Multicultural education of children in kindergarten

Multicultural education of preschool children
Description. The article traces the relevance of multicultural education in a modern state. Goals and objectives of multicultural education of preschool children. Forms, methods and means of implementing these tasks in a preschool organization. The material will be of interest to preschool teachers. We live in a multinational state. Historically, Russia is the homeland of different peoples who speak different languages, profess different religions, and have distinct cultures and mentalities. We have a common history and a common future. For centuries, mutual understanding and mutual assistance between people of different cultures have been the basis of the historical development of the nation. And we must constantly learn and teach our children to accept each other as they are - regardless of nationality, religion, beliefs and customs. Learn to respect each other and protect interethnic harmony in our country. The Law of the Russian Federation “On Education” (Article 14) states that “the content of education must ensure ... the integration of the individual into national and world culture.” Consequently, every member of modern society is faced with the need to be ready for interethnic communication with objects of a different national culture, and today, more than ever, it has become important to be able to live in a multinational society. Along with this, the Federal State Educational Standard for Preschool Education spells out the basic principles: introducing children to sociocultural norms, traditions of the family, society and state, taking into account the ethnocultural situation of the child’s development. The multiculturalism of any territory of our country determines the need for multicultural education. Multicultural education is raising a child in the culture of the peoples of the region where the child lives, with a priority for him the culture of his nationality, the formation of tolerance. The ability to live in a world of different people and ideas, the ability to have rights and freedoms, without violating the rights and freedoms of other people, i.e. tolerance is not inherited. In each generation they must be educated again and again. Education, starting from preschool, should help ensure that, on the one hand, the child understands his roots and thereby can determine the place he occupies in the world, and on the other, instill in him respect for other cultures. Everyone has the right to develop spiritually on the basis of the cultural heritage of their people, observing folk traditions, customs, rituals, introducing the younger generation to all this, relying on centuries-old folk pedagogy. For a modern person, knowing only about one’s own people is very little. I also want to be able to do what other peoples can do: dance, play their games, try to cook their national dishes, sing and speak like them. To make it easier to communicate, learn languages, know at least 3-4. This desire helps to expand the child’s horizons, the formation of a worldview, and tolerance. Children develop cognitive abilities, intelligence, thinking, a sense of patriotism, pride in their people, and not only in their own. This means that the child should receive not only national, but also multicultural education. Immersion in the culture of their region, their locality allows the child to feel and understand not only the characteristics of national cultures, but also the mechanisms of their interaction. For a long time, the national components of regional culture not only coexisted, but also interpenetrated, complemented, and mutually enriched each other, while maintaining their own unique uniqueness. By comprehending regional culture, a preschooler learns ethnic norms and rules that prescribe sympathy, friendliness and respect for peers and adults of different nationalities, interest in their lives and their culture. The idea of multiculturalism on a regional basis is self-respect and respect for others. Knowledge of the national traditions of the peoples living in a given territory through their analysis and comparison. Taking into account the social experience, interests and psychophysiological characteristics of the development of preschool children, a preschool child can be called a “multicultural personality of a preschooler” if he has basic ideas about his native land, its nature, material and spiritual culture, art, literature, traditions of his people and the peoples of the immediate and distant national surroundings; knows the norms of behavior in everyday life and society, knows how to comply with them; knows how to reproduce acquired knowledge and ideas in his life. In other words, the goal of multicultural education in preschool pedagogy can be considered the formation of just such a multicultural personality. This determines the specific tasks of multicultural education of preschoolers: developing children's ideas about the diversity of cultures in the world and Russia, cultivating a positive attitude towards cultural differences; development of skills and abilities of productive interaction with speakers of different cultures; raising children in the spirit of peace, tolerance, humane interethnic communication. To implement these tasks, the content of multicultural education must meet the following requirements: - reflection of humanistic ideas in the material; — characteristics of original unique features in the culture of the peoples of Russia and other countries; — disclosure in the culture of Russian peoples of common elements of traditions that allow them to live in peace and harmony; - introducing children to their native culture, and from it to Russian and world culture. Multicultural education of children is carried out in three directions: - information saturation (communication of knowledge about the traditions, customs of different peoples, the specifics of their culture and values, etc.); - emotional impact (in the process of implementing the first direction of “information saturation”, it is important to evoke a response in the child’s soul, to “stir up” his feelings); - behavioral norms (the knowledge acquired by a child about the norms of relationships between peoples, the rules of etiquette, must be reinforced in his own behavior). To implement these three directions, various means are used: - oral folk art; - fiction; — musical folk art; — decorative and applied arts, painting; — folk holidays, rituals, traditions; — ethnic mini-museums. There are many