8. Four approaches to multicultural education

Part One: Multicultural Education: Theoretical Perspectives and Issues * Multicultural Education: Dimensions and Paradigms, James A. Banks * Critical Multiculturalism and Education, Stephen May * Worldwide Population Movements, Diversity, and Education, Stephen Castles * Globalization, Immigration, and Schooling, Marcelo Suarez-Orozco and Carola Suarez-Orozco Part Two: Multicultural Education and Diversity Across Nations * Multicultural Education in the United States: Historical Realities, Ongoing Challenges, and Transformative Possibilities, Sonia Nieto * Multicultural Education Policy in Canada: Competing Ideologies, Interconnected Discourses, Reva Joshee * Multicultural Education in Australia: Two Generations of Evolution, Christine Inglis * Multicultural Education in the United Kingdom, Sally Tomlinson * From Intercultural Education to the Inclusion of Diversity: Theories and Policies in Europe, Cristina Allemann-Ghionda * Multicultural Education in South Africa, Crain Soudien * Multicultural Education in Japan, Yasu Hirasawa Part Three: Race, Intergroup Relations, and Schooling * Critical Perspectives on Race and Schooling, David Gillborn and Deborah Youdell * The Nature and Origins of Children's Racial Attitudes, Rebecca S. Bigler and Julie Milligan Hughes * Modifying Children's Racial Attitudes, Frances E. Aboud * Education Programs for Improving Intergroup Relations between Palestinians and Jews in Israel, Zvi Bekerman * Multicultural Education for Young Children, Patricia G. Ramsey Part Four: Culture, Teaching, and Learning * Cultural Influences on Learning, Carol D. Lee * Socialization, Literacy, and Empowerment, Thor Ola Engen Part Five: The Education of Indigenous Groups * Connecting the Circle in American Indian Education, Donna Deyhle and Karen Gayton Comeau * Indigenous Education in Peru, Maria Elena Garcia * The Struggle to Educate the Maori in New Zealand, Wally Penetito Part Six: Citizenship, Immigration, and Education * Diversity, Group Identity, and Citizenship Education in a Global Age, James A. Banks * Education, Integration, and Citizenship in France, Eva Lemaire * Citizenship Education in France and England: Contrasting Approaches to National Identity and Diversity, Audrey Osler and Hugh Starkey * Democracy, Antiracism, and Citizenship Education in England and Sweden, Hugh Starkey and Audrey Osler * Diversity and Citizenship Education in Bulgaria, Hristo Kyuchukov Part Seven: Language, Culture, Identity, and Education * Language, Culture, and Identity Issues Across Nations, Suzanne Romaine * Language Policies and Language Education in Francophone Africa: A Critique and a Call to Action, Hassana Alidou * Language Education Policy in Multi-Ethnic Malaysia, Saran Kaur Gill Part Eight: Religion, Culture, Identity, and Education * Cultural Diversity, Muslims, and Education in France and England: Two Contrasting Models in Western Europe, Nasar Meer, Valerie Sala Pala, Tariq Modood, and Patrick Simon * Religion, Culture, Language, and Education in India, Reva Joshee and Karen Sihra * Islamic Religious Education and Muslim Religiosity in Singapore, Mukhlis Abu Bakar * Religion, Ethnicity, and Identity in Indonesian Education, Joel C. Kuipers and Ella Yulaelawati Part Nine: The Education of Ethnic and Cultural Minority Groups in Europe * Migrant Minority Groups in Germany: Success and Failure in Education, Sigrid Luchtenberg * The Education of Ethnic, Racial, and Cultural Minority Groups in Spain, Teresa Aguado * Ethnic and Cultural Groups and Educational Policies in Russia, Isak D. Froumin and Andrei Zakharov Part Ten: The Education of Ethnic and Cultural Minority Groups in Asia and Latin America * The Education of Ethnic Minority Groups in China, Gerard A. Postiglione * Social Inequality as a Barrier to Multicultural Education in Latin America, Martin Carnoy * Achieving Quality Education for Indigenous Peoples and Blacks in Brazil, Petronilha Beatriz Goncalves e Silva and Sonia Stella Araujo-Olivera * The Education of Ethnic Minority Groups in Mexico, Sonia Stella Araujo-Olivera and Petronilha Beatriz Goncalves e Silva

