Idee edukacji w warunkach wielokulturowości
Ideas of education in the conditions of multiculturalism

Summary/Abstract: Multiculturalism is a long-time phenomenon which is treated as social wealth but also as a cause of various conflicts. Education has always played a significant role in the formation of attitude to people coming from different cultures. First of all, two processes shape the present reality: mass migrations of population and globalization. That leads to a situation in which a debate about ideas of education in multicultural societies seems justified. It is necessary to present otherness and distinctness, discuss, negotiate, break mutual reluctance and fears in the face of all these ‘strangers’ who surround us. After 1989 the phenomenon of multiculturalism has also started to concern Poland on a considerably larger scale than before, as more and more people of different nationalities work or temporarily stay in our country. Very often their families come with them, including children, and stay for a short or a long time. As a result, a new social problem has appeared – education of foreigners’ children. So today like never before we need educational activities directed into openness and understanding of what is different. Openness to different cultures is not only possible, but it is outright necessary. It is not adequate to restrain only to one’s own, even the largest, culture. That is why the author of the article pays attention to the role of school in the process of recognition of various cultures. School is a place where, on a suitable scale, we can initiate changes in awareness relating to attitudes towards what is culturally different. Undoubtedly, this can be achieved by implementing assumptions of multicultural and cross-cultural education in all educational activities.

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