representatives of the peoples of the Volga region living in our republic. And our region can be considered purely Tatar. Aktanysh district of the Republic of Tatarstan is located in the northeast of the republic, bordering Bashkortostan and Udmurtia. The district consists of 26 rural settlements, including 87 settlements. Today the population of the district is 32 thousand people. Of these, Tatars – 98.07%, Mari – 1.83%, Russians – 0.09%. Our “Kindergarten of a combined type No. 6” is located in the center of the Aktanysh region - in the village of Aktanysh, where mainly Tatars live, but there are also international families. Children, starting from the middle group, learn Russian. Language teaching is carried out according to the educational and methodological set “Learning the Russian Language” (S.M. Gaffarova), which includes teaching aids, workbooks, demonstration and handouts, audio recordings and cartoons. And at the same time, along with Tatar folk culture, preschoolers begin to get acquainted with the culture of the Russian people and other peoples of the Volga region. The main directions through which multicultural education of children is implemented in our preschool educational institution are: - educational activities carried out in the process of organizing various types of activities; — educational activities carried out during regime moments; - independent activity of children; - interaction with children's families. Multicultural education of preschool children is integrated in various types of activities and is implemented in educational areas: - social and communicative development; — cognitive development; - speech development; — artistic and aesthetic development; - physical development. To solve the problems of multicultural education, corners for familiarization with the native land have been created in groups: “Native Land - Tatarstan”. There are dolls in national costumes, models of national dishes, albums about the diversity of folk art and crafts; materials for educational conversations about the native land, about the Motherland - Russia, about Moscow - the capital of Russia; state symbols of Tatarstan, Russia; basic information about the history, traditions and customs of the peoples of the Volga region. The competitions held as part of the August conference of educators: “Doll in Russian national costume”, “Doll in Tatar national costume” help to see the diversity and beauty of the national costume. The competition materials add to the collection of the local history corner. A series of thematic lessons on teaching the Russian language has been developed: “Let's decorate grandma's apron”, “We live together in Tatarstan”, “Russia”, “Peoples of the Volga region”, which includes the integration of various types of activities. During music classes, children get acquainted with ritual songs and dances of different nations. In the process of direct educational activity, through the perception of works of artistic culture, preschoolers discover the world of human values, reflected in art through the artistic and expressive means of music, painting, literature and methods of communication. Children are introduced to the cultural wealth of the Russian people through oral folk art: proverbs, sayings, fairy tales, legends. An important point in children’s mastery of a multicultural space is familiarization with fiction. Getting to know the literary riches of their native land allows them to instill in children a love for their “small” homeland, respect for their history, peoples, and language; form primary value orientations. By organizing the “Reciters' Competition,” during which children expressively read poetry in the Tatar and Russian languages, we instill love for their native language and respect for the Russian language. Play is the leading activity of a preschooler. Children love folk games: moving, verbal, round dancing. In the process of didactic games, we have the opportunity to lay the foundations of multicultural education in children, for example, “Name the elements of the national costume”, “The fourth odd one”, “Which fairy tale is the hero from?”, “Name the dish”, “Dress the doll in the national costume”. In the ethnic mini-museum of decorative and applied arts created in the garden, children get acquainted with folk toys, with examples of Gzhel, Khokhloma, Gorodets, and Filimonov paintings. They learn to see the beauty of folk toys. With the help of such didactic games as “Make a pattern”, “Find a fragment”, lotto “Which painting?” develop the ability to distinguish paintings. With the children of the school preparatory group, I organized a Russian language club “Gatherings”. There we learn nursery rhymes, proverbs and sayings, riddles, songs and round dances of the Russian people; we dramatize fairy tales; We play folk games. An integral part of folk culture are folk holidays, customs, and traditions. Traditionally, Tatar folk festivals are held in kindergarten: “Sabantuy”, “Syumbela”, “Nauruz”, “Kaz omese”. As a result of group work, together with children and parents, we hold “Gatherings”, “Evenings of riddles and answers”, and celebrate “Maslenitsa. One of the important links in multicultural education of preschool children is the interaction between teachers and parents of children. We involve parents in the educational process through preparing children for ethnic holidays, reading competitions, thematic exhibitions, making homemade books, albums, and crafts. We actively involve parents in organizing photo exhibitions, making costumes for dolls that reflect regional cultural characteristics, jointly producing homemade books, and creating a local history corner. Thus, the holistic system allows us, in the conditions of a preschool institution, to form in preschool children an idea of regional characteristics and other cultural differences, as well as to introduce people of another culture, other traditions living in a given area to the perception, while simultaneously finding in them universal human values (kindness , friendship, honesty, love, justice, mutual assistance). Forming a culture of interethnic relations is a complex and lengthy process. The ability for intercultural interaction cannot be “worked out” during a cycle of classes, within a series of events, because the very fact of our existence in society will constantly give us food for thought, comprehension, rethinking and expanding the existing cultural baggage, renewal behavioral patterns and habitual picture of the world. Therefore, we need to continue working in this direction.

