GUIDELINES

UNESCO
ESCO
SCO
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O Guidelines
Guidel
Guideline
Guidelin
on Intercultural
Intercultu
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UNESCO Guidelines on Intercultural Education

Education
 INTRODUCTION
In a world experiencing rapid change, and where cultural, political, economic
and social upheaval challenges traditional ways of life, education has a major
role to play in promoting social cohesion and peaceful coexistence. Through
programmes that encourage dialogue between students of different cultures,
beliefs and religions, education can make an important and meaningful
contribution to sustainable and tolerant societies.

Intercultural Education is a response to the challenge to provide quality

education for all. It is framed within a Human Rights perspective as expressed
in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948):

Education shall be directed to the full development of human personality and

to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations,
racial and religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United
8 Nations for the maintenance of peace.1

UNESCO’s mission in the field of education is to guide educational policy

worldwide, with the goal of ensuing universal primary education for all by
the year 2015. However, the idea of universality is shifting and complex. The
governability of pluralistic, democratic societies increasingly depends on the
capacity of governments to provide equity in public and social life, and to
educate citizens who are open to intercultural dialogue and tolerant of each
other’s ways of being and thinking.

UNESCO’s work on education in general, and Intercultural Education in

particular, is framed within a number of standard-setting instruments and
documents. In the UNESCO Constitution, the founding member states
declare as indispensable the “wide diffusion of culture and the education of
humanity for justice and liberty and peace” and commit to the development
of “the means of communication between their peoples and to employ these
means for the purposes of mutual understanding and a truer and more perfect
knowledge of each other’s lives”2.

Moreover, UNESCO Member States have recently called for increased attention
to the linkages between culture and education. The ‘Rabat Commitment,’
formed as a result of the Rabat Conference on Dialogue among Cultures and
Civilizations through Concrete and Sustained Initiatives (Rabat, Morocco, 14-
16 June 2005), recommends the preparation of “guidelines on Intercultural
Education, building on the research, publications and practice already carried
out”3. The present position paper is a response to this call.

This paper aims to synthesize the central issues surrounding Intercultural

Education, and presents the fundamental guiding principles for an intercultural
approach to education as viewed by UNESCO. It is divided into three parts.
Part I outlines the key issues surrounding Intercultural Education, as well
as its objectives and basic operating principles. Part II contains a short
presentation of the normative framework for Intercultural Education, based on
an analysis of international standard-setting instruments that make reference
to education and intercultural issues, and on outcomes from International
Conferences. Part III synthesizes the international position on this issue and
provides a set of three basic principles that should guide educational policies
with regard to Intercultural Education.

9
 The major challenge when discussing the issue
of education and multiculturalism is dealing
with some of the inherent tensions that arise
in reconciling competing world views with each
other. Such tensions reflect the diversity of
values which co-exist in a multicultural world.
Often, they cannot be resolved in a single
EDUCATION AND MULTICULTURALISM
‘either/or’ solution. However, the dynamic
interchange between competing aspects is what
lends richness to the debate on education and
multiculturalism.

One significant tension arises from the nature

of Intercultural Education itself, which
accommodates both universalism and cultural
pluralism. This is particularly evident in the
need to emphasize the universality of human
rights, whilst maintaining cultural difference
which may challenge aspects of these rights.
Concepts of difference and diversity can also
present tensions, between the practice of
offering one curriculum for all children in a
country, as opposed to offering curricula which
reflect different cultural and linguistic identities.
In other words, between the general principle

