Intercultural Education: Principles and Strategies
Introduction
The society of those who are concerned in the world of the international schools can be considered as a diverse one. One of the most outstanding characteristics that most of us would associate with the mental picture of international schools or international education is the absences of homogeneity. The said deficiency of homogeneity or the existence of diversity can be seen from different viewpoints as well as point of view. It may be considered, for instance, from the different viewpoints of different schools that are claiming to be international schools (Hayden & Thompson, 2000, p. 3).
The definition of the term international school still remain a unresolved and controversial issue, this is due to the fact that up to now, no one has come up with a description and explanation of the term international school that does not leave out or eliminate some of the schools that are considering themselves as international, and does not comprise others that may not as well stressing the absence of a communal opinion of the meaning of the term international education (Hayden & Thompson, 2000, p. 3).
Sequentially, to revert to the thought of the international education, on the other hand – and we would desire to disagree that it is the encouragement of the international education as well as its connection with the different sets of values rather than the counting or the definition of international schools, that considered as significant – such macro diversity does not come out to have an noticeable role to take part in the encouragement of such a set of values and international attitude. The progress of the said attitude is more likely to be endorsed in the context of another, recognizable appearance of diversity, that can be found at what can be explained as the local level, the micro diversity that distinguishes and differentiate so many individual international schools in terms of the great numbers of different nationalities, different cultural backgrounds, different languages that are used and spoken as well as different religious beliefs that can be found among the students as well as the teaching body. The level of the said diversities will vary with accordance to the essential raison d’être, whether catering for a mostly expatriate, temporary population or for a more constant population of students drawn principally from the local society or indeed, as in the case of the United World Colleges, catering for a student population intentionally chosen in order to take advantage of the cultural diversity as well as to make the said diversity a main attribute of the understanding and familiarity of the students (Hayden & Thompson , 2000, p. 3).
According to the research of Hayden & Thomson (1996), it shows that numerous of the students in the international schools give importance for the interaction with those of other cultures, and they consider it as one of the most fundamental characteristics of the international education. Furthermore, it ability to promote the development of an international attitude, a feature which describe by Walker (2000) as a good effect due to the fact that many of the said schools claim that they are doing more than just the process of encouraging the activity of rubbing of shoulders. The intentional, designed interaction of students from the different cultural backgrounds is extensively observed as a foundation of international education (cited in Hayden & Thompson, 2000, p. 3).
Social Difference and School Inequality
Group educational differentials are, more often than not, attributed to the language differences, to the conflict in the matter of culture, to different discriminatory instruments like IQ tests, as well as to the cultural insensitivity of many educators or teachers (McCarthy, 1998, p. 53).
Social differences and inequality in school is considered as two of the most important implications of cultural diversity in the international education context. Contradiction and the non-synchrony in the course of educational processes of selection of culture, competition, exploitation as well as domination are considered as the primary sources and causes of the inequality in school (McCarthy 1998, p. 77).
The theory of overdetermination in which the imbalanced processes and outcomes of teaching and learning as well as of the schooling as a whole are formed by the unvarying relations among the three different dynamics which are: race, gender as well as class, and in three spheres which are: economic, political and cultural. (McCarthy, 1998, pp.63 – 64).
Furthermore, each sphere of social life is comprised of dynamics of class, race and gender has extensive hypothetical as well as realistic merit. It only shows that it is impracticable to recognize and comprehend fully the problem, regarding the amazingly high school-dropout rate amongst the black as well as Latino youth without considering the aspect regarding the issue of race, class as well as gender domination and repression in the US urban centers as well as the ways where in the said social dynamic works methodically interconnects. In addition to that, the issue about the unequal division of labor in schools as well as the society, and focus the attention to the ways in which capitalism uses patriarchal relations to the lower wage scale and the social importance of the labor of woman (McCarthy, 1998, pp. 63 – 64).
