POLYCULTURAL EDUCATION OF PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN

At this time, in the era of globalization, when the separate existence of different nations and cultures becomes impossible, when there is a question of combining the national values of East and West, there is a rethinking of the goals and objectives of education, when the content of education does not meet the needs of society enough, new paradigms of education arise and  widely considered such concepts as monocultural education, cultural approach, socio-cultural competence and others are increasingly used.

The term "polycultural education" became widespread in the world of pedagogy in the mid-twentieth century, but this problem continues to worry many researchers of the educational process and also current time. It was expressed primarily in the scientific and pedagogical development of the concept of multicultural educational space in the studies of V. P. Borisenkov, S. K. Bondyreva, O. V. Gukalenko, A. Ya. Danilyuk, A.U. Kuzmin, L. L. Suprunova etc.

The most important contribution  and formation of the methodological basis for the study of the problem of multicultural education was made by the works of scientists as M. M. Bakhtin, E. V. Bondarevskaya, Y. S. Davydov, G. D. Dmitriev, V. Ya.Lykova, I. V. Ogarkova, A. P. Smanzer. The thesis about the key figure of multicultural education – the teacher-is extremely relevant. Constructive ideas on this issue are contained in the studies of T. A. Gello, V. F. Gutsu, I. V. Kolokolova, L. V. Konovalova, A. K. Makarova, L. T. Tkach, and A. A. Tkachuk. Many remarkable ideas can be found in the works of Yu. V. Arutyunyan, P. Bergman, Z. P. Vasilyeva, G. N. Volkov, A. N. Dzhurinsky, V. V. Makaev, Z. A. Malkova, N. P. Senchenkov, N. V. Silistraru, L. L. Suprunova, M. Yanovskaya about the process of multicultural education and its filling with specific educational and methodological content. As we can see, one of the main provisions of multicultural education is the promotion of national personal self-identification of students by means of ethnopedagogy and the formation of their culture on the basis of universal moral values, the development of the ability to see in the representative of each nation an individual combination of individual, special and common features of spiritual life.

The concept of multicultural education originated in America in the mid-1960s and was called "polyethnic education". Nevertheless, a decade later, some researchers began to use the term "multicultural education" in their works [1, p.86], which has firmly entered scientific circulation.

The first explanation of the term "multicultural education" was given in the "International Dictionary of Pedagogy" in 1977, as well as "education, which includes the organization and content of the pedagogical process, in which two or more cultures are represented, differing in language, ethnic, national or racial characteristics" [2, p. 93].

Today, there are a small number of theoretical and methodological directions: the formation of a culture of interethnic communication, the education of tolerance, the study of the ethno-pedagogical aspect in multicultural education, and, in turn, several approaches to the interpretation of this concept.

Multicultural education is: a way to resist racism, prejudice, xenophobia, bias, ethnocentrism, hatred based on cultural differences (Dmitriev G. D.); an alternative to international education, meaning "an integrative - pluralistic process with three main sources: Russian, national and universal" (Dzhurinsky A. N.); as well as preparation for life in a multi-ethnic society: mastering the culture of one's own people, forming ideas about the diversity of cultures and fostering ethnic tolerance (Palatkina G. V.); the development of a person capable of active and effective life in a multinational and multicultural environment, who has a developed sense of understanding and respect for other cultures, as well as the ability to live in peace and harmony with people of different nationalities (Makaev V. V., Malkova Z. A., Suprunov L. L.) [3, p. 3-10].

The multicultural nature of education includes the following components: education of citizenship and readiness for active participation in the life of society, contributing to the continuous development of society, democracy; understanding, preservation, assimilation of local, international and historical cultures in the context of cultural pluralism; education of children's ability to protect and multiply the social values that form the basis of a democratic society; development and improvement of education at all levels, including teacher training, professional development.

The development of the reform of multicultural education takes into account the following strategic objectives and implements the idea of integrating this type of education into a single educational multicultural space at the global level: updating the content of education, focusing on the values of civil society, the ideas of information pedagogy and multicultural education; pedagogical means of improving the quality of education, involving the transition to international standards of education through improving the methodological level of teaching and research work, the assimilation of teachers of educational institutions of advanced achievements in the relevant fields of pedagogy. And it means that one of the most important meaning of education was the creation of a system of purposeful interaction of all institutions of society and schools in a multicultural educational space.

