Differentiated instruction and Intercultural Education. Two Parallel Approaches Towards Social Justice and Inclusion

Abstract

This paper discusses the principles of Intercultural Education and Differentiation of Instruction, focusing on their points of intersection and proposing an eclectic, yet unifying approach that could maximize their theoretical and the instructional potential, resulting into optimum practices for handling diversity in contemporary, pluralistic-mixed ability classrooms. The proposed framework derives from the theory of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (Gay, 2010, Kea, Campbell-Whatley & Richards, 2006, Ladson-Billings, 1995) while the practical suggestions are based on the Interculturally Differentiated Curriculum (Alenuma-Nimoh, 2012).