Abstract:

Multiculturalism has over the years become a permanent feature of schools globally. In South Africa after the Apartheid regime, schools were opened to learners from different backgrounds, races, ethnicity, religion, to mention just a few. This has led to multicultural contestations in schools and thus the introduction of Multicultural Education. However, despite the introduction of multicultural education, schools continue to witness multicultural clashes. This paper assessed the implementation of multicultural education by teachers in the selected high schools in the Chris Hani West Education District of South Africa. Using a qualitative case study design, the district, six high school teachers from two schools were purposively selected for the study. The theory of critical pedagogy by Paul Freire underpinned the study. Data were collected using face-to-face interviews, classroom observations and document reviews. The study revealed among others, that much as the multicultural education is being implemented, this is poorly. Further, no formalised training for multicultural education is in place. The study also found that there were no prescribed text books for multicultural content. The study recommends that all teachers should be trained on multicultural education and the right approach to deliver it in schools. Prescribed text books with the right content on multicultural education should be availed to all teachers.

Keywords:

Culture, Diversity, Multicultural Education, Learner, Implementation.