Action-research and the Production of Knowledge in a Teacher Education based on Inter/Multicultural Education

The Challenge of Cultural Diversity in Greece: Reflections on ‘Intercultural Education Schools” (IES) Strategy for Creating Inclusive Learning Environments

“…The data presented in this article shows that IES face the same challenges that relevant studies on teaching in minority settings have reported elsewhere (e.g. National Association for the Education of Young Children, 1995;Armstrong, 1998;Stoer & Cortesao, 2001;Gilbert et al, 2004); that is teaching multi-level classes, the isolation of schools, inadequacy of both curriculum and teaching materials that include the voices of various cultural groups. Moreover, the ideas and the practices developed within IES, especially regarding the curriculum, indicate the effort to achieve 'culturally responsive teaching' as defined by Gay (2002).…”

“…However, the fact that the vast majority of pupils who attend IES are immigrants may promote a fragmented view of intercultural education, according to which diversity in the classroom has to do with the presence of immigrant pupils, and 'intercultural education' refers only to teaching them the language of the host country. This in turn does not encourage the view that difference has to be appreciated as a source of wealth that can be used for the benefit of all, since diversity is present in every classroom, even the non-multiethnic ones, due to the inherent heterogeneity of all pupils' (Eckert et al, 1997;Bereris 2001;Stoer & Cortesao, 2001;Bereris & Trouki, 2009).…”