Intercultural dimensions in the (new) curriculum of Cyprus: The way forward

In 2010, the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) in Cyprus introduced a 'new' national curriculum for all public schools of the Cypriot republic. The overarching purpose of this study is to examine how the ongoing educational reform in Cyprus could set a different ideological framework, within which intercultural education may be developed and implemented. To this end, it provides a number of important insights into the intercultural dimension of the 'new' national curriculum by exploring the formal and the ideological levels of the curriculum. More specifically, it indicates the ways in which the ideological curriculum has been formed by the complex and often counteractive discourses of monoculturalism, multiculturalism and interculturalism due to the socio-historical context of Cyprus. The conclusions of this study assert that further research should be conducted to examine the implications pertaining to teachers' practice and student learning with regard to intercultural education.