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Multicultural educational space of Russia as a factor in the development of preschool education

MULTICULTURAL EDUCATIONAL SPACE OF RUSSIA AS A FACTOR IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF PRESCHOOL EDUCATION

Multicultural education in Russia is a new model in the education system that meets modern requirements and prospects for the development of Russian society and the state; it is an educational system that, within the framework of a unified state educational standard, forms the content of training and education in accordance with the structure of Russian identity, that is, guided by the goals of transmitting the ethnocultural heritage and national cultures of the peoples of Russia in the broad context of Russian and world civilization [1, p. eleven].

The Dictionary of Social Sciences gives the following interpretation of multicultural education: “Multicultural education is a process that consists in creating conditions for the formation of an individual’s ideological attitude towards constructive cooperation based on familiarization with ethnic, Russian and world cultures” [2, p. 5].

In fact, multicultural education is an institution for the socialization of students, pupils, designed to ensure:

¾ at the cognitive level - mastering the patterns and values of native, Russian, world culture, cultural, historical and social experience of mankind;

¾ at the value level – the formation of a predisposition to intercultural communication and exchange, tolerance towards other peoples, cultures, social groups;

¾ at the evaluative level – developing the ability to clearly formulate one’s own attitude to events and phenomena, clearly express one’s point of view and justify the opinions expressed;

¾ at the activity level – active interaction with representatives of different cultures while maintaining one’s own linguistic and cultural competence;

¾ at the socio-psychological level - the formation of a harmonious Russian identity based on ethnocultural and national-territorial self-awareness.

The content of multicultural education preserves the general principle of unity and consistency of Russian education and corresponds to the Federal State Educational Standard for the structure of the main general education program of preschool education.

The federal state educational standard for preschool education defines unified educational processes focused on the formation of a citizen who loves his people, his land, his homeland, and is tolerant of the culture, traditions and customs of other peoples [4, p. 12].

Preschool age is a period of active knowledge of the world and human relations, and the more a child knows about his country, its history, achievements, the more conditions will be created for the formation of a mature citizen and a real person.

Our preschool brings up children of different nationalities, so we consider it relevant and necessary to develop in them respect and tolerance for people, regardless of their race, nationality, language, and religion.

Teachers of our preschool educational institution are at the initial stage of creating a Multicultural Education Program, which, in our opinion, is the creation of a favorable humanistic social climate that promotes the harmonization of relations between representatives of all sociocultural groups.

We have identified the main objectives of the Program:

¾ introducing children to the basics of national culture, introducing children to the language, literature, history of their ethnosociety, aimed at preserving the national cultures of the peoples of Russia;

¾ education and understanding of the uniqueness of cultures of different peoples, respect for national values and ethnic characteristics;

¾ fostering a positive attitude towards cultural differences that provide conditions for personal self-realization;

¾ familiarization with the fundamentals of world culture and instilling respect for representatives of other nations;

¾ formation of a culture of interethnic relations among students in a multiethnic team;

¾ education of the individual in the spirit of peace, mutual understanding with other peoples, awareness of the need for a culture of peace.

We implement the multicultural component through the integration of educational areas (“Social and communicative development”, “Cognitive development”, “Speech development”, “Artistic and aesthetic development”, “Physical development”)

The teachers of our kindergarten implement the mastery of initial ideas of a social nature and the inclusion of pupils in the system of social relations through the development of children’s play activities; familiarization with elementary generally accepted norms and rules of relationships with peers and adults (including moral ones); the formation of gender, family, citizenship, patriotic feelings, a sense of belonging to the world community through educational activities, spiritual, moral and national-cultural orientation.

To reinforce the material, we use game activities, since it is the game that gives the child the opportunity to “live” what he learned about in class.

Stories about folk traditions will not achieve their goal if they do not find continuation in games, in visual and musical activities. By participating in educational board games, children reproduce the course of events. To enrich story games, small works with similar themes are read. The teacher’s task is to help the preschooler find possible “outputs” and maintain interest in the creative rethinking of acquired knowledge. It is advisable to implement such “outputs” using folklore as the most understandable and accessible to most children.

When developing the Program, we took into account family education, because it is an integral part in nurturing a child’s comprehensive personality. Parents of our students are not passive observers, but active allies. This work is carried out through such events as workshops, quizzes, family gatherings, holidays: “Autumn”, “Crow Porridge”, “Naurus”, “Maslenitsa”, “Cuckoo Tea” and many others.

The development of a system of multicultural preschool education is an integral part of the overall strategy of cultural development of each ethnic community, thereby creating a humanitarian foundation for civil, supra-ethnic principles of social order.

