Superdiverse Contexts Research Articles

Democratic education in superdiverse schools in Aotearoa New Zealand

One of the greatest challenges facing democracies is how to live together with difference. The growth of globalisation and international migration has presented schools with increased opportunities and challenges related to learning from and living with superdiversity. Yet within current policy settings and educational practices, the alignment between superdiversity and democratic education is not explicitly foregrounded. In this paper I examine how teachers (n = 24) from four superdiverse secondary schools in Aotearoa New Zealand’s responded to growing cultural, linguistic and religious diversity in their classrooms. By examining empirical evidence from teacher’s practices, the paper illustrates how Dewey’s philosophy of learning by living together with difference, placing a priority on shared interests and developing a socio-political awareness of inequalities provides valuable insights for democratic education. The study illustrates the importance of recognising the complexity of interactions in superdiverse contexts and the significant role that teachers can play in creating conditions for inclusive classrooms where democracy can be lived and learned. It also highlights how teachers themselves, can undergo a journey toward developing more inclusive and justice-oriented pedagogical practices that support both Indigenous and ethnic minority groups in their schools.

Mainstream acculturation in superdiverse settings: The beneficial role of intergroup contact with ‘other‐cultures’ individuals

AbstractThis work focuses on migrants’ ‘other‐cultures’ intergroup contact – contact with individuals belonging to neither their heritage ingroup nor the mainstream outgroup. We test the overarching hypothesis that other‐cultures contact is positively associated with mainstream acculturation, especially when contact in the mainstream group is scarce. Study 1 results show that frequent other‐cultures contact is positively associated with mainstream identification among Maghrebi migrants to Quebec. This effect is stronger for participants with infrequent, versus frequent, mainstream contact. In Study 2, conducted among Russian migrants to Canada, having more other‐cultures friends is positively related to mainstream acculturation only for participants with few mainstream friends. Further, the entry of other‐cultures friends into migrants’ network takes place later than heritage friends but earlier than mainstream friends. The current work expands the traditional mainstream–heritage acculturation framework by moving away from binary conceptualizations of intergroup relations and considering other‐cultures contact in superdiverse contexts.

Funds of knowledge and identity in language learning and teaching

ABSTRACT Funds of knowledge and identity approaches emerged to combat deficit perspectives and address the achievement gap and exclusion of underrepresented students in border contexts in the late 1980s. The initial aims of such approaches find a renewed sense of purpose in the super-diverse contexts of twenty-first century societies, which compel us to rethink current approaches to language education. This paper provides a brief introduction to funds of knowledge and identity theories and shows how they can be harnessed within language education to promote more culturally responsive and decolonial pedagogies. The paper introduces a collection of innovative approaches to language learning and teaching from different contexts across the globe. In addition to showcasing innovative approaches to language learning and teaching, the experiences reported advance original research methodologies which make valuable contributions to the funds of knowledge and identity literature.

“Creative Anthropology” as a Unit for Knowing: Epistemic Object and Experimental System in Research-Creation “in” Clay

This essay takes advantage of the current context of superdiversity to define a form of hybrid heuristics between North American anthropology and research-creation “in” the arts. In an attempt to alleviate the epistemological disaster described by Gregory Bateson as the loss of the unity of the biosphere and humanity, I position myself within a nomothetic perspective of Boasian anthropology and a postqualitative approach to research-creation. My research-creation proposes clay as an epistemic object and develops a creative methodology in the form of an experimental system that borrows from the following two types of change observable in living organisms: static and schismatic changes. The artistic activities, presented as two heuristic cycles, seek to broaden the self-reflexivity inherent in the use of clay by human groups. They provoke decentring leading to a loss of control where a new identity has to be defined. This reveals itself in terms of system thinking as the reconstruction of a new reality that is defined neither entirely by my artistic practice nor entirely by my theoretical framework derived from anthropology. It is a “place of passage” between both. It is a new identity that can be defined by the “change of change” that I call “creative anthropology”. This transdisciplinary approach introduces a “second glance” into anthropological research and opens up breaches through research-creation. It works to develop new narratives and test posthumanism in the field of my artistic practice.

