English School Teachers with a Background in Translation Studies: Exploring Multiculturalism in School Curriculum

This study aimed to examine the status of multiculturalism in the English curriculum in Iran from the viewpoint of high school teachers and students. To this aim, a quantitative survey method was used. The participants recruited for this study consisted of two groups. The first group included 250 high school students who were selected through convenience sampling from a representative sample of high schools in Fars Province in Iran. The second group consisted of 150 EFL teachers with a background in translation studies who were selected through convenience sampling. They were selected from the EFL teachers at high schools in Fars Province in Iran. There were two instruments used in this study. The first instrument involved a questionnaire with 20 5-Point-Likert items, which was developed for eliciting the students’ perspectives about the application of multicultural education in teaching English to Iranian high school students. The second instrument consisted of 40 -point- Likert items, which was developed for measuring the teachers’ perspectives about the application of multicultural education in teaching English to Iranian high school students. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics and one-sample t-tests. The results of data analysis showed that multicultural education is not appropriately applied in English curriculum of Iranian high schools. Teachers may need more information and training regarding the positive effects of a multicultural education on all learners. Thus, multicultural education should be implemented in the ELT curriculum, introducing students to an excellent and challenging range of world literature.