Multicultural education in classrooms has failed, says a new study, but not because the current system creates tension among minorities and imposes artificial divisions in communities, but because it doesn't 'validate' all world views enough.
Yes, multiculturalism, regarded as a disaster for driving wedges among society, needs to be even more divisive, says Concordia University researcher Adeela Arshad-Ayaz, who blames teachers for not knowing how to properly address issues of diversity and equity along with that math and science and literature stuff they already do. Arshad-Ayaz's recent presentation at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, in Montreal, calls for an alternative approach.
"The way we currently teach multiculturalism fails to bring divergent groups together," says Dr. Arshad-Ayaz. "Our present approach is alienating minority groups and failing to engage teachers from dominant groups by not validating the world view of both groups and bringing meaningful dialogues into the classroom".
Arshad-Ayaz suggests that recognition of other cultures is not enough and results in oppositional resistance from students - which we all know. But the solution is not to get rid of it rather than increase tension in students, says Arshad-Ayaz, but rather to increase examination of local and global 'processes' that create inequality - discussion of global politics, environmental issues and global agreements and treaties that supposedly are linked to creation of social class and power.
"We need to remember the end goal, which is to create a more equitable society and more equitable world," says Arshad-Ayaz. "Only by addressing issues of justice and equity do students from both dominant and non-dominant groups become engaged. This discourse will lead to social empathy which is a good beginning to understanding the issue of difference and diversity."
These are two different things, of course. Equality and diversity and exact opposites - equal people are not different at all. Arshad-Ayaz instead wants to homogenize students and instill guilt in majorities and entitlement in minorities, and that is never good for culture.