Preparation of high school students in the area of multiculturalism

Abstract

The Czech Republic had 10,597,473 inhabitants as of September 30, 2017. Based on available data there were 493,441 foreigners with permanent residency living here as of December 31, 2016, and 221,484 with a long stay permit over 90 days. There is an increasing number of foreigners who were born in the Czech Republic - 3,709 in 2016, which is three times as many as in 2002. Most foreigners come from Ukraine, Slovakia, and Vietnam. If children in the Czech Republic are to grow up in a culturally tolerant environment, then it is necessary to prepare the future generations of teachers for that, including kindergarten teachers, as early as in high schools. Our research was conducted between 2014 and 2015 in specialized professional schools and prep schools. The goal of this research study was to establish the following: 1) How, and 2) in what subjects are students educated in multiculturalism, and 3) whether they are satisfied with this offer. Methods: The research was conducted in the form of a 16-item questionnaire. 272 fully filled out questionnaires were considered to be 100%. Results: In professional schools students get information in history, philosophy and psychology lessons. In prep schools they get a lot of information during language lessons, especially English, as it is mandatory. Conclusion: In Czech high schools students get information regarding multiculturalism in various subjects. There is no specialized subject focused on multiculturalism in any Czech high schools. A vast majority of students do not even know what the term means (C) 2018 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy.org.UK