The politics of ‘multiculturalism’ in language education: an analysis of curriculum guidelines in Taiwan

ABSTRACT

Internationally, particularly in Western societies, the concept of multiculturalism tends to be associated with ‘progressive’ and liberal social visions promoting cultural diversity and minority rights. However, multiculturalism may not necessarily be a ‘cure’ for social division, but a ‘veil’ that covers political fractures and imbalances within society. This study critically investigates the multiple interpretations of multiculturalism through language education in Taiwan. In recent years, the Taiwanese debate over multiculturalism has been deeply intertwined with political agendas related to cross-strait relations, reflecting a desire to signal Taiwan's alignment with international (mainly Western) discourse and practice on human rights. Focusing on the area of language education, this study examines how Taiwanese policy interprets multiculturalism and incorporates culturally diverse elements into the formal school curriculum. By shedding light on the politics behind multiculturalism, it discusses the identity politics behind the multicultural rhetoric and the political implications of curricular attempts to promote multilingualism.

在国际上，特别是在西方社会，多元文化主义往往与促进文化多样性和少数群体权利的‘进步’且自由的社会愿景联系在一起。然而，多元文化主义不一定是解决社会分裂的‘良药’，而可能是掩盖政治分歧和社会内部失衡的‘面纱’。本研究批判性地调查了台湾通过语言教育对多元文化主义的多种解释。近年来，台湾关于多元文化主义的论争与关乎两岸关系的政治议题深深交织在一起，反映出台湾希望发出与国际（主要是西方）人权话语和实践保持一致的信号。本研究重点关注语言教育领域，探讨台湾政策如何解释多元文化主义，并将文化多样性成分纳入正规学校课程。通过揭示多元文化主义背后的政治，本文讨论了多元文化言论背后的身份政治以及尝试通过课程促进多语制的政治含义。

KEYWORDS:

• Taiwan
• citizenship
• language education
• multilingualism
• identity politics

关键词:

• 台湾
• 公民身份
• 语言教育
• 多语制
• 身份政治

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback. I would also like thank Professor Paul Morris and Professor Edward Vickers for their helpful advice.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Based on several studies of native language usage, the Ministry of Education (n.d.) reports that Minnanese is spoken by the majority (about 60 to 70%) of people over the age of 60 in Today's Taiwan. Although the population of Minnanese speakers declines with age, about 20% of primary and secondary school students declare they can speak and understand it. On the other hand, Hakka and Indigenous languages are spoken almost exclusively by people over 60 and some of the Indigenous languages are only spoken by a small proportion of elderly members of these tribes.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Grant Number JP22KJ2386

Notes on contributors

Haruna Kasai

Haruna Kasai is a PhD candidate in Comparative and International Educational Studies at Kyushu University, Japan. She has been awarded a JSPS Research Fellowship for Young Scientists for her ongoing research on the political implications of language education in Taiwan. Her research interests include identity politics, language-in-education policies and practices, politics of language, multiculturalism and multilingualism.