Abstract
Multicultural Education is a field of study whose chief goal is to create equal educational opportunities for learners from diverse financial, racial, ethnic, social-class, cultural groups and rural schools.
It can be viewed as an idea, an educational reform movement and a process (Banks, 2006:3). As an idea, multicultural education seeks to create equal educational opportunities for all learners, including those from different racial, ethnic, and social-class groups. Multicultural education tries to create equal educational opportunities for all learners by changing the total school environment so that it will reflect the diverse cultures and groups within society as well as the classroom. Multicultural education is a process because its goals are ideals that educators and administrators should constantly strive to achieve.
Since South Africa is currently in a stage of transformation, our schools continues to grow more culturally diverse thus increasing unique challenges for educators and principals. As the South African population is diverse, so are the schools in terms of learner population. The fact that the learner population is becoming diverse in urban schools creates an increasing need for school principals to be equipped with the appropriate skills to manage cultural diversity at school level.
Prof. T.C. Bisschoff
Prof. K.C. Moloi