Search

This essay puts in conversation notions of diversity, interculturalism and multiculturalism with decolonial scholarship, and then discusses the theoretical and methodological implications for meta-intercultural education – that is, a perspective that reconceptualises intercultural education anchored in critical and decolonial perspectives. It is suggested that a decolonising diversity approach opens new pathways for critical responses to the global discourses and practices of diversity that reinforce particular forms of colonial violence through intercultural education policies and practices. It is argued that this approach offers new insights that enable practical, everyday education interventions which disrupt institutionalised diversity work. Importantly, this approach does not mean a blanket rejection of everything that is 'Western' or 'European' and replacing it with other centric forms of knowledge production, but rather building upon decolonial critique to critically interrogate key concepts and transform our ways of thinking about interculturality and diversity in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the impact of a workshop for teachers entitled 'Things are Not Always What They Seem'. The workshop's aim was to raise awareness of teachers' roles in heterogenic classrooms. The study's primary assumption was the importance of increasing teachers' awareness of their biases and the need to foster intercultural sensitivity. To do so, the workshop exposed 35 teachers to the perspectives of 'other' teachers and students including those deriving from the following defined categories: middle-class, advantaged, white teachers (MAW), and low social economic status, disadvantaged, and black (LDB) students. The research method was qualitative interpretive, based on the analysis of texts from the teachers' workshop. The workshop included exposure to the MAW statements towards their students and LDB statements about their personal experience with racism. The teachers from the workshop read the quotes, searched for connections between them, and reflected about the texts. Findings indicate that the teachers' responses to the offered quotes demonstrate intercultural sensitivity, as manifested through understanding their students' points of view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study aims to explore the experience of a group of religious Druze students in an advanced distance learning intercollegiate course on multiculturalism, that involved a distant learning platform and a virtual world (VW). Though 96 students from four different colleges and backgrounds took part in this intercollegiate course, this study focuses only on one group of twenty religious Druze students from one college. This group is of particular interest and significance since it is culturally detached from the Arab and Jewish communities in Israel. The qualitative data was collected by examining students' reflections on the experiences they had in the VW during the distance learning course, their responses to the forum assignments as well as their reflections (video/open-ended questions) at the end of the course. The findings revealed three main themes that reflect the students' self-exploration journey throughout the course. These themes relate to the students' experiential, techno-emotional, and cognitive aspects of the learning experience throughout the course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pronounced development of the 21st century is the technological revolution, which is leading to a global world that creates more multicultural, intercultural, and diverse communities. These developments influence our lives in various ways, one of which relates to education. Educational systems are facing complicated challenges, as they need to align education to the postmodern era while adjusting pedagogical concepts and methods to the multicultural diversity of learners. The article aims to explore these challenges, specifically addressing multicultural educational assessment. We question the prevalent concept of assessment - assessment of learning, vs. assessment for learning or assessment as learning. The former uses assessment as a measurement tool, aiming to benefit decision-making, accountability, control, and supervision, and stems from economic and political considerations. This assessment does not consider the developments of recent decades, which have created a more global, multicultural world where the assumption that 'one size fits all' does not work. Furthermore, when this wrong assumption comes to students' assessment it can have devastating consequences for individuals and groups. We discuss the need to change the educational assessment paradigm, adapt it to a multicultural world, the challenges of doing so, and potential ways to cope with these challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was carried out among teachers in Budapest in 2016–17. It aimed at revealing teachers' views on multiculturalism and multicultural education, together with their conceptualisations of migrants. When constructing a framework of interpretation, we believed that views on multicultural education and attitudes concerning migrants would be interrelated with teachers' national identity, as well as their previous experiences with diversity. The results of the questionnaire research based on a sample of 368 pre-service and in-service teachers demonstrate that views on, and attitudes towards multiculturalism are strongly correlated with those on migration. The sense of threat seems to be interrelated with essentialist national identity, which, on the other hand, has a negative relationship with respondents' experiences of ethnic diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines 96 Guatemalan teachers' perspectives on the viability of educational mandates from Guatemala's Ministry of Education and explores their perceived ability to advocate in the schoolhouse. Data included focus groups prior to, and after, workshops on topics related to effective literacy interventions in diverse contexts. Findings indicate positive changes from pre to post-workshop focus groups in participants' beliefs of their potential to become allies with students, improve their pedagogy, and build democratic schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social