Course Description

Multicultural and intercultural education have often been used synonymously, but do they mean the same thing? The differences between these two concepts will be explored further. Multiculturalism in the realm of teaching and learning views and values cultural diversity as an “asset” rather than a “deficit” attribute. It aims at promoting inclusivity, social, political, and economic equity/justice in diverse educational settings. Respecting and integrating cultural diversity in the classroom and/or in the workplace requires adopting culturally relevant pedagogies and praxes. Overall, this course is designed to equip its students with the theoretical knowledge and skills they need to teach as well as collaborate with peers and colleagues from diverse backgrounds in local, national, and global contexts. This course will be held in the beautiful and culturally diverse setting of Perugia, Italy. It is best suited for education or psychology majors and/or language professionals who are interested in hands-on, experiential teaching practices designed to meet the needs of multicultural students and/or adult learners.

Course Objectives
By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Identify the different meanings and interpretations of multicultural education.
• Distinguish the characteristics of culturally responsive pedagogies and practices.
• Analyze the difficulties and challenges that teachers face in today’s multicultural classrooms.
• Integrate multicultural practices in everyday lesson plans (in any subject area).
• Evaluate lesson plans in terms of their multicultural characteristics and approaches.

Course Materials
Readings will be made available online to students. The books cited are also available online as PDFs.