Multicultural Education and the Emerging Paradigm: An Essay in Cultural Epistemology

This article discusses the origins of multicultural education from the perspective of cultural epistemology. It contends that at issue in the multicultural education debate is the challenge of paradigmatic shifts in understanding multicultural society and multiculturalism as sociopolitical constructs. A review of the value systems of the anthropomorphic, scientific, and emerging paradigms suggests that the debate is, in essence, a contest between prevailing and emerging cultural paradigms.The values which underlie multicultural education seem to converge with the ideals of participatory democracy. Consequently, multicultural education and multiculturalism may be analyzed as phases in the evolution of liberal democracies. The emerging paradigm serves as the catalyst in that process. The article concludes with proposals for integrating the values systems of the emerging paradigm with the theories and practices of multicultural education.