Intercultural education in the face of contemporary problems: from adaptive strategy to formative process

In the context of ongoing socio-cultural and civilizational changes, this study highlights selected contemporary issues: globalization and cultural homogenization, the migration and refugee crisis, the rise of xenophobic attitudes, nationalism and radicalization, the development of new communication technologies, and disinformation as sources of cultural tensions. The characterization of selected conceptual categories was based on desk research, which involves collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data and information from existing sources, and then drawing conclusions regarding the researched issue. The data collection process involved categorizing the sources, searching for available data/documents within each source category, and reviewing and assessing the collected data for relevance and quality. The author puts forward a thesis that defining the direction in which modern societies should move lacks a reference to the axionormative layer. Cultural openness and the need for intercultural education are becoming essential values, providing an opportunity to create democratic education based on different axiology and social policy, stemming from the perception of the needs and expectations of individuals and groups. In this perspective, contemporary intercultural education, understood as a process and attitude, should constitute a holistic approach to education, implemented at all stages of education. It cannot merely supplement traditional education as an adaptive strategy – it should be/become a formative process, shaping attitudes, values, and competencies that enable individuals and groups to function in an increasingly complex and culturally diverse reality.