work in intercultural environments is connected to specific aspects of social-ethnic groups and their individual representatives. This involves addressing particular social issues and challenges associated with diverse aspects related to multicultural environments. Appropriate training for professionals is needed to help them develop the competences needed to function effectively in such environments. The present study, which used a mixed-method approach, looked at the development of tolerance among future social workers in Ukraine. The results show that the introduction of a specialised learning procedure contributed to positive change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research discusses the instruction of multiculturalism in Arab-Israeli teacher training colleges and seeks to discover whether its trainees are committed to educate for multiculturalism. It is a pioneering project as it inquiries how Arab students at departments of teacher education in Israeli Colleges learn about multiculturalism. On the theoretical level, the study contributes to the understanding of multicultural research. On the practical level, it provides help in preparing students as multiculturally tolerant teachers equipped with the tools needed for educating for pluralism and social tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated Ecuadorian teachers' attitudes towards multilingual students. This work was informed by findings from two previous studies consisting of observations and interviews with secondary school teachers. In this mixed methods study, 26 teachers completed a 22-question Likert Scale questionnaire that explored their awareness of the influences of students' cultural norms on classroom instruction. In small focus groups, participants responded to three open-ended questions documenting their definition of multiculturalism and philosophies of how to create a culturally responsive classroom. Findings suggest that Ecuador's teachers are aware of the diversity within their country but report their training did not stress the pedagogical need to consider cultural influences on teaching and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the primary challenges facing contemporary society, such as globalisation and interdependence, the author reflects on the question of what the most appropriate educational policy and pedagogical approach is: transcultural education, multicultural education, or intercultural education. Based on historical developments in the US and in Europe, he first presents a terminological and semantic clarification. Then, considering the existing terminological confusion and misunderstandings across the world and disciplines, he underlines the urgency to develop a shared terminology. He proposes to use the adjective 'multicultural' in descriptive terms (societies are multicultural) and applies multicultural education as a strategy for improving knowledge about and respect for ethnic and cultural diversities. The concept 'intercultural' should be utilised in reference to intervention, where intercultural education is viewed as an activity in which one engages in interaction: encounter, contact, dialogue, and conflict management. In his opinion, nowadays, intercultural education also has to include new challenges and different forms of diversity, including neoliberalism, climate change, power, and special needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In post-conflict societies, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, education is recognised as a key factor in reconciliation. Yet the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement set in process arrangements that mean that Bosnia and Herzegovina's three constituent ethnic groups (Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs) are educated separately. This paper examines students' right to integrated schooling and an intercultural education, in keeping with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It reports on small-scale empirical research on the impact of integrated and segregated education on students, focusing on the experiences of students who have had access to Bosnia and Herzegovina's only fully integrated school. There are tensions between the competing educational rights of students and the cultural rights of ethno-cultural communities. Since entrenched political problems hinder the reestablishment of integrated public schooling, the paper considers the potential of service-learning and multicultural community engagement to challenge ethno-nationalist ideas promoted through segregated schools and enable peace and reconciliation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing number of ethnically and culturally diverse students in Dutch junior vocational high schools. This article examines teachers' multicultural attitudes, their perceptions of cultural diversity related to school policy and school climate, and the chance of general and diversity-related burnout. The present research also characterises teachers in terms of their multicultural attitudes and perceptions of school policy and climate through cluster analysis. Results are based on questionnaire data of 120 teachers, working at five locations of a multicultural junior vocational high school in a highly urbanised part of the Netherlands. Correlational, regression, and variance analyses indicated that the highest levels of general and diversity-related burnout were found among teachers categorised as assimilationist in attitude and who perceived their school as pluralistic. Teachers could be divided into three types of profiles: (1) relative assimilative attitude, (2) no pronounced assimilative attitude, and (3) moderate assimilative attitude. Teachers with the second profile showed the highest chance for burnout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religious education and intercultural education are seen by some to be in tension with each other, and by others as two sides of the same coin. The explanations for this unsettled relationship may be found in the different histories of the two fields. Intercultural education has become a cross curricular priority, resulting from rather recent developments marked by cultural complexity, following globalisation and migration processes of the last 50 years or so. Religious education has a long