This publication is part of a series linked to the Council of Europe's project "Responses to violence in everyday life in democratic society" which considers various aspects of policy making and law enforcement to combat crime and violence in society. This book discusses practical aspects of interculturality, a concept defined as a set of processes through which relations between different cultures are constructed on a basis of equality and mutual respect. Issues discussed include: confronting differences to combat discrimination; communication in the context of linguistic and media pluralism; and its relevance to innovative classroom practices and the teaching of history.
This book deals with the importance of interculturality in teacher education and training. It is mostly through the concept of intercultural competence that interculturality has been constructed and problematized for educators. However, different approaches and paradigms are available and differ and/or share similarities in terms of ideology, method, practice, theoretical frameworks, and ethical considerations. There is no global agreement on the meanings of interculturality in teacher education and training, although some principles might be common across national borders. There is thus a need for educators to consider these aspects of interculturality in education to be able to become better teachers in a diverse world like ours.
The need for new approaches, methods, and techniques in cross-cultural training and intercultural education are virtually insatiable, especially for experiential activities. The emphasis in this book is on activities that foster the development of intercultural awareness and cross-cultural sensitivity, helping learners understand some of the principal dimensions of intercultural communication, cross-cultural human relations, and cultural diversity. The selections include simulations, case studies, role plays, critical incidents, and individual and group exercises. A number address relatively complex workplace issues; others focus on intercultural dynamics in educational contexts. Some are printed here for the first time; others are culled from less accessible sources. They range from basic introductory activities to those that facilitate the exploration of intercultural issues in significant depth. In an introductory essay, Sheila Ramsey, an experienced scholar and trainer, examines the nature of intercultural training and lays out a conceptual framework for assessing its effectiveness. The rest of the book is made up of activities organized around six facets of intercultural contact: cultural differences for beginners, understanding oneself as a cultural person, the intercultural perspective, working across cultures, cross-cultural "foul-ups," and returning home. Each section opens with an introduction, followed by activities. Each activity includes, at a minimum, objectives, audience, materials required, setting, time required, and procedure for facilitation. Many of the activities include handouts or illustrations. This book will be especially valuable for trainers and educators who want to further ground their work in a solid theoretical base and at he same time augment their resources to expand heir repertoire.
`Jagdish Gundara has made a very substantial contribution to the field with this work and it is to the rest of us to make connections with it and help in the gigantic tasks of finding solutions′- Tony Booth, Canterbury Christ Church University, British Journal of Educational Studies `This work deals with the question of how education can help in the task of developing cohesive civil societies by turning notions of singular identities into those of multiple ones, and by developing a shared and common value system and public culture. Jadgish S Gundara begins with a mini-biography of his own history, which he describes as an "intercultural apprenticeship", and in which the interweaving of different strands of identity is strikingly described. His first chapter then presents "Multicultural Britain". Here Jadgish S Gundara argues that the post-war immigrant presence has highlighted aspects of British historical diversity - Britain′s permanent multi-culturalism and addresses issues of group identity, culture and racism. Following chapters discuss basic issues in intercultural education; practicing intercultural education; post-school intercultural education; interculturalism in Europe; the role of the state; building a common and shared value system; Asian and global perspectives; and knowledge, social science and the curriculum. Jadgish S Gundara has a personal perspective on education issues influenced by his involvement for many years. This is an eloquent book′ - Race Relations `Jagdish S Gundara′s own early experiences have given him unique insights into both the problems and the possibilities of relationships between cultures. His book reflects a life dedicated to fostering positive intercultural relations and provides an analysis of the role of education in overcoming the barriers. All who are interested in building genuinely inclusive notions of education and citizenship will benefit from reading this impressive book′ - Geoff Whitty, Karl Mannheim Professor of Sociology of Education, University of London `This is a most interesting, accessible and useful book, which deserves to be read by a wide range of education practitioners from school, further education and not least the policy makers in these sectors′ - Stephen Bigger, Escalate Jagdish S Gundara raises a range of critical issues for educators as a consequence of historical and contemporary aspects of social diversity. Using a historical and social science framework, the author examines issues concerning national minorities and immigrant communities. He outlines a view of multicultural Britain, and shows how education at all levels needs to change to embrace an intercultural position. The book also deals with interculturalism in Europe and Asia, the role of state organizations, and the need to foster `communities of hope′. Based on the authors professional experience in schools, the community and further and higher education, the book assumes no detailed knowledge, and aims to make the concepts of intercultural education accessible to a wide audience.
This reference book is intended to help teachers, teacher administrators, policy makers and others deal with the important issue of religious diversity in Europe's schools. The religious dimension of intercultural education is an issue that affects all schools, whether they are religiously diverse or not, because their pupils live and will work in increasingly diverse societies. The book is the main outcome of the project 1The Challenge of intercultural education today: religious diversity and dialogue in Europe', developed by the Council of Europe between 2002 and 2005. It is in four parts: theoretical and conceptual basis for religious diversity and intercultural education; educational conditions and methodological approaches; religious diversity in schools in different settings; examples of current practice in some member states of the Council of Europe.
The ability to recognise and understand your own cultural context is a prerequisite to understanding and interacting with people from different cultural backgrounds. An intercultural learning approach encourages us to develop an understanding of culture and cultural difference, through reflecting on our own context and experience.
As education becomes more globally accessible, the need increases for comprehensive education options with a special focus on bilingual and intercultural education. The normalization of diversity and the acclimation of the students to various cultures and types of people are essential for success in the current world. The Handbook of Research on Bilingual and Intercultural Education is an essential scholarly publication that provides comprehensive empirical research on bilingual and intercultural processes in an educational context. Featuring a range of topics such as education policy, language resources, and teacher education, this book is ideal for teachers, instructional designers, curriculum developers, language learning professionals, principals, administrators, academicians, policymakers, researchers, and students.
This book explores the decades-long use of the notion of interculturality in education and other fields, arguing that it is now time to move beyond certain assumptions towards a richer and more realistic understanding of the ‘intercultural’. Many concepts such as culture, identity and intercultural competence are discussed and revised. Myths about interculturality are also unpacked and dispelled. Written by one of the leading scholars in the field, this book proposes a very useful framework to address theoretical and methodological issues related to interculturality. This somewhat provocative book will be of interest to anyone who wrestles with this knotty but central notion of our times.
This book primarily analyses the current situation in intercultural education and intercultural competences, and addresses the challenges to, and possible ways of dealing with, different perspectives in intercultural education. Advances in the new millennium, such as the revolution in information technologies, have led to a reduction in distances between people, stronger ties between different geographical areas, and greater mobility. This volume examines how these advances seem to have given rise to profound economic, environmental, political, social, and cultural crises, not just within nations, but also in relations between cultures. Such crises are of concern to all aspects of human life, including family, work and mass media, but they particularly affect educational institutions. The papers in this collection explain, therefore, why it is necessary to invest in education.
This book provides a contemporary and critical examination of the theoretical and pedagogical impact of Michael Byram’s pioneering work on intercultural communicative competence and intercultural citizenship within the field of language education and beyond. The chapters address important theoretical and empirical work on the teaching, learning, and assessment of intercultural learning, and highlight how individual language educators and communities of practice enact intercultural learning in locally appropriate ways. The book offers comprehensive, up-to-date and accessible knowledge for researchers, teachers, teacher-trainers and students.
