National Integration in Multicultural School Setting In Malaysia

Malaysia is a multicultural country constituting three major ethno-culturalgroups, Malay and Bumiputera, Chinese and Indian. Owing to its diverse culturesattempts through a number of channels, politics, economics and social weremade to bring about national integration. School is thought to be the mosteffective platform to bring about national integration based on the multiculturalframework. This study examines the influence of both the selected school andstudent background variables on integration. The survey conducted on FormFour and Form Five students found that integration is not monolithic but tends to be interpreted into three frameworks or models: assimilation, multiple-identities and multiculturalism. Ethno-religious-cultural backgrounds seem to be much more influential than the school variables in determining not only thestrength but also student preference for a specific integration framework ormodel..