Enhancing multicultural education with MOOCs: impacts on pre-service teachers’ knowledge and attitudinal outcomes

Abstract

Multicultural education (ME) is crucial for societies grappling with ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity. MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) have been proposed as an alternative to bridge such divides by providing accessible, inclusive, and flexible learning opportunities that bring together participants from diverse backgrounds. The MOOC incorporated interactive discussions, and collaborative tasks, all tailored to address multicultural education challenges. This article explores the effect of MOOCs in promoting ME among pre-service teachers (N = 90) from a multicultural society. Pre-service teachers were chosen as they are future educators positioned to influence the next generation, making their intercultural understanding essential for fostering inclusive classrooms. The study employed a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative analysis of the pre-post-course survey with a qualitative examination of open-ended questions. Results indicate significant improvements in participants’ knowledge of ME concepts, particularly regarding multiculturalism, empathy, societal dynamics, and tolerance.