What Are The Challenges Of Implementing Multicultural Education In Schools?
Multicultural issues, which include separation, tribal wars, diverse tribes, the difference in color, different backgrounds, as well as others, have become very common in modern-day society (Yılmaz, 2016). Consequently, many organizations in modern have made it their priority to create a positive environment towards diverse cultures. Creation of global communities has been enhanced through multicultural education system. The school’s policy and curriculum have been adjusted to emphasize the union of regional, cultural, and linguistic values of diverse cultures (Perdana, Djono, & Ediyono, 2018). The process of implementing Multicultural Education has, however, not been without challenges.
The information available on Multicultural Education is insufficient. This has largely been contributed to the wide scope of religions, cultures, and languages, which have to be researched on, and details compiled. The information available in specific areas has been utilizing while the other areas have been ignored. As a result, specific languages, religions, and cultures have been given more emphasis than others have. Additionally, the malevolent intention in the multicultural education sector has led to the increased distance among different groups (Alanay & Aydin, 2016). The study by Bennet (1986) noted that there were chances that students would experience condescension due to overemphasis on cultural differences in their studies. He also noted that cultural studies would also receive negative perception in case they were over-highlighted.
Karatas & Oral (2015) stated that multicultural Education was not a mere education form for diverse genders, colors, races, or particular groups. The education system targeted to create a multicultural movement. The students in this movement were from different cultures. Their background was ignored while they were trained to be active citizens of their nations. However, some religious and cultural groups were allowed to practice certain rights. Glazier (1998) noted that letting specific ethnic, cultural, racial, and religious groups exercise their rights created a perception that multicultural Education was meant for them to the other groups. Banks &Banks (2019) said that the above exceptions made the education system not to attain acceptable universal principles. This generated the fear that it would be used as a tool to divide different nations, cultures, and religions.
The teaching fraternity is also experiencing numerous challenges in implementing Multicultural Education. The majority of them are sent to practice their expertise in areas whose culture is very different from their own cultures. Despite having been trained on diversity and multicultural content, they, at times, find their training and experience inadequate. Moreover, discrepancies in facilities, teacher qualifications, and resources cause learning techniques to be customized as per institutions (Fedynich & Garza, 2016).
The above issues facing Multicultural Education are but a few. There exist numerous challenges in this field. The problems are, however, surmountable in case combined efforts from all the stakeholders are amassed. The teachers should, however, take a leading role by studying the cultures, backgrounds, as well as the experiences of their students. They will then utilize this to improve their approach in the multicultural education curriculum. Finally, flexibility should be a key element in handling emerging issues during multicultural studies.