1. Why Multiculturalism Matters:
Perceptions and Policies
Dr Jaimee Stuart
Centre for Longitudinal Research
University of Auckland

2. Defining Multiculturalism
• Descriptive: Living in a society with many
different ethnic communities - a culturally
diversity context
• Ideological: An approach to dealing with
cultural diversity that endorses tolerance,
equality, and pluralism

3. Levels of Multiculturalism
• The societal policies and attitudes towards
cultural diversity
– Societal Level
• A person’s thoughts and feelings / perceptions
of the amount of tolerance of cultural
diversity
– Individual Level

4. Multiculturalism: Societal
• Policies
• Percentage of immigrants / cultural
homogeneity
• Linguistic diversity
• Multicultural ideologies
– Negative and positive attitudes towards
immigrants

5. Societal Multiculturalism in NZ
• NZ is demographically multicultural
– Although multiculturalism is not articulated in law
• New Zealanders endorse a multicultural
ideology
– Although endorsements tend to be symbolic
– Some types of cultural diversity are preferred over
others

6. Findings
• How do societal levels of multiculturalism
impact on people?
– Host nationals
– Ethnic minorities

7. Multiculturalism: Individual Level
• Personal acceptance of cultural diversity
– Attitudes towards integration
• Perceptions that the environment you live in is
accepting / tolerant
– Subjective multiculturalism

8. Findings
• How does personal acceptance of diversity
and the perception of living in a tolerant,
multicultural society impact on people?
– Host nationals
– Ethnic minorities

9. Summary
• Multiculturalism is multifaceted, examining
the impacts at one level does not give a
picture of the lived experience of cultural
diversity
• Multiculturalism does not exist “out there”,
but rather is dynamically constituted by
individuals within a society

10. • “I think another cool thing was meeting
people from different backgrounds. Not just
Kiwis but other cultures... that makes things
more interesting, you know, the
multiculturalism in New Zealand. And I think
being open to other cultures and accepting. I
don’t think you find that a lot in other
countries”

11. Thank You
Contact: j.stuart@auckland.ac.nz