ABSTRACT
Education for cultural diversity is more than a passing fad, it is possibly the most important issue facing educators today. All societies have become multicultural, and it is vital to prevent social conflict through an education that fosters understanding and respect for cultural diversity, as well as communication and cooperation between persons of different origins. This implies specific changes in teacher education. In the francophone world the various issues linked to ‘intercultural’ education and teacher training towards this goal have been hotly debated in the last decade, and several volumes have provided printed information over the years (e.g., Lorreyte, 1984; Key, 1984; Abdallah-Pretceille, 1986; Dinello and Perret-Clermont, 1987; CERI, 1987; Ouellet, 1988, 1991; Gardou, 1990). But the debate is far from closed; in this chapter I would like to make a modest contribution to it, on the specific issue of the usefulness of including crosscultural psychology in the training of teachers.