history of being a distinct school subject, much influenced by differing national and religious cultural heritages and which, during the last half century, has begun to address the issues of religious and world view diversity. In several countries today, religious education in the publicly funded school is conceived as non-confessional and deals with a diversity of religions and world views. Religious education may be the subject where socio-cultural differences are most visible and where the challenges of diversity are put to the test. This raises a series of challenges to curriculum designers and teachers in classrooms; the article will address some of them and suggest ways forward for teacher education and school practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study examines the workings of a bilingual school for Jewish and Palestinian-Israeli students and its contribution towards the goal of educating for equal citizenship in Israel’s multicultural society. The findings indicate that this school succeeds in advancing the notion of equal citizenship, as demonstrated in the fact that the school’s organisational structure and the curricular contents afford equal status to both nationalities. Findings of this study maybe relevant to other multicultural societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the role of general music education within the framework of cultural diversity. The empirical part of the article focuses on teachers in Swedish-speaking minority schools in Finland and their perceptions of the relationship between music and multicultural perspectives. The results showed that in some instances it took some time for teachers to discuss, define and grasp the concepts of multiculturalism and cultural diversity in relation to their teaching activities. While much was discussed on a theoretical and/or political level, it was not necessarily something that they would connect to their own practice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore levels of intercultural sensitivity in a sample of fourth to eighth grade students in the United States (n = 162).Intercultural sensitivitywas conceptualised through Bennett’s Developmental Model of Sensitivity, and assessed through the Adapted Intercultural Sensitivity Index. Follow-up interviews provided additional information regarding the views and understandings of individual student participants. Quantitative data analysis indicated many early adolescents in this sample were accepting of cultural difference. However, subsequent qualitative data analysis suggested thisacceptancewas largely hypothetical, due to the participants’ perceived isolation from diversity. The implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper explores how one teacher working in an intercultural bilingual school in rural Peru implemented an ethic of care through three key actions: the incorporation of funds of knowledge, the focus on revitalising and repurposing Indigenous knowledge and local materials and the instruction and use of both Quechua and Spanish. The paper also examines how the focal teacher embodied an ethic of care as reflected in her relationships with students and their families. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study concerns itself with a classroom project in English class where the filmBend it Like Beckhamwas shown to two multicultural classes in a high school in Oslo, Norway, with a view towards exploring students’ understandings and attitudes towards gender. Using an ethnographic methodology informed by feminist approaches, findings indicate that students, on the one hand, valorised modern values such as educational attainment, self-fulfillment and the equal sharing of domestic chores, while, on the other hand, they were equally eager to preserve traditional practices such as wearing the hijab and marrying within their own ethnicity and religion. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Higher Education institutions face specific challenges preparing graduates to live and work in transdisciplinary and transcultural environments. It is imperative for these institutions to provide their students with the skill sets that will give them the mobility and flexibility to be able to operate efficiently in different cultural and professional contexts. This position paper proposes that developing proficiency in Cultural Literacy will allow graduates of Higher Education institutions to transcend such cultural and disciplinary boundaries. In this paper we define Cultural Literacy in Higher Education as a modus operandi and a threshold concept, following Meyer and Land’s understanding of the term. We also propose ‘Destabilisation’ and ‘Reflection’ as two strategies for teaching Cultural Literacy, and examine three case studies where these strategies were successfully embedded into teaching and learning spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Globalisation has increased the importance of schools as a space for developing cultural understandings within students. However, how this is translated into curriculum pathways within schools remains a matter for debate. Using the context of the new Australian national curriculum, this paper argues that notions of multicultural and intercultural education need to be updated to incorporate transculturalism. It further posits that the use of geography as a school-based forum for cultural education within national curriculum frameworks has been diminished, and that its reinvigoration ultimately depends upon a reaffirmation of ‘place’ that highlights a positive sense of difference. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The main objective of this article is to offer an alternative discursive framework for teaching history and citizenship education in Québec, Canada. Enabling a more inclusive discussion around how citizenship is constructed, thinking interculturally allows us begin thinking about practical ways in which citizenship and history education might detract from the exclusive form of inclusion that currently resides in Québec’s intercultural model (and, consequently, in history classrooms). