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What Is Multicultural Education

What is a multicultural classroom? First and foremost it is a classroom, characterized by an ethos of caring and equity. The pedagogy supports active participation through role-plays, simulations, and hands-on activities. Students learn, through their own experiences, that people's actions make a difference.
Education that is multicultural is a continuous, integrated, multiethnic, multidisciplinary process for educating all students about diversity. Diversity factors include but are not limited to race, ethnicity, region, religion, gender, language, socioeconomic status, age, and individuals with disabilities. It encompasses curricular infusion and instructional strategies in all subject areas. Education that is multicultural prepares students to live, learn, interact, and work creatively in an interdependent global society by fostering mutual appreciation and respect.
As ethnic diversity increases in our society and our schools, programs that offer learning in a multicultural and international context help students to value their own heritage and to value and appreciate people from other cultures. As schools continue to increase their commitment to equity for all students, and to deepen and enrich their programs in multicultural education, there is also increasing interest in communicating with students in other countries. The aim of multicultural education is to ensure equity in education for all students and to help empower young people to make the world a better place both individually and collectively.
It is now well recognized that all students do not learn in the same way. Teaching that is limited to strategies the teacher has found effective during his or her own education may not reach all students in ways that make it possible for them to learn. Therefore, teachers need to broaden their teaching strategies and renewing their enthusiasm for teaching, as their students become more successful at learning.
The school curriculum needs to reflect our full...