Theoretical presentation of the topic
These days, intercultural education is one of the key tools for conveying multicultural knowledge. Its aim is to make students aware of the value of cultural diversity of groups, societies and nations, to eliminate stereotypes and prejudices, to change the way of looking at ethnic, religious or national heterogeneity of societies in different cultural contexts, to acquire competences in this field, to shape attitudes and to make them sensitive to cultural similarities and dissimilarities. Intercultural education on the Polish ground relates to theoretical, research-based and didactic academic interpretations, being one of the answers to the multiculturalism of contemporary societies (including university and school environment). It is also connected with the activity of non-governmental organizations in school and extracurricular socio-cultural reality.
Intercultural education, understood as “an educational process aimed at understanding cultural differences and preparation for dialogical interaction with representatives of other cultures” (Markowska, 1990: 111), has been present in the Polish academic educational discourse for three decades. Nevertheless, it still seems to be inexpressive in the practice of Polish schools and universities training teachers and educators. One of the precursors of intercultural education in Poland – Jerzy Nikitorowicz (2009: 282) – understands intercultural education as “the whole of mutual influences and interactions of individuals and groups, institutions, organizations, associations, and unions which favour such human development that a person becomes a fully conscious and creative member of the family, local, regional, religious, national, continental, cultural, global – planetary community and is capable of active self-realization, forming permanent identity and distinctiveness.” The result of education should therefore involve the socio-cultural dynamization of different groups, getting to know each other (Markowska-Manista, 2019), forming closer bonds and integration while maintaining their own distinctiveness and their own visions of development. Such education is supposed to trigger striving to acquire intercultural competences, and thanks to them lead to understanding cultural differences and searching for similarities, building attitudes of openness and skills of establishing and conducting dialogue based on respect for Others. This process, which consists of getting to know and coming closer to various groups living in the same area, should also (intentionally) lead to strengthening one’s own cultural identity (Markowska, 1990). Thus, it is education not only about Others, patterns of education taken from Others and education conducted with Others but equally education about us, about the social and cultural mosaic of contemporary societies (Markowska-Manista, Niedźwiedzka-Wardak, 2017). This education refers to the socio-cultural contexts and political solutions directed at the policy of cultural opening or closing of institutions and services to foreigners.
In educational institutions where pupils and students belonging to different cultures and representing different nationalities (e.g. refugees, foreigners) study, implementation of educational activities based on the theory of intercultural contact (Wright, 2009; Dixon, Durrheim & Tredoux, 2007) is important. This refers to activities aiming at the acquisition of intercultural competences by teachers and pupils/students based on diverse traditional and new (activating and involving) teaching methods. They enable us to look at the surrounding reality through the “glasses” of the Other, to feel what it is like to be in their shoes, their situation in the context of migration experiences, and to see the different everyday worlds – our own, that of the Other and that of Foreigners. Those methods will also help young people to see problems that are conditioned by the diffusion and clash of cultures and to create valuable solutions (through the experience of collaborative learning) to perceived problems, based on communication, discussion and dialogue.
Considering the above, in the context of shaping a policy of openness to migrants, including foreigners in the activities of the majority society, the question posed in the title of the module arises: How to speak about “Others” who are a part of our class? This is a question about didactical approaches, strategies, and methods.
One of the didactic methods which allows to apply the intercultural approach is the project method understood here in terms of intercultural encounter and intercultural experience. As a dialogical “open space” for exchanging knowledge, projects make participants cooperate during analysis, discussion, and presentation of concrete multicultural social issues. Such a project may help to find platforms for further cooperation aimed at the promotion of intercultural dialogue from a local (university or school) and international perspectives. The application of this method enables intensive interpersonal communication between individuals in culturally diverse working groups. The project method initiates spontaneous “communication events” that influence the cognitive and educational sphere. The subject of group work may be multicultural issues and content, which during discussion may be assimilated at the cognitive, evaluative, and behavioural levels. The tools facilitating communication between the participants may include documents, films, presentations, music files, case studies, texts and pictures for analysis, spontaneous enactments presented during the classes and simulation games.
Participation in a culturally (linguistically) diverse group places the partakers in a situation where they have to help each other, take into account different opinions, positions, needs, a different pace of work and varying abilities, be able to compromise, cooperate, and accept that everyone is responsible for everyone in these activities. Intercultural project-based learning is rooted in “building reciprocity” and can be done in two ways:
- with reference to the current context known to the participants, i.e. the social, political and cultural reality of the pupils/students,
- in a broader sense, with reference to social and historical events in the world and other contexts such as geographically distant ones.
