Teachers in a Multicultural Environment

2.2 Discrimination vs Inclusiveness

When debating education, it is crucial to emphasize the importance of acknowledging cultural diversity and the need to challenge the prejudices linked to determinants of gender, race, religion, disability and cultural diversity, among others, which, ultimately lead to discrimination. It is, therefore, very pertinent to develop the notion of interculturality within multicultural education systems, since it is important to seek for alternatives that question ethnocentric curricula and homogenizing practices within the classroom. Accordingly, it is important to prepare educators/learners to act in increasingly multicultural societies. Individual and social diversity should be celebrated and valued through an intercultural dialogue – we should educate in and for interculturality. As underlined by the UNESCO Guidelines on Intercultural Education, “in a world experiencing rapid change, and where cultural, political, economic and social upheaval challenges traditional ways of life, education has a major role to play in promoting social cohesion and peaceful coexistence”. Thus, it is essential to develop curricula/programmes, projects, activities within the schools, and, more particularly within the classroom to encourage an intercultural dialogue. Education, and in particular, intercultural education, has a significant impact on inclusiveness as a path to fight discrimination. However, the right to education does not suggest, automatically, inclusion. The movement “Education for All: Meeting our Collective Commitments” (World Education Forum, 2000) is particularly important to the concept of inclusive education since the term ‘inclusive’ was used at Dakar, highlighting the need to “formulate inclusive education policies and to design diversified curricula and education delivery systems in order to serve the population excluded for reasons of gender, language, culture or individual differences”.

Finally, the idea of inclusiveness aims at allowing students to belong to an educational environment which values each individuality, i.e., inclusiveness does not presupposes to erase the differences. The difference exists, and this diversity is an added value, a recognized opportunity to development and growth. It is, therefore, responsibility of each school to develop solutions to deal with diversity and foster respect for difference.

Online Resources

• UNESCO Guidelines on Intercultural EducationA contribution to a better understanding about intercultural education and a practical resource for teachers and learners, curriculum developers, policy makers and community members alike, and all those who wish to promote Intercultural Education.
• Intercultural competence for all: Preparation for living in a heterogeneous world. (2012)The book proposes itself as a reader on the current state of work with regard to the development of intercultural competence for all citizens in Europe.
• Teaching Respect for All: Implementation Guide. 2014A joint UNESCO-United States of America-Brazil project launched in January 2012 to counteract discrimination both in and through education. Focus on the formal and informal classroom, targeting learners of 8-16 years old.
• Inclusive education where there are few resources. 2008A book, by Sue Stubbs, about the concept of Inclusive education: an overview; opportunities and challenges: case studies and examples.
• A Teacher’s Guide on the Prevention of Violent Extremism. 2016A guide for teachers on the Prevention of Violent Extremism through education.
• Guidelines for Educators on Countering Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims: addressing Islamophobia through Education. 2011A resource developed to support educators in countering intolerance and discrimination against Muslims. They are intended for a wide audience, including education policymakers and officials, teacher trainers, teachers, principals and head teachers, staff in teacher unions and professional associations, and members of NGOs. The Guidelines are relevant for both primary and secondary education and can also be used in non-formal education settings.
• Investing in Cultural Diversity and Intercultural Dialogue. 2009 UNESCO World Report extends the reflection on culture to cultural change itself, highlighting the dynamic nature of cultural diversity and its capacity to renew our approaches to sustainable development, the effective exercise of human rights, social cohesion and democratic governance.