Literature

1. Arakelyan O.V. Multicultural school - a new model in the education system // Education of schoolchildren. – 2010. – No. 3. – pp. 11-17.

2. Borovik V.G. On some problems of multicultural education // Education Administrator. – 2012. – No. 8. – P. 4-11.

3. Lipova I.V., Zhavoronkova T.G. Club work as a means of developing tolerance in preschool children in the multicultural space of preschool educational institutions // Primary school. – 2011. – No. 6. – pp. 16-19.

4. Guide to the Federal State Educational Standard of Preschool Education in tables and diagrams / Under the general editorship. M.E. Verkhovkina, A.N. Atarova. – St. Petersburg: KARO, 2014. – 112 p.

5. Chorosova O.M. Methodology and practice of developing multicultural competence among subjects of the educational process // Methodist. – 2006. – No. 9. – P. 2-6.

Text of the book “Fundamentals of Multicultural Education”

The ruling circles of Western Europe recognize the relevance of multicultural education. Thus, Roman Herzog (Germany), in his speech in 1996, identified the priority task of the school as establishing friendly relations between “people from different ethnic groups” and preparing for life in the heterogeneous culture of Germany. Another German president, Johann Pay, also emphasizes the need for cultural openness to national minorities.

In fact, despite the recommendations of the European Parliament and the Council of Europe, declarations of prominent politicians, official circles in the leading countries of Western Europe do not pay multicultural education the attention it deserves. The turn to multicultural education is happening extremely slowly, but its signs are obvious.

In this regard, the dynamics of the positions of the National Association of Multiracial Education in Great Britain are characteristic. Its leaders have evolved from a benevolent intention to help minorities assimilate and immerse themselves in the dominant culture to a pedagogical program to support the diversity of cultures in British society. This program, developed in the late 70s. XX century, provides:

1) introduction of information about national minorities into teaching aids; 2) creating manuals and curricula for students from ethnic and racial minorities; 3) taking into account in educational programs proposals for instilling awareness of ethnicity; 4) special classes to familiarize yourself with minority cultures.

The ideas of multicultural education are not being put into practice on any large scale. Pedagogical projects that have these ideas in mind are relegated to the background. There are virtually no systematic pedagogical efforts aimed at preserving the culture of small ethnic groups, especially immigrant communities. The prospects for multicultural education are viewed rather reservedly. The authorities prefer to limit themselves to declarations, followed by insignificant practical measures. Such declarative documents include, for example, the report of the UK Department of Education “Education for All” (1985), which proclaimed a policy of pluralism aimed at preserving the original cultures of national minorities and the awareness of belonging to these cultures.

Official circles in many leading Western European countries tend to see large-scale multicultural education as separatism and a threat to the national school. There are concerns that new arrivals with their own traditions and original culture will violate national integrity. In a similar spirit, for example, the British Commonwealth Immigrant Advisory Council (1969) interprets the problem. The Council invites immigrants to take care of preserving their cultural identity. They were denied the right to be taught in their native language in public schools. The authorities did not see the need for children of ethnic minorities to be taught by people of the same ethnic group. They were against using public education to preserve the culture of ethnic minorities.

In the policies of the leading countries of Western Europe, when organizing the education of ethnic minorities, two approaches collided: assimilation and support for special cultural and educational interests. The main guideline of the state policy of the leading European countries in the education of representatives of national and ethnic minorities remains assimilation - integration into the culture of the dominant nation. This is, for example, the goal of “French culture classes” for immigrant children in France. The UK authorities have set a similar goal. They rule out the creation of special classes for immigrants and propose to foster respect for the dominant culture, to integrate immigrant students into British society, rather than expecting the national education system to work to preserve the values of different immigrant communities.

The cultural assimilation of ethnic minorities through upbringing and education is also preferred in German official circles. Indicative in this regard is the speech of Johann Pay, who noted that it is proposed to ensure the cultural universalization of minorities and not have any illusions about the prospect of their cultural independence.

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Since the early 80s of the 20th century, multiethnic countries have emphasized the benefits of multiculturalism and developed concepts of multicultural education
, which are gradually conquering the global educational space. They were based, in particular, on Perotti's thesis that no culture is an uninvited guest in the history of mankind, and no person should be considered a cultural impostor.

What then is understood today by a multiethnic society and, accordingly, what are the concepts of multicultural education? Ideologists of the movement in support of multicultural education recognize the following as erroneous:

• interpretation of a multi-ethnic society as a “melting pot”, because a person, on the one hand, in most cases remains firmly committed to his basic culture, and on the other, can combine belonging to several cultures;
• understanding of a multiethnic society as consisting of a “mosaic” of different cultures and ethnic groups, since the development of any culture cannot be considered in isolation from the processes of intercultural mutual influence;
• consideration of the problems of a multicultural society exclusively through the opposition “majority - minority” due to the coexistence of many ethnic minorities within the same society and their interaction with each other.