Race Inequality
Race is considered as a profound and significant category of social aspect. In addition to that, race is linked to other different social dynamics like class and gender in the system that has a multiple determinations (McCarthy, 1998, p. 56). This is due to the fact that racial domination is intensely concerned in the essential organization of precise human societies and in the development of capitalism in the market system of the world (as cited from McCarthy, 1998, p. 55). Therefore, racial domination is conceptualized at the level of social collectivities and their discrepancy and conflictual relationships to the ways of production. This warns us to the influential connection between the racial domination as well as the inequality in terms of the economy, the differential material resources and competences as well as the rough access to the social as well as political institutions like school (McCarthy, 1998, p. 55).
Racial categories vary contemporaneously between different societies. For instance, while the racial designation black in the US refers only to those people of the African descent, on the other hand, in England, black refers to those oppressed Asian as well as Afro-Caribbean minorities (McCarthy, 1998, p. 59).
When we are going to look at the historical perspective of education, we will see that education is considered as the main site for the reproduction and amplification of the racial significance as well as racial identities. An examination of the racial discourses within the general course of the program and the educational theories and practices swiftly disabuses the people with the idea that education is considered as unbiased or blameless institution that has a respect to the racial struggles (McCarthy, 1998, p. 60). The said examination can be considered as wrong, due to the fact that there have been many past laws of different countries that are prohibiting specific race or groups of people to have an education.
Racial inequality is a multipart, multifaceted phenomenon that holds both the structural as well as cultural characteristics. According to Apple and Weis (1983), the vibrancy of race, class as well as gender does interrelate with each other in the complex manner, however, each is considered as required for the mutual reproduction of the others (as cited from McCarthy, 1998, p. 62).
Gender Inequality
Gender inequality issue in schools as well as in working place has been one of the oldest controversies in the history of the human race. There have been many countries and places in the world that have practiced different oppressive laws and regulations against women.
Sex-dominant circumstances exist within the American university education with accordance to struggles over women’s studies as well as the very position of women in the academic world itself. Gender has been the articulating standard that has sharpened the focus on the different issues about the essential operation of white male opportunity in the university system with respect to the distinguished organization of curricular knowledge, imbalanced patterns of selection as well as the appointment to tenure-track faculty positions, imbalanced relations between male professors as well as the female students and a lot more cases (McCarthy, 1998, p. 69).
The issue regarding the gender has had a numerous impact that lights up the flash points of differences across a variety of customary male-dominated orders. Sexual rivalry within academic world has focused their attention of the people regarding the modus operandi of the university as well as its relations of competition, exploitation, domination as well as the cultural selection (McCarthy, 1998, p. 69).
The most important sources of conflict, mobilization as well as the counter-mobilization in a given educational institutions may be focus on the different issues of gender affairs such as sexual harassment, women’s studies, new codes of conduct within the university prevailing relationship between the sexes and a lot more (McCarthy, 1998, p. 69).
Class Inequality
Students and even teacher have a tendency to be rewarded and authorized in different manners based on the resources as well as assets that they are able to gather together within the school as well as in the society. This capability to gather together resource, and make use of the unequal reward system and representational rituals of schooling, differs according to the race, gender as well as the class backgrounds of minority as well as majority of students (McCarthy, 1998, p. 66).
In terms of class inequality, a white middle-class male student comes to schools with understandable social and economic edge and in turn often have these advantages set and improved by the unequal curriculum and educational practices of schooling (McCarthy, 1998, p. 66).
The procedure, by which dissimilarity and class stratification is reasonable, is fairly complex and involves some explanation. Each time reality is definite in a way that works in order to maintain the accessible power structures; the procedure of ideology is most likely involved. Principal ideology reifies inequality as the expected result of the power union’s superior talent and endeavor (Kincheloe 1997, p. 111).
Researchers have discovered that classroom management strategies differ significantly between classrooms that are composed of poor students compare to those that are composed of middle as well as upper-middle class students. The control over the poor students is not easy, that more often than not, lead to contestation and conflict. Primarily, they are struggling for control (Kincheloe 1997, p. 128). This is due to the fact that according to the study of educational sociologist, it shows that for decades, teachers are handling poor students with their cold as well as impersonal ways (as cited from Kincheloe 1997, p. 128).