Working towards inclusive integrated care: a possible lens

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), integrated care’s primary goal is meeting people's needs. Whichever integrative care model is used, the way to gauge the success of this goal is the healthcare user's satisfaction with the care provided, and the extent to which their needs have been met. In the super-diverse context of most Western-Europe cities and regions this is a challenge. 
 Ethno-cultural diversity as one of the visible aspects of diversity resulting from migration is increasing within our population. The question is therefore how we ensure that integrated care is inclusive for this growing ethnocultural diversity among care users. Our studies involving older labour migrants with dementia and their caregivers, both informal and formal, in Belgium indicated that these older adults do not receive care that meets their needs. The reason for this misfit in care is still too often and one-sidedly sought in these older people’s cultural background. Much less attention is paid to the exclusionary mechanisms within the care system. 
 To sharpen the picture, we developed a conceptual lens for inclusive care. This lens looks at the influencing factors for inclusive care at micro, meso, macro and chrono levels. It helps us to observe the complexity of these influencing factors and to avoid the essentialist framework shaping the current debate on provision of care for the 'culturally other'. We detected three building blocks for complexity-responsive integrated care: 1) awareness of the intersectional position of the ‘other’, 2) the need for inclusive care organizations and inclusive care landscapes in a globalized world, and 3) addressing societal exclusionary mechanisms. These building blocks can be a starting point to recognize the intersectional identity of each person involved in care, including the care provider’s, as a stepping stone to inclusive responsive care. This implies that the exclusionary mechanisms associated with social positions are recognized and addressed at micro, meso and macro level. To conclude, the proposed intersectional inclusiveness is a path worth exploring in attempts to achieve the ultimate goal of integrated care: meeting the needs of all care users.

Untimely thoughts on the culture of diversity

The study of cultural diversity and relevant models of diversity management, including historical patterns of cultural dominance, helps to form immunity to the latest manifestations of Eurocentrism. As a new approach to diversity, interculturalism implies a shift in the focus from the diversity of cultures and multicultural coexistence to the culture of diversity. The main dimensions of the culture of diversity are awareness of diversity, recognition of diversity, engagement in contexts of diversity, and the creation of more common public spaces. Another important trend is rethinking the diversity: a) its destigmatization as a phenomenon associated with Others, with exotic and peripheral loci, and representation of diversity as an advantage in terms of creativity and innovation; b) conceptualization of contemporary social and cultural contexts in terms of superdiversity. Unlike the classical concepts of multiculturalism, interculturalism focuses on both positive contacts as the most promising way of social integration and social dynamics in local contexts of superdiversity. However, the understanding of these processes differs in the political (G. Bouchard), social (T. Cantle) and cultural (R. Zapata-Barrero) directions of interculturalism. Under the destruction of social structures and institutions, interculturalism focusing on the development of interpersonal contacts and relations across borders can become a basis for the search for compromises and mutual understanding. However, the ideas of interculturalism and the processes launched by it turned out to be ‘locked’ in Western contexts, outside of which polarization is obvious in both political and cultural spheres. These tendencies imply an epistemological and ontological distinction between the West and Russia, producing gaps in the social-cultural space, patterns of escalation of schismogenesis and cultural encapsulation, and the rejection on intercultural contacts.

Glamour or sham? Residents' perceptions of city branding in a superdiverse city: The case of Rotterdam

This study focused on the reconstruction of residents' city imaginaries in a superdiverse context, and on the question how residents relate to official city branding. This is an important question, as there is great gap in the literature on how residents perceive brands. Eight focus groups were conducted in the city of Rotterdam, which is considered a typical superdiverse city. The focus groups have shown the complexity of developing a city brand that fits residents' experiences, as the daily encounters and memories of residents go much deeper than most branding communications, in which ‘superficial’ assets of the city are put to the front. The raw, messy and multi-faced reality of residents is harshly in line with the ‘picture perfect’ brand image. Especially in a superdiverse city, as Rotterdam, where this ‘messy’ reality on the level of the streets is felt as home for many residents. The focus groups have hence captured a strong sense of belonging to the city, whereas the branding of the municipality raises frustration and feelings of exclusion with residents. The overall feeling of disapproval of the city brand goes beyond individual characteristics of residents, such as age, education level and cultural background.

