It is indisputable that Korean society has become multicultural. Notwithstanding, we have been accustomed for too long to living as a singular people with a singular cultural view of ourselves. Thus, Korean society has been negligent about teaching s...
It is indisputable that Korean society has become multicultural. Notwithstanding, we have been accustomed for too long to living as a singular people with a singular cultural view of ourselves. Thus, Korean society has been negligent about teaching students courses on multicultural studies. Thus far, schools in Korea have limited their efforts to having students from multicultural families adjust to school life by getting along with those from non-multicultural ones, one-dimensionally introducing Korean students to various other cultures and focusing on using the findings of multicultural education to organize field trips or develop one-dimensional learning opportunities at school.
Racial and ethnic diversity is not only apparent in the elementary schools, but increasingly in secondary education settings as well. Thus, there has been a pressing need for developing the capacity in our secondary schools to promote respect towards members who come from different cultural backgrounds while appreciating these differences.
When it comes to promoting multicultural education, the most important attribute for members of a multicultural society to have is the ability to accept those coming from different cultures without having any presumptions about them. They should be able to retain this attribute in any kind of multicultural setting. Moreover, teaching multicultural acceptability for different cultures is ineffectual when multicultural education is limited to class lessons and temporary experiences of different cultures through certain educational programs. This clearly goes to show that multicultural acceptability in schools could only be realized when a school’s official curriculum in multicultural studies is effectively merged with its hidden curriculum on the same subject. The school needs to have a culture of merging these two venues of learning multiculturalism in order to achieve genuine acceptability. Thus, this research aims to explore how students exposed to a multicultural climate in their middle school could develop this multicultural acceptability.
This research has attempted to establish the correlation between a student’s perception of his or her school climate and acceptability for different cultures with empirical data. Through the particular use of contact theory, this research has included equal status, mutual cooperation, supportive norms, and friendly relations as components of a school climate that may lead to acceptability. In this way, the research aims to see if a positive school climate could enable middle school students contribute to the fostering of multicultural acceptability.
This research begins with the hypothesis that “School climate perceived by the middle school student will affect their multicultural acceptability.”In this way, the following four sub-hypotheses have been set:
<Hypothesis 1> Equal status of school climate perceived by the middle school student will affect their multicultural acceptability.
<Hypothesis 2> Mutual cooperation of school climate perceived by the middle school student will affect their multicultural acceptability.
<Hypothesis 3> Supportive norms of school climate perceived by the middle school student will affect their multicultural acceptability.
<Hypothesis 4> Friendly relations of school climate perceived by the middle school student will affect their multicultural acceptability.
Empirical data was collected from middle school students in the Seoul Metropolitan Area. A total of 473 students were surveyed. The survey showed that their perception of equal status and mutual cooperation had a positive effect in fostering their multicultural acceptability. These two components showed this positive effect at the level of p<.05. The component of friendly relations also demonstrated this positive effect at the level of p<.001.
These results lead us to consider the following educational implications:
Firstly, the fact that a student’s awareness of a positive school climate could foster multicultural accepability clearly shows that this kind of climate is consequential as a hidden curriculum of multicultural education. When attempting to foster multicultural acceptability, a school’s multicultural education should not be limited to its official curriculum of class work and field trips. This attempt should also be made in the school’s hidden multicultural education. Thus, these results could be studied as a foundation for promoting a school climate where students will learn to accept cultural differences.
Secondly, this research tells us how this positive multicultural school climate could be formed. The school climate is from the interaction of non-multicultural students that this multicultural climate is determined in terms of how students get to perceive the general atmosphere, school management, the relationship between teachers and the administration, rules and policies, and the school curriculum. This research aimed to identify which components of school climate influenced the multicultural acceptability. The results showed that multicultural acceptability among students is only realized when there is a mutual understanding and acceptance between the two groups of students, and student-driven and sustainable cooperation towards common goals are crucial.
Thirdly, social studies should be strengthened in order to foster multicultural acceptability among students and create a correspondingly multicultural school climate. The role of social studies as a core subject for promoting an upright citizen in a democracy is also important. The biggest challenges faced by man and society are covered in the social studies discipline. Because it is the closest thing to studying both the social problems and phenomena, social studies is ideal for dealing with the demands of a particular era or social setting.