ABSTRACT

This chapter proposes a definition of multicultural education and analyses the seven primary characteristics included in the definition. These characteristics underscore the role that multicultural education can play in reforming schools and providing an equal and excellent education for all students. Multicultural education is antiracist because it exposes racist and discriminatory practices in schools. When multicultural education is peripheral to the core curriculum, it is perceived as irrelevant to basic education. There is a widespread perception—or rather, misperception—that multicultural education is only for students of color, for urban students, or for so-called "disadvantaged" or "at-risk" students. A true multicultural approach is pervasive. Multicultural education invites students and teachers to put their learning into action for social justice. The dimension of multicultural education as a process is too often relegated to a secondary position, because content is easier to handle and has speedier results.