This is focused on clarifying the interconnection of multicultural education and education for international understanding (EIU), by reviewing the concepts and approaches to multicultural education in the advanced countries such as United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Japan. One of the findings in the review of these four countries is that the trend of multicultural education is from assimilation of the minorities towards ‘inclusiveness for all’; separation approach in early stage used to be criticized and resisted against from the perspective of the marginalized minorities. In particular, the rapid globalization makes multicultural education
come up to the surface of the themes of global education. The themes of multicultural education in those four countries are antiprejudices/anti-racism, de-colonialism, cultural diversity, identities,citizenship, democracy and human rights/gender-equality as such; critical teaching method, curriculum reconstruction, and multicultural sensitivities of teachers are needed as a working condition in schools. In the meantime, EIU based on the recommendation declared in UNESCO Assembly in 1974 was composed of people’s right to equality, peace maintenance, antiracism/human rights, de-colonialism, sustainable development, conservation of human cultural heritages and international cooperation as contents to be taught in schools; these contents are to be dealt by critical teaching methods based on solidarity of the social vulnerable. UNESCO Asia-Pacific Center of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU) has developed a comprehensive model of EIU bringing five columns, which are multi-culture, globalization, human rights, peace and sustainable development. Multicultural education and EIU seem to have interconnection with similarities as well as differences in their meanings and directions, coping with issues from the diverse educational context. Therefore the interests of the social vulnerable groups need to be reflected in those two ethical educational agenda towards the culture of peace and human rights.