Multicultural education has several key characteristics and dimensions: First, it recognizes diversity in national, international, and sub-cultural groups. It aims to understand and appreciate different cultures. Second, it has four interrelated dimensions - integrating diverse cultures into curriculum, understanding knowledge from different cultural perspectives, using equitable teaching methods, and reducing prejudice. Third, when implemented well through a strategic school culture, multicultural education respects diversity and human dignity while addressing social issues in the community.

1. The Characteristics of Multicultural
Education
As explained previously, multicultural divided into two
terms, namely multi and culture. Multicultural is actually a
word that gets a prefix basis. Thus, the meaning of
multicultural is diversity of cultures, various politeness or a
lot of maintenance.
In order to understand the meaning of culture in
multicultural education to build an understanding of the
characteristics of culture and culture region. Culture
characteristics include general as well as something
specific, culture as something to be studied, as a symbol of
culture, and culture as forming a natural complement,
culture as something that is done together as attributes for
individuals from other groups, cultures as something that is
adaptive.

2. • First, national cultures shaped various kinds of
experience, the nature and value that used by all
citizens who are in the country.
• Second, international culture formed from cultural
tradition that extends beyond the boundaries of the
national territory of a country through the
deployment process (diffusion), a process of a
merger between two or more cultures through
several ways such as marriage, migration, mass
media and even through the film.
• Third, as a sub-cultural differences in the
characteristics of cultural groups.

3. • Understanding multicultural education course
has broad implications in education. Because
education itself is generally understood as a
lifelong process. Thus, multicultural education
has the character to do the honors and awards
are the highest against human dignity wherever
he came and cultured whatsoever.

4. The Dimension of Multicultural
Education
• James Banks explains that multicultural education has
several interrelated dimensions, namely: First, Content
Integration, which integrates a variety of cultures and
groups to illustrate the basic concepts and theories in
various subjects. Secondly, the knowledge construction
process, which brings students to understand the cultural
implications in a subject. Third, an equity paedagogy, ie
adjust teaching methods with student learning in order to
facilitate student academic achievement both in terms of
racial, cultural or social. Fourth, prejudice reduction, which
identifies students' racial characteristics and determine
their teaching methods.

5. • For the first, the effort to integrate multicultural
education in the curriculum, among others
conceived of the word where or what part of the
curriculum integration can be placed?. The
content (content) including curriculum includes
how to reduce prejudice in the treatment and
behavior of certain racial and ethnic prejudice in
any material can be presented.

6. • In the second dimension, learned about the
history of the development of society and its
treatment as well as the reactions of other
ethnic groups. History contains things that are
positive and negative things that need to be
known by students in an effort to determine the
condition of the people today

7. • The third dimension, racial prejudice is turned on
since the beginning of the growth of children. In
association fellows began instilled positive and
negative prejudices against each other. The
power contained in the association group
eventually able to reduce prejudice.

8. • The fourth dimension, culture is always
associated in real life happens in intercultural
and multiculture scale. Interculture scale
communities build social bonds with the
groupthink. Whatever the reason, stick to the
one word that humans are born weak and
helpless.

9. Empowering School Culture
• Schools as institutions of formal education is seen as
a gateway for cultural development task for
students. As the gate, then the school should have
the power to create positive cultural Strategic
accordance with the philosophy of the community.
• Appreciate the philosophy of the people who
appreciate the plurality of meaning contained
therein characteristics of multicultural education-
oriented interests. If the approach to education was
implemented, it would itself be born a strong school
culture in the face of social problems in the
community.

10. • As an effort to achieve the goals, the
implementation of education also requires an
approach that makes it possible to help achieve
educational outcomes. Educational approach can
be formulated into several approach such as : (1)
pedagogical (pedagogisme), (2) philosophical
(filosofisme), (3) religious, (4) psychological, (5)
negativism, and (6) sociological.

11. • Pedagogical approach is the approach that
argues that the child will be brought up to be
adults through education. This view is very
respectful of each stage of development to
adulthood.
• Philosophical approach is an approach which
argues about human nature and the nature of
the child. Children have their own nature and
the adults also has its own nature.

12. • Religious approach is the approach that sees
human beings as religious. Thus the essence of
education is to bring students into a religious
man. As God's creatures, students must be
prepared to live up and to be godless.
• Psychological approach is an approach that
tends to reduce science education into science
teaching and learning process. One a more
pragmatic form quickly interpret technical
working daam educational process. How the
child is raised through the learning process
based on age and developmental abilities.

13. • Negativis approach is the approach that states
that the task of educators is to maintain growth.
In this growth needs to be removed things that
can damage or that are negatively affecting the
growth of children.
• Sociological approach is an approach that uses
social aspects of the child to develop social
consciousness of students. It is seen from the
aspect of social, family, and the community in
which he lived.