Banks (1993a) identifies four approaches for integrating multicultural content into the curriculum:

• The Contributions Approach - At this level, discrete cultural elements--such as ethnic heroes, holidays, and food--are featured in various subject areas. Little or no context is provided, and the curriculum remains unchanged.

• The Additive Approach - At this level, lessons and units containing cultural content, themes, and perspectives are added to the existing curriculum. Again, little or no context is provided, and the curriculum stays essentially the same.

• The Transformation Approach - At this level, topics and issues become focal points and are viewed from a variety of
  cultural perspectives. Context is crucial, and the curriculum is transformed.

• The Social Action Approach - Building on the transformation approach, this level incorporates a variety of perspectives and promotes social action pertinent to cultural concerns. Context is provided, and the curriculum is transformed.

Banks (1993a) notes that these four approaches often are combined in actual teaching situations, so that a lower level approach leads to a higher level approach:

"One approach, such as the contributions approach, can be used as a vehicle to move to other, more intellectually challenging approaches, such as the transformation and social action approaches. It is unrealistic to expect a teacher to move directly from a highly mainstream-centric curriculum to one that focuses on decision making and social action. Rather, the move from the first to higher levels of multicultural content integration is likely to be gradual and cumulative." (p. 207)

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