As we’ve entered a multicultural society, ‘multicultural education’, from which we can learn how to live together with people from different racial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural and religious backgrounds, has become a big issue. As a result, we ... As we’ve entered a multicultural society, ‘multicultural education’, from which we can learn how to live together with people from different racial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural and religious backgrounds, has become a big issue. As a result, we got busy changing and making the relevant laws. Since multicultural education is based on the relevant laws, there’s a growing need to review them in the field of education. In particular, social studies have to do with multicultural citizenship much more than any other fields of education. So, they should provide meaningful discussions on the laws related to multicultural education for the people living a in multicultural society. The purpose of this study is to analyze laws and regulations about multicultural education from the perspective of multicultural education, take a closer look at what has become major issues there and discuss how to use and deal with them to find out ways to improve multicultural education. The problems of the study are summarized as follows. Frist, we’ll see how the laws related to multicultural education can be explained from the perspective of multicultural education. That is because the perspective of multicultural education is used as a tool to compare the directions of multicultural education. Second, we’ll study how the laws related to multicultural education can be described in terms of issues of multicultural education. It will lead us to have an in-depth discussion of the problems that are revealed in the relevant laws. Lastly, we’ll discuss what the laws related to multicultural education mean for multicultural education. These may lead us to find out ways to improve multicultural education related laws. The objects of the study are multicultural education related laws, including「Constitution」, 「international law」「Nationality Act」, 「Immigration Control Law」, 「Support for Multicultural Family Act」,「Elementary and Secondary Education Act」, 「Act on the Treatment of Foreigners in Korea」 and 「Alternative School Establishment and Operation Regulation」. What sets this study from previous studies is that it covers enforcement ordinance and regulations and the relevant laws that are recently enacted or revised. The findings of the study are summarized as follows. First, it turns out that most laws related to multicultural education are based on assimilationism. Although many efforts have been made to change and make the relevant laws, such as 「international law」, 「Immigration Control Law」, 「Multicultural Families Support Act」, and「Act on the Treatment of Foreigners in Korea」on the basis of human dignity and worth, the spirit of the「Constitution」, they were not enough to make much difference. Next, in terms of the purpose of the multicultural education, the human rights of the ethnic minorities turned out not to be guaranteed under the relevant laws. For instance, it has not been settled yet to what extent the 「Constitution」should guarantee their basic human rights. 「Nationality Act」, 「Immigration Control Law」were recently revised to make it tougher to take Korean nationality. While 「Elementary and Secondary Education Act」says that it is not allowed to stop children of undocumented foreigners from entering or transferring to another school, there's no way out once they are graduated from high school because Korea applies the principle of nationality. Third, in terms of the targets of the multicultural education, the relevant laws are intended for only a small minority of groups, such as marriage immigrants and legal immigrants. When we look at the「Multicultural Families Support Act」, the state and local governments can support multicultural families by providing Korean language education.「Act on the Treatment of Foreigners in Korea」says that the state and local governments can support legal immigrants by providing education programs. Forth, in terms of the content, multicultural education related laws focus on helping a minority of people adjust to Korea and on understanding about multiculture. For example, 「Nationality Law」makes it easier for someone who completes the social integration program announced by the Minister of Justice, where they can learn Korean language and better understand multiculture, to become naturalized as a Korean citizen.「Multicultural Families Support Act」 and 「Act on the Treatment of Foreigners in Korea」also cover education for Korean language and understanding of multiculture. Fifth, it turns out that the laws related to multicultural education are scattered and carried out among different departments and many of them are overlapped. 「Multicultural Families Support Act」, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and 「Act on the Treatment of Foreigners in Korea」, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice, both cover education for understanding multiculture and for multiculture famailes almost the same way. Multicultural education has been carried out to make a minority of the people blend in or become absorbed into the predominant Korean. So, it makes it hard to realize human rights and social integrity, that is to say multiculturalism. All things considered, these laws give the implications for the multicultural education as follows. Frist, multicultural education should set up principles of ‘multiculturalism’ and establish a set of standards when it comes to changing and making multicultural education related laws. It is hard to reach an agreement unless people change the way they think, so social studies, taking charge of civic eduacation, should try to make that happen. For instance, social studies should try to lead ‘integrated education' to the point where people can think of a minority of people as who should be integrated, not be segregated. Second, multicultural education should place much importance on ‘human rights education' to make up for the imperfection of the multicultural education related laws and establish a set of standards when it comes to changing and making them. Especially, social studies should take up a role in leading such human rights education. It is because social studies deal with social problems such as gender, racial, disability discrimination, all of which have to do with human rights, and any problems related to human rights also have to do with multicultural education. Third, multicultural education should also play a role in educating the vast majority of the population, not only a small minority of them, to make up for the imperfection of the laws about multicultural education. Ultimately, it should lead ‘civic education’ to help both of them, now just being educated, become the ones who can lead multicultural education. The reason is that multicultural education has been trying to train citizens to adapt themselves to social changes. Forth, when it comes to defining what multiculturalism should be, we should take the sprit of the constitution into account, such as human dignity and worth and human rights. Even though multicultural education places much importance on diversity, we can’t accept cultures by any stretch which go against human dignity and worth and abuse basic human rights. Especially, social studies can play an important role in ‘education for understanding multiculture’ because you can learn issues related to cultural diversity from them. Last but not least, multicultural education should set up a stage for the fundamental act on multiculture to carry out consistent and continuous multicultural education. It is because social studies have to do with multicultural education much more than any other fields of education, explore social issues with a critical eye and put what they learn from them into practice. When the field of education tries to establish a set of standards in regards to changing and making multicultural education related laws, it makes it possible to find out better ways to improve multicultural education.
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