Multicultural education

Multicultural education

Multicultural education refers to an instruction and learning program that is designed to cater for students from diverse races, social class, cultures, ethnicity and gender. According to Wren, multicultural education is based on fundamental issues of the field like cultural pluralism, ethnic identity, unequal distribution of opportunities and resources, among other sociopolitical challenges that stem from long oppression histories (Wren, 2012).  Multicultural education has earned considerable significance due to the emerging complexities and changes that are taking place across the globe. There is need to change the traditional education systems, in order to embrace the current multicultural education forum that appreciates and accommodates students from diverse backgrounds. This will help in matching the needs of the evolving global world.

The choice of multicultural education topic was reached after learning about the experiences of foreign students, seeking education opportunities abroad, and an analysis of the global education trends. Some of the emerging issues facing these students are racial discrimination, social interaction challenges and prejudice (Wren, 2012). Hence, it is important for the education ministry to develop multicultural education programs and adopt practices that cater for students from diverse ethnicities and cultural backgrounds. In addition, students should be taught the value of appreciating students from varying backgrounds, in order to promote peaceful coexistence and keep racialism in check (Wren, 2012).

Factors such as immigration and domestic diversity have led to a vibrant combination of students from different ethnic, cultural and linguistic backgrounds. “ The transnational, even globalized, identities of our students  sometimes make issues of cultural identity relative to the U.S. and “home” countries mixed up and even contradictory, forcing educators to recognize the dynamic nature of cultures and communities” (Wayne, 2009). Hence, effective multicultural education management is important, in order to deal with the diversity in an effective manner.

Multicultural education helps to reduce racism, conflicts, prejudice and hostilities. For instance, many students go to the US for education purposes. Multicultural education will help the Native American students to understand the new students from other countries and perceive them in a positive way. Multicultural education practices and programs help in creating positive response to multicultural diversity (Wren, 2012). Multicultural education helps to eradicate injustice and oppression and schools are a good place of effecting these crucial transformations that are much needed in the society.

In addition, it encourages understanding and appreciation of people from diverse racial and cultural backgrounds. The main aim of multicultural education is to create equal educational opportunities for students from diverse racial, ethnic, social-class, and cultural groups (Wayne, 2009). One of its important goals is to help all students to acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to function effectively in a pluralistic democratic society and to interact, negotiate, and communicate with peoples from diverse groups in order to create a civic and moral community that works for the common good (Wren, 2012).

In conclusion, multicultural education brings about racial and cultural justice to all the students, regardless of their diverse backgrounds. In addition, it proposes the idea that all students should be provided with equal opportunities for learning in schools, regardless of their race, gender, socio-cultural and ethnicity. Thus, schools should reform their programs, in order to accommodate diverse students, increase cultural awareness and understanding, and promote peaceful coexistence among diverse students.

References

Wayne. A. (2009). Rethinking multicultural education: teaching for racial and cultural justice.       Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Rethinking Schools.

Wren, T. (2012). Conceptions of culture: what multicultural educators need to know.        Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.