Unity over diversity? Teachers’ perceptions and practices of multicultural education in Kenya

Abstract

ABSTRACT The current paper analyses how multicultural education is perceived and practised by secondary school teachers in Kenya, an ethnically diverse African country with a history of inter-ethnic tensions. The authors have conducted a large-scale survey among 925 secondary school teachers in Nairobi, complemented by 68 in-depth follow-up interviews. They analyse five dimensions of multicultural education using quantitative and qualitative methods . Their approach and focus are empirically and methodologically innovative since most studies in the field of multicultural education remain qualitative in nature, analyse attitudes of pre-service teachers, and are predominantly conducted in the United States. While Kenyan teachers value multicultural education and to a lesser extent implement multicultural teaching strategies, their findings indicate that Kenyan teachers seem to attach more importance to promoting unity than to recognising and celebrating diversity at school.