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This study aims to examine the effect of critical multicultural education on the multicultural attitudes of preservice teachers in a teacher education program.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the effect of critical multicultural education on the multicultural attitudes of preservice teachers in a teacher education program.
Design/methodology/approach
The study sample consisted of 76 preservice teachers enrolled in a teacher preparation program. This study used a pretest–posttest quasi-experimental research design with pretest-posttest. The multicultural content integration was implemented in an experimental group for one semester, and data were collected using the teacher multicultural attitude survey.
Findings
Analyses indicated that preservice teachers who were exposed to the critical multicultural education program showed significantly greater progress in their multicultural attitudes compared with teachers in the control group. The results of this study indicate that the integrating critical multicultural education content into teacher education program has a positive effect on fostering preservice teachers’ multicultural attitudes.
Practical implications
Teacher education program planners should integrate multicultural content, materials and activities into teaching methods courses to promote change in preservice teachers’ multicultural attitudes.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the multicultural studies on teacher education.
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Edward Godfrey Ochieng and Andrew David Price
The purpose of this paper is to present literature that suggests that project teams comprising members from culturally diverse backgrounds bring fresh ideas and new…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present literature that suggests that project teams comprising members from culturally diverse backgrounds bring fresh ideas and new approaches to problem solving. The challenge, however, is that they also introduce different understandings and expectations regarding team dynamics and integration. The question becomes how a project manager can effectively work and influence a multicultural construction project team, at the same time being attentive to the diversity and creating the structure required for success.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a qualitative methodology, participants of heavy construction engineering projects revealed a number of multi‐dimensional factors that either facilitated or limited the effectiveness of multicultural teamwork. These were synthesised into a framework of eight key dimensions that need to be considered when managing multicultural teams. The identified key dimensions include: leadership style, team selection and composition process, cross‐cultural management of team development process, cross‐cultural communication, cross‐cultural collectivism, cross‐cultural trust, cross‐cultural management and cross‐cultural uncertainty.
Findings
The proposed framework has implications for construction managers who work with multicultural teams and are committed to improving team performance and productivity. The utilisation of the proposed framework would not instantly transform multicultural teams into high‐performing ones; however, it does identify eight key cross‐cultural dimensions, which need to be considered.
Originality/value
Though the benefits of culturally diverse teams have been acknowledged within the industry, the study highlighted that cultural differences among project teams can cause conflict, misunderstanding and poor project performance.
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Christopher Adam Bagley and Nader Al-Refai
The purpose of this paper is to review and synthesize published studies and practice in the “integration” of ethnic and religious minorities in Britain and The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review and synthesize published studies and practice in the “integration” of ethnic and religious minorities in Britain and The Netherlands, 1965-2015, drawing out implications for current policy and practice.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is an evaluative review and report of results of work on citizenship education for young Muslims and their peers in English schools.
Findings
Young Muslims have positive attitudes to “good citizenship”, as Islamic socialization makes them particularly responsive to citizenship messages. But there is hard-core racial prejudice and Islamophobia in about 25 per cent of adults. In The Netherlands, this xenophobia has supported far-right politicians who are strongly anti-Muslim. This paper cites evidence that continued prejudice may lead to alienation and radicalization of some minorities.
Research limitations/implications
Unchecked prejudice concerning minorities can have negative implications for both majority and minority groups – this broad hypothesis deserves further research in both Dutch and British societies.
Practical implications
In Britain, success in Muslim schools in fostering positive citizenship implies that Muslim groups can maintain “quiet dignity” in following Islamic pathways to good citizenship.
Social implications
State support for religious-foundation schools should be offered to all religious groups and should not be withheld from Muslim minorities for “security” reasons.
Originality/value
This overview by two Muslim educators offers new insights and proposals in the acceptance of Muslim minorities in Europe.
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Abstract
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John F. Dovidio, Samuel L. Gaertner, Adam R. Pearson and Blake M. Riek
In this chapter, we consider the fundamental importance of social identity both in terms of how people think about others and for personal well-being. The chapter reviews…
Abstract
In this chapter, we consider the fundamental importance of social identity both in terms of how people think about others and for personal well-being. The chapter reviews how social categorization and social identity impact people's responses to others and, drawing on our own work on the Common Ingroup Identity Model, examines how identity processes can be shaped to improve intergroup relations. This model describes how factors that alter the perceptions of the memberships of separate groups to conceive of themselves as members of a single, more inclusive, superordinate group can reduce intergroup bias. The present chapter focuses on four developments in the model: (1) recognizing that multiple social identities can be activated simultaneously (e.g., a dual identity); (2) acknowledging that the meaning of different identities varies for different groups (e.g., racial or ethnic groups); (3) describing how the impact of different social identities can vary as a function of social context and social and personal values; and (4) outlining how these processes can influence not only intergroup attitudes but also personal well-being, interms of both mental and physical health.
This article investigates the renaming of departments of library and information science (LIS) in China in the 1990s. It analyses the technological, economic, social and…
Abstract
This article investigates the renaming of departments of library and information science (LIS) in China in the 1990s. It analyses the technological, economic, social and government factors which affect education for LIS in contemporary China. Problems facing education for LIS in China are considered and suggestions made.
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Tordis Borchgrevink and Grete Brochmann
“Multiculturalism” is a troubled concept, in a political as well as in a scholarly sense. What has triggered this paper is the authors’ experience of the hardships…
Abstract
“Multiculturalism” is a troubled concept, in a political as well as in a scholarly sense. What has triggered this paper is the authors’ experience of the hardships involved in understanding the power structures embedded in societies termed “multicultural”; we find ourselves equipped with a set of conceptual tools that are confusing, and with policy makers that compound that confusion. This presentation takes as its point of departure the tension engendered at the interface between popular democracy ground rules and minority rights, and turns in its second part to current political vocabulary in Norway. Thematically, the discussion moves from the intricacies of “cultural rights” to a closer look at the bias implicit in the benevolent phrase “fair terms of integration.” The suggestion is that hidden underneath the niceties, we find the unavoidable and seemingly unspeakable dilemmas of a welfare state confronted with non-economic, humanitarian principles. Let us be clear about one thing, however; the aim of this presentation is not to solve problems, but to face them.
Farah Y. Shakir and Yih-teen Lee
Global leadership involves the ability to connect with individuals from different cultures. Connecting is an actionable process that creates mutual understanding, positive…
Abstract
Global leadership involves the ability to connect with individuals from different cultures. Connecting is an actionable process that creates mutual understanding, positive feeling, and a common approach to collaborate. Forming interpersonal connections can be an effective way for global leaders to cut across cultural differences as it is based on a universal human need for belonging. Our study aims to understand the specific actions global leaders engage in to connect with people across cultures. Furthermore, we examine how identity experiences of multicultural individuals contributed to their capabilities of connecting with people from different cultures in their role of global leader. Through a qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with multicultural individuals in global leadership positions, we develop a model of connecting across cultures involving specific leadership actions that lead to emotive, cognitive, and behavioral dimensions for connection. Our model also illustrates how multicultural identity experiences equip global leaders with qualities such as empathy, perspective-taking, and integration, which enable them to engage in actions for connecting to people across cultures. The research in this chapter contributes to a better understanding of global leadership with novel insights into how global leaders connect to people and sheds light on the advantages of multicultural identity experiences in this process.
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Jordyn Hrenyk, Mike Szymanski, Anirban Kar and Stacey R. Fitzsimmons
Multicultural individuals are those who identify with