Delivering Services in Multicultural Societies

by Marc, Alexandre

• ISBN13: 9780821380499
• ISBN10: 0821380494
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-11-23
• Publisher: World Bank

Summary

This book reviews recent approaches in taking into account cultural diversity in delivery of basic services. It provides an outlook on the debate on multiculturalism from various perspectives and discusses the benefits and risks of policies supporting cultural diversity. The book then examines policies and programs supporting cultural diversity in the delivery of basic services: education, health care, customary law, traditional governance systems, and cultural services. Finally the book attempts a synthesis of what has been learned from the experience of taking cultural diversity into account in delivery of services.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. xi
About the Author	p. xiii
Abbreviations	p. xv
Introduction: Culture and Services	p. 1
Background and Definitions	p. 1
Purpose and Organization	p. 4
Cultural Diversity and Public Policy	p. 7
Migrations, Minorities, and the Demand for Cultural Recognition	p. 8
A Growing International Recognition of Cultural Rights	p. 12
A New Paradigm: The Concept of Multicultural Citizenship	p. 14
Managing Cultural Diversity through Public Policy	p. 18
Significance of Cultural Diversity in Making Public Policy for Development and Poverty Reduction	p. 23
The Risks of Taking Culture into Account in Developing Public Policy	p. 27
Cultural Diversity and Service Delivery	p. 31
Education	p. 31
Health Care	p. 40
Cultural Services	p. 46
Delivering Services through Traditional Local Governance Systems	p. 50
Designing and Implementing Policies That Support Cultural Diversity in Service Delivery	p. 57
A Conceptual Framework to Guide Policies	p. 58
No Universal Solutions	p. 60
Understanding Political Motivations	p. 61
Integrated and Multisectoral Approaches	p. 62
Establishing National Frameworks for Managing Cultural Diversity	p. 64
Establishing Clarity in Decentralization Frameworks	p. 65
Involvement of Concerned Sociocultural Groups	p. 66
Balance between Citizens' Rights and Cultural Rights	p. 68
Socioeconomic Conditions	p. 69
Cost of Multicultural Programs	p. 70
Long-Term Investments and Strategies	p. 72
Evaluation	p. 73
Adapting Services to a Diverse Society	p. 75
Appendix: What is Cultural Identity?	p. 79
Bibliography	p. 83
Index	p. 91
Boxes
Definitions	p. 2
Minority Group Designations and Definitions	p. 10
UN Recognition of Ethnic and Racial Rights	p. 13
Agency: A Definition	p. 17
Dominant Minorities	p. 23
Success of Multicultural Education Reform in Papua New Guinea	p. 32
Maori Immersion Education and Education Outcomes	p. 34
Institutionalized Discrimination: Segregated Schooling for the Roma	p. 36
Social Inclusion and Preschool in Albania and Kosovo	p. 38
Considerations in Bilingual Education	p. 40
Roma Health Mediators in Roma Communities	p. 42
Traditional Medicines, Contemporary Issues	p. 45
The Return of the Kanun and the Fis in Albania	p. 51
Local Governance versus National Citizenship in Totontepec, Mexico	p. 54
The Vicious Cycle of Stereotyping	p. 70
Lack of Financing Undermines Bulgarian Native Language Policy	p. 71
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