Toward Decolonizing Multicultural Education: A Case Study on Regional Multicultural Education Policy in South Korea

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 3:20 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: (De)Coloniality of Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education (Table 4)

Abstract

This qualitative case study aims to critically examine how racism perpetuates coloniality within the multicultural education policy in Ansan, South Korea. It identifies the features and contextual factors of Ansan's multicultural education policy, by analyzing policies of past three years, interviews with teachers and administrators, and participant observation of multicultural education programs. Further, it identifies three racial mechanisms—essentialization, problematization, and instrumentalization—that maintain colonial hierarchies despite efforts toward interculturalism. The findings underscore the need for reflecting critically on the structural and everyday racism inherent in our society, and reexamining our Westernized perspectives and efforts to understand multicultural issues from the perspectives of “others” to decolonization.

Keywords: Racism, coloniality, regional multicultural education policy, qualitative case study

Authors

• Taegeun Yum, Seoul National University

• Kyunghee So, Seoul National University

• Sieun Kim, Seoul National University

• Jiyoung Kim, Seoul National University