Dialogue and Praxis: Reconceptualizing Multicultural Education as a Decolonizing Effort: A Reflection on the Korean Association for Multicultural Education Conference in May 2018 at Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea

摘要

Dispossessed and marginalized peoples all across the globe are calling for greater equity and social justice in order to improve their lives. Social justice educators are at the forefront of this fight locally and globally. The election of a president in the United States who demonizes immigrants, provides cover for racists and White nationalist groups in the US and abroad, and implements policies to gut public education has made collaboration among educators to challenge inequities across the globe a top priority. The Korean Association for Multicultural Education (KAME) annual international conference in Seoul, South Korea, brought together scholars from across the globe, a great number of who are from Asian countries, in a space where issues that face educators globally are discussed and solutions examined. KAME and the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME), both organizations undergirded by a commitment to social justice and equity, have a long and established relationship that supports members of both organizations attending conferences of both organizations. Attending KAME in Seoul this summer has resulted in the following: a. Enriched my learning on the kinds of research taking place in contexts outside North America; b. Supported my understanding of social justice initiatives by scholars and practitioners in Asia and other emerging economies; c. Offered me a space to share my own research on educational leadership and teacher education with scholars, teacher candidates, and community members; and d. Allowed me to forge collaborative relationships that inform my work and research.