Working with Multicultural Groups: a Culture and Ethnicity Case Study in Romania

Abstract

The paper presents the main findings of a field research performed in different regions of Romania in the framework of the project “Us Them: dialog, tolerance, collaboration for good coexistence in a multicultural world!”, a project financed by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union. The research has investigated the state-of-the-art regarding (1) the main features of existing cultures in Romania (principles, practices, ideas, values, patterns in human behaviour, thought and feelings, human activities, social standards) and (2) the misunderstandings, prejudices, stereotypes as potential sources of socio-cultural tensions. The research findings emphasize on the people’s level of awareness about other cultures existing in their area and also on the level of interaction among these cultures. The existing categories of cultures and sub-cultures – from a sociological point of view - have been also analyzed through a Focus Group organized with representative participants. The research findings helped identifying the training needs of Adult Educators who work with multicultural groups and designing a training curriculum for them to promote dialog and collaboration among multicultural learners.