Multiculturalism and Multicultural Education in an International Perspective

In many countries with a population of mixed ethnicity and culture, some form of multicultural education is given. Comparisons between the various approaches to multicultural education in these countries are hampered by a lack of conceptual clarity and by differences in social context and views on cultural diversity. In this article the concept of multiculturalism is explored and several approaches to multicultural education are discussed, drawing examples from North America, Europe, and Australia. This conceptual framework is used to describe and analyze the current state of affairs in these fields in the Netherlands.