Concept Of Intercultural Education Research Articles

I and Thou? Challenges to dialogical pedagogy in a diverse London secondary school

AbstractA growing body of literature suggests that ‘intercultural education’ is an important tool for transformative learning about oneself and the other. Yet little is known about the challenges and opportunities of intercultural education in practice, particularly in light of an increasing focus in Western education policy on testing and standardisation. This article uses ethnographic and focus group research in an ethnically diverse secondary school in East London to empirically explore the opportunities and challenges of intercultural education in practice. It highlights similarities between the concept of intercultural education and Martin Buber's theory of the ‘I−Thou’ encounter, suggesting that this dialogical relation has the potential to transform stereotypes and develop personhood. The research findings show how teachers at the East London secondary school employed dialogical techniques to encourage critical perspectives among their students and to cultivate their trust, a key element of I−Thou encounter. The findings also, however, draw attention to the deleterious impact of the marketised education paradigm on the dialogical relation, demonstrating how a policy focus on attainment and the narrow national curriculum limit opportunities for dialogue in the classroom and erode trust between teacher and student. The article argues that there is a clear and urgent imperative for change within the Western education system if Buber's dialogical pedagogy is to bear fruit and transformative learning is to take place.

Strategie adaptacyjne młodzieży z pogranicza – komunikat z badań pokoleniowych

The conducted discussion is embedded in pedagogy of youth, Robert Merton’s theory of social adaptation, the concept of intercultural education and the concept of “intercultural identity” by Jerzy Nikitorowicz. In the article, the strategies are presented of the adaptation of young inhabitants of the Polish-Czech borderland to school conditions and the requirements of social life. The results of some diagonal studies among secondary school learners, conducted 13 years apart, indicated two dominant strategies of conformism and innovation, revealed a slight decrease in the average value of conformism (3%) and a significant increase in the average value of innovation (22% change). In that context, the features of permanent socialization taking place in the conditions of the Polish-Czech borderland were indicated: dynamism, bidirectionality, functioning/being “in-between”, cultural pattern, the principle of continuum. Empirically determined adaptation strategies of youth show how young people handle a complex reality and how they can join the mainstream of social life.

Istraživanje recepcije Gogoljevog Revizora kao metodičko polazište u interpretaciji književnog dramskog teksta

This paper investigates the reception of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol's comedy The Government Inspector by the second-grade secondary school students. The paper starts with the views of literary theoreticians (R. Jaus, M. Bakhtin, M. Grossman, T. Popović) and modern methodologists of literature instruction (D. Rosandić, P. Ilić, Z. Mrkalj, Lj. Bajić) who point out that the reception of a literary text and its influence are the outcomes of teaching literature which is based on students' acceptance of the work and the effects it produces. Drawing upon the views of Mikhail Bakhtin, who emphasized the dialogical character of culture and literature, the paper points out the possibility of strengthening intercultural competence through literature instruction. The aim of this paper is to point out, on a concrete example, i.e. by researching the reception of Gogol's Government Inspector, the possibility of a more active participation of literature instruction in the concept of intercultural education and the application of the reception-aesthetic method in the teaching of literature as one of the effective models for strengthening student motivation. The results of the empirical research confirm the initial hypothesis that students are not sufficiently familiar with Russian literature, that the horizon of students' expectations is not an obstacle to the successful teaching interpretation and that students' position as subjects in teaching is a stimulating motivational process.

Pädagogische Ansatzpunkte in der Umweltbildung für Zuwanderer/-innen

Regarding Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in general and Environmental Education in particular, immigrant adults are still insufficiently involved and not identified as a relevant target group. However, in recent years, there have been and continue to be few initiatives that are dedicated to promoting sustainable practices of migrants. The article starts at this point and examines, with recourse to various concepts of intercultural education on the one hand and the distinction between politischer Bildung und Erziehung, both referred to as political education in the Anglo-Saxon context, three environmental initiatives in Germany, thus linking ESD and intercultural education.

