Sonia Nieto - About Her Work

About Her Work

In Nieto's book Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education (the fifth edition of which is co-authored by Patty Bode), Nieto takes an in-depth look into public school systems and describes how they fail to serve many students, particularly children of color and those who live in poverty. Her text often describes structural flaws in the education system and how to challenge them in the classroom. Her work can be regarded as a reference for teachers in a multicultural environment.

Affirming Diversity also includes multiple case studies of students of various sociocultural backgrounds so that teachers can learn from the voices and experiences of young people themselves. This resource can prove to be invaluable in a classroom setting.

Nieto's work seeks to shed light on common institutional policies and practices (racism, inequality, discrimination, and other forms of exclusion) in multicultural learning environments and to show teachers how to effectively confront these challenges. According to her, institutional policies and practices that jeopardize student learning are evident at many different levels: negative societal ideologies, inequitable power relationships, rigid national policies, unresponsive school districts, and even the biases and beliefs of teachers themselves.

Her books also offer activities both in the classroom and out that the teacher can engage in with students, colleagues, and community members to provide a better learning environment. These activities usually seek to bring about positive change in the school, the community, and inside oneself. Her book also offers web resources for a multimedia learning experience.