Group discussions may concern, among others, the role of cultural heritage (intergenerational and intercultural transmission), history (networks of historical and collective memory, resentment, multiple historical perspectives – minority, majority), problems of national and cultural minorities and majorities, and their influence on the shape of contemporary relations within and between nations and communities.
Participants involved in a project-based classes can take part in activities such as: multicultural and intercultural negotiations, discussions, debates, simulations. Thanks to those activities the partakers can get to know the Others better, to understand the specificity of their culture, but also to better understand their own culture. Intercultural teaching, which is supposed to answer the question on How to speak about “Others” who are a part of our class?, should be directed towards the acquisition or enrichment of multicultural knowledge, the development of students’ intercultural competences in the context of diversifying societies, and equipping students with “tools” which they can use to implement their own initiatives and inclusion projects. An inclusive environment developed this way gives the students an opportunity to use their capital/potential and influences their adaptation to new conditions, their sense of participation and therefore involvement in the life of a school class, a school or an university.
For a more in-depth theoretical exploration of the topic, read the article prepared for this e-module and complete the assignment below (Text and task). The article can serve as a case study for understanding the context of How to speak about “Others” who are a part of our class? Students from diverse cultural backgrounds in schools.
Text and task
Below is an abstract and a link to an open-access article written for this e-module: Urszula Markowska-Manista, Non-contextual teaching of sensitive topics focusing on cultural diversity in Polish schools, 2021.
Abstract: The aim of this article is to capture the specifics and validity of non-contextual teaching of sensitive topics focusing on the increasing cultural diversity in Polish schools. The term ‘non-contextual teaching’ refers to teaching about cultural diversity in schools that were non-diverse for a long period of time, but are becoming increasingly culturally diverse. The paper looks at school asymmetries related to school curricula. It also describes the needs of diverse groups of students and teachers connected with the decolonisation of educational content in the increasingly diversified world.
Article in open access: http://www.roczniklubuski.uz.zgora.pl/wydania/tom_47/RL_T47_1_Markowska-Manista.pdf
Task
Task related to the article Non-contextual teaching of sensitive topics focusing on cultural diversity in Polish schools by U. Markowska-Manista (2021).
- Method: content analysis – individual work
- Duration: approx. 45 min.
- Teaching aids: a piece of paper (A4) and a pen
Instructions: Read the article and answer the following questions in Worksheet 9.5 (individual work). When you finish, make notes on a piece of paper or in the worksheet (below). They will be useful in further work: team analyses and discussions.
Questions:
- How do you understand the term ‘non-contextual teaching’?
- Have you had contact with this kind of teaching during your school education? If you have, write where and give an example of this ‘non-contextual teaching’ (topics, how it was presented…).
- What needs you observe connected to education about cultural, religious, ethnical and national diversity associated with increasingly culturally and ethnical diversified schools?
Task for the teacher:
Read the following descriptions of intercultural competence. Consider how you can strengthen the intercultural competence of your students. Reflect on the subject based on the article Non-contextual teaching of sensitive topics focusing on cultural diversity in Polish schools by U. Markowska-Manista (2021) as a theoretical introduction to the topic How to speak about “Others” who are a part of our class?
Intercultural competences
In academic literature, there are many definitions of intercultural competence crucial for intercultural education in a culturally heterogeneous classroom/group. According to M. Byram (2003), intercultural competence includes four elements:
- knowledge (information about the world that facilitates adaptation to changing conditions, knowledge about cultural products and culturally determined social practices),
- awareness of differences and similarities between cultures and the processes to which social interactions are subjected,
- observational, communicative, interpretative, analytical skills in the context of comparing and linking cultures considering historical, geographical, and social perspectives,
- attitudes (readiness to communicate, inquisitiveness, tolerance, readiness to abandon prejudices).
According to M. C. Boecker (2008), intercultural competence includes:
- attitudes (appreciation of cultural diversity, tolerance),
- cultural knowledge and skills (comprehensive knowledge of cultures, communication skills, ability to manage conflicts, ability to create community, synergy),
- ability to reflect on intercultural issues,
- ability to interact constructively (avoidance of breaking cultural rules, intercultural etiquette).