How International Are Esol Education Schools?

Cross Cultural Understanding and International Mindedness

Esol Education PD Conference Cairo 2015

Outline

• Initial assumptions• My own journey and some companions (other

connections welcome)• What skills and attitude are needed to achieve

CC Understanding?• Some models in use• Some ideas and concepts• The way forward

I will post these slides in the conference summary or send them directly to you.

CIS Accreditation 8th edition: The school’s Vision for Students (or similar) shall demonstrate a clear commitment to fostering desirable traits related to internationalism/interculturalism, and this shall impact upon all students.

There is a lot of recent theory out there but much less actual practice supporting Cross Cultural understanding in (international) schools. The results of the study indicated that teachers and administrators had an understanding of what international mindedness was; however, when it came to a discussion of implementation within their schools, it was clear that most schools were implementing in a superficial way. The data suggest that teachers and administrators are not entirely clear as to how to infuse international themes into their classes and schools. Additionally, the IBO’s conceptualization of IM is not thoroughly defined for partner schools, teachers, and administrators; and there exists little institutional accountability for the implementation of international mindedness…. (Michael Singh & Jing Qi)

Does the school’s appraisal system measure a teacher’s ability to teach with an “internationally minded” approach?If the overwhelming response from teachers was that they are not being held accountable at the campus level for incorporating IM into their curriculum, I find it very unlikely that 102 teachers are then taking it upon themselves to actually do it. If only 20 percent of teachers indicated they were being held accountable for IM and 38 percent …. indicated that professional development was being made available to them at the campus level to assist their efforts, it is clear that IM is not being institutionalized within member schools. (Michael Singh & Jing Qi)

My own guess is that the decision whether an international school is “American” or “British” etc will become less relevant in time and “critical cultural awareness” more relevant (critical cultural awareness has been defined as “an ability to evaluate, critically and on the basis of explicit criteria, perspectives, practices and products in one’s own and other cultures and countries” (Byram 1997: p53)

My own journey and some recent companions on it:

Increasingly I ask myself: what constitutes a “successful school leader” with intercultural competence?

In May 2015 I sent out the following questions to my network of international colleagues and the AISE West faculty:Which experiences truly enable us to see one culture through the prism of another? What specific skills do our students need to gain and deepen such understandings? How do we focus our curriculum, activities and outreach opportunities on assessing "Intercultural Competence"?

Companions on this journey

Martin Skelton (former Fieldworks director): “…. the enormity of the issues involved in cross-cultural understanding often causes me to ‘go back to bed’ rather than start the climb one more time …. Over the past five or so years I have been trying to combine my own developing studies of how the brain works and the impact - for better and worse - this has on learning but also on the development of international mindedness and cross-cultural awareness. Of course, I have no answers but I do have a deeper appreciation for why such development is both hard and fraught at every stage with the potential for disaster as well as success”.

Norm Dean (former Esol Chief Education Advisor, Alliance of International Education board member, now at the Yew Chung Foundation in Hong Kong – their model will be referred to later): “I love living where I do in Hong Kong because I am a minority and therefore forced to communicate and relate with the indigenous people of this place on their terms. Being in a crowded place where you stand out as different is a very powerful way to reflect on one's own world view and to question those assumptions.”

Jeff Thompson and Mary Hayden (both Bath University and Alliance of International Education board members) led several evaluations (Mostar UWC; Yew Chung model, editors of upcoming John Catt book: “Assessment and Evaluation in International Education”.

Jack Levy (George Mason, Boston U, U of Massachusetts; Alliance for International Education) 1. How can you limit the possibility of you stereotyping a person or group?2. How can you react productively when (not if) you are stereotyped? 3. How can you react in a way that ends the stereotyping and assumptions, but retains the relationship? Some common reactions - anger, confrontation, repression, silence - are not productive, since they don't change assumptions nor stop misunderstandings.