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, we analyze the relevance of intercultural education within contemporary educational debates in Argentina. First, we will review Argentinean legislation. Then, we will discuss the core characteristics of the Argentine educational system in order to study the historical incorporation of indigenous people into the school system. Later, we will explore concrete legislation regarding intercultural education, emphasizing the potential of such legislation as well the limitations. Finally, we will present how our findings connect to the main discussions in the field of anthropology and education. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study explored the relationship between perceptions of culturally deviant acts and multicultural experiences of elementary-school children attending an international school in Japan. Findings indicated that children judged a Japanese harsher than a foreigner, irrespective of the children’s age. It was also found that younger children were more susceptible to cultural factors such as their own experience abroad and mother’s activities, which encouraged the formation of less stereotypical images of foreigners. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Adopting Cummins’ model of intervention for collaborative empowerment, this study reports on a transnational project that examines (1) the effectiveness of enhancing critical cultural awareness by engaging culturally diverse university students in online discussions and (2) students’ perspectives on understanding different cultures through mass media and technology advances. Thirty-five Canadian and 47 Hong Kong university students participated in the project integrating aspects of multicultural education. The results of thematic analysis of the scripts of their postings showed that the innovative learning environment provided students an authentic and constructive intercultural learning experience. It enhanced their cultural sensitivity and competence and reinforced their critical awareness of various texts, information, and discourse arising from the use of new technologies. The results indicated that, when paired with appropriate instructional design, Web 2.0 technologies have a great potential to facilitate multicultural education and practices through effectively forming transnational learning communities that harness the strengths of diverse students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With increasing cultural diversity as a result of globalization, intercultural competence (IC) to interact and co-exist in multicultural environments is recognized as being very important. Research indicates that cultural knowledge alone, or even being immersed in a different cultural environment does not necessarily lead to the development of IC necessary to deal with differences in behaviour, communication styles, and values and beliefs. Rather, it requires intentional development particularly of critical awareness of an individual’s cultural identity, and the values and beliefs that underpin one’s attitude and behaviour. Providing effective learning and teaching approaches to facilitate development of these affective and behavioural dimensions, challenges traditional pedagogical practices. Second life (SL), a multi-user virtual environment, potentially provides effective intercultural experiential learning opportunities to develop the desired IC by challenging personal beliefs and assumptions underpinning cultural frameworks and identity. This paper evaluates SL as one of the approaches used to develop IC in a first year IC module in a New Zealand university. Based on data from two case studies, it presents and discusses significant findings in terms of using SL and the development of students’ IC. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, situated in the context of elementary and secondary school mathematics curriculum in India, I argue that centrally determined uniform curriculum would have very little to offer a large majority of students in a country that is diverse in many ways. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article announces the winners of the BMW Group Award for Intercultural Innovation in support of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), which awards grassroots projects aimed at intercultural exchange, including the Everyday Racism mobile app, the More Than One Story card game, and the Ordinary Heroes multimedia peacebuilding project.

While there is substantive work in intercultural education, especially that which proposes intellectual or conceptual road maps for pedagogic interculturalism and, more specifically for the classroom, there is a need to surface the complexity of everyday intercultural classroom practices. This article reflects on some Singapore students’ responses to materials designed to help them engage critically with intercultural issues. These responses can be categorized into three types of trajectories: reifying, critical and conflicted. Reifying practices basically mean that students essentialize individuals, communities and countries despite (and perhaps because of) the intercultural approach to the teaching of communication. Critical trajectories, on the other hand, showcase students’ ability to identify stereotypes and provide much more nuanced characterizations of individuals and countries. Conflicted trajectories, however, seem to be the most dominant classroom practice: these are attempts of students to be critical but, in practice, their criticality is enmeshed in reifying tendencies. In other words, ‘criticality’ as it is envisioned is always incomplete on the ground. Thus, we need micro-lenses in interculturalism and intercultural education to help us critically reflect on and surface essentialisms, tensions and struggles in everyday classroom practice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Even though gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people have existed in society for centuries, from an historical perspective the gay civil rights timeline is fairly recent, with significant changes seen in the last decade in Canada. Internationally, Denmark recognized same-sex partnerships in 1989, but only from 2005 to 2010 did Spain, Canada, New Zealand and California follow suit. Unfortunately only as recently as 2009, and still being revisited, a private member proposes a Bill to hang homosexuals in Uganda. Also, anti-gay laws were passed before the Sochi Olympics in Russia in 2013. This timeline is significant to