While it is true that today no one doubts that the 21st-century school must include among its main objectives educating for life in plural, diverse, and multicultural societies, it is also true that there is no clear agreement on the consideration such cultural diversity deserves.
Many, openly or covertly, hold the idea that cultural diversity is harmful, a source of conflict, a threat to social cohesion, an obstacle to progress… Thus, it is not only that there is no consensus regarding interculturality (as a social and political project) but also no agreement regarding the desirability of multiculturalism (as a characteristic of our societies).
Our societies are multicultural; however, there has never been such a quantity of products that, crossing all borders of the planet, establish similar ways of having fun, dressing, shopping, and relating. Globalization, in addition to its manifest economic dimension, highlights how our societies receive influences from other cultures and how, often, interactions lead to processes of standardization.
In this sense, the debate on multiculturalism arises: on the one hand, the recognition of cultural diversity as a characteristic of our society, and on the other, the phenomena of economic and social globalization which, among other consequences, accelerate processes of cultural homogenization across the planet.
The educational system often limits itself to legitimizing a specific culture, the dominant one, which implies leaving other cultures in an inferior position. This ethnocentric tendency usually occurs in all cultures and implies a unilateral view of the world, which does not embrace the diversity of cultural facts. There is talk of tolerance, cooperation, and acceptance, but in reality, little is done to modify the usual practices in ordinary classrooms to cater to the entire student population.
In Spain, for example, situations of contact and union of different cultures have grown. For this reason, the main causes of concern for the principles of Intercultural Education in educational centers arise. When children are schooled, they already enter school with certain socialization experiences and a specific cultural identity, and by the age of five, they can show attitudes of rejection towards members of other groups (Aguado, 1995 and Jordán, 1997). This leads teachers to consider new attitudes and methodological strategies for their students to prevent possible situations of discrimination or educational disadvantages.
In many cases, inadequate teacher training limits the attention to diversity required in their classroom. Having a professional specialized in Psychopedagogical Intervention in educational contexts within the teaching staff can help initiate the change towards true intercultural education.
Educational centers must emphasize involving all community members in activities aimed at raising students’ awareness of multiculturalism. Likewise, it is essential for parents of students to participate in these activities to make them reflect on the need to establish adequate parent-school coordination to promote education in values.
With masters for educators such as ISEP’s Master in Psychopedagogical Intervention in Educational Contexts, teachers will learn different classroom activities focused on:
1) Organizing socialization experiences based on values of equality, reciprocity, cooperation, integration.
2) Using cultural diversity as a tool for social learning and not for differentiation between cultures.
3) Equipping students with skills for analyzing, valuing, and critiquing culture.
Below are some useful activities for Early Childhood Education, focused on promoting positive values about interculturality:
– Stories: through them, values (respect, equality, companionship, tolerance, etc.) are fostered from different perspectives.
– Carnival: working on personal differences among group members, in terms of tastes, clothing, preferences, etc.
– Musical songs: through songs from different cultures, for example “Ea mi niño” (Spain), “Thulu-thu” (South Africa), “Ani Kuni” (Hindu), etc.
– Christmas Celebrations: consists of celebrating Christmas through the different cultural festivities of the children in the class. For example, in the case of students of Moroccan origin, they celebrate the “Feast of the Lamb” and we can see their customs, clothing, typical dishes, etc.
– Peace Day: can be celebrated through various activities such as writing “peace” in different languages or painting the traditional white dove with children’s hands full of white paint.
– Gastronomy and clothing: each child brings a typical dish from their culture or attends dressed in their traditional costume. Then, individually, they explain what their parents have told them, the traditions practiced at home, etc.
– I look in the mirror, what do I see? This activity can be done in same-sex or opposite-sex pairs. It consists of children looking in the mirror and learning to see the physical differences between them, but at the same time observing and understanding the similarities between them (everyone has two eyes, a nose, a mouth, two arms, two legs, etc.) to reduce attitudes of discrimination, superiority, or rejection.
– Traditional games and dances: traditional games from the students’ countries of origin are played, as well as typical dances from each country.