An Analysis of Academicians’ Perceptions of Multicultural Education: A Turkish Experience

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceptions and experiences of academic members’that working atcollege of educationon multicultural education. In this qualitative study, open-ended questions were formed and e-mail to participants from 83 universities in Turkey that have faculties of education. Atotal of 357 academics took part in the study. The open-ended questions which were e-mailed to academics have been thoroughly analyzed, interpreted, and evaluated by means of content and thematic analysis method. The findings of this study indicated that academics (92%) consider multicultural education as an advantageous form of education for Turkey. The results suggest that the disadvantages of multicultural education might stem from it not being offered by experts. Respondents also stated that to better prepare teachers who will offer multicultural education, the phenomenon of multiculturalism should be integrated to undergraduate curriculum and teachers should acquire skills such as empathy, tolerance, and democratic thinking.