In other words, the interpretation of society as multiethnic is based on the idea that many people in the modern world no longer strictly belong to one ethnic group, but are members of two or more communities, bearers of several cultures that are “closed” to each other in a variety of different ways. combinations are in constant dynamics. A multiethnic society is thus a society of social diversity, and a diversity that is fundamentally changeable. Successful socialization in such a world should be focused on the child’s discovery of its complexity and involves the formation of the ability to make independent choices (up to a change in identity), the development of variability in behavior in different cultural environments, and an increase in the level of tolerance for “others” and dissimilar people. Educational institutions, realizing their socializing functions, must find some “balance” between the tasks of gaining collective identity and maintaining freedom of personal choice ( Belinskaya,

2000).

However, no matter how broadly intercultural education is understood, for a school it is completely reducible to a certain set of priority educational tasks:
•personal development of each child
, which involves an individual approach to it;
•development of ethnic and cultural literacy of children
, that is, achieving a certain level of awareness about the peculiarities of the history and culture of all ethnic groups represented in society - one’s own and “others”;
•formation of intercultural competence of children
, that is, not only a positive attitude towards the presence of various ethnocultural groups in society, but also the ability to understand their representatives and interact with partners from other cultures both in everyday and educational contexts;
•children’s awareness of the mutual influence and mutual enrichment of cultures in the modern world, the development of integrative processes.

Multicultural pedagogy is a relatively young branch of scientific knowledge. The phenomenon of multiculturalism has become the subject of special research in world pedagogy since the 60s. XX century Foreign pedagogical science has accumulated a solid scientific fund on multiculturalism. Russian scientists began developing multicultural pedagogy relatively recently - in the 90s. XX century So we can say that domestic multicultural pedagogy is in its infancy. Articles have been published that discuss certain issues about the subjects, functions, content and goals of multicultural education.

In addition to the concept of “multicultural education”, other concepts are also used: cross-cultural education, intercultural education, intercultural education, bicultural education, etc. One of the first normative definitions of the concept “multicultural education” was given in 1977: “Education, including the organization and content of pedagogical process in which two or more cultures differing in language, ethnicity, nationality or race are represented.” Some teachers (Le Than Khoi) believe that it is more scientifically and practically accurate to use the concept of “intercultural education,” thereby emphasizing the importance of interethnic dialogue in pedagogy.

The antipode of multicultural education is the pedagogy of ethnocentrism. The extreme antidemocratism of pedagogical ethnocentrism manifests itself in the form of the ideology of racism and hypertrophied nationalism, which are characterized by ideas of the superiority of one ethnic group over another. In the theory and practice of education, in addition to openly preached racism and nationalism, “hidden” racism and “soft” discrimination are observed. This happens when educators (sometimes unknowingly) indulge racist and nationalist stereotypes, do not take an active position in protecting the cultural and educational rights of ethnic minorities, and pass over their culture in silence.

Pedagogical literature sometimes contains negative references to national minorities or completely ignores their existence. Attempts to improve the educational conditions of children from racial and national minorities cause secret or overt rebuff from the ideologists of monocultural education. They oppose the elimination of social, economic, cultural, educational barriers that give rise to cultural and educational discrimination and do not allow increasing the level of achievements in the field of upbringing and education of representatives of national minorities.

The ethnocentrism of small ethnic groups – their closedness towards dominant nations and other small ethnic groups – also stands in the way of multicultural education. A manifestation of such ethnocentrism is often special educational institutions for ethnic minorities (African American and Latin American schools in the USA, for example). Such schools focus education and training primarily within the framework of a minority culture and isolate them from cultural dialogue with the dominant and other small ethnic groups.

Contrary to the concepts of multiculturalism in world pedagogy, paradigms of assimilation and accommodation are proposed. The first is based on the rejection of multiculturalism and the need to restore a monocultural society with the primacy of the values of the dominant ethnic group. Another paradigm provides for the distinction between cultural diversity and monoculturalism, creating a “pluralistic dilemma”.

In world pedagogy there is no single view on the definitions of multicultural education. This is especially true for its subjects. Subjects of multicultural education may have three main characteristics:

1) cultural community;

2) linguistic community;

3) status of a national minority or majority.

In multicultural education, two subjects are usually involved: the leading and small ethnic groups, an indispensable property of which is cultural interaction.

In modern countries, there is usually a dominant type of civilization and its bearer(s) – the culturally and politically leading ethnic group(s). These entities have a powerful and long-standing culture. So, in Russia it is the Russian nation, which has melted the cultural and religious traditions of the East and West. The traditions of Mediterranean civilization, whose roots go back to Antiquity and the Middle Ages, are developed by the dominant ethnic groups in France, Spain, and Italy. The spirit of enterprise permeates the Protestant Anglo-Saxon civilization of Great Britain and its “younger relative” - the civilization of the white majority in the USA. Canada has historically developed a bilingual civilization, with settlers from France and Great Britain at its origins.

