Why attending publicly funded schools may help students become more culturally sensitive

A new study found that graduates of publicly funded schools were more likely to disagree with statements such as 'discrimination is no longer a major problem.' (Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages), CC BY-NC

Being an intercultural citizen — someone who supports the principle of a multicultural state and also demonstrates positive personal attitudes towards diversity — is considered essential from a human rights perspective. What kind of learning best supports its development?

To try to answer this question, I surveyed close to 400 recent Ontario high school graduates who attended regular and specialized programs in public and private schools and interviewed 14 students.