By

Afrocentric Curriculum The historical legacy of racial discrimination in the United States points to the need for continued recognition of cultural diversity. DuBois (1935), Woodson (1933). Karenga (1980) and Asante (1987) pointed to the failure of the public school system and challenged African Americans to develop a new system for themselves. For many African American educators and parents, the Afrocentric multicultural curriculum has been a viable option. A review of literature was conducted to answer the research question: "What is the feasibility of incorporating an Afrocentric curriculum in K-12 public school systems, which provides instruction geared toward African American students ' learning styles?" As addressed in the study, an Afrocentric curriculum is viable if Afrocentric instructional materials are adopted that address African culture and history (Hilliard, 1990); the learning styles of African American students are considered to facilitate learning (Giddings, 2001); Constructivist and culturally relevant pedagogical approaches are adopted to facilitate intellectual development (Pasteur and Toldson, 1982); teacher training is given high priority (Irvine, 1992); a positive school culture exists (Fullan, 1990); and parents are involved (Smith-Maddox, 1999). The premise of this study was that the curriculum of the school and the instructional materials should convey a message of equal educational opportunity and inclusion of all students. Training teachers to facilitate an Afrocentric curriculum requires the exploration of new materials, ideas, and perspectives that recognize the culture of African American students. Asante predicts, "Future historians will write that no intellectual idea has been so maligned in the 20th century as Afrocentric theory, the idea that African people are agents and actors in history " (Asante, 1996, p. 31). Based on the findings in this study