Dominant cultures are a historical product of the era of the formation of modern states. One people, one language, one country, one culture - this is the ideology of such communities, where ethnic minorities constantly felt pressure and discrimination in the social and cultural sphere.

In conditions when the era of mono-ethnic countries has actually ended, rejection of the monopolism of dominant cultures in multi-ethnic states is maturing in the world community. These cultures are seen as participants in a mutually enriching dialogue with subcultures of small ethnic groups. It is becoming increasingly obvious that knowledge of the characteristics of another culture at the ethnic level and intercultural communication skills are necessary not only for representatives of foreign cultural systems, but also for the dominant ethnic community. Leading national groups need multicultural education as a way to become tolerant of other subcultures and irreconcilable to discrimination and racism. [13, p.56]

Another subject of multicultural education is representatives of subcultures. The question of the definitions of this subject (the presence of which, in fact, motivates the problem of multicultural education) remains open in world pedagogy. In the West, primarily in the United States, it is often interpreted very broadly, in relation to both national minorities and any subcultures, including women, people with developmental delays, the highly gifted, the poor, sexual minorities, etc.

A significant part of teachers, however, are not inclined to such a comprehensive approach, believing that multicultural education is addressed primarily to ethnic minorities (small ethnic groups), the specificity of which is the possession of their own cultural tradition and at the same time awareness of themselves as a subgroup of a large community. The concept of “ethnic minority” almost inevitably has racial and social connotations: firstly, a certain genetic unity, and secondly, the assumption of infringement on the part of the majority of society.

Small ethnic groups - subjects of multicultural education are almost always united by ethnic and linguistic community, cultural traditions (religion, art, history, etc.). But there are exceptions to these rules, generated by specific historical and cultural processes. Thus, racially related African Americans do not have their own language. And, on the contrary, Russian-speaking minorities of the near and far abroad are often connected not by ethnicity, but by linguistic and cultural community.

The diversity of small ethnic groups is generated by historical, social, cultural and other features of their origin. Among them, we can conditionally distinguish the following subjects of multicultural education.

1. Autochthonous groups that do not have state-cultural autonomy: Indians, peoples of the North in the USA and Canada, peoples of the North and Far East in Russia, Danes, Serbs in Germany, Corsicans, Basques in France, Welsh, Irish in Great Britain, aborigines of Australia, Kurds in Iraq and Turkey, Ainu in Japan, Berbers in Algeria, Roma in Europe, etc.

2. Indigenous groups that have state-cultural autonomy and independence: Bashkirs, Kalmyks, Tatars, Yakuts - in Russia, Basques, Catalans - in Spain, Scots - in Great Britain, etc.

3. National minorities that have emerged throughout modern and modern times: African Americans and Latin Americans - in the USA and Canada, Jews - in Europe and the USA, Armenians - in Russia, Western Europe and the Middle East, Germans - in Russia, Koreans - in Russia and Japan, Russian-speaking communities in the CIS and the Baltic states, Chinese and Indians in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region.

4. Immigrants of the second half of the 20th century. [15, p.128]

The globalization of the modern world leads to quantitative and qualitative changes in subjects who need to protect cultural and educational interests. If today these are ethnic minorities of individual states, then in the near future these will also be the leading ethnic groups of small countries: Danes, Luxembourgers, Francophones and Flemings in Belgium, etc.

. Research on multicultural education has shown that it generally has a positive effect on interethnic relations and has a positive effect as a result of: reducing ignorance of other groups; strengthening the significance of humanistic values; the creation of supra-ethnic groups and intersecting identities; organizing intergroup contact under favorable conditions; awareness of the discrepancy between declared values and behavior; generalizing positive experiences of interaction with members of other groups.

Programs and models of multicultural education need to be developed both for multiethnic schools, where representatives of different cultures are in constant direct interaction and of which there are more and more people all over the world, and for relatively culturally homogeneous schools. For example, in Israel, the first form of education is called “school integration”, and the second is called “intercultural education”. In the second case, the teacher is not faced with the task of intercultural integration of the team, however, studying the positive aspects of “other” cultures, working to reduce ethnocentrism, and learning to understand differences is also useful in this case.

How realistically can these programs be implemented in school practice, given that intercultural education is one of the forms of “conscious, organized education of children, which is carried out formally, that is, with the help of appropriate processes and methods.”

