Education Policies and Teacher Training in Some Multicultural Countries

In this study, multicultural education policies and teacher training programs of some multicultural countries, Sweden, Canada and Australia, are examined. The study is designed as a descriptive research and scientific articles and online web sites are studied to gather information. The data is designed under three main titles as Sweden, Canada and Australia and the multicultural education policies and teacher training programs are examined in terms of multicultural education. The findings about these three countries are combined in the discussion part and some generalizations about the multicultural education are sought. Considering all these information, although Sweden has accepted multiculturalism officially and integrated it into the programs of education faculties, it can be stated that there are some problems in implementations. Similarly, Canada has published some reports and documents accepting multiculturalism officially, yet multicultural courses at teacher training programs are limited to only elective courses. The situation is not different for Australia, either. Even though Australia has followed multicultural policies since 1970’s, and even apply them at teacher training programs, because of both the deficiencies of teachers and some other practical issues, the country faced problems in education in terms of multiculturalism. In conclusion, none of the countries could conduct a healthy multicultural education even though they accepted multiculturalism officially