Peter Welch (Director IS Helsinki)Cultural Perspectives in International SchoolsHow do we gently and meaningfully challenge the western framework of values and assumptions that govern most international schools? How do we prepare this generation of learners to be ready for a world in which eastern influences will be increasingly important? What tools and strategies can we use in schools to develop our colleagues' and students' cross-cultural competency (sometimes called CQ)?

Peter Welch continued…..

The Nature of Successful Leadership in International Schools If we understand that successful leadership in international schools is based on high level cross-cultural competency, what tools and strategies can be used to further develop CQ in our leaders?How do we gently challenge traditional models of international school leadership to embrace more diversity of voices in these roles?

Graham Ranger (CIS Director of School Support & Evaluation)On the questions of inter-cultural competence, a major step forward for us has been the drawing to a close of the CIS International Certification pilot project (A means to enhance and confirm a school community’s to international/intercultural learning…) We’ll also be offering two Research and Development Symposia, one in London and one in Hong Kong, on the same theme, but bringing universities and school educators together. And, we’ll soon be launching the new Accreditation protocol, CIS International Accreditation, 2016.

I hope that, following the discussions we shared with Jeff, Mary and the Team in Mumbai last year, we will be able to collaborate further to support schools as they explore these issues. There’s plenty of overlap, Walther, between your passions in this regard and CIS’ priorities.

ECIS ITCThe first of 5 units is: Education in an intercultural context – teachers will be involved in creating opportunities for developing intercultural understandingThe ITC is a one-year online program that features a three-day face-to-face institute hosted by international schools worldwide.

https://www.ecis.org/credentials/itc

David Hawley (former Head of Lester Pearson United World College, now IB Chief Academic Officer) is thinking about ways of moving from the "international" (artificial) to the notion of interrelatedness and mutual dependence; ie ways in which we all depend on "the other" across national and cultural lines.”International Mindedness” is a very Western idea.

Sumaya Alyusuf, (Curriculum Manager for Global EducationInternational Baccalaureate Organization; participant in Alliance for International Education) Bravely searching for the ‘Nature of intercultural understanding’ (article to be published)1. How does your school identify cultural diversity in the school, (differences / similarities)?2. How are cultures represented in your school community identified, defined, described and affirmed?3. How does your school community approach and manage cultural challenges or dilemmas that are difficult to resolve?4. How does the school community understand and foster relationships between school culture and local culture?5. How do you encourage school communities to understand the cultural diversity in the world?6. How does your school community collaborate to approach contentious/ controversial issues in its particular context?

Plus some wonderful teachers and colleagues who have already responded

Mabel Mary Manzitti Argentina – language and literatureEttie Zilber – development of anthropological tools and skills; Juliette Zeiser – Early Childhood concepts, “playback theatre” to learn empathy Joseph Levno - languageDina Taher – awareness of cultureFuad Hasanagic – emotional and spiritual componentsDavid Condon – ability to tolerate uncertainty and ambiguityPatrick Blois - story telling, “narratives”Matthew Roy – core values, Gauri Viswanathan (a literary theorist and so much more)Bonnie Lindgren – East meets West Pictograms

Any other connections?

What skills and attitude are needed to achieve CC Understanding?

“At the heart of international- mindedness is a frame of mind - a curiosity about the world, an openness towards things ‘other’ and a profound appreciation of the complexity of our world and our relationships to each other. You don’t have to be in an international context to develop this kind of mind-set.” -Mike Bostwick, Ed.D: Executive Director of Katoh Gakuen Bilingual School, Japan (quoted by Sumaya in her IBO paper)

Transcend the limits of a world view informed by a single experience of nationality, creed, culture or philosophy, and recognize in the richness of diversity a multiplicity of ways of engaging with the world. (Harwood and Bailey, 2012:156)

Skills and Experiences facilitating CC Understanding(teachers’ first reactions – in no particular order)

• Communication Skills• Listening (!) – do we teach active listening skills?• Learning languages (!)• Travel, living, working, volunteering (be aware of frequent power

differential) in another place• Awareness of inter-dependence• Literature, film, digital media etc• Understanding history of a place• Awareness of one’s own culture• Theory of Knowledge approach • Critical thinking skills• Self-discovery, reflection, writing

This to me is really very strongly influenced by language for it is through the acquisition of another language that we best comprehend the nuances, depth and truths of another culture (Norm).

