Abstract
There is a lack of diverse perspectives in United State history textbooks. Since textbook learning activities comprised of 75% to 90% of the instructional time in classrooms, students often are not exposed to knowledge outside of the textbook. The purpose of this study is three fold: 1) to examine what Vietnam War topics are covered in the district-approved 11th grade United States History textbooks in five Northern California school districts that serve predominately minority students; 2) to identify related areas of study that the textbooks may not emphasize, and; 3) to create culturally relevant supplementary lessons that will support and enhance the Vietnam War Unit of study. This Vietnam War curriculum incorporates the experiences of Asian Americans, African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and women. It is designed to show the academic benefits of using multicultural education to enhance the traditional United States history curriculum. Sources of Data I used a wide variety of resources in my research, from the 11th grade United States history textbooks for my content analysis of the Vietnam War to books, journals, periodicals, magazines, and websites and databases from public and private institutions. This project is theoretically grounded in the scholarly works of James A. Banks, Michael W. Apple, Christian E. Sleeter and Carl A. Grant, Geneva Gay, Gloria Ladson-Billings, and James W. Loewen which are cited throughout my project. Conclusions Reached Students need multicultural, culturally relevant curriculum in their United States history classes where they learn about the past to make sense of the present. My textbook analysis indicates that although the texts do teach students about the politics of the Vietnam War, there is still a need to incorporate minority perspectives. The Vietnam War affected American lives but it also uprooted Southeast Asian ethnic groups who later settled in the United States. The study of cultural history will make the content more relevant, particularly to Southeast Asian minority students while, at the same time, stimulate interest of the majority of California students who are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.