A critique of multicultural education policy in non-Western teacher education: unravelling in-service teachers’ perceptions and practices

Purpose This article seeks to unpack multicultural education in Moroccan teacher education by: (1) examining teachers’ conceptualization of multicultural education, (2) scrutinizing how cultural diversity is addressed within English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ teaching instructions and practices and (3) probing into the main philosophical underpinnings that may hinder their teaching practices in ways that do not promote social justice and equity in teacher education. Design/methodology/approach This study was conducted using a qualitative research methodology through email interviews with EFL teachers to examine their assumptions and practices of intercultural education. Qualitative research is particularly well-suited for exploring context-dependent phenomena, as it allows for a rich, detailed understanding of participants’ perspectives and experiences (Creswell and Creswell, 2018). Findings The findings of the present paper reveal that although the field is deemed to promote global justice, diversity and inclusivity in language teaching classrooms, its perspectives and practices remain widely influenced by Western educational policies and ideologies. The paper further argues for more critical engagements with multicultural education in non-Western contexts whose educational programmes and orientations might stay modelled by Western educational pedagogies. Data also point to a range of complexities and dynamics underpinning Moroccan teachers’ practices of multicultural education. Research limitations/implications One of the limitations is the participants' late responses to online interview prompts. Practical implications The paper offers practical implications for language teacher education. These include (1) encouraging language educators to adjust and adapt their teaching philosophies and practices to their contexts and conditions and (2) alerting them to the mainstream educational principles that may not account for the cultural and linguistic diversities of southern classrooms. Social implications The paper’s social implications reside in promoting social justice, equity and diversity within language teacher education. Originality/value This is the first research to address Moroccan teachers’ perceptions and practices of multicultural education.