We define multicultural education in a sociopolitical context as follows: Multi-cultural education is a process of comprehensive school reform and basic education for all students. It challenges and rejects racism and other forms of discrimination in schools and society and accepts and affirms the pluralism (ethnic, racial, linguistic, religious, economic, and gender, among others) that stu-dents, their communities, and teachers reflect. Multicultural education permeates schools' curriculum and instructional strategies as well as the interactions among teachers, students, and families and the very way that schools conceptualize the nature of teaching and learning. Because it uses critical pedagogy as its under-lying philosophy and focuses on knowledge, reflection, and action (praxis) as the basis for social change, multicultural education promotes democratic principles of social justice.
This definition is powerful because it frames multicultural education as active anti-racism, not just passive celebration. Calling it a "process" and "critical pedagogy" means the goal isn't just knowledge, but action for social justice. This is a radical idea—it's not about adding a unit, but about fundamentally questioning how schools operate and whose knowledge is valued. The real challenge is moving from this ideal to practice in a system that often prefers the safer, superficial versions. BUT this often leads to the neglect of the aspects that we actually need to pay attention to.