A Review of Cultural Dimensions Influencing Curriculum Design in Multi-Ethnic Societies
Keywords:
Curriculum, Multi-Ethnic Societies, Multicultural Education, Cultural Identity, Educational Equity, Intercultural InteractionAbstract
The aim of this study was to comprehensively identify and explain the cultural dimensions influencing curriculum design in multi-ethnic societies through a qualitative review approach. This study employed a qualitative design using a narrative systematic review method. Data were collected through a structured review of scholarly literature on multicultural education, curriculum studies, and cultural research. Fifteen peer-reviewed articles were purposively selected based on predefined inclusion criteria, and data collection continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis with inductive coding in three stages (open, axial, and selective) supported by NVivo 14 software. The credibility of findings was enhanced through continuous comparison and repeated review of the data. The analysis revealed four major themes: cultural and ethnic identity, educational justice and cultural equity, intercultural interactions in teaching–learning processes, and the structure and content of multicultural curriculum. The results indicated that identity representation, content localization, multilingual education, teachers’ cultural competence, intercultural dialogue, and culturally responsive assessment are essential components of effective curriculum design in diverse societies. Culturally responsive curriculum functions as a strategic mechanism for achieving educational equity, strengthening social cohesion, and promoting meaningful learning in multi-ethnic societies, and its redesign requires simultaneous attention to identity, interactional, and structural dimensions of education.
Downloads
References
Apple, M. W. (2019). Ideology and curriculum (4th ed.). Routledge.
Banks, J. A. (2015). Cultural diversity and education: Foundations, curriculum, and teaching (6th ed.). Routledge.
Banks, J. A., & Banks, C. A. M. (2019). Multicultural education: Issues and perspectives (10th ed.). Wiley.
Bennett, M. J. (2013). Basic concepts of intercultural communication: Paradigms, principles, and practices. Intercultural Press.
Cummins, J. (2017). Teaching for transfer in multilingual school contexts. Educational Research and Evaluation, 23(3–4), 127–140.
Deardorff, D. K. (2020). Manual for developing intercultural competencies. UNESCO.
Epstein, J. L. (2018). School, family, and community partnerships (3rd ed.). Routledge.
Gay, G. (2018). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice (3rd ed.). Teachers College Press.
Hall, S. (1996). Cultural identity and diaspora. In P. Mongia (Ed.), Contemporary postcolonial theory (pp. 110–121). Arnold.
Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (2019). Joining together: Group theory and group skills (12th ed.). Pearson.
Kolb, D. A. (2015). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development (2nd ed.). Pearson.
Modood, T. (2013). Multiculturalism (2nd ed.). Polity Press.
Nieto, S. (2010). The light in their eyes: Creating multicultural learning communities (10th ed.). Teachers College Press.
OECD. (2018). Equity in education: Breaking down barriers to social mobility. OECD Publishing.
Parekh, B. (2006). Rethinking multiculturalism: Cultural diversity and political theory (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.
Sleeter, C. E. (2017). Critical race theory and the whiteness of teacher education. Urban Education, 52(2), 155–169.
UNESCO. (2016). Education for people and planet: Creating sustainable futures for all. UNESCO.
UNESCO. (2020). Global education monitoring report: Inclusion and education: All means all. UNESCO Publishing.
Downloads
Published
Submitted
Revised
Accepted
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
