. The fair, equitable
consideration of individuals in the classroom is a basic assumption for most settings. Ideally, students will respond to these norms in ways that support enthusiastic learning. However, the authors' failure to distinguish adequately between the responses of disabled students and African-American students points to a fundamental flaw of the entire work. Students from diverse backgrounds should not be assumed to have universally similar responses simply because they do not fit the "norm." In other words, each sub-population of learners deserves their own specifically researched examination. The authors, instead, select gender when it seems to suit their ends while at other times choosing ethnicity. It is never explained why one group is used to illustrate a point rather than some other group. The text leads readers to believe that the given prescriptions will be equally effective to all audiences. Of course, such assumptions are nonsense.

A possible explanation for the absence of specific recommendations for Latino/a or Asian or other ethnically identified settings may be the authors apparent lack of training in those specific fields. It is not unusual for subject-matter specialties to provide interesting insights into how to best engage students in the topic. For example, studying slavery in the United States may lead to a certain understanding of how best to teach such a sensitive subject in a racially diverse classroom. Examples of what has worked and not worked might have been more helpful to college professors than the euphemisms the text offers. In fact, after reading Diversity & Motivation, it cannot be assumed that the authors have any experience teaching in settings that were not primarily dominated by white middle class assumptions. The psychological responses of learners to the presentation of materials seem to be the primary point of teaching for the writers. Whether or not students master the material and can begin to use learned research methods to answer their own future questions is only of secondary importance. At the university level students must first and foremost be confident with the important subjects found in their disciplines. How they feel about those subjects is of secondary, possibly tertiary, concern.

Because the text is too broad in its coverage, the norms it offers and subsequent recommendations it makes for "Implementing a Culturally Responsive Pedagogy" (pp.283-312) are no more than marginally useful. However, as an introductory examination of areas needing further research the authors have offered a wide range of possible topics. The book also may be more helpful to elementary and secondary school teachers as classrooms obviously change in sync with the major demographic shifts in the nation's population. However, even at these levels it is recommended that teachers focus first on building students' skills and knowledge base rather than placing most of their attention on general objectives that appear undeniably inclusive but in practice become confused and too non-specific to be of much help.

Dwight B. Mullen
UNC Asheville