Problem This research investigated the understanding and perceptions of Saudi educators toward multiculturalism and multicultural education in Saudi Arabia. The research had three broad questions. The first question was, "What are Saudi educators’ conceptions of culture and multicultural education?" The second research question was, "What practices do educators employ concerning multicultural education?” The third research question was, "How do educators implement multicultural education for their students at schools with different levels of cultural diversity?" Method In this study, I used the qualitative multiple case study research design to explore the understanding and the attitudes of Saudi educators regarding multiculturalism and multicultural education. The study was applied in the Holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, which is one of the most highly diverse cities in the whole country. The participants of this study were selected from two elementary schools with different levels of cultural diversity. The participants were varied in their school positions, teaching subjects, and levels of education. To collect the data of the study, I developed the interview protocol and conducted semi-structured interviews for teachers and administrators to understand Saudi educators' attitudes and perceptions regarding multicultural education. Interpretations The findings of the study were categorized into four themes. First, culture was defended into three different ways: a gained knowledge, customs and traditions, and an integrated life system. Second, the relationship between culture and education was seen from three different perspectives: the cultural background influences students' learning, the family's background influences students’ learning, and the school’s culture influences students’ learning. Third, participants' perspectives regarding multiculturalism and multicultural education were divided into three viewpoints: multiculturalism empowers the community and it improves students’ achievements at schools, multiculturalism empowers the teacher's performance in the classroom, and multiculturalism and multicultural education participate in losing the Islamic and Arabic identities for Saudi students. The fourth theme was related to teachers’ professional development. All participants agreed that training programs provided form the Educational Training Department did not reach their desired needs. Implications of the Study The findings of this research have implications regarding multiculturalism and multicultural education in Saudi Arabia. First, the meaning of multicultural education used in the western world was not compatible with the culture of Islamic societies, including Saudi people. Therefore, there is a need for developing a multicultural education philosophy for Arab and Muslim societies that take into account the Arabic and Islamic identities. Second, equity in education is the backbone of the education system in Saudi Arabia. However, Saudi teachers need to be informed about equity in education and students' rights to empower all students to succeed. Third, there is a need for developing an Arabic language learning program for non-Arabic speakers. The fourth implication is that teacher professional development programs need to be developed to prepare teachers to participate in building the future of the country.

Since the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development recommended “reflection of multi-cultural education elements” in education curriculum and textbooks through「multi-cultural family support plan for children's education」in 2006, it made the revised education curriculum included concept of multi-cultural in the subject of general curriculum in 2007. In addition, the Ministry of Education Science and Technology in 2008 implemented various multi-cultural education through “multi-cultural education infrastructure”, “multi-cultural education base expansion including teacher training. Although the implemented multi-cultural education has brought positive results so far, in fact it faces many problems now. Therefore, in such a situation, it is necessary that we not only analyze Korea multi-cultural education conducted well but also suggest an alternative. The purpose of this study makes a diagnosis multi-cultural education being conducted at elementary school in Gyeongnam as the model of inter-cultural education and suggests the desirable model of the multi-cultural education. To achieve this objective, in the second chapter this study set standard of analysis based on intercultural education in order to analyze whether the multi-cultural education carried out well in the elementary schools in Gyeongnam. According to the analysis presented in chapter 2, in chapter 3, diagnosed a multi-cultural education currently being implemented in the elementary schools, Gyeongnam, and in chapter 4 this study suggested the desirable direction of currently being implemented multi-cultural education. The result of this study show the general direction of a multi-cultural education in elementary schools in Gyeongnam, education curriculum composition and teaching methodology from the view of intercultural education.

