ABSTRACT. The article discusses the relationship between the formation and development of the global multicultural environment of the second half of XX the beginning of XXI century and the US educational policy. On the basis of research studies of American and Russian authors an analytical overview of the active debate on the multicultural character of the American education system and of its main components such as conceptual, economic and legislativeis made in the article.; key differences of the "assimilation" policy from the policy of ―cultural pluralism‖, its successor in the second half of the twentieth century, are identified in this paper . An attempt has been made to analyze the main structural components of a multicultural environment in American society (culture of the society itself, family, school, peers microgroup and religion) and related problems of education This paper also deals with another area of contradictions in the field of education the problem of political correctness.
Increasing number of intercultural dialogue participants at both international and regional leveland intensification of migration processes had great influenceon the formation and development of the global multicultural environment in the second half of the XX-th the beginning of the XXI-st centuries. These changes affect the educational policy of any state which despite all the differences, consists of three components: conceptual, economical and legislative. Conceptual part of the educational policy includes evaluative, philosophical aspect of state policy. It is here strategic objectives of the state in relation to education are defined,it is here the priorities are identifiedand brought to the whole society. Along with conceptual issues are important economic and legislative components are important, they act as significant mechanismsfor educational policy implementation. The state's position on the principles of the education system financingis the most important question of its economic support, which determines the financial terms of the educational system function. The third component of educational policy are the laws that govern the organization and training activities. It is system of legislation that operates at the nationwidelevelt. In the educational policy, which is a multi-level system, should dominate the idea of the priority of universal spiritual values, expressing itself through national values. In multicultural society, which is the United States, education is built taking into account the features of multicultural environment. This issue is actively discussed in the works of American scholarsresearching educational policy. (Spring, 2000, Bennet, 2005, Banks, 2003). These studies suggestthat the historically established diversity of national and ethnic cultures has created favorable conditions for multicultural education, which has become the only possible way to create favorable social and psychological environment in which every student, regardless of race, religion or social status, has equal opportunities to realize their potential abilities in the learning process. In our view, multicultural educational environment dictates the urgent need to carry out the educational process taking into account the ethnic and cultural factors creating the conditions for learning other cultures at the same time, which helps educate tolerance among the educational process participants. Multicultural educational environment is characterized by openness, the ability to respond quickly to emerging educational needs of the individual and society. In the second half of the XX-th centurythe assimilation policy called "melting pot» was replaced by the policy of "cultural pluralism." The concept of cultural pluralism was developed in the early XX-th centuryby G.Karshen,E.Bern and G. Dreksler who actively supported the civil rights of immigrants living in the United States. They rejected the idea of assimilation policy and argued that political democracy must also be cultural democracy, and that immigrants have a right to preserve their cultural heritage in American society. /1,76 /. Emphasizing polyethnic and multicultural character of American society they called it "salad bowl", and stressed that this feature will contribute to the cultural enrichment of the American civilization. They identified this new ideology as "cultural pluralism" and stressed that it should be the basis of social and educational policy (1, 102). Russian researcher I.L.Krasnov remarks that cultural pluralism is seen by American scientists as a compromise, which is characterized by a common respect between two or more ethnic society groups./2,89 /.
In such society, members of the various groups maintain their cultural traits, providing that they function in accordance with the rules necessary for survival of society as a whole. Each group retains its own uniqueness and thus contributes to the culture of society. It should be noted that J.Banks does not consider any one separately taken from the pointed above two forms of ideology acceptable to guide the educational policy in a democratic society. According to the scientist, in this case the best choice is "an eclectic form of ideology, combining both pluralistic and assimilation positions, but excluding the extreme forms of their manifestation. It is called multicultural ideology» (3, 127). Banks and his supporters are of the opinion that cultural pluralism exaggerates the importance of ethnic identity of groups, while assimilating policy, conversely, underestimates the role of ethnic groups in American society. Speaking in support of the multicultural ideology, they reject both separating and full integration, which, in their view, respectively, and call for the creation of an "open society" where individuals from different cultural, ethnic, linguistic and social groups may enjoy equal opportunities in the society. Therefore, the school should not alienate students from their native culture and help them determine their own identity, and to introduce the cultural and ethnic alternatives that exist in the society. AccordingtoJ.Banks "schools, colleges and universities should not prohibit students to exhibit their cultural behavior (clothing, language, traditions, etc.), if they do not contradict the universal values» (3, 35). Thus, we can conclude that learning in a multicultural environment should emphasize the equality of powers, intergroup harmony and cultural diversity for teachers and students, i.e. for all participants of the educational process. Let us turn to the main components of a multicultural environment and to the related problems of education. An important part of a multicultural environment is family, which, on the one hand, serves as a model of society, and on the otheris the place where the moral and spiritual potential of the individual is formed. Family collects and transmits the social experience of previous generations in traditions, value orientations, and provides the primary inclusion of the individual in the system of social relations. Nevertheless, the family is not the only factor of influence on the formation of personality, other structural elements of a multicultural environment are the school and peers. In school and college years, peers influence which forms microculture begins to dominate. It is during this period peers become the dominant factor influencing the young people lifestyle and their behavior. Individual begins to form his own views according to the standards adopted by the peers. The peer group form a code of behavior based on their own norms of solidarity, patterns of behavior, concepts of justice, right and wrong. Researchers have identified three main factors that determine the nature of a particular micro-groups: they are gender, ethnicity and socio-economic status. In this connection there is very interesting example you can find in I.L.Krasnov work /2, 97 /. In one of the colleges in Washington group of African-American students refusing to be like their white peers did notaccept the following behaviorpatterns: to speak correct English, listen to "white" music and radio stations, read ―white‖ poetry, go to the opera and museums, spend much time in the library, and study hard to get good grades, to be engaged in socialactivities. Such a point of view on the "white" behavior is supported by many students members of other ethnic minorities (Indians, Mexicans, and others.) who regard public schools as a way to assimilate them with white Americans, and that isincompatible with their cultural and ethnic identity.
