有鑑於多元文化是社會發展的趨勢，而教育與社會改革常有密不可分的關係，本 文藉由探討多元文化教育的內涵和目標，反省社會上種種隱含的歧視與不公平現象。針對多 元文化所蘊涵的各個層面，依所蒐集到的文獻資料作以下分析：種族教育方面，由多數族群 文化為中心的課程結構，到肯定少數族群對自己文化的認同；宗教教育方面，由以往禁止、 冷漠的消極態度，到開放、關注的積極政策；兩性教育方面，檢討傳統男女角色的刻板印象 ，到重視兩性平權的教育；鄉土（母語）教育，課程內容和教學語言由「中國意識」、國語 文教學到關懷本土歷史文化與母語保存；特殊教育方面，由特殊學校或特殊班級的隔離政策 到回歸主流，使特殊學生融入整體教育環境當中。最後歸結：多元文化教育乃是協助兒童擴 展知覺和關懷的領域，感受不同的生活型態和文化表達方式，學習尊重、接納和欣賞每種人 、事、物的美好。

　　　　　In view of the fact that multiculture is the current trend of social development and that social reform is closely related to education, this study aims to rethink the discrimination and injustice existing in society through the exploration of the contents and objectives of multicultural education. Based on documents on hand, analysis is made as follows: 1. Racial Education: The curriculums centered on the culture of the majority have developed reflecting the minority's recognition of their own culture. 2. Religious Education: The negative attitude of prohibition and indifference has changed to the positive policy of permission and concern. 3. Gender Education: Education in this respect has progressed from discussing the roles of both sexes to emphasizing gender fairness. 4. Mother Tongue Education: Curriculum contents and language teaching have changed from "Chinese ideology" and Chinese language to local history, local culture, and mother tongue. 5. Special Education: Segregation policy of special schools and special classes has returned to the mainstream of education, and special students have been included in normal education. In conclusion, the purpose of multicultural education is to teach the different ways of life and different cultural expression and also to teach respect, acceptance, and appreciation of the beauty of different kinds of men, things, and objects.