This paper explores some reasons why the concept of multicultural education did not exist until recently, what the concept is, and some directions that educational administrators might take to promote cultural pluralism in education. Social and political conditions which led to the idea of multicultural education are reviewed. It is argued that minority group dissatisfaction with the educational system's focus on homogeneity was the stimulus for the development of the concept. Multicultural education is described as a commitment to a social system that will revere human dignity and the worth of the individual. Factors that should be considered by educational administrators in an effort to develop a climate of interest, concern and involvement in multicultural education are outlined. (Author/EB)