Education as a means of developing human potential and the formation of a community order must be carried out with the principles of equality and justice. The principle is based on the inevitability that humans live within the sphere of difference. Islamic education as a way of forming human beings, upholds the value of justice as a consequence of one of its roles as khalifatullah on the face of the earth, which is to prosper the universe. One aspect of education that can deliver this goal is the view of multiculturalism in Islamic education. This paper is aimed at looking at the basic concepts of the epistemology of multicultural education in Islam, which ultimately can be implemented in the process of Islamic education. The method used in writing this article is the literature review on the concept of multiculturalism, the basis of the epistemology of multiculturalism and multicultural education in Islam. The results obtained from this study are that multicultural education emphasizes the aspects of harmony in learning practices. The values ​​of multiculturalism do not conflict with the values ​​of Islam, they can even lead to the achievement of the goals of Islamic education, namely forming a harmonious order in social life.

The Handbook of Research on Multicultural Education, edited by James A. Banks and Cherry A. McGhee Banks. New York: Simon & Schuster/Macmillan, 1995. 882 pp. $75.00, cloth. Reviewed by Donna Y. Ford, The Ohio State University. In The Handbook of Research on Multicultural Education, editors Banks and Banks and their contributors have created a scholarly masterpiece that synthesizes research, theory, and policy on multicultural education. The book's 11 parts are woven into a comprehensive body of work not likely to be equalled or duplicated soon. Unlike some multicultural scholars, Banks and Banks have adopted a broadly encompassing perspective on multiculturalism. Their vision of multiculturalism is not limited to multiethnic education-that is, education that attends exclusively to issues of race or ethnicity. Instead, contributors focus on all racially and culturally diverse groups-Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, European Americans, Asian Americans, and African Americans-as well as examining diversity within and between groups. The editors offer the following definition of multicultural education: A field of study designed to increase educational equity for all students that incorporates, for this purpose, content, concepts, principles, theories, and paradigms from history, the social and behavioral sciences, and particularly from ethnic studies and women studies. (p. xii) Equally noteworthy is the editors' inclusion of demographic matrices often overlooked in education and research on multicultural education: linguistic and economic diversity, diverse families, gender identity, and combinations of these variables. Although no group is viewed as a homogenous collective of common traditions and values, these important (but sometimes superfiaal) cultural distinctions are not given undue attention in the Handbook. Rather, the authors focus their discussions on more substantive cultural issues and variables. Many contributors shed new and additional light on the topic of their chapter; few resort to rehashing the familiar and tiresome discourse that defensively argues the need for multicultural education. The contributors merely present the data, and readers are left to form their own opinions. The Handbook is divided into 47 chapters presented in an in-depth, balanced, and scholarly fashion. Each chapter successfully describes and extends research, theory, policy, and / or practice. The book clarifies the meaning and boundaries of multicultural education and helps to alleviate the widespread misconceptions that hinder its greater acceptance in academia. To this end, contributors use case studies, survey research, ethnographic studies, historical inquiry, philosophical inquiry, and experimental and quasi-experimental research. In keeping with the editors' concept of multicultural education, the contributors also adopt an interdisciplinary approach, borrowing relevant work from history, anthropology, sociology, literature, and other disciplines. Part I summarizes the history, goals, status, and development of multicultural education. It begins with James Banks's article, which outlines key dimensions of multicultural education as well as landmark events in the historical development of ethnic studies and multicultural education. Geneva Gay analyzes the conceptual connections between general curriculum theory and multicultural education. Donna Gollnick reports on national and state-level multicultural education initiatives aimed at students who may be low-income, female, limited-English-proficient, or from racially and culturally diverse groups. Gollnick categorizes these initiatives using the Sleeter and Grant multicultural typology (e.g., singlegroup studies, human relations). Cherry Banks discusses gender and race as factors in educational leadership and administration, focusing on factors that undermine the attainment of leadership positions among women. Although an important chapter, it seems misplaced in this section of the book, and perhaps would have been better placed in Part IX, which focuses on higher education. …

