The Role of Tolerance Education in Diversity Management: A Cultural Historical Activity Theory Perspective

Abstract

Tolerance education aims to promote the culture of peace and acceptance of others for well-being and diversity management. Therefore, it is important to create learning environments, content, and facilities for tolerance education in line with the universal values in education. However, little is known about how the literature investigated and summarized the findings related to tolerance education. Therefore, this study conducts a systematic review about this topic, where 75 reviewed studies were analyzed according to the Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) components. Findings highlighted that: (1) from the subject component, future research should involve more stakeholders, like parents and policymakers, when discussing tolerance education; (2) from the object component, tolerance education should not only focus on the physical environment, but also on the virtual environment; (3) from the tools component, limited digital tools and technology have been used to promote tolerance education; (4) from the community component, more investigation of tolerance education should be outside of school contexts; (5) from the rules component, more ICT training should be provided. The use of big data and learning analytics could be one of the potential methods to assess students in tolerance education; (6) from the labor division component, school family interaction role is very important to manage risks and diversities through tolerance education; and (7) from the outcomes component, tolerance education studies should go beyond simply investigating the awareness and attitudes of learners, and investigate, for instance, the behavioral changes of learners. Finally, recommendations were made under each CHAT component.