One of the common ways in which schools address cultural diversity is by hosting a Cultural Day or Cultural Week. This may involve students being invited to dress in cultural attire, share dishes from their ethnic cuisines, and perform a traditional dance. Critics have called this the “Fs” of culture: food, folk-dancing, festivals, fashion, and flags.

While this approach to celebrating multiculturalism may be well intentioned and can help celebrate the unique identities of children and young people, if it remains a one-time celebration, it reduces culture to the visible and superficial. It may signal a tokenistic attitude that lacks genuine cultural responsiveness to families’ needs, aspirations, and desires. It may also imply an assimilationist ideology. By celebrating linguistic and cultural practices that are different to the dominant group in society, we are highlighting the existing inequity that keeps some families marginalized and disempowered. Such one-off celebrations signal that the dominant way of life must be the “normal” or “right” way, as it is the daily experience of the school. It also represents other cultures as static, exotic, or homogenous.

To move beyond a surface level acknowledgment of cultures, we need to embed culture at the heart of learning and make it a regular part of our teaching. You might like to try some of these suggestions. Continue reading →