During the 1990's the amount of immigrants increased especially in the capital area of Finland. In the Finnish public discussion the society started to be portrayed multicultural, although the term "multiculturality" referred mainly to ethnic differentiation - not to interaction. In the public discussion multiculturalism was seen as a new phenomenon compared to the earlier illusion of a homogenous society. The image of a homogenous "Finnish culture" has also influenced to the fact that the Finnish majority culture has been seen separate from multiculturality. Changes in society had an impact on national curricula, and subsequently also on school curricula which started to emphasize multicultural education, although under various different names. In my Ph.D. study I will analyse how multicultural education is understood in the school curricula and how it is carried out in the everyday practices in the comprehensive schools in residentially differentiated areas of Helsinki. The idea of my thesis is based on the hypothesis of Hille Koskela which claims that in Helsinki there have emerged "multicultural pockets" and children living there have become "colour blind". I will appraise the hypothesis from the approach of school practices by examining what these pockets look like and where and how they have emerged.Multiculturality that presents itself as social differentiation (multiculturality de facto) does not mean, however, that the practices of society reflect a multicultural ideology. The school culture plays an important role for pupils as a model of the society they are socializing into. On the other hand, schools have an important function in the promotion of a society that reflects multicultural ideology.In the first phase of my Ph.D. study, I will examine interpretations of multicultural education in the curricula of comprehensive schools in residentially differentiated areas in Helsinki. I will reflect the curricular interpretations to James Banks' model of multicultural education which states that multicultural education should be included in all contents of teaching and school practices and it should be implemented to all pupils. I will appraise how the different elements of multicultural education are presented in the school curricula. I will also examine how the curricula emphasize different elements of multicultural competence (knowledge, skills and attitudes) and the ways of evolving competence in pupils.I will appraise the curricula to find out different possible interpretations of multicultural education inside and between them. I will analyse the curricula by using the method of content analysis in a qualitative and quantitative way. In the conference I will present the preliminary results of the first phase of my Ph.D. research. During my Ph.D. studies I will write articles to international referred journals.Banks, J.A. 2001. Cultural diversity and education: Foundations, curriculum and teaching. 4th ed. Boston, Mass: Allyn & Bacon.Koskela, H. 2002. Lola Odusoga -sukupolvi ja värisokeat lapset - Helsingin "monikulttuurisuustaskut" metropolin rakennuspaikkoina [The Lola Odusoga generation and "colour blind" children - "multicultural pockets" in Helsinki as a building sites of the metropole]. In Keskinen, V., Tuominen, M. & Vaattovaara, M. (eds.) 2002. Helsinki - pohjoinen metropoli: 16 ajankohtaisnäkökulmaa Helsingistä suurkaupunkina. Helsingin kaupungin tietokeskus. 207-224.Lepola, O. 2000. Ulkomaalaisesta suomenmaalaiseksi: Monikulttuurisuus, kansalaisuus ja suomalaisuus 1990-luvun maahanmuuttopoliittisessa keskustelussa [From a "foreign person" to a "Finnish person": Multiculturality, citizenship ja Finnishness in the 1990's immigration policy discussion]. Suomalaisen kirjallisuuden seuran toimituksia 787.Löytty, O. 2004. Meistä on moneksi [It takes all sorts]. In Lehtonen, M., Löytty, O. & Ruuska, P. 2004. Suomi toisin sanoen. Tampere: Vastapaino, 221-246.Raento, P. & Husso, K. 2002. Cultural diversity in Finland. Fennia 180 (1-2), 151-164.