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to reform the multi-cultural education in China so as to construct a homogenous education model. Design/methodology/approach – Based on the appeal for multi-ethnic culture development of the era and the possibilities for constructing multi-cultural education in China, this paper proposed paths to construct multi-cultural education in China. Findings – First, this paper explains the reasons to construct a multi-cultural education in china: the intrinsic appeals for multi-ethnic culture development; the increasing culture exchange during economy transformation; foreign culture shock in the setting of globalization. Second, it indicates the possibilities for establishing multi-cultural education in China: the arrival of the multi-cultural era and the education ideal of “Unity without Uniformity.” Third, it points out the paths to construct Chinese multi-cultural education: to establish an educational policy with core socialist value; to perfect Chinese multi-cultural education policies; to construct a multi-cultural education model. Practical implications – This paper points out the paths to construct Chinese multi-cultural education: to establish an educational policy with core socialist value; to perfect Chinese multi-cultural education policies; to construct a multi-cultural education model. Originality/value – This paper analyzes the possibilities and paths for constructing multi-cultural education in China and would be helpful for reforming multi-cultural education in China.

<p style="text-align:justify">This research aims to examine the current situation of multicultural education in elementary schools. Therefore, the views of the classroom teachers on multicultural education have been examined and multicultural education activities have been observed in the classes. Having a case study research method which is considered as one of the qualitative research designs, the study hosts a total of 15 classroom teachers who worked in the province of Elazig during the 2016 and 2017 academic year. The maximum variation sampling method has been used in the research. The research has employed semi-structured interview and observation forms. The research data has been analyzed through content analysis. Research results have revealed that most of the teachers perceive multicultural education as education presented to the individuals with different ethnic identities. Teachers' perceptions towards multicultural education have been identified to be similar in terms of their gender, seniority and educational status. Teachers mostly do student-centred activities related to multicultural education, use drama and case studies in their classes. While practising multicultural education, teachers mostly encounter with student-related problems. The majority of the people have recommended that parents be trained on the relevant subject. Similar results have emerged in the observations made by the researcher. Based on the research findings, several recommendations have been provided. Primary school curricula should be organized taking multicultural education into consideration, and the problems identified by teachers should be eliminated by those concerned.</p>

This qualitative research study, using interviews and narrative analysis collected from community college faculty members, describes how student engagement is built through the presence of multicultural education. The study gathered the experiences of community college faculty, beginning with their backgrounds and teaching philosophy. As commonalities emerged, This study identified how community college faculty define multicultural education and the five dimensions defined by Banks (1995). Furthermore, how those five dimensions are present in those community college faculties classrooms. Multicultural education was the lens used in this research. The main research questions directing this study were: How do faculty describe their approach to engaging students in the community college classroom? and How can community college faculty implement multicultural education strategies in their classroom delivery? Findings indicated that community college faculty place tremendous value in getting to know who their students are. The opportunity to learn about the person beyond the individuals sitting in the classroom allows community college faculty to incorporate customized learning opportunities that successfully enhance classroom instruction. Multicultural education can be pivotal in the customization of the learning experiences for students in the community college environment. Overall, the main implications of this study are that faculty must intentionally make students the center of their teaching positionality and become proficient with Banks' five dimensions of multicultural education. Faculty must seek to consistently create intersections between curriculum, lecture delivery, and multicultural education. Those intersections can produce positive outcomes for both faculty and community college students' experiences. Keywords: classroom instruction, culture, culturally competent, multicultural education --Author's abstract