However, at the end of the day I don't think it's possible to COMPLETELY see one culture... we can come close. I strongly believe the closest we can get is facilitated by actually learning the language or languages associated with that culture and living in it for more than a couple months. Through that, you get all the experiences that connect you emotionally. Barring that, at least exposure to some language learning associated with the culture along with as many sensory and emotional connections as possible (music, food, literature, the arts of that culture, etc.), and, reflection and discussion to hear other's perceptions. (Joseph Levno)

Texts (different genres) are carefully chosen and purposely viewed from different perspectives. In the study of fictional and non-fictional works, students are prompted to recognize unstated assumptions and biases. (Mabel Mary)

Skills and Experiences facilitating CC Understanding

• leaving one’s “comfort zones” (becoming aware of your own comfort zones and prepare for the “Shock of the Other”)

• “Crisis of Engagement” (Martin Skelton 2007)

Do our classes and activities, our excursions help students to acquire active listening skills, the ability to communicate your own perspective and to effectively receive that of another person?

Attitudes first reactions – in no particular order)

• respect • tolerance > acceptance• empathy – readiness to connect emotionally• sensibility, sympathy• readiness to engage the other, dialogue,

“crisis of engagement”• ability to suspend judgment• ability to tolerate uncertainty and ambiguity

Some Models In Use

• Hofstede dimensions: power distance index/individualism vc collectivism/uncertainty avoidance/masculinity vs femininity/long term orientation/indulgence vs restraint

http://geert-hofstede.com/cultural-survey.html?gclid=CLa1m6G_rcgCFSsKwwodY0AM5Q

There are a lot of commercially available programs, especially for the business world, using such dimensions to make people aware of cultural differences.

Milton Bennett Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) (M. Bennett, 1986, 1993; J. Bennett & M. Bennett, 2003, 2004)In Wurzel, J. (Ed.). (2004). Toward multiculturalism: A reader in multicultural education

(2nd ed., pp. 62-77). Newton, MA: Intercultural Resource Corporation.Becoming Interculturally Competent Milton J. BennettI used the term “ethnocentrism” to refer to the experience of one’s own culture as “central to reality.” By this I mean that the beliefs and behaviors that people receive in their primary socialization are unquestioned; they are experienced as “just the way things are.” I coined the term “ethnorelativism” to mean the opposite of ethnocentrismthe experience of one’s own beliefs and behaviors as just one organization of reality among many viable possibilities.

Bennet cont.

Denial Defense Minimization Acceptance Adaptation Integration➝ ➝ ➝ ➝ ➝

ETHNOCENTRISM ETHNORELATIVISM

Richard Lewis Model of cultural diagnostic software (CultureActive - cultureactive.com). This tool maps an individual's cultural disposition against cultural norms. It also provides a wealth of information on cultural norms for communication, leadership, meeting styles and so on. It is a tool that can easily be adapted to an educational context.

Helsinki International School use this with their srtudents.

Mitch Hammer uses Bennet’s 2012 model showing the progression of intercultural mindset (denial, polarization, minimization, acceptance and adaptation). At the Mumbai Alliance conference 2013 this got discussed quite a bit. What I most remember in this context was the presentation of evidence that most international school faculties stay within their own cultural mindset, no matter where the school may be located.

