From multicultural society to intercultural education

The cultural diversity of modern societies, which is forming by the influence of political, sociocultural changes, migration and various forms of international cooperation, can be a development potential, as well as a source of open and hidden conflicts. The introduction of intercultural education becomes more and more actual and is understood as a process of acquiring intercultural competence allows to wide public to communicate with people who are different in national, ethnic and religious spheres. The first attempts to introduce a polycultural education model were made at the beginning of the 20th century in the United States. In Europe, the first information about the problems of cultural variety appeared in the early 60s of the twentieth century. The declared polycultural crisis in Europe, ethnic and religious conflicts, the revival of nationalism and chauvinism weaken faith in intercultural education and in educational activities in general. For this reason, very important for the formation of educational ideology is the question of preparing people for a decent and happy life in the conditions of a polyculture. The implementation of this task lies on intercultural education, which is a response to the challenges of the modern world, dynamic changes in science, technology, economy, and, consequently, society as a whole. Intercultural pedagogy is a young but dynamically developing sub-discipline of pedagogy that deals with the educational problems of culturally diverse societies. According to T. Levovitsky, “the task of intercultural education is the formation of a world of values, knowledge, relations of peaceful coexistence, tolerance, cooperation, decent living conditions, respect for human rights and freedom”Intercultural education has three functions: 1) cognitive: studying and explaining the complex cultural and pedagogical reality, the processes of learning, education and socialization; 2) adaptive: the support of adaptation processes of individuals and communities in the conditions of cultural heterogeneity; and 3) transformational: supporting the harmony of socio-cultural changes in the collective and individual dimensions (in specific situations where the purpose of educational influence is the involvement of socially excluded or marginalized groups of people). The current challenge is to carry out educational work, which aims to create opportunities to go beyond negative stereotypes and prejudices, and at the same time, the development of intercultural competencies. Such activities may include festivals, cultural events, round tables on intercultural communication, as well as courses, trainings and educational projects.