Multicultural education is an educational approach that seeks to create equal educational opportunities for all students, regardless of their cultural background. It is a process that involves changing the total school environment to reflect the diverse cultures and groups within a society and within the nations classrooms. The goal of multicultural education is to provide students with knowledge about the histories, cultures, and contributions of diverse groups. It values different student cultures and prepares students to thrive in a diverse world.
Multicultural education is a philosophical concept built on the ideals of freedom, justice, equality, equity, and human dignity as acknowledged in various documents, such as the U.S. Declaration of Independence, constitutions of South Africa and the United States, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations. It affirms our need to prepare students for their responsibilities in an interdependent world.
Multicultural education should span beyond autonomy, by exposing students to global uniqueness, fostering deepened understanding, and providing access to varied practices, ideas, and ways of life; it is a process of societal transformation and reconstruction. Teachers who ask themselves “What is multicultural education?” can develop curricula around their students’ cultural backgrounds. Students in multicultural educational environments can learn how to value all cultures, bonding with peers over what makes them similar as well as what makes them unique.