Therefore, multicultural educational institutions are studied by us as a local socio-pedagogical education, which is a module of a holistic multicultural educational space. Educational institutions are a cultural space the joint life activity of teachers and students, which combines the general cultural, social, educational and personal. These are organizations such as: kindergarten, school, college, university, providing pedagogical support for the adaptation of the individual in a multicultural environment; scientific and theoretical platform for the introduction of multicultural education technologies.

In accordance with the above characteristics of the multicultural educational space, it should be recognized that for modern educational systems, the content of multicultural education, any institution of education, must meet such criteria as: reflection in the educational material of humanistic ideas; characteristics of unique ethnic, national, original features in the cultures of the peoples of a certain state and the world; disclosure in the cultures of peoples of common elements of traditions that allow living in peace, harmony, tolerance, harmony; introduction of students to the world culture, disclosure of the process of globalization, the interdependence of countries and peoples in modern conditions; humanism, which expresses unconditional faith in the good principles inherent in the nature of the child; democracy, based on the recognition of equal rights and obligations of adults and children, granting the latter freedom of life in the family, school, in the social environment; tolerance, tolerance of other views, mores, habits, to the peculiarities of different peoples, nations, religions; competence, as well as the need for the formation of special abilities of teachers and students to master knowledge, the education of an intellectual personality capable of solving creative tasks in a multicultural society; the basic basis of the content of multicultural education, which is intended to act as a cultural approach.

Multicultural education focuses on several pedagogical principles: education of human dignity and high moral qualities; education for the coexistence of social groups of different races, religions, ethnic groups, education of tolerance, readiness for mutual cooperation. The main function of multicultural education is, first of all, to eliminate the contradiction between the systems and norms of education and training of dominant nations, on the one hand, and ethnic minorities, on the other. Among the functions of multicultural education include: the formation of ideas about the diversity of cultures and their interrelationships; the awareness of the importance of cultural diversity for self-realization; fostering positive attitudes towards cultural differences; development of skills of interaction of different cultures on the basis of tolerance and understanding. Multicultural education pursues 3 groups of goals, which can be defined by the concepts of "pluralism", "equality" and " unification»: 1) respect for and preservation of cultural diversity; 2) the support of equal rights to education and upbringing; on the formation in the spirit of national political, economic, and spiritual values. The key goals of multicultural education are multi-stage. When cultivating respect for other cultures, tolerance is only the beginning of familiarizing oneself with other cultures. The following must be followed by the understanding, respect, finally, active solidarity. Then such concepts as interaction, interdependence, and interchange, based on an understanding of the characteristics of different cultures, are recognized. Multicultural education is both the acquisition of knowledge and appropriate education, "the transmission of more accurate and improved information with respect for minority groups, overcoming prejudice and promoting tolerance, improving the academic achievements of minority schoolchildren, and promoting the ideals of democracy and pluralism"[4, p.240].

We all know that multicultural education should be considered as part of pedagogical efforts that provide cultural and social identification of the individual, and open to other cultures, nationalities, races, and beliefs. The content of multicultural education is thus built around four orientations: socio-cultural identification of the individual; mastering the system of concepts and ideas about the multicultural environment; fostering a positive attitude to a diversified cultural environment; and developing social communication skills.

Summing up what has been said about the functions, goals, and content of multicultural education, it can be argued that it is intended to create a pedagogically favorable mutual enrichment of small and dominant cultures, resulting in the formation and self-determination of the individual. It means taking into account the cultural, educational and educational interests of ethnic minorities in a pluralistic cultural and national environment and the leading role of the culture of the main ethnic group. In the course of multicultural education, there is a mutual enrichment of large and small ethnic groups without infringing on the latter in the spirit of the ideals of a democratic civil society.

References:

1. Гаганова О.К. Поликультурное образование в США: теоретические основы и содержание. // Педагогика.-2005.- №1.-С.86.
2. Джуринский А.Н. Поликультурное воспитание: сущность и перспективы развития. // Педагогика.- 2002.- №10.-С.93.
3. Макаев В.В., Малькова З.А., Супрунова Л.Л. Поликультурное образование – актуальная проблема современной школы // Педагогика.-2007.-№4.-С.3-10.
4. Караковский В. А. Воспитательная система школы. - М., 2004.- С.240.