1/
of equity and the tendency of any educational
system to be culturally specific. The challenge
for Intercultural Education is to establish and
maintain the balance between conformity with its
general guiding principles and the requirements
of specific cultural contexts.
1/1KEY ISSUES AND INTERRELATIONSHIPS
/// Culture
Culture is defined in numerous ways. As such, it has been defined as “the whole
set of signs by which the members of a given society recognize…one another,
1/1 Key Issues and Interrelationships

while distinguishing them from people not belonging to that society.4” It has
also been viewed as “the set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and
emotional features of a society or social group… (encompassing) in addition to
art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions
and beliefs.5” Culture is at the core of individual and social identity and is a
major component in the reconciliation of group identities within a framework
of social cohesion. In discussing culture, reference is made to all the factors
that pattern an individual’s ways of thinking, believing, feeling and acting as
a member of society.
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/// Culture and Education

Understandings
EDUCATION AND MULTICULTURALISM

Education is “the instrument both of the all-round development of the human

person and of that person’s participation in social life.6” It can take place
at any age, through the actions of many institutions such as family, the
community or the work environment. It can also take place through interaction
with the natural environment, especially when such interaction is socially and
culturally determined.

From these many influences, school remains the most visible educational
institution, and its role is central to the development of society. It aims at
developing the potential of learners through the transmission of knowledge
and the creation of competencies, attitudes and values that empower them
for life in society.

Interrelationships

Concepts of culture and education are, in essence, intertwined. Culture forges

educational content, operational modes and contexts because it shapes
our frames of reference, our ways of thinking and acting, our beliefs and
even our feelings. All actors involved in education – teachers and learners,
curriculum developers, policy makers and community members – invest their
cultural perspectives and cultural aspirations into what is taught, and how
it is conveyed. Yet education is also vital to the survival of culture. As a
collective and historical phenomenon, culture cannot exist without continual
transmission and enrichment through education, and organized education
often aims to achieve this very purpose.

/// Culture and Language

Understandings

Language is one of the most universal and diverse forms of expression of

human culture, and perhaps even the most essential one. It is at the heart of 13
issues of identity, memory and transmission of knowledge.

Linguistic diversity is likewise a reflection of cultural diversity and cannot be

precisely quantified or categorized. Bilingualism and multilingualism are a
consequence of linguistic diversity on an individual or collective level, and
refer to the use of more than one language in daily life.

Interrelationships

Language issues are central to culture. Languages result from a historical and
collective experience and express culturally specific world views and value
systems. Estimates7 which suggest that half the 6,000 languages spoken in
the world today are in danger of disappearing are a cause for concern, for they
implicate the disappearance of the associated cultures with which they are so
closely tied, as well as the knowledge systems contained within them.

Language issues are also central to concepts of education. Linguistic

competencies are fundamental for the empowerment of the individual in
democratic and plural societies, as they condition school achievement, promote
access to other cultures and encourage openness to cultural exchange.
/// Cultural Diversity and Cultural
Heritage
Understandings

Cultural diversity has been defined as “the manifold ways in which the cultures
of groups and societies find expression.10” It is also “a manifestation of the
diversity of life on earth.11”

Cultural heritage was defined by the World Conference on Cultural Policies

as “including the works of its artists, architects, musicians, writers and
scientists and also the work of anonymous artists, expressions of people’s
spirituality, and the body of values which give meaning to life. It includes
both tangible and intangible works through which the creativity of that people
finds expression; languages, rites, beliefs, historic places and monuments,
literature, works of art, archives and libraries12”. Common cultural heritage 15
is an indispensable resource, as it constitutes a unique source of human
creativity, development and renewal.

Interrelationships

Cultural diversity forms part of a socio-economic and political context and is

related to power structures that influence the ways in which components of the
world’s cultural heritage are perceived and socially constructed. The different
cultural communities that compose a state, a nation, or any human society
have unequal access to political and economic power and influence. Often
conflicts between different cultural groups are associated with economic and
political factors, whereby cultural difference may be an attribute although not
necessarily a causal factor.

In addition, 21st century society is multicultural in essence. Yet different

cultures do not have the same possibilities for survival or expression in the
modern world. In the context of political conflict and constantly changing
environments, they evolve and adapt, with some more open to change.
This can leave others, especially minority cultures, exposed to loss and
impoverishment. Their values and structures may be weakened as they enter
into a more globalized world.
 Given that cultural diversity and cultural heritage are so important to the
survival of cultures and knowledge, Intercultural Education policy has an
important role to play in ensuring their continued vitality.

