Currently, immigration and emigration are a reality of modern society: intercultural education expands the boundaries from accompaniment and reception and solving problems to creating opportunities to offer migrants. Intercultural education is not an education for immigrants”; it is an education for all citizens. It includes goals and actions aimed not only at the students themselves but also at the target groups of participants in the educational process.
Equality and diversity, justice in relation to inequality and the right to these differences are the main principles of intercultural education. One of the pedagogical models is the cultural enrichment of citizens, the purpose of which is to show people the diversity of nations through dialogue (De Melendez & Beck, 2019). In my work experience, this includes a democratic discussion with children about equality and tolerance in society. Thus, when working with children, I talk about the fact that the need to respect every person, regardless of the nation, is the key to a healthy society. Additionally, to solve the problems of multicultural education in groups, corners have been created to get acquainted with the native land and with the territories of other nations.
Familiarization of preschoolers with national cultures is realized through the integration of educational areas “Cognitive development”, “Speech development”, “Social and communicative development”, and “Artistic and aesthetic development”. “Physical development” also contributes to the solution of these problems since the formation of physical qualities, motor skills and abilities is closely related to the education of moral and volitional personality traits. Physical education should be considered more broadly – as a pedagogical process of personality education (De Melendez & Beck, 2019). Through physical exercises, I explain to children that a healthy and strong person can come to the rescue if another one is in trouble.
The game is a natural companion of life and therefore meets the laws laid down by nature itself in the developing body of the child – his irrepressible need for cheerful movements (De Melendez & Beck, 2019). The game gives the child the opportunity to “live” what he learned in the process of direct educational activity. Stories about folk traditions will not achieve their goal if they are not continued in games, visual, and theatrical activities (De Melendez & Beck, 2019). Outdoor games are aimed at instilling in children a sense of community and tolerance. They teach preschoolers to be disciplined and persistent in overcoming difficulties.
The relevance of multicultural education is connected with the demand of time. In the modern educational system, a center is a person who is brought up and developed in a multicultural space. A higher national consciousness awakens the need to recognize the culture of other people. Thus, the desire to acquire cultural and ethnic identity determines the multicultural education of the child. A great contribution to the process of multicultural education is made directly through educational activities in visual activity.
Children learn the basics of fine art and use the national color of colors and patterns. All work on multicultural education carried out by our teaching staff together with parents is a spiritual and moral component of education. The upbringing of a small citizen, ready and able to live in a multicultural environment, is an urgent problem of modern preschool education and requires close attention. This is due to the fact that the deepest scientific knowledge becomes useless without spirituality and the latest technologies. Thus, the involvement of preschoolers in social activities is a necessary part of the development of society.
Reference
De Melendez, W. R., & Beck, V. (2019). Teaching young children in multicultural classrooms: Issues, concepts, and strategies. Cengage Learning.