Multicultural tensions in England, France and Canada: contrasting approaches and consequences

Abstract

This article considers multicultural education policies in relation to recent political and social events in England, France and Canada. The authors start from the assumption that the promotion of multiculturalism is thought to be a beneficial aim in schools. In light of this, they contrast this aim with the large civil unrest witnessed in 2005 in England and France, along with a recent 2006 court decision in Canada regarding minority rights in schools. They contend that effective multicultural policies must be developed at both the state and local levels, otherwise multicultural education policies will remain superficial at best.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to two unnamed referees for reading and commenting on earlier drafts of this article. Also, many thanks to Ron Best and Pat Mahony for their constructive comments and suggestions.

Notes

1. We acknowledge that the rhetorical nature of multiculturalism makes it necessarily difficult to specify clear objectives to guide educators in the promotion of multiculturalism in schools. However, it is not our intention in this article to engage in this conceptual debate.

2. Again, we acknowledge that the notion of ‘community’ is a tenuous and ambiguous term. Not only are there multiple notions of what it means to belong to a value community, there are also problems inherent in being part of a community. Yet, defining and noting the multifaceted nature of community goes beyond the confines of this article. For a thorough investigation into the notion of community, see Gereluk (2006a).