Enhancing social inclusion in sport: Dynamics of action research in super-diverse contexts

There are systemic and longstanding inequalities in sport participation for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) migrants. Drawing on theoretical foundations of critical pedagogy and social justice education, as well as a public sociology perspective, this paper examines the development of an action research (AR) project to support the co-creation of inclusive climates in sports clubs in CALD communities in Melbourne, Australia. We use artefacts from collaborative sessions, interviews, and surveys to analyse the AR's impact on participating community sport leaders’ awareness and practice. The findings indicate how the collaborative process of assessing clubs’ diversity and inclusion climates affected participants’ awareness of inequities and exclusionary practices, and how the co-creation of strategies for change brought together diverse perspectives. We reflect on the implications and limitations of the AR for research practice aimed at promoting equitable social inclusion for CALD migrants in community sport.

Engaging Methods for Exploring ‘Funds of Identity’ in Early Childhood Contexts

Globalisation has contributed to increasing diversity with children and families, bringing multiple languages and cultures into early childhood settings around the world. While this has enhanced our settings, research suggests that educators are struggling to find ways to support children’s learning and development in super diverse contexts. Standardised curriculum and pedagogy have complicated matters by suggesting that all children can achieve the same outcome if given the same program. Failing to recognize and acknowledge the complexity of teaching and learning in diverse settings leads to practices that position children and their families as deficient, viewing children and families based on what they lack rather than building from their strengths. In this manuscript we look through the theoretical lenses of funds of knowledge and funds of identity. The two constructs are brought together to explore how innovative, creative arts-based methods from two different research projects in ECE settings across Australia and Chile made children and families’ funds of knowledge and funds of identity visible and potentially impacted learning, participants’ perspectives, and community engagement in these diverse settings. We offer evidence of the ways arts-based methods promoted creativity and agency for all participants in and across both early learning contexts.

In search of a cool identity: how young people negotiate religious and ethnic boundaries in a superdiverse context

In this paper, we aim to study how young people navigate a super-diverse majority-minority context, and how they negotiate bright religious and ethnic symbolic boundaries. Our study is based on 40 in-depth interviews with young people from various ethnic, social and religious backgrounds in the super-diverse city of Antwerp. Our analysis shows that young people generally draw on a cultural repertoire of commonplace diversity to navigate various peer relations and present diversity as a normal element of everyday life. However, our analysis also shows how ethnic minority youth experience bright ethnic and religious boundaries and need to navigate social exclusion processes. While minority youth rework bright boundaries by inverting their othered position and redefining coolness through a repertoire of ethnic hybridity, white majority youth face new challenges as their previously taken-for-granted dominant position becomes questioned and contested within a super-diverse setting. Our analysis shows how white majority youth manage their changing social position by drawing upon cultural repertoires of ethnic purity and ‘normal’ youthfulness, yet this also raises the question of whether they can draw on cultural repertoires, which do not imply nativist white identity politics.

Kindergarten children’s views on friendship in a super-diverse context

In this empirical research, I investigated 16 kindergarten children’s perspectives on their friendships at school in a super-diverse classroom in Canada. A cultural-historical perspective and a “pedagogy of friendship” conceptual framework were drawn on in this research. In the study, the kindergarten children created drawings of their valued friendships. These visual representations revealed the importance of outdoor play and engagement as the catalyst for their development of authentic and valued peer friendships.

Where I Belong: Identification Processes of Young Volunteers in Super-Diverse Cities

In the context of super-diverse cities, scholars and policy makers are increasingly interested in the potential of volunteering to establish identification for newcomers and locals alike. In this paper, we address the question of how young volunteers in Rotterdam and Vienna negotiate belonging within their super-diverse surroundings. Our exploratory study builds on a cross-national research project in which we collected qualitative interview data from volunteering youth. We follow a weak-theory approach and conceptualise belonging as emotional, procedural, and relational. We trace identification processes of newcomers and locals in terms of belonging through volunteering in urban contexts of super-diversity. Our paper demonstrates that volunteering serves as a vehicle for feelings of belonging and inclusion for young volunteers, specifically addressing the urban super-diversity of Vienna and Rotterdam. Our research also indicates the partiality and temporality of volunteering as a source of belonging and the function of volunteering as a structure of inclusion, not necessarily enabling structural inclusion.

