How to Know This Is a Good Thing: A Developmental Analysis of Inter-Cultural, Anti-Racist Education

Abstract

The tension between cultural pluralism and social cohesion is perhaps the single most resonant moral paradox for contemporary democracies. The challenge is no less daunting for public education. In the past forty years North American projects for Inter-cultural and Anti-racist education have had limited success. This paper argues that such projects have suffered from an unclear moral vision and from a pedagogical indifference to the developmental stages of children and adolescents as learners. This paper describes two distinct moral aims of education for democratic citizenship. It argues that the tension between the two approaches can be resolved by reference to the developmental needs of various groups of learners. A developmental approach to Inter-Cultural, Anti-racist Education is outlined.