This report grows out of a symposium focusing on Education and Cultural and Linguistic Pluralism (ECALP), a project of enquiry of the international Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI). The report aims to clarify trends in multicultural education, and to examine the effects of cultural and linguistic development on educational systems in member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The report comprises an introduction and five chapters. Chapter I, "The Lines of Investigation," discusses the following issues basic to the study: (1) cultural identity; (2) greater cultural uniformity; (3) cultural relativism; (4) the new minorities; (5) multilingual contexts; and (6) the ethnic dilemma. Chapter II, "The Multicultural Context," describes the following sociocultural elements of the research: (1) the socio-geographical context; (2) urban changes; and (3) terminological misunderstandings. Chapter III, "Multicultural Education Policies in the OECD Countries," presents and compares systemic approaches to cultural changes in 11 member nations. Chapter IV, "Issues in the Debate on Multicultural Education," analyzes the following problems revealed by the comparison of multicultural education policies: (1) social consensus; (2) cultural identity; (3) competences of the education system and multicultural reality; (4) limits to multicultural education policies; and (5) weaknesses of the theoretical framework. Chapter V presents conclusions drawn from the analysis. Each chapter includes notes and references. (AF)