How liminality enhances conviviality through multilingual co-creations: Young refugees in the Netherlands

This article explores the multilingual creativity of young refugees in the Netherlands and the social contexts and situations in which it develops. Because these young refugees form an under-researched group, the authors build on different discipline-based studies on (young migrants’) multilingualism, super-diversity, conviviality, liminality and networks. The authors start with the collection of personal network data including languages used with each network member. These data show that participants use and combine the Dutch language with the majority of non-native people in their networks. To explain this, the network data are connected with participants’ ‘network stories’. In these stories, participants refer to the asylum seeker centres, where they began their lives in the Netherlands, as the breeding ground for their multilingual creations with the Dutch language. The authors show how, in the liminal and super-diverse context of these centres, young refugees’ multilingual practices and innovations enhanced conviviality and connectedness. The authors also delineate how ‘oldcomer’ and ‘newcomer’ participants’ distinct multilingual innovations relate to their different present networks. In both groups, however, these innovations are a source of belonging among the non-natives in their networks.

Diversification of diversity: Migrations, cultural pluralism and urban transformations in Palermo (Italy): a case study

Italy experienced the transition from a country of emigration to a country of immigration only in the last decade of the 20th century. The extreme heterogeneity of the Italian scene – from the distribution and variety of productive sectors and local economic dimensions, to the geographical, cultural and linguistic varieties – results in an incredibly differentiated background on which the phenomenon of migrations fits as multiplier of diversity. But there are some particular fields in Italy where the challenges of superdiversity appear to be more prominent: the impact on the school system, in terms of linguistic-cultural pluralism; the change in religious belonging and identities; the dynamics of cohesion/marginality in everyday life; and the relationship between spaces and identities in a superdiverse context.

Participatory health research with migrants: Opportunities, challenges, and way forwards.

ContextMigration is one of the most politically pressing issues of the 21st century but migrant health remains an under‐researched area. The International Collaboration for Participatory Health Research (ICPHR) working group on migration developed this position statement to address opportunities and challenges in relation to migrant health. It aims to contribute to a shift from a deficit model that sees migrants as passively affected by policies to their reconceptualization as citizens who are engaged in the co‐creation of solutions.MethodsThis paper examines the opportunities and challenges posed by the use of PHR with migrants. It draws on a broad literature to provide examples of successful PHR with migrants and highlights critical issues for consideration.FindingsSuccessful initiatives illustrate the value of engaging migrants in the definition of the research agenda, the design and implementation of health interventions, the identification of health‐protective factors and the operationalization and validation of indicators to monitor progress. Within increasingly super diverse contexts, fragmented community landscapes that are not necessarily constructed along ethnicity traits, inadequate structures of representation, local tensions and operational barriers can hamper meaningful PHR with migrants.ConclusionFor each research context, it is essential to gauge the ‘optimal’ level and type of participation that is more likely to leverage migrants’ empowerment. The development of Monitoring and Evaluation tools and methodological strategies to manage inter‐stakeholder discrepancies and knowledge translation gaps are steps in this direction.Patient or public contributionThis paper draws from contributions of migrant populations and other stakeholders to policymaking.

Superdiversity and social policies in a complex society: Social challenges in the 21st century

Superdiversity is a characteristic of contemporary societies that affects processes of social change and social policies. Using meta-analytical methods, this article reviews how superdiversity is addressed in the literature to better inform social policies from a sociological perspective. A search of the literature in English and Spanish revealed 76 articles using different methodological approaches over the period 2007–2019. The descriptors for the search were superdiversity, cultural diversity, migratory flows, global migration, population change, social interactions, social change, social complexity, social care, social policy, superdiverse contexts, age, gender and migrants/ superdiversidad, diversidad cultural, flujos migratorios, migración global, cambio de población, interacciones sociales, cambio social, complejidad social, cuidados, política social, contextos superdiversos, edad, género and migrantes. The main results are the identification of key aspects to inform social policies and promote sustainable social change consonant with the current social reality.

