UNESCO guidelines on intercultural education: a deconstructive reading

This paper undertakes a deconstructive reading of the principles on intercultural education, as introduced and discussed by UNESCO in a document published in 2006. It proceeds from the argument that while these principles have attracted considerable empirical attention, much less is known about the basic ideological assumptions that UNESCO makes in the process of articulating each one of them in turn. With reference points drawn from Derrida’s 1976 deconstruction strategy, the deconstructive reading reveals how the organisation, in spite of its major claims, actually erases difference through recommendations that seek to promote social cohesion and peace. That is, even though the UNESCO document supports throughout the right to be different, self and other still run the risk of becoming one and the same should they endorse the guiding principles proposed. The paper concludes with the broader implications that can be drawn from this reading to help continue discussions about intercultural education at the local and international standard-setting levels.