‘Inching’ towards interculturalism: ambiguities and tensions in teachers’ ideologies and practices in the context of Cyprus

ABSTRACTThis research examines teachers’ conceptualisations of diversity and intercultural education. It also investigates the teaching approaches adopted by teachers within their culturally diverse classrooms. More specifically, the current project investigates the following research questions: how do teachers define and understand the concept of intercultural education; what practices do they adopt (or not) to promote intercultural education in their classrooms; what barriers do they perceive in their efforts to teach in more intercultural ways; what are their suggestions for implementing intercultural education in more successful ways? Observations and interviews took place with twenty teachers from ten schools in Cyprus. Our data shows that two ideological positions co-existed in teachers’ discourses, namely: the monocultural approach (cultural-deficiency perspective), and the multicultural approach (cultural-celebratory perspective). We also examined how the ambiguities and contradictions in teachers’ ideologies influenced their teaching and practices. In their daily routines, teachers seemed to adopt a teaching-as-usual approach, while occasionally engaging in ‘intercultural moments’, which included their rare attempts to differentiate or add cultural content to their teaching.

Pedagogi Identitas Keagamaan: Official Knowledge dan Interkulturalisme Pendidikan Islam di Papua

Artikel ini memperbincangkan dua konsep pendidikan dari sudut pandang sosiologis, yakni official knowledge yang merupakan produk dari para pakar pedagogi kritis dan konsep pendidikan interkultural yang disematkan untuk menyelesaikan persoalan identitas yang berkelindan di lingkungan pendidikan. Artikel ini menjadikan Kota Jayapura sebagai contoh kasus pengimplementasian kedua konsep tersebut, baik itu secara teoretik ataupun secara praktis. Dengan pendekatan fenomenologi di lapangan, penelitian ini menemukan bahwa konsep “Official Knowledge” yang acapkali dibingkai sebagai perlawanan pada kekuasaan pemerintahan bisa dialihkan menjadi ‘sikap penerimaan’ untuk menyelesaikan konflik identitas yang berkelindan di masyarakat. Syaratnya, negara harus berkuasa mengatur pengetahuan dan penyadaran akan fakta kemajemukan yang ada di Indonesia. Pendekatan interkultural dapat menderivasi kemajemukan tersebut melalui pendidikan yang mengedepankan interaksi, komunikasi, dan terbentuknya sikap “saling” (inter) memahami serta menerima antara satu individu dengan lainnya, antara realitas sosial dan pengetahuan di lembaga pendidikan, dan diantara kelompok keagamaan yang satu dengan lainnya.

Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der interkulturellen Sprachvermittlung

This article is a basic discussion on the problems of intercultural learning in foreign language teaching. Starting from the statement that the concept of intercultural education has become one of the most widely discussed and most popular topics in the disciplines of arts and social sciences the author examines in the first part of the article the origin of intercultural orientation and discusses the main Landeskunde-theories and the most important cultural contents in the practice of foreign language teaching. In the second part of the article the dangers of overusing of intercultural objectives are reflected and future perspectives for methods of intercultural foreign language teaching are suggeste

Intercultural education in transition: Nordic perspectives

ABSTRACTOver the last several decades intercultural education has played a key role in many educational policies and practices, both across the Nordic countries and internationally. In this article we examine current conceptual discourses on intercultural education with an emphasis on developments in the Nordic research context. The analysis shows how the concept of intercultural education and its focus on “culture” has been criticised in the Nordic countries and internationally for the pitfalls of essentialism and relativism. This criticism is linked to a perceived lack of focus on power issues in education, which undermines the development of a social justice-orientated intercultural education. However, the analysis within the Nordic research context shows signs of re-conceptualisations, which includes a widening of the field and the emergence of new and more critically-orientated approaches.

