Introduction

In the United States, the phenomenon of multiculturalism has become more than the existence of multiple cultures within its borders, it is a way of living. The diversity of students found in any given classroom changes on a daily basis, due in part to a constant migration of cultures occurring in the country. Geographically, as well as socially, America is indeed a diverse territory. Although diversity has led to the recognition of cultural distance between students and American teachers that have prompted efforts to introduce multiculturalism into the United States educational system, there is little evidence that such efforts have had a significant influence on educational outcomes. To add to the cultural mix, racially diverse students, including those of African and Hispanic ancestry, still struggle for success and access to academic and educational resources in the US (Forte, 2007).

Research shows that the exploration of culturally responsive methods for both middle and secondary schools teaching will lead to gain inside vision of the teacher as an agent of change, a proactive educator who is equipped to help all the students benefit (Rasol and Curtis, 2000). Schools in the United States are becoming more culturally diverse because of the immigration of different cultural communities. By 1999 the Hispanic community was the largest ethnic minority group in the United States, surpassing African Americans. Facing such big change the art teacher needs the tools to help improve and integrate multicultural art education in the classroom.

Students with different ethnical backgrounds come to the United States and are often balancing multiple cultural identities because of the place they live, the community that surrounds them or the school. According to Lopez (2009) with exposures to multiple cultures becoming a reality of modern times and the assumption that people have complex, spontaneously reconstructed identities, the process of acculturation is now more widely discussed. Students often loose who they are in the process of their life. Others may just need to feel that they are represented in the field they are studying or are passionate about. For this and other reasons educators must take cultural identity as a serious topic and evaluate their approach towards the issue.