Education in Multicultural Societies

Abstract

In Europe most nations may be labeled as multicultural in that different ethnic and also racial groups live side by side. In the case of the Baltic states, ethnic Russians in varying numbers reside there along with native Estonians, Latvians, and Gypsies (Romany people). In France, Algerians, Moroccans, and others from former French colonies represent cultural minorities. Similarly, Great Britain is the home of Pakistanis, Hindus, Nigerians, Kenyans, and Jamaicans, among others from the Commonwealth, as well as continental Europeans who chose Britain as a refuge—for instance, Poles after World War II—or for the employment opportunities, that is, nationals from members of the European Union. The Federal Republic of Germany contains 1.6 million Turks, in addition to Greeks (290,000), Italians (520,000), and Yugoslavs (610,000),¹ all of whom came to work in industry and commerce; the majority of such immigrants have largely remained in Germany.