Redefining Multicultural Education: Inclusion and the Right to Be Different

Redefining Multicultural Education: Inclusion and Right to be Different. (2014). By Ratna Ghosh & Mariusz Galczynski (3rd edition). Toronto, Canadian Scholars' Press. 232 pages. ISBN: 9781551306285Multiculturalism is term which means different things to different people depending on where they stand on political spectrum and their position on race, class, gender, and ethnicity. Multicultural is vague, and differently-understood multiculturalism itself. It is a labyrinth of assertions and assumptions (p. 26) which makes little sense to teachers and students (Carlson, 1976). Adam-Moodley (1986) concludes that multicultural in Canada is essentially superimposition on Anglo-Saxon curriculum. She acknowledges difference in educational policies and practices at provincial and board levels due to lack of national policy on multicultural education. Furthermore, she suggests that while some see current praxis of multicultural boost for self-concept of minority students, others view it as superficial palliative, which does little to combat problems of language education, inequality of access and covert racism that differentiates between physically assimilable minorities and visible ones (p. 12). Ratna Ghosh and Mariusz Galczynski do not have flattering picture of multicultural either and hence, have attempted to redefine culture, and more importantly in my view, education, in their book.For Ghosh and Galczynski, is much more than schooling and primary goal of is not training students for work and giving them required skills for jobs. They argue that education is not matter of accumulating knowledge and skills; it involves acquiring conceptual schemes-forming links and understanding ideas. [...] To be educated is to have voice, which implies knowledge power. To be educated is to have ability to influence one's personal and social environment. (p. 61). This view of guides all their discussions in book. In fact, authors argue, if preparing students for democratic citizenship and international communication is not among of education, there is no rationale for multicultural (p. 125). Multicultural only makes sense if we extend our vision beyond purely utilitarian interpretations educational goals (p. 134). In this redefined version, the basic aim of is empowerment (p. 84) and that neglects ethical questions of democracy is irresponsible and can be described miseducation. (p. 85)Now we can ask: how about culture? What is it? Defining culture without engaging in theoretical debates is not an easy task; however, Ghosh and Galczynski, are quite certain that viewing culture exotic elements of ethnic cultures (p. 33) is problematic. The authors start with working definition of culture a way of seeing world in terms of cognition, emotion, and behaviour (p. 6) and then give detailed explanation of different components of culture. Since there are different ways of seeing world, they elaborate on elaborate on construction of differences in terms of identity, privilege, and empowerment. This deconstruction brings them to basis of difference i.e., race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, mental and physical dis/ability, and social class. These components, therefore, are at heart of multicultural which, such is political and all about power. While at one point authors mention interlocking effect of these components, absent from discussion an elaboration of issue of intersectionality (when these components intersect).Redefining Multicultural Education begins with an introductory chapter which lays out its basic concepts. Moreover, this chapter discusses all students' right to be different and argues that rather than focusing on minority students, multicultural should be about all students. …

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