Multiculturalism, Internationalization, and Peace Education in Higher Education

Introduction

Multiculturalism is a system of beliefs and behaviors that recognizes and respects the presence of all diverse groups in an organization or society, acknowledges and values their socio-cultural differences, and encourages and enables their continued contribution within an inclusive cultural context which empowers all within the organization or society (Rosado, 1997). Multiculturalism, is the view that cultures, races and ethnicities, particularly those of minority groups, deserve special acknowledgement of their differences within a dominant political culture (Eagan, 2018). As Parekh (1999) mentioned multiculturalism is best viewed as a way of viewing human life, and includes three central insights:

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  People are culturally embedded. They grow up and live in a culturally structured world and organize their lives and social relations in terms of a culturally derived system of meaning and significance,

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  Different cultures represent different systems of meaning and visions of the good life,

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  Every culture is internally plural and reflects a continuing conversation between its different traditions and strands of thought.

Background

Multicultural education seeks to develop the attitudes, perspectives, and knowledge required for people of different cultural backgrounds and traditions to interact with one another on positive and constructive terms (Reardon, 1999). The objectives of multicultural education are perceptional and behavioral. As perceptional or mental objectives, developing detailed knowledge of other cultures as a means to comprehend that there are various ways to be human person and experience the world is quite valuable. Behavioral objectives focus on developing tolerance of ways of life different from one's own, respect for the integrity of other cultures, and appreciation of the positive potential for cultural diversity (Reardon, 1999). The principles of multicultural education include:

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  The theory of cultural pluralism;

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  Ideals of social justice and the end of racism, sexism, and other forms of prejudice and discrimination;

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  Affirmations of culture in the teaching and learning process;

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  Visions of educational equity and excellence leading to high levels of academic learning for all children and youth (Quezada and Romo, 2004, p. 4).

One of the areas where these principles can easily be applied is higher education. During the higher education process, the time spent in both academic and non-academic settings, experiences and relationships are important in terms of achieving the goals of multicultural education. Through developing knowledge about another culture, race, religion or sex students begin to understand there are many ways to be a a good person, and come to realize that their way of living is not “correct” or “better” than other ways, but is simply part of the diverse spectrum of humanity. As they learn about other cultures, they become tolerant of other ways of life, develop respect for other ways of life, and appreciate the positive aspects of diversity. All of these are a big step for peace.