This study addresses the urgent need for multicultural education in South African schools, considering the challenges posed by a diverse demographic landscape and the prevalence of violence, xenophobia, and tribalism. The study is prompted by the limited focus on issues beyond race, particularly concerning the experiences of migrant learners facing difficulties related to language, cultural differences, and social integration. The absence of explicit multicultural education in the school curriculum exacerbates these challenges, contributing to violence and exclusion. This study was aimed at exploring the potential of multicultural education in fostering a worldview that promotes peace, cultural competency, and positive socialisation within South African schools. By employing the integrative theory of peace as a theoretical framework, the research aimed to conceptualise how multicultural education can be strategically integrated into the education curriculum to address violence, promote tolerance, and empower learners and teachers. The research methodology involved a qualitative approach, utilising interviews, focus groups, and direct observation in an action research setting. The study was conducted in an independent school in Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal, with a diverse population of learners and educators. Triangulation was employed to ensure the validity, reliability and trustworthiness of the findings, and ethical considerations prioritised participant well-being and informed consent. The research objectives included exploring the overall role of multicultural education, investigating perceptions of different cultures, forming an action research team to suggest multicultural education components, and testing the outcomes of the intervention strategy. The central research question examined whether multicultural education could contribute to developing and maintaining peace while fostering a worldview that embraces diversity in schools. The findings reveal the potential of multicultural education to bring about a paradigm shift, empower learners, and contribute to positive social dynamics, contribute to teaching respect and regard for other culture and thus lead to peaceful existence in different cultural groups. The study concludes by emphasizing the importance of integrating multicultural education into the South African school curriculum as a crucial strategy for promoting peace, understanding, and embracing the nation's cultural diversity.

Education is one of the elements of character building and human self-development. Education is expected to provide learning so that learners are able to understand themselves, others, the community environment and all the differences that exist in the environment and be tolerant to all the differences that exist in society. Multicultural education is expected to be one of the ways in which learners develop tolerant attitudes toward different racial, ethnic, social and cultural groups, religions, etc.
 
 According to UU No. 20 Year 2003 about the National Education System mentions "Education is conducted in a democratic and fair and non-discriminatory way by upholding human rights, religious values, cultural values, and national pluralism". From article 4 it can be concluded that multicultural education becomes one of the attention in the national education system in Indonesia. Through a multicultural education, learners are able to appreciate the diversity of cultural diversity that exists in Indonesia, increasing the spirit of tolerance to the differences given that the culture of Indonesian society is very diverse.
 
 Multicultural education is given to learners in the hope that they have the knowledge and understanding that in the country Indonesia is synonymous with plurality and prone to conflict. Multicultural education is expected to reduce the potential for conflict caused by various pluralism. Through the integration of curriculum and approaches in the learning process. In this case the school has a significant role in supporting the formation of a multicultural education society culture while the teacher also has a role in integrating and linking materials that lead to understanding and awareness of multiculturalism in Indonesia. Through multicultural education, learners are expected to have good competence, to behave and apply democratic values, humanism and pluralism in school and out of school. Thus, multicultural education system will be very possible to held with the cooperation of various parties that support the education process in Indonesia.

This chapter focuses on cultural diversity, its conflicts, and its possibilities. Cultural diversity is the bringing together of individuals with different cultures. Immigrants bring cultural diversity to our country, communities, and classrooms. Conflicts are created in our country, communities and classrooms with the presence of cultural diversity. On the other hand, cultural diversity can boost the creative and innovative energy of a country, rejuvenate a lackluster community, and enable world-class education in the classroom. Young people are the future of our country and communities and minimizing the conflicts and promoting the possibilities that come with cultural diversity will not happen by itself. These young people must be educated for their future in a global community dominated by cultural diversity. Multicultural education provides what students need to be successful in the future. Preparing students for this future requires an education that is culturally sensitive and what might this culturally sensitive education look like and how might it be delivered? The knowledge and skills students need to successfully interact with diverse populations are the “what” and the practical experiences students receive by interaction and collaboration are the “how” multicultural education might be delivered. The what and the how of multicultural education are discussed in more detail in this chapter, but it is worthwhile to mention that the delivery mechanism for this multicultural education is the conceptual pedagogy in visual arts through project-based activities. Cultural diversity can be present in schools, but multicultural education is not promoted because of the lack of support from the community and the archaic systems and structures of the education enterprise can be a barrier to promoting multicultural education as well. The rationale for developing the pedagogical approach is not only to promote multicultural education directly but to encourage the community, as a stakeholder, to buy into the idea of multicultural education and to reimage the education enterprise systems making them responsive to the advancement of various tenets of multicultural education. If this pedagogical approach and strategy are successful, students will receive a multicultural education that enable them to be successful in the global community.