Maintaining Cultural Sensitivity in Workplace
The idea of workplace diversity has also become extremely accepted in the mass media and has more lately come into the world of the human resource as well as the organizational behavior (Prasad & Mills 1997, p. 4).
Sensitivity to the different cultures is considered as one of the most important processes in managing the cultural diversity. Most of the US companies are using the cultural sensitivity training in order to get rid of, as well as to diminish the conflicts that will occur between the employees who speak only English, and those who communicate in other languages (Alkhafaji 1995, p. 121).
There are different activities and programs that can be planned and implemented in order to maintain cultural sensitivity in any workplace. Those programs and activities can help in order to maintain sound relationship inside the working environment.
Cultural sensitivity is required in order to maximize the beneficial impact of the competencies, at the same time minimize the harm that can be experienced due to the different characteristics of every employee (p. 322).
Equalities Training
The main goal of the equalities training program is to target the shifting behavior of each and every employee. It gives the participants with understandable directions in order to deal as well as cooperate with their colleagues of other cultures that will compose to the set of correct norms as well as behaviors. This program will help the participants to become more efficient as well as adaptive when it comes to working with colleagues from different cultures (Cornelius, 2002, p. 105).
Diversity Management Training
In 1995, diversity management training programs have become increasingly popular in the US. It includes earlier types of training programs such as information, cultural awareness, cultural-sensitivity as well as equalities training programs. The main objective of diversity management training is to focus on the attitudinal and behavior change (Early & Soon 2006, p. 105).
Aside from the said two examples of training, communication method is one of the most important tools that can be used in order to maintain sound relationship within a multi-cultural environment. It will be important to have seminars and socialization that will enable employees to explore the different aspects of different cultures inside their organization. Meeting can be done in order to lecture the different beliefs and traditions of the groups of employees inside the company.
Language barrier will be the primary problem that can be associated with multi-cultural environment. That is why it will help if the upper management will be able to create multi-lingual communication method, such as in terms of memo, management can disperse different version, such as for Chinese, for Japanese and so on.
Conclusion
Culture has a great impact on any aspects or industry in the world. In business, it is being used by huge companies in order to give the demands and needs of their customers. Furthermore, it is also considered as one of the most important aspects of factors that can affect the preferences of an individual. On the other hand, in terms of education and training, whether in the context of school or the workplace, culture is still one of the most important factors that can affect the performance of a given class or a given working environment that will eventually affect the overall performance of a company.
Education system evolves and develops based on the different factors. Furthermore, it can be shaped based on the actions and deeds of the society and serves as a reflection of a given society’s moral as well as intellectual values. The said situation affects the international education in terms of equality as well as nondiscrimination transcend for every individual as well as the state (McNeely 1995, p. 503).
That is why it is important for the institutionalization to take place with accordance to the recommendations where in the international organizations will play an significant job, as well as the national policy plans and be likely to be constant with the international organizational decisions as well as policies (McNeely 1995, p. 504).
Furthermore, there must have a national adaptation of the different policies that are consistent with their classifications and instructions. Completion is a main concern to the international organizations (McNeely 1995, p. 505).
References
Alkhafaji, A. (1995) Competitive Global Management: Principles ad Strategies, CRC Press
Cornelius, N. (2002) Building Workplace Equality: Ethics, Diversity and Inclusion, Cengage Learning EMEA
Early, C., Soon, A. & Joo-Seng, T. (2006) CQ Developing Cultural Intelligence at Work, Stanford University Press
Hayden, M. & Thompson, J. (Eds.) (2000) International Schools and International Education, Taylor & Francis
Kincheloe, J. L. & Steinberg, S. R. (1997) Changing Multiculturalism, Buckingham: Open University Press
McCarthy, C. (1998) The Uses of Culture, Education and the Limits of Ethnic Affiliation. New York: Routledge
McNeely, C. N. (1995) ‘Prescribing National Education Policies: The Role of International Organizations’, Comparative Education Review, 39 (4), 483-507
Prasad, P., Mills, A., Elmes, M. & Prasad, A. (1997) Managing the Organizational Melting Pot: Dilemmas of Workplace Diversity, SAGE
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