Multiculturalism and Education: the example of Thessaloniki

As the developments in the immigration and refugee issue are rapid and have created new conditions in the Greek school reality, it was deemed necessary to investigate the attitudes and perceptions of university students about multiculturalism. On top of that and because the city and the society of Thessaloniki has been characterized as multicultural for a long time, it was considered important to be part of this research. Specifically, we investigated the attitudes and perceptions of students of the School of Primary of Education in Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh), regarding multiculturalism and the conditions for the integration of this multicultural past in the course of History. The results of the research showed that the basic education of future teachers should be redesigned with a clear strengthening of the intercultural direction through the introduction of compulsory courses of intercultural education and local history. The purpose is the formation of appropriate scientific and pedagogical competence, but also the cultivation of modern, progressive and anti-racist views and beliefs.