In 1991, twenty-seven faculty members on the University of Michigan campus came together to talk about our collective struggles with multicultural teaching in our respective disciplines. We found that we had many strengths and challenges in common and we used the opportunity to share strategies, questions, references, and exercises we had found useful in our work with undergraduate and graduate students. Concurrently, a campus-wide group calling itself the Faculty Against Institutional Racism (FAIR) formed in response to widespread incidents of gender, racial, and ethnic discrimination on the campus. This group developed a cadre of distinguished teachers (FAIRteach) who were willing to share their expertise with campus faculty interested in improving their teaching. The original group of 27 faculty members cooperated in the compilation of a volume entitled Multicultural Teaching in the University (Schoem, Frankel, Zuniga, & Lewis, 1993), which incorporated the lessons all had learned from these and other opportunities for multicultural teaching within a large research-oriented University. The interweaving of these 27 voices allowed the faculty participants to return to sometimes hostile environments and struggle with ways of incorporating issues of class, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and ability into our scholarship and teaching. Since that time, many of us have continued to develop opportunities to meet with our colleagues to discuss these issues, and have often shared our expertise with other faculty and school administrators on campuses across the country through workshops, seminars, training events, and multicultural organizational development action projects (Douvan, Lewis, Aparicio, & Schoem, 1993; Frankel, 1993). In 1993, I was privileged to serve as a discussant for the Feminism and Family Studies Section's symposium on Impassioned Teaching held at the National Council on Family Relation's annual meeting during which the papers by Thompson, Allen, and Marks were first presented. It was clear to me then, as now, that their papers, incorporating different perspectives on pedagogical approaches, were a part of this same interweaving process. One goal of the process is to help students and faculty understand multicultural teaching as a part of the academic excellence, academic freedom, and critical inquiry enterprises of the 1990s global perspective on higher education (hooks, 1994; Mattai, 1992; Schoem et al., 1993). Academic freedom, academic excellence, and critical inquiry, as can be gleaned from these articles, have multiple definitions, not a single, narrow one, as is claimed by detractors of multicultural teaching (National Association of Scholars, 1988; Steele, 1989). Although these three articles are focused on areas of family studies, the authors also address larger themes that have importance across academic and practice disciplines. The purpose of this commentary is to illuminate some of these themes, their theoretical bases, and their importance in multicultural teaching about families. Through the presentation of these themes, some of the criticism of multicultural teaching and, indeed, a multicultural perspective itself, will be addressed in an attempt to further the dialogue among all who participate in instruction about families. COMMON THEMES People Teaching for Change Multicultural teaching has as one of its basic tenets a praxis perspective, that is, a focus on simultaneous critical self-reflection and action (Freire, 1972; Lather, 1986; Lewis, 1993). The praxis philosophy has been written about most eloquently by Paulo Freire (1972, 1994), whose work has influenced many others who have subsequently written about multicultural teaching (Butler & Schmitz, 1992; hooks, 1994; Schoem et al., 1993). Gramsci, the Italian philosopher of the 20th century, suggested that educators form groups to address the ways in which their teaching informed and was informed by their world views (Lather, 1986). …