Antwerp’s museums response to super diversity. A study of multiperspective cultural education for secondary school students: learning revisited

ABSTRACT The recent publication of Emotional Heritage resulting from the study of visitor agency in Heritage Sites and Museums opens the way for comparative research and case studies in other contexts than the former British Commonwealth. In this article, the evolution of super-diversity in the Low Countries, and Antwerp in particular, in the twenty-first century is such a case study to urge to move away from that crude concept of visitors and to differentiate more. In European urban contexts, museums face the challenge of connecting the ‘dominant’ ‘culture’/’identity’ represented in their collections with the different ‘cultures’ or ‘identities’ of their target audience. The project team formed a multidisciplinary learning community that created a synergy between art, heritage and education. Three important Antwerp museums participated, providing lessons to secondary students. The museum lessons were developed using the HEM matrix as a multiperspective frame of reference. They were found to appeal to all students in general, and in some respects, the effect of the museum lessons was found to be more positive as the background of the students became more diverse. The project shows that the concept of multiperspectivity is of value to museum strategies addressing an ever more super-diverse urban context.

Superdiversity: reconfiguration of cultural complexity of the contemporary contexts

Conceptualization of the social-cultural contexts of the 21st century in terms of superdiversity implies diversification of the current diversity due to the changing patterns of global migration and transnationalization. The concept of superdiversity introduced by S. Vertovec means a new way for describing and analyzing contemporary social and cultural processes. The author considers three interrelated aspects of superdiversity: descriptive, methodological and practical (political). As a rule, superdiversity implies new immigrants who move from a larger number of countries than before, including those that did not have colonial relations with the places attracting immigrants. The emerging contexts of superdiversity are not limited to the growth of diversity in terms of ethnicity - a multidimensional approach to superdiversity allows it to reflect patterns of social inequality, creolization and the experience of social contacts determined by diversification of migration channels and social statuses of immigrants, of their ethnic, gender and age characteristics. Under the permanent mobility, multiple identities and diverse transnational practices, not everything can be represented in terms of we-they, majority-minority, inside-outside. Therefore, superdiversity is not related to the Other or minorities but presents a new framework for all residents of the country, regardless of their origin. Moreover, in local contexts, cultural diversity is increasingly perceived as a norm. Thus, the concept of superdiversity contributes to the development of a new cultural narrative that would replace the outdated concepts of assimilation and multiculturalism.

Phonetic Symbols in Contemporary Pronunciation Instruction

This article explores the potential of phonetic symbols in pronunciation teaching/learning, with a focus on English language teaching (ELT). After a brief contextualisation of current views of pronunciation instruction in the second-language (L2) teaching literature, the article reviews some of the potential advantages of, conditions for, and alternatives to the use of phonetic symbols together with research investigating their potential empirically. The exploration then focuses on the use of phonetic symbols for pronunciation instruction in contemporary linguistically superdiverse contexts, marked by shifting teaching goals, as well as accent varieties, ELT learner profiles, learning/teaching environments, and notions of L2 English. The discussion concludes with some suggestions as to how to use phonetic notation in contemporary ELT instruction.

Public health nursing education viewed through the lens of superdiversity: a resource for global health

BackgroundNurses are increasingly confronted with the challenge of globalization and the acceleration of migratory flows. This reality affects the notion of culture and its influence on health-related behaviors. The state of health of the population in the Canton of Geneva, where there is a wide diversity of origins, is characterized by significant differences. The term “superdiversity” is used to describe the increasing complexity in ethnic diversity due to migration and social stratification. Nursing education in Geneva, influenced by the Bologna Process, appears appropriate for superdiverse contexts of care, with the development of dedicated competencies.AimThis discussion paper aims to examine the academic curricula implemented in Geneva in the light of the concept of superdiversity.Main textIn Geneva, nursing education and curricula in public health are based on a competence framework for nursing care divided into 7 roles and educational tracks. Bachelor’s-level nurses know how to assess a care problem quickly and solve it effectively by setting relevant priorities, and do so based on evidence. The curricula aim to teach nurses to design population and individual interventions in their superdiverse context.DiscussionEducation should enable students to develop their role as health promoters for the well-being of patients and communities, taking into account cultural complexity.ConclusionsSuperdiverse contexts highlight the role of nurse educators in preparing future generations of public health nurses.