Multicultural Education in Spain: the Autonomous Communities face the challenge of European unity

Abstract

This paper explores two different models for the management of cultural diversity and diversification. As the mobility of citizens of Europe increases, so does the challenge of making educational provision which is sensitive to important differences between them—differences of culture, of status, of language and of attitudes. Using a review of how regional autonomy has been legitimated within Spanish national political and educational policy, a case is made for a move away from a ‘melting pot’ approach to diversity towards a new model for unity.