/// Majority and Minority Cultures

1/1 Key Issues and Interrelationships

Understandings

The term “minority culture” generally refers to the culture of “marginalized

or vulnerable groups who live in the shadow of majority populations with a
different and dominant cultural ideology”13, the “majority culture”. The non-
dominant position of minority groups does not always derive from numerical
weakness; it often has a qualitative dimension linked to the specific cultural
and socio-economic characteristics of the community. Such characteristics
16 can produce value systems and life styles that are very different from or even
incompatible with those of more dominant groups in society.

The term “minority” is used to refer to “four different categories of groups:

(1) autochthonous or indigenous peoples, whose line of descent can be traced
to the aboriginal inhabitants of the country… (2) territorial minorities, groups
with a long cultural tradition… (3) non-territorial minorities or nomads, groups
with no particular attachment to a territory… (4) immigrants…14”
EDUCATION AND MULTICULTURALISM

Indigenous peoples, in particular, have found themselves subject to economic,

cultural, communication and educational policies which, although they may
have been well intentioned, have nevertheless contributed to undermine the
bases of their material existence. Even though there is no single definition of
‘indigenous peoples’, several distinctive characteristics are regularly used to
define the term, including:

쐍 specific social, cultural and economic living conditions of these

peoples15;
쐍 the existence of distinct social, economic, cultural and political
institutions, and customs and traditions regulating their status16;
쐍 identification as ‘indigenous’ by others17;
쐍 self-identification as ‘indigenous’18;
쐍 attachment to land and to a specific territory and a special
relationship with nature or the earth; and
쐍 their cosmovision.
Interrelationships

Cultural vitality is closely linked to the social and economic status of minority
communities. This is because the cultural features of different communities,
such as practices, beliefs, or life styles, are ‘valued’ and hierarchized. And
while some prevail, others are marginalized.

The cultural composition of societies is today growing even more complex

through increasing migratory movements from one country to another and
from rural to urban regions. Whereas indigenous peoples and other minority
groups can look back on a long historical tradition in a given region, today’s
migratory movements tend to produce culturally fragmented, usually urban
or semi-urban societies, which present specific challenges for educational
policies.

Education systems need to be responsive to the specific educational needs of

all minorities, including migrants and indigenous peoples. Among the issues
to be considered is how to foster the cultural, social and economic vitality of 17
such communities through effective and adequate educational programmes
that are based on the cultural perspectives and orientations of the learners,
while at the same time providing for the acquisition of knowledge and skills
that enable them to participate fully in the larger society.

/// Multiculturalism and Interculturalism

Understandings

The term multicultural describes the culturally diverse nature of human

society. It not only refers to elements of ethnic or national culture, but also
includes linguistic, religious and socio-economic diversity.

Interculturality is a dynamic concept and refers to evolving relations between

cultural groups. It has been defined as “the existence and equitable
interaction of diverse cultures and the possibility of generating shared
cultural expressions through dialogue and mutual respect.19” Interculturality
presupposes multiculturalism and results from ‘intercultural’ exchange and
dialogue on the local, regional, national or international level.
 Interrelationships
1
In order to strengthen democracy, education systems need to take into
account the multicultural character of society, and aim at actively contributing
to peaceful coexistence and positive interaction between different cultural
groups. There have traditionally been two approaches: multicultural education
and Intercultural Education. Multicultural education uses learning about
other cultures in order to produce acceptance, or at least tolerance, of these
1/1 Key Issues and Interrelationships

cultures. Intercultural Education aims to go beyond passive coexistence, to

achieve a developing and sustainable way of living together in multicultural
societies through the creation of understanding of, respect for and dialogue
between the different cultural groups.

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EDUCATION AND MULTICULTURALISM