Interculturalism and Teaching Music in Grammar Schools

The concept of intercultural education should be aimed at better understanding of ourselves and others, discovering similarities and differences, recognizing preconceptions, and cooperation in accomplishing our common goals. Intercultural education can be very useful in resolving the issues that arise when different groups live together. Also, intercultural education may benefit the process of getting to know and better understand other cultures and the development of successful communication between cultures. Music courses in grammar schools may contribute to students’ intercultural education, because music is an area in which cultural competence can develop significantly. During the December of 2014, for the purposes of this paper, a research study was conducted in a Croatian general programme grammar school. The goal of the study was to determine the students’ attitudes toward interculturalism, their attitudes on music courses with regard to interculturalism, and are there any differences in the attitudes and intercultural awareness between first grade students and fourth grade students at the grammar school. A survey questionnaire was used to conduct an anonymous survey among first and fourth grade students. The results of the study have shown that both the first and fourth grade students are aware that they are living in a multicultural environment, as well as that there are examples of certain forms of intolerance towards members of other cultures who share their living surroundings. When compared to fourth grade students, first grade students generally have more positive attitudes toward interculturalism. According to the students’ opinions, music courses at the grammar school could be more focused on getting to know the music and musical traditions of the people from other continents. Complementing the syllabus with music from different cultures and from all the continents would contribute to the development of more positive students’ attitudes toward interculturalism and help with the realization of goals set by the premise of intercultural education.

Smart City and Intercultural Education

Abstract The concept of Intercultural Education is analyzed throughout the planet. This definition should have given a new twist in recent years, as society and, in particular, cities have entered or intend to do so in the idea of Smart City, which implies the adaptation and preparation of the population and education that will take place towards this situation. With this idea, we started an investigation to examine whether, the cities that erect the seal of Smart City, take actions to integrate the entire population and improve social inclusion. After analysing documents from the centre and the implementation of Intercultural Education in different schools, through observation and interviews to teachers, at different stages and cities, defined as Smart City, we got that, no school undertakes any action respect the integration and social inclusion of the population in their classrooms. Leading us to conclude that the label of Smart city is adding new social disadvantages, leading us to, among our recommendations, that the concept of Intercultural Education should be renewed, including the idea of Intelligent Citizens for Smart Cities.

Intercultural Education in Cieszyn Silesia

The leading idea of the presented study is the assumption that the vision of intercultural education has had and currently is reflected in activities aiming at political, economic and cultural integration in Cieszyn Silesia. The article consists of three parts. In the first, the theoretical construction of the undertaken discussion is presented. The author refers here to theories of various origin: Tadeusz Lewowicki and Jerzy Nikitorowicz’s concept of intercultural education, Piotr Sztompka’s concept of society becoming, Miles Hewstone and Roger Brown’s intergroup contact and intergroup differentiation hypothesis. In the second and third part, the author provides some examples of activities undertaken by individuals, groups, institutions, and associations, which all aim at fulfilling the paradigm of coexistence in Cieszyn Silesia. Due attention is drawn to the way in which transmission and concern for cultural heritage has been combined with the implementation of the strategy of coexistence and integration in work with children, youth and adults. The discussion is narrowed to Cieszyn Silesia, the region frequently treated as particularly interesting due to its cultural specificity (clearly observed uniqueness resulting from the contact of different cultures), religious pluralism, historical experiences, and borderland location.

As diferenças que nos unem: literatura infantil e interculturalidade

O artigo propõe uma reflexão sobre a educação intercultural a partir de três enquadramentos: um quadro teórico sobre educação intercultural, uma revisão de projectos europeus que usam a literatura infantil para promover a educação intercultural e a leitura crítica de uma obra de Shaun Tan, The Arrival. Argumenta que se devem usar os livros infanto-juvenis enquanto modos culturais de representação das ansiedades culturais e tendências culturais e políticas das sociedades em que são produzidos e consumidos e salienta a necessidade de uma leitura crítica da literatura infantil no sentido da desocultação de modos habituais e ‘óbvios’ de representação.AbstractThe paper reflects on the concept of intercultural education in three different ways. It addresses a theoretical framework, a revision of European projects on intercultural education through children’s fiction, and a critical reading of a Shaun Tan’s The Arrival. It argues that children’s books should be looked at as cultural modes of representation of the cultural anxieties and the cultural and political trends of the societies in which they are produced, sold and consumed. It also addresses the need for a critical reading of children’s books in the sense of uncovering habitual and ‘obvious’ modes of representation.

