우리 사회는 급속하게 다문화사회로 이동하고 있다. 학교에서는 다문화사회에 대비한 다문화교육을 실시할 필요가 있다. 현재 초등학교 다문화가정의 자녀들이 겪는 문제는 학습부진과 정서적 적응의 어려움이다. 이는 다문화가정의 구성원이 지니는 정체성의 혼란, 그리고 다수의 사회구성원들이 지닌 그들에 대한 편견에서 비롯된 것이다. 다문화사회에 진입한 나라들의 사례는 다문화사회의 구성원들이 겪는 갈등이 쉽게 해소되기 어렵지만, 그 갈등은 반드시 해소되어야 한다는 점을 보여주고 있다. 초등학교의 다문화교육은 다문화가정 자녀들이 학교생활을 성공적으로 해나가도록 구체적 방안을 마련하는 일, 그리고 다수의 구성원들의 인식을 변화시키는 두 가지 방향으로 이루어져야 한다.

Korean society is changing gradually into multicutural society. There is a new generation emerging with a diversified ethnic and cultural background. Today, multicutural education becomes an important issue in Korea. The children of multicultural families have difficulties in adapting themselves to their new situation in Korea. Also it is presumed that thousands of children of foreign workers` family of school age are wandering in the country without registration in school. Nowadays the support plan for these children is very limited on primary school, so thousands of children of multicultural families are suffering from difficulties in language-adaptation and psychological adaptation at school. And they have some serious problems to the life and learning at school. But it is hard to find any curriculum based program or extracurricular program, and systematic assistant program which help them to study and adapt in school. The country has to try to harmonize the new emerging multicultural people with Korean majority, to make them understand on each other, to support them to live as the equal member of Korean society, which is changing to multicultural society. Multicultural education includes respecting the nature of cultural differences and similarities; understanding intercultural differences as well as individuals` many differences. And through multicultural education, it is necessary for Koreans to be prepared as matured citizens who are able to respect all different cultures and human races.