Multicultural Education Curriculum Development in Turkey

Abstract

In recent years, Turkey has seen an increase in immigration and, consequently, also in the enrolment of international
students. These students from many countries, with a variety of cultural, linguistic, ethnic, religious, and educational backgrounds are in
need of education that “teaches the value of cultural diversity.” Schools must also deal with issues related to differing socioeconomic
backgrounds, and, sometimes, limited awareness of diversity and a lack of cultural competence. Thus, it has become essential for
Turkish schools to adopt a multicultural curriculum, restructured in accordance with knowledge of the right of all to education, in keeping
with principles of global justice. The purpose of this paper is to provide multicultural educators with such an insight from research on
development curriculum of multicultural education. In addition, this paper offers ideas culled from successful multicultural programs in the
U.S. and elsewhere and discusses how these ideas can be made useful in the Turkish system.