A class-room with a "view"

Can the net become a place suitable for promoting intercultural education? Which elements are crucial to achieve this goal? There is strong agreement on the fact that the Internet represents a metaphor for a place or environment that has social significance in identity building processes (Turkle, 1996), as well as being a cultural environment promoting virtual citizenship and virtual communities (Rheingold, 1993) which, in time, can become formal learning communities capable of generating effective learning (Palloff & Pratt, 1999; Rovai, 2002b). Lately, some attention has been paid to the design of an interculturally sensitive virtual learning place, which can promote further intercultural learning (Rollin & Harrap, 2005; Bélisle, 2007; Rutheford & Kerr, 2008). The participated construction of a virtual working/learning space (VWLS) aimed at supporting a project of international cooperation on intercultural education among Turkey, Slovenia and Italy is described in this article. A case study is presented as a springboard for the discussion of net-based strategies to be included within an intercultural approach to education. The project was set up with the aim of showing how a VWLS can give support to dimensions that are the kernel of intercultural education, from the motivation to share one's own cultural identity (constituted by symbols, icons, music, etc.), to collaboration across frontiers. Furthermore, a possible new concept of intercultural education is presented, as the current idea of it needs to be redefined on the basis of the growing networked learning phenomenon. If VWLS becomes meaningful, it will expose participants to an enlarged cultural context, different to but also comprehensive of their own original context. The process of making sense of what is new could impact on a new dimension of intercultural learning which takes place on the net, a place where there are no frontiers and reality is virtual.

Teachers on intercultural education

Opinions differ on the desirability of paying attention to intercultural education in schools and on the opportunities to do this. Theoretical agreement and conceptual clarity on the concept are hard to find. The theoretical debate on intercultural education is far removed from daily practice in the classroom. Ideally, experience‐related ideas and the insights of teachers should form part of the debate. In this article we present an example of measuring teachers' opinions on the concept of intercultural education. The research was carried out in The Netherlands with the help of a written questionnaire. Seventy‐four teachers participated. The researchers differentiated four accents in intercultural education, based on the literature. This differentiation was not reflected in the teachers' answers. They had a slight preference for a general pluralistic interpretation of intercultural education and, hence, for a particular pedagogical approach. We will explore this finding further in the discussion.

Stereotypes, prejudices and intercultural education in Italy: Research on textbooks in primary schools

The concepts of intercultural education developed in Europe during the early 1980s, following a proposal submitted by the European Council in response to immigration. The concept of intercultural education is now quite common in Italy, not only in books, but also in the area of school legislation. Sometimes, however, even in the field of education, such terms simply become a fad or a slogan, emphatic yet hackneyed, meaningless or misused, which may give rise to irregular patterns of application in different contexts. In the course of this paper, I shall present the results of a research project--carried out by the Centro Studi Interculturali at the University of Verona--pertaining to the implementation of these principles in Italian schools. Our analysis, based on a sample of textbooks used in primary schools in several Italian provinces, investigated the presence of stereotypes, prejudices and intercultural education concepts.

Aspects of Intercultural Education and Curriculum Decision‐making

This article presents an analysis of intercultural education from the viewpoint of the dynamics of agenda building as a political process. In this analysis, particular attention is given to the theoretical and ideological assumptions on which the concept of intercultural education is based. The author contends that the employment of this concept serves the purpose of issue containment within the arena of conflict where educational policy alternatives are determined. [1] This paper was originally prepared for presentation at the “European Conference on Education and Intercultural Studies”, organised by the Working Group Intercultural Education and Teacher Training of the Association for Teacher Education in Europe (ATEE) and the “Equip de Recerca i Actuado Intercultu‐rals i sobre Multilinguisme” (ERAIM), held in Sant Feliu de Guixols, May, 1990. This Conference has been made possible by a generous grant from the European Commission (Grant 89‐00‐EDU.095BEE).