Teaching multicultural character education in the classroom: a five-stage teaching strategy

This article addresses a critical gap in the current literature on teaching character education: its relative silence on the multicultural sensitivities required for culturally diverse classrooms. The authors argue that current frameworks do not provide a clear strategy for teachers to conduct character education in a multicultural context. To resolve this, the paper proposes a five-stage teaching strategy grounded in two models: the ‘Multifaceted Identification Model’ and the ‘Contextual Virtue Identification Model’. This framework guides students from early habituation – supported by teachers modelling multicultural competence – to the cultivation of phronesis through critical reflection on moral dilemmas. By integrating culturally responsive teaching into neo-Aristotelian character education, for example, the strategy seeks to develop independent moral agents’ multicultural competence and relevant virtue components. Overall, the article provides a practical roadmap for educators to foster ethical growth that respects individual identity and cultural diversity in globalised multicultural societies.