One of the European countries where significant success has been achieved in raising children in the spirit of respectful and friendly attitude towards peers of any nationality is the Netherlands. In this country, since 1990, the “We all live here” program has been implemented in primary schools, consisting of 30 lessons included in the general curriculum. The sequence of lessons is not strictly regulated; each of them begins with the teacher telling a story, where the main character is a peer of the children. The class is asked not so much to discuss the story itself as to develop its theme through their own personal experience. Thus, the topic of each individual lesson is a specific situation in the lives of children, and the emphasis is not placed on ethnic issues. These are topics and problems that are equally interesting to any child - favorite games, plans for the future, ideals and idols, relationships with parents, position in the peer group, quarrels and friendships.

In a joint discussion, various ethnocultural experiences emerge involuntarily, revealing to children a possible variety of approaches to the problem under discussion, and the use of numerous gaming techniques allows them to establish mutual understanding with peers of other nationalities in real interaction. The teacher specifically emphasizes to the class that the topic can be discussed in native languages, even if it is not clear to others.

It is noted that sometimes the very removal of a certain “taboo” on the use of the native language creates an atmosphere of relaxedness and mutual trust in the classroom, while at the same time making clear for a migrant child the need to master the language of the country of residence. This is supported by the use of a large number of non-verbal techniques - the story and the problem can not only be discussed, but also depicted in the form of pantomime, “statues” of the main characters, etc. As a rule, the teacher includes writing in such a lesson, asking the children to either write possible continuations of the story, or compose something of their own on a given topic in any genre form (fairy tales, poems), and the choice of language is also not limited. Thus, the main task for the teacher is to provide each child with the opportunity for maximum self-expression.

It appears that the value of this program for children is that they:
• acquire the first experience of understanding their own ethnic stereotypes and prejudices;
• get impressions about other peoples and cultures in live, direct communication with peers;
• acquire the ability to appreciate individuality and difference in themselves and others, including due to ethnic differences;
• begin to appreciate multilingualism, learning to express their experiences verbally.

Cooperative learning groups have become widespread in the United States and other countries. So, in the early 90s. XX century 79% of elementary school teachers and 62% of secondary school teachers in the United States have used this method to some extent. It is based on the jigsaw puzzle technique, so named because the learning activity in this case resembles this game.

Cooperative groups are small groups of students in which conditions of interdependence have been created in completing a common task and receiving rewards. In other words, students can achieve the desired individual goal only if the entire group succeeds. Typically, children from two or more ethnic groups, both genders, and different academic levels are placed in groups of 4–6 to study specially selected educational material.

Each student has only a “fragment of the picture” (for example, one studies the history of Chile, the second its geography, the third its culture). To complete the task, the child must not only learn his part, but also, teaming up with other members of the group, restore all the information received, i.e. "assemble the puzzle"

The use of this method has yielded positive results in the USA, Europe, Israel and Australia. It has been established that its use contributes to:

• improving interethnic relations among schoolchildren;
• establishing friendly relations between representatives of different ethnic and racial communities;
• reducing the role of ethnic stereotypes, shifting the center of gravity from group differences to individual ones;
• formation of a common identity;
• reducing anxiety, increasing self-esteem and academic performance of representatives of minority groups.

This also raises problems: some parents oppose cooperative groups, explaining that they would prefer to see their child independent and competitive rather than interdependent. There is an answer to these concerns. Firstly, learning in cooperative groups is only a small, albeit important part of the educational process. Secondly, based on the realities of modern multicultural society, children need to be taught to interact effectively with others, since these days this is a useful and very popular skill.

Solving the problem of multiculturalism in education is a general strategic task, the implementation of which in the Russian Federation is at the initial stage. Today, experts identify the following possible ways to solve it:

1. Study human rights and values in the educational process, both within a separate school subject and within the framework of humanities subjects. The human rights system is, in fact, the only universally valid area that allows us to perceive the other in all his humanity. However, the introduction of such a subject is possible only if there is a favorable psychological climate in the school, based on equality, justice and respect for the merits of all subjects of the educational process.

2. Study world culture, taking into account the place of national cultures in various specific aspects of interaction with other cultures. To instill an understanding that the values of world culture are formed on the basis of mutual enrichment and integration of the cultures of many peoples, that only in unity, in the interrelationship of cultures, is the cultural and historical heritage of a people created. This will help you be more tolerant of manifestations of dissimilarity, “otherness.”

3. A greater role in the transmission of the values of a multicultural society should be given to the teaching of history, when it is “studied and understood in a broad sense - as the history of civilization and ethnicity and as the history of relationships between peoples,” and not as “the history of claims and unrealized opportunities of ethnic groups in comparison.”

4. Study geography in close connection with history, since the place of residence of a people is inseparable from the processes of formation of its national identity. The historical and social conditionality of certain geographical concepts, the formation of territories and borders, different visions of any problems by certain peoples of the world as a whole should constitute the main content of geography and from the point of view of the basic ideas of multicultural education.

