The Challenge of Education in a Multicultural Setting

This paper focuses on the culturally responsive teaching and the importance of addressing cultural diversity in the classroom, with special focus on education in multicultural environments. Culturally responsive teaching requires certain adjustments and changes in the curriculum so as to build upon the cultures of diverse groups, no matter the subject taught. The school climate is an indicator of whether diversity and equality are respected and promoted in schools. We will therefore, stress the importance of teacher’s understanding of their students’ cultural background and hence, be culturally responsive in their approach. This paper will draw examples from the education circumstances in Macedonia and from my local experience as a lecturer at the South East Eurpean University (SEEEU) in Tetovo, Macedonia. It will also look at the legal frame referring to the education in Macedonia and see how it organizes the objectives and outcomes in respect to some general values, such as cultural diversity, creativity, democratisation of culture. Key terms: multiculturalism, cultural diversity, culturally responsive teaching, cultural background, diversity Introduction Historically, the word “culture” came from the Latin word cultura, primarily referring to the cultivation of land and animals. However, from the 16th century on, the word started denoting the process of cultivation of the spirit. Later on, throughout the 18th and 19th century, this noun started having an ethnocentric connotation, and referred to a high cultivation of the spirit achievable only by the privileged European. It also became a synonym for civilization, thus describing a progressive process of the human development and evolution towards sophistication and order. What is of crucial importance for our paper here, is the reference about culture provided by Kuper (2000). He points out that culture is always defined in opposition to something else (2000: 14). It is actually, the authentic way of being different. In order to open the terrain for further analysis of our proposed topic, regarding the challenges of multicultural education, it is of utmost importance to draw the attention to the fact that culture is learned, and not biological, that is, it is socially constructed, 1. Maja MUHIC, Assistant Professor South East European University, Macedonia, m.muhic@seeu.edu.mk