Anthropology and Education: Issues and Origins of Multicultural Education Model

This paper presents a historical investigation into the context and circumstances contributing to the emergence of multicultural education model in the USA. The author reconstructs the historical context and theo¬retical background of this educational practice providing a detailed consideration of the problem of ethnic (cul¬tural) identity which, in the author's opinion, is the key issue of the multicultural approach to education. The fundamental meaning of the ethnic identity analysis is closely related to the multicultural society model or ethnic pluralism as opposed to the uniform, universal model also known as 'the melting pot' that was rejected in the USA at the end of 1970s. In the final part of the paper the author concludes that there is a considerable gap between certain European cultural innovations and the genuine principles of multicultural education developed in 1980—1990s.

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