Role of ASEAN Universities and Colleges in Cultural Integration and Positive Social Behavior Promotion in Education

Abstract

Multicultural education is an idea, an approach to school reform and a movement for equity, social justice and democracy. Its goal is to restructure education institutions so that all students acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to function in an ethnically and racially diverse nation and the world. Today, the United States has been called a melting-pot country or a multicultural nation for accumulating immigrants from different countries over history. In the Philippines, the number of international students is increasing since 2011 according to the Bureau of Immigration. This is the result of the internationalization of colleges and universities under the supervision of the Commission on Higher Education and the vibrant student exchange program in the higher learning institutions. As to Pangasinan State University has several existing international collaborations for student exchange program in the countries of Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia under the project of Southeast Asian Minister of Education, Organization, and Innovation and Technology or SEAMEO.