Introduction and Overview

The aim of this book is to present some recent research findings on different aspects of multicultural education, thus informing educators of issues, policies and new approaches to multicultural education being used around the world.

The chapters that you are about to read document several important themes in multicultural education. The first chapter by the editors presents an introduction and overview of the field of multicultural education by presenting its goals, historical background, assumptions and conceptual framework so as to set the stage for the chapters to follow.

Attempting to cover the many views on different aspects of multicultural education goes beyond the scope of this introductory chapter. However, we have presented the historical origin and some of the recent issues and suggestions by prominent scholars including James Bank, Christine Sleeter, Sonia Nieto, Robert Cooper, and Robert Slavin with regards to policies, curriculum contents and teaching approaches in multicultural education.