Some ideas and concepts

“Multi-local” The myth of national identity and the vocabulary of “coming from” confuses us into placing ourselves into mutually exclusive categories. In fact, all of us are multi-local, multi-layered.”Taye Selasi TED talk: www.ted.com/talks/taiye_selasi_don_t_ask_where_i_m_from_ask_where_i_m_a_localPrimacy of culture, experience and locality over nationality.Rituals, relationships, restrictions(fill 3 columns with this)

Eurocentrism

Compared to those liberating tsunamis now turning the world upside down, cliche-ridden assumption about Europe and its increasingly provincialised philosophical pedigree is a tempest in the cup. Reduced to its own fair share of the humanity at large, and like all other continents and climes, Europe has much to teach the world, but now on a far more leveled and democratic playing field, where its philosophy is European philosophy not "Philosophy", its music European music not "Music", and no infomercial would be necessary to sell its public intellectuals as "Public Intellectuals".Hamid Dabashi is the Hagop Kevorkian Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University in New York. Among his most recent books is The World of Persian Literary Humanism (2012).

A sobering exercise for me• Ashis Nandy, Partha Chatterjee, Gayatri Spivak, Ranajit Guha, Sudipta

Kaviraj, Dipesh Chakrabarty, Homi Bhabha, or Akeel Bilgrami, • Henry Odera Oruka, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Wole Soyinka, Chinua

Achebe, Okot p'Bitek, Taban Lo Liyong, Achille Mbembe, Emmanuel Chukwudi Eze, Souleymane Bachir Diagne, V.Y. Mudimbe

• Azmi Bishara, Sadeq Jalal Al-Azm, Fawwaz Traboulsi, Abdallah Laroui, Michel Kilo, Abdolkarim Soroush.

• The list of prominent thinkers and is endless.In Japan, Kojin Karatani, in Cuba, Roberto Fernandez Retamar

Names taken from Dabashi: Can Non-Europeans Think?

Reducing Stereotypes• You can get together with a friend or two and talk about how you

acquired stereotypes or fears of other different people. You can answer these kinds of questions:

• How did your parents feel about different ethnic, racial, or religious groups?

• What did your parents communicate to you with their actions and words?

• Were your parents friends with people from many different groups?

• What did you learn in school about a particular group?• Was there a lack of information about some people?• Are there some people you shy away from? Why?

The contributions of scholars from many theoretical backgrounds have helped develop our understandings of stereotypes in recent years, yet teachers may be left wondering how they can manage stereotypes in practical ways as they attempt to develop the intercultural communicative competence of their students.“Addressing stereotypes through intercultural (language) education” comprises seven chapters focusing on the three key interrelated concepts: the development of critical cultural awareness as one component of intercultural communicative competence that involves stereotype management through intercultural (language) education.Chapters apply a variety of analyses and interpretation of texts in various contexts based on diverse material sources: in travel guides, in dynamic classroom interaction, students’ interviews, through teacher-designed intercultural activities, experiential learning, critical incidents and visual representations of information

Managing Stereotypes through Intercultural (Language) Education,Edited by Stephanie Ann Houghton, Yumiko Furumura, Maria Lebedko and Song LiThis book first published 2013Cambridge Scholars Publishing12 Back Chapman Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2XX, UK

“Third Space” Jack Levy: Once they become familiar with the children’s home lives it may become apparent that there is a difference between home and school practices. Again, as you know, these types of emerging conflicts can occur over a variety of issues – religious practices, immunization, health and safety policies and practices, gender roles, bias, etc. The teachers who are confronted with these challenges try to find a “third space” - essentially a compromise that allows both sides to retain their beliefs and practices, and enables the child to participate comfortably in school. This skill – and I believe it is a cross-cultural skill – will be something I will emphasize in my own class at UMass.

Are there “core values” which are not negotiable?

“Narratives” & Common Themes

• Childhood• Parenthood• Becoming an adult• Being part of a community

• Sadness, happiness• Embarrassment, fear• Joy, life aims

The way forward

Stay in touch if interested: waltherhetzer@esoleducation.com; w.hetzer@hotmail.comskype: waltherhetzer

Create working group in your school and join forum of working groups within other international schools?

Some of this would ideally be linked to current efforts of curriculum committees, PD committees, Accreditation Self Study or follow up committees etc