5. Learn languages. In the Russian version, this may be bilingualism and/or multilingualism. The choice of language of study, first of all (native and/or Russian, foreign), the sequence of study, and the timing are determined by the specific school together with the children and parents.

We have given only two examples of multicultural education programs and, naturally, they are not universal. It is likely that developing a universal learning model based on only one selected approach may lead to a dead end. A more promising direction seems to be one based on the typology of existing approaches and technologies of multicultural education and the creation of theoretical foundations for each type separately.

. Currently, the study of the concepts of multicultural education is quite relevant; this is due to the real needs of modern Russian society and, in general, the world community, in the development of multicultural education as one of the main factors in the development, preservation and development of the cultural heritage of mankind and the strengthening of interethnic cooperation. Multicultural education emerged as a separate area of pedagogical theory and practice in the last quarter of the 20th century. It arose and is developing against the backdrop of sharply aggravated global social, economic, ethnic, spiritual and moral problems. Among them are economic and social inequality, conflicts on national and religious grounds, the collapse of the humanistic system of spiritual, moral values and ideals.

Concept and principles of multicultural education

Multicultural education

– a process that consists in creating conditions for the formation of a person’s worldview for constructive cooperation based on familiarization with ethnic, Russian and world cultures.

The defining principles of modern multicultural education are the following:

The principle of multilingualism.

The linguo-sociocultural basis of Russian identity is linguistic competence, which ensures the formation of a multiculturally oriented personality who speaks several languages. The development of polylingual education in the world is determined by general trends of integration, dialogue of cultures, and expansion of intercultural communication. A methodologically justified relationship between languages of teaching and learning is the most important component of multicultural education, expanding individual perception of the worldview, equipping a person with a set of sociocultural codes corresponding to the complex construction of identity. In the humanistic paradigm of education, the role of a foreign language, used as a way to understand the world, familiarize oneself with the culture of many countries and peoples, and become aware of belonging to a planetary cultural community, is also increasing.

The principle of continuity.

One of the necessary foundations for the formation of Russian civic identity is an education system that is capable of transmitting national culture from generation to generation, ensuring openness to interaction with other cultures and the modern civilizational development of the nation. The transmission of ethnocultural information in the education system is subject to the general logic of the development of modern national culture, understood as a mechanism for the adaptation of the civil community to changing living conditions. Therefore, preserving the merits and achievements of national culture has nothing to do with the formation of unchanging patterns or the search for “original” values. On the contrary, the natural function of national culture (and therefore education) is constant renewal, which involves intensive modification of the ethnocultural complex, the development and assimilation of innovations in the course of active intercultural cooperation and civilizational development.

Principle of differentiation and diversity

. The viability of complex self-developing systems depends on the differentiation and richness of their elements. The greater the diversity and differentiation of its reactions, corresponding to the variety of external influences, the higher the survival potential of a system. The more complex the internal structure of a society, the more heterogeneous its ethnic composition, the more multidimensional and asymmetrical its culture, the greater its chances of survival, the more stable and viable it is. It is the diversity, inconsistency and heterogeneity of the modern world that makes it balanced and unified. Cultural interaction (both in the conditions of intercultural dialogue and in the pursuit of the unity of national culture) should not lead to homogenization, unification, or destruction of a specific picture of the world. Therefore, the content of multicultural education lays down the conditions for the complementarity of cultures and languages - as opposed to unification and assimilation.

The principle of creativity.

The main life-sustaining resource in modern society is the person himself, with his ability for self-development and creative transformation of information. In contrast to the archaic extractive and industrial producing culture, in the post-industrial, information society, the processing culture wins. Intellectual, creative work makes the person himself not only the main life-supporting resource, but at the same time the goal of social and cultural development. The difficulties of Russian modernization clearly express the conflict of old social systems with the innovative, subjective-humanistic type of new social and cultural development. Therefore, one of the most important modernization tools that shapes Russian civic identity is multicultural education, which can prepare a person for self-realization in the dynamic social conditions of information culture.

Principle of cultural integrity

. Understanding culture as the essential basis of education requires the formation and development of universal skills and competencies, including students’ mastery of current cultural norms and the adoption of generally valid patterns of activity and behavior. The transmission of cultural samples through the educational process turns out to be insufficient, especially in conditions of subject-matter division of education. Only cultural practices that combine the results of all types of educational (subject-lesson, extracurricular independent, additional) activities, including the experience of communication and group interaction with peers and adults, can become a reliable foundation of civic identity. Special attention is required: the conceptual unity of the cultural basis of all educational and methodological complexes, the close interconnectedness of basic and additional education, the centralized design of the cultural practices of the school, taking into account the initiative, interests and motivations of students.

Multicultural education for preschool children