2020-2021 Grant in Aid of Research
Understanding Multiculturalism in Saudi Education
Mohammed Alharbi
Multicultural education is a reform movement that provides students from different racial, social classes, languages, and cultural backgrounds equal opportunity to achieve their educational potential. Saudi Arabia is a multicultural country. The cultural diversity increases in some cities such as the holy city of Mecca, where it has a large number of Muslim immigrants and millions of visitors throughout the year. This cultural diversity is strongly reflected in schools in the Mecca region. For example, a large number of charter schools have existed for non-Saudi students who do not attend public schools because they do not have legal residency, or they prefer to study with students from the same cultural background. Many of these charter schools were established in poor communities a long time ago; thus, they have a weak and unhealthy learning environment. The general directorate of education in the Mecca region has initiated two educational reform movements, the first was in 1993 and the second from 2014 to 2016, to integrate non-Saudi students in public schools in order for students to receive a better educational opportunity. Due to the educational reform movements and the increase of foreign workers who live with their families in Mecca, multicultural education becomes necessary for developing an education system that provides equal opportunity for all students to learn and achieve their potential. The primary purpose of this qualitative study is to explore teachers’ attitudes toward teaching multicultural classrooms in Saudi Arabia. The study aims to explore Saudi teachers’ perceptions regarding multiculturalism and multicultural education.