Germany, Multicultural Education in

Multicultural education in Germany—better known as intercultural education—is a rather new field in education in Germany, where it has been developed as a result of the increasing number of students with non-German-speaking backgrounds since the late 1960s. Only recently has Germany reluctantly viewed itself as a country of immigration. The political main topics of integration and knowledge of German are also part of the educational discussion, especially with regard to the German language. The focus on integration often leads to difficulties in finding a national cohesion in which diversity can be observed in the “Leitkultur (defining culture) debate,” which revives from time to time.

Multicultural education has been developed at three levels: educational policy, research, and practice. The influence of other European countries has contributed to ...