The Challenges and Benefits of a Multicultural Curriculum Essay

The Challenges and Benefits of a Multicultural Curriculum - Essay Example Multicultural education as an international educational reform movement has attracted researchers, experts from different fields, and policy-makers. Immigration and the experiences of migrants are common across many first world nations, such as the United States, and the more affluent European Nations (Ramsey, Williams & Vold., 2003, p. 5). Research has shown that a more proactive stance in addressing the issues have significantly increased the performance level and achievement ratings of the migrant students in schools. Despite the challenges that are encountered in embracing the multicultural approach, the benefits are remarkable and exemplary which will be discussed in the succeeding sections of the paper. In discussing multicultural education, three terms are often used and easily confused: race, ethnicity and culture. The race is referred to the â€Å"biological and genetic traits that distinguish one among populations that have originated from different regions†. Histori cally, races have been classified according to three major groups --- Caucasoid, Negro and Mongloid. Although there has been no scientific basis, racial categories are continuously defined by social, economic and political forces. In turn, the races influence the social status and life prospects of families and individuals. Ethnicity, on the other hand, refers to â€Å"primarily sociological or anthropological characteristics such as customs, religious practices, and language usage of a group of people with a shared ancestry or origin†.