This study examines how multicultural educational policies operate in practice within two rapidly globalizing contexts Tijuana (Mexico) and Seoul (South Korea) and whether a shift toward an intercultural approach is warranted. Grounded in critiques of symbolic multiculturalism and supported by Critical Discourse Analysis as an interpretive lens (Fairclough, 1995), the research combines quantitative and qualitative survey data to evaluate perceptions of inclusion and the institutional conditions shaping migrant students’ educational experiences. Participants included foreign students in Seoul, Korean-born students with foreign parents, and teachers and university students in Mexico. Across groups, perceived cultural diversity and interpersonal belonging tended to score higher than institutional indicators such as policy adaptation, linguistic/academic support, and policy effectiveness. Open-ended responses further revealed a recurring tension: inclusion is frequently narrated as a social possibility, yet constrained by administrative opacity, language barriers, uneven resource allocation, and subtle forms of exclusion. These findings support the alternative hypothesis that multicultural frameworks, as currently implemented, remain insufficient for addressing structural inequities in increasingly diverse educational settings. The study argues that interculturality is not an aesthetic upgrade to multiculturalism, but a necessary reorientation toward reciprocal recognition, institutional accountability, and sustained pedagogical transformation.
Jared Omar Hernandez Mendoza (Thu,) studied this question.