UNIT 1

INTRODUCTION TO
THEORY

LEARNING OUTCOME 1
Definition of concepts
related to multicultural
education

MULTICULTUR
AL
EDUCATION
Multicultural education is a multidisciplinary educational program
that provides multiple learning environments matching the
academic, social, and linguistic needs of students.
Through this process, the program should help students learn and
appreciate cultural diversity and overcome ethnocentric and
prejudicial attitudes.
(BH Suzuki 1984:305)

CULTURE
Culture is a learned, socially transmitted heritage of
artefacts, knowledge, beliefs and normative
expectations that provides the members of a
particular society with the tools to cope with
recurrent problems.

MACROCULTURE,
MICROCULTURE, SUBCULTURE
In the USA some people share to some degree in the macroculture. Macroculture can
be seen as the mainstream or dominant because some people live in that country
and because the country is dominated by this culture, they absorbed its value and its
ways to a greater or lesser degree.
At the same time people are members of microcultures. Microcultures can be defined
as sets of people who are largely connected to the macroculture but who also have
common traits that are not shared by the macroculture.
Example: Parents or granparents who have come from Mexico will share many things
in common. They will all speak Spanish to some degree and some different customs
than most Americans do. At the same time, they will have lived all their lives in the US
and will share most of the values and beliefs of the macroculture. The difference
between microcultures and macrocultures, then, is that members of a microculture
share in the macroculture but also have some characteristic traits of their own that are
not the same of those of the macroculture.
Subculture: a group that has beliefs and behaviours that are different from the main
groups within a culture of society.

RACE AND
RACISM
Race can be defined as characteristics that play a significant
part in identifying race groups. Emphasis is on genetic and
physical characteristics and not on cultural characteristics.
Racism amounts to viewing ones own race as superior to other
races.

DISCRIMINATION
Unfair treatment of individuals and groups. Discrimination may
take many forms such as discrimination on the grounds of
language, religion, ethnic grouping and class

MINORITY
GROUPS
The term minority groups refers to those groups in a society
who are in the numerical minority. In other words groups that
are fewer in number e.g. Jewish descent will form minority
group.

and
Ethnocentris
m
Members of an ethnic group share the feeling of a
national bond , a common language, culture,
tradition, history and political and economic bonds.
An ethnic group is a distinct social group within the
larger society.
Ethnocentrism is the inability to value another
cultures view of reality as valuable.
Ethnocentrism contains all the ingredients for
confrontation and conflict.

Multicultural
society/com
munity
Multicultural society is when several cultures
exist within one society (multiculturism), this is
situation that may evolve in many different
ways.