help us understand why there is only recent, within the last twenty years, scholarly literature that specifically pertains to Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Two Spirited Intersex Queer (LGBTTIQ). This also sheds light on a global and greater need to understand and share strategies that may have a perceived positive impact in overcoming barriers in LGBTTIQ education to create a culture of inclusion and a true democratic society where all voices can participate and be heard. Multicultural education and intercultural education are two distinct concepts which interrelate as a mechanism to respond to the interdependence of growing diverse populations. From the perspective of an educator, this paper will explore some of the tenets of multicultural education and intercultural education; both the possibilities and limitations, in promoting the inclusion of LGBTQQ in the current educational system in Ontario, Canada. It is only by exploring these concepts and shedding light on issues of LGBTTIQ, that we begin the dialogue on how to maximise the participation of LGBTTIQ in our classrooms and in our society. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This manuscript provides the results of a comparative study conducted in the USA with counseling, psychology, and education graduate students in which multicultural competencies were taught using the traditional on-campus and international study abroad course formats. Data were collected via the Miville-Guzman Universality-Diversity Scale, a 45-item self-report of openness towards diverse clients, along with qualitative analysis of two permanent products: cultural activity paper (framed as analysis of cultural interactions) and Reaction Journal (an open-ended reflection on the content of class lectures, readings, presentations, and discussions). A total of 29 graduate students from diverse backgrounds were sampled through two semesters. The results revealed that compared to peers taught via the traditional on-campus format, students enrolled in the international study abroad course reported more willingness to learn and interact with diverse populations. Further, these students evidenced more growth relative to empathy towards diverse clientele, insight into cultural viewpoints, as well as a deeper understanding of their own cultural biases. The manuscript provides the study results; a brief overview of how the international study abroad and the on-campus courses were taught and organized, along with the pros and cons of each course format. It also offers a list of recommendations for the professions of counseling, psychology, and education in terms of the cutting edge practices relative to implementation, instruction, and delivery of multicultural competencies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents the results of a case study looking at the views of teachers and other educational professionals pertaining to the academic progress and general integration of immigrant schoolchildren in multicultural schools in the province of Huelva (Andalusia, Spain). It is organised into three sections: first, the geographical and social context of the study is described, focusing in particular on the impact on schools of migratory trends within the province associated with strawberry cultivation. This is followed by a presentation of the results of a field study into the educational panorama of immigrant pupils from various countries, drawing on verbal reports by teachers and school administrators. Finally, some conclusions are suggested for possible categories of analysis with a view to opening new lines of research in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In modern societies, where higher education serves as a significant vehicle of integration, the inclusion of immigrants within the realm of higher education is not a foregone conclusion. This is the result of cultural, economic, and social gaps. In some cases, the integration process is blocked prior to the stage of academic studies. This situation has resulted in the creation of a teacher education program for Ethiopian students in Israeli academic colleges of education for the purpose of bridging the gap between higher education and employment, and increasing the chances of the graduates’ admission into the field of teaching. The aim of the present study was to examine the success of the program, emphasizing the graduates’ integration into the teaching profession. It was conducted by means of Mixed Methods research. An examination of the data indicates that a substantial number of graduates were integrated into various educational settings. It also reveals the improving status of the graduates as well as the influence of the program on their personal and professional development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Migrants and refugees settling permanently in a new country face significant social, linguistic and cultural challenges. However, they also bring intercultural strengths and skills which, if acknowledged and enhanced, can support successful settlement and inclusion in a pluralistic society. This paper describes the underpinning rationale and salient features of an intercultural settlement programme piloted in New Zealand with a group of recently arrived settlers from refugee backgrounds. The programme was designed to enhance the settlement process for newcomers through the development of critical thinking, problem-solving and intercultural skills. The pedagogical approach was rights-based and incorporated facilitated discussions within an environment of power-sharing, inclusiveness and critical enquiry. This paper discusses the implementation of the programme as well as findings from a preliminary research project which sought to explore the effectiveness and the extent to which the programme achieved its aims. The findings indicate that this approach can constitute good practice in an education programme designed to support interculturalism and successful integration. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the non-profit organization TakingITGlobal (TIG), which promotes cross-cultural dialogue among youth around the world. Topics include collaboration on the children's literacy initiative Children Behind Us, the use of TIG for networking, and the relation of TIG to globalization in activism.