Education in the current era of globalization faces the challenge of technological disruption, necessitating serious efforts to filter communication bias, especially in the field of education. Another challenge is the abundance of negative content on social media, which poses a challenge for multicultural education among students. The low level of literacy and psychomotor competence, particularly among educators, is a hindrance to integrating multicultural education values. Additionally, the limited number of religious education teachers in schools further exacerbates this challenge, making the inculcation of multicultural education a serious issue. The technical ability of teachers, especially those who struggle to operate technology, is a practical problem that needs immediate resolution. The methodology used in this article is qualitative descriptive, drawing from various literature sources to support the study. Based on the discussion, it is concluded that persuasive communication in multicultural education can change the attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs of individuals or groups regarding certain issues, particularly in multicultural education. Persuasive communication in multicultural education has unique characteristics and provides positive effects on the audience because it has the ability to change their attitudes, opinions, and behaviors without coercion, allowing them to subconsciously follow the communicator's intentions. This communication technique, therefore, plays an essential role in multicultural education.

As Japanese society diversifies with an influx of foreigners, multicultural education has a critical role to play in achieving educational equity and affirming cultural diversity of students from various cultural, ethnic, and linguistic backgrounds. Since the 1980s, Japanese scholars and educators have introduced, interpreted, and reappropriated multicultural education from the West, and have developed the field in conjunction with different education genres (e.g., human rights education, Dowa education, Zainichi Korean education, and education for international understanding). Scholars often use the term multicultural coexistence education (tabunka kyosei kyoiku) to discuss the role of education to realize a society of multicultural coexistence. Contemporary debates and controversies regarding multicultural education focus on the “3F” (namely, food, festival, and fashion) approach, the absence of social justice perspectives, its narrow scope, and the invisibility of majority Japanese. Although the concept of multicultural education was imported from the West relatively recently, when the number of newcomer students increased in public schools during the early 1990s, Japan has its own versions of multicultural education, such as Dowa education and Zainichi Korean education. These forms of multicultural education policies and practices, which were primarily developed in the Kansai area, take a somewhat progressive approach toward achieving educational equity and reducing discrimination against minorities. Today, multicultural education is often associated with education for newcomer students. Although the national government has provided remedial education (e.g., Japanese language and adaptation classes) under the notion of equal treatment, numerous nonformal education sites have played critical roles in achieving equity and empowering newcomer students. Multicultural education policies and practices remain peripheral in Japan at the national government level; nevertheless, grass-roots movements have emerged where local governments, nonprofit organizations (NPOs), nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), concerned teachers, researchers, minority youth and parents, and community organizers are attempting to transform assimilative education policies and practices into more equitable and inclusive ones. With the rise of multicultural coexistence (tabunka kyosei) discourse, Japanese society is taking incremental steps toward achieving the goals of multicultural education.

The perceptions and attitudes of educators towards multicultural education are strongly correlated to the manner in which multicultural education is applied. Previous research indicates that culture undeniably has an effect on education, nonetheless, education administrators may not have enough knowledge about multicultural education practices. The aim of the study was to identify the perceptions and interpretations of multicultural teaching from seventeen respondents employed as educators. These educators were all Maltese, teaching Maltese as a second language to adult learners who originated from diverse cultural backgrounds and were living in Malta. The researcher used a qualitative case study design of online interviews to identify the practices that educators perceive to be the best in promoting effective multicultural education. Based on content analysis, the key concepts and activities defined as effective in maintaining multicultural education performance include equality, democracy and justice. Multi-ethnic teaching offers the opportunity to equitably consider and accept divergent viewpoints, which in turn allows proper cohesion not only among students but also educators. Indeed, multi-ethnic education is essential; individuals with varying backgrounds and experiences deserve equality, and community groups need proper representation. This research thus concludes that the majority of teachers agree that practices such as ensuring equality, democracy and justice for all learners regardless of their ethnic, gender, or religious context are of high significance in encouraging inclusion, multicultural education, and student success.