An economic look at multicultural education: two reviews of the Intersection of Cultures.(The Intersection of Cultures: Multicultural Education in the United States and the Global Economy, 3rd ed.)(Book Review)

The Intersection of Cultures:

Multicultural Education in the United States

and the Global Economy, 3rd Edition

By Joel Spring

New York: McGraw-Hill Education Press

2004, 288 pages, $43.45 paperback

ISBN 0-07-256396-6

Review 1

Having lived on the border of the United States and Mexico for over twenty !years, the intersection of cultures (real and imagined) is something that I live on a daily basis, not something that I tend to read about in books. Spanish is the background language at the local grocery store; salsa easily outdistances ketchup as the condiment of choice at my favorite restaurant; and as I drive to work every day the United States is on the left side of the freeway and Mexico is on the right side.

Multiple cultures intersect constantly in El Paso and when I saw the title of Joel Spring's latest book, The Intersection of Cultures: Multicultural Education in the United States and the Global Economy (3rd edition), I wanted to know immediately how my experiences related to others who had studied multiculturalism in greater depth. I wasn't disappointed!

Written for a higher education market, Spring's book is a thought-provoking look at the cultural differences that shape American society. His argument is framed around classifications such as dominant American culture, dominated culture, and immigrant culture. This departure from traditional classifications such as race, gender, and sexual orientation adds greatly to a new way of viewing (and ultimately teaching) multicultural education.

Spring's book, although written for college students preparing to enter the teaching profession, goes beyond the walls of the classroom in its effort to examine multiculturalism in a more global and far-reaching perspective. His subtitle, Multicultural Education in the United States and the Global Economy, is reflective of his unique take on multicultural education.

His inclusion of the term global economy is revealing. Spring believes that a "link exists between education and cultural change as it is related to economic mobility." Multicultural education must, therefore, develop …