The 21st Century: Bi-, Cross-, Inter-, Mono-, Multi-, Pluri-, Poly-, or Trans-Cultural Education?

Abstract

The deployment of globalization, information explosion, and mass culture have brought about terms such as bicultural education, cross-cultural education, intercultural education, monocultural education, multicultural education, pluricultural education, polycultural education, and transcultural education in both English language dictionaries and literature on education. These terms are frequently and/or interchangeably used, leading to confusion. This article investigates and defines these terms, comparing them to see if their interchangeable usage is justified or not. The importance of this issue resides in the fact that educators need to know which type of cultural education best prepares for “life, work, and citizenship.” Three conclusions are drawn: the authors cited in references have failed to provide a clear semantic definition or a distinct epistemological foundation for these concepts; there are two main types of cultural education – passive and active; and using only the terms multicultural education and intercultural education could be a suitable solution to the issue.