The concept of multiculturalism in the system of early childhood education summary

Abstract

The cultural diversity of modern societies is reflected in the diversity of children identities, so the multiculturalism of curriculum becomes an important feature of educational institutions. It is questionable how the stakeholders in the institutional ECE settings understand the concept of multiculturalism, and multicultural education. This paper provides an overview of the scientifically based concept of multicultural education in ECE settings, which implies egalitarian coexistence of different cultures, based on culturally appropriate pedagogy and curricula that promote inclusive values. Consequently, the settings of culturally appropriate pedagogy in ECE settings have been singled out and clarified. Cultural diversity is interpreted as a multidimensional concept that includes subjective and objective aspects of children's cultural background, and that stems from the cultural identity of individuals participating in ECE settings. The purpose of multicultural ECE settings is to create preconditions for the development of intercultural competencies of children. The implementation of a multicultural curriculum in ECE settings implies a high internalization of inclusive beliefs and multicultural competencies of teachers and other participants. However, these aspects and values within ECE in the Croatian context have been insufficiently researched. The Croatian Science Foundation project»Models of Response to Educational Needs of Children at Risk of Social Exclusion in ECEC Institutions«, seeks to fill this gap by focusing on the etiological, phenomenological, and interventional aspects of social exclusion risk, to analyse and improve capacity and resources of ECE institutions, and the affirmation of culturally relevant pedagogy. A detailed explanation of culturally relevant pedagogy goes beyond the scope of this paper. Questions about the adequacy and readiness of ECE settings to respond to the demands of modern multicultural societies arise. Therefore, we call for reflection on a clearer positioning of ECE settings in advocating the fundamental values of Croatian society.