Inequality In Multicultural Education

Multicultural education, born between 1960s to 1970s, is an international movement in the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia, and mostly in the countries with higher number of immigrants. Multicultural education is the idea to help all the students regardless of their diversity or difference to have equal chances of schooling, develop their social skills, and enhance their knowledge needed to act within all different cultures which they live in.

Apple (1978) declared that, “social class has a cultural as well as economic basis and is intimately connected to the individual 's construction of a social identity. Cultural difference demarcates lines of political difference, and often of domination”.

Socioeconimics is the social science

In other words, there is a bi-linear relationship between educational inequality and social-economical inequality that each can be doubled by the intensity of the other.

In context of multicultural classrooms, also, inequality can be more observable. The first step to tackle with inequality in multicultural classrooms can be the study of social classes from different angles by educators and governments.

Except economical factors, some other issues can be the sources of social stratification in the society; Variables such as “occupation, life-style, and values” (Waner, et al.,1960) or “race, gender, ethnicity, religion, and exceptionally (Banks & Banks, 1997).

Nevertheless, whatever these variables are and how differently scholars classify them indicates the existence and undeniable stratification in the society. In other words, “the fact of stratification is evident to all members of society” (Knapp & Woolverton, 1995) even socially, economically, or

He argued that, “Inputs, including many of the equity issues that have dropped largely out of sight, have never stopped affecting the achievement of our most impoverished youth”. In a simpler language, the achievement gap between poor-non poor, African American-White, Hispanic-Anglo children can never reduce if OSFs are not equitably distributed throughout society and they greatly influence the school achievement. The effect of poverty on poor children of any race or ethnicity is more influential than genetics. This is the responsibility of all people in charge and not just school districts or teachers to deal with such illnesses in the