The next component of the multicultural environment withits impact on education is religion. The United States is one of the few highly-developed countries where most of the population claim that religion plays a very important role in their lives. According to the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, proposed by Congress in 1789 and ratified in 1791, Congress does not have the right to support any religion or to assert a state religion or prohibit any religionfree exercise . Religious culture reflects the individual level of education andhis socialidentity. Although in the United States a few schoolstoday are homogeneous in religious terms, any school may experience a dominant influence on the part of families belonging to the same religion, which defines the parents expectations from the school and its teachers. Views on the role and place of religion in education differ very much in the US. School in the United States has historically been Protestant that determines the moral standards of education. Although the First Amendment to the Constitution defines the separation of church and state it is one of the most controversial articles of the Constitution and different groups of people interpret it in their own interests. Despite the fact that the school and religion areseparated from each other religion can be the subject of study in schools. In matters relating to the education of religious tolerance, multicultural education is based on the Maslow's theory of hierarchy of the individual needs , mainly the needs of security and ethnic identity. If these needs have not been met, then the studentsuffers increasingfeeling of concern, discomfort, fear, which may hinder the implementation of the individualhighest needs self-actualization of his potential.
The problem of religious diversity, is closely related to the issues of censorship, which spawned a whole movement in the United States inspired bydifferent religious groups. Censorship of textbooks is the subject of considerable debate , opponents of censorship say about the infringement of academic freedom in education, censorship supporters refer to increasing rates of illiteracy, violence and vandalism in educational institutions in the country. Censorship issues arerelated to another area of controversy in the field of education –to the problem of political correctness that is considered today as a serious educational problem. This term firstappeared in 1991. Gradually this phenomenon resulted in a sort of official ideology in the US, the rate of daily life, which is not taken by all society, but at the same time is not disputed by them.The problem of political correctness is particularly acute in educational sphere. A kind of experiment has been held at schools and universities in order to change the mind of a whole generation of students. It concerns the problem of overcoming prejudices prevailing at American schools and universities from the time of their foundation. It is not simple enough to refrain from insulting remarks about those or other minorities. Students and teachers arerequired to manifest "approval and promotion of diversity." /2,81/. At present time mandatory programs for freshmen, fostering sensitivity to cultural issues appeared at the US universities. These innovations have raised concerns among proponents of multicultural education, because tests, rather than open debate offering possibilities of exchanging information,as the main methods are used here. The courses considered politically correctappear to be the easiest to get credits. The content of such courses is usually reduced to talk about ethnicity, gender and class equality, tolerance and imposing the "right thinking." However, as G.D.Dmitriev pointed , "it is impossible to force a person to believe in an idea, no matter how noble it may be" /4, 105/. According to some American scholars (Bennett 1999, Bruner 2001), such attempts ―to cultivate tolerance‖ will lead to negative consequences. This approach is fraught with the danger of a more declared division of the university campus on racial and class lines.
Multicultural context of American societywith its mandatory structural components such as culture of the society, family, school, peersand religion creates the prerequisites for forming multicultural educational environment within the walls of schools and universities. The latter is a system of continuous, targeted educational activities of the teacher to arm the student with not prepared knowledge but with the ability to think critically in order to make their own value judgments about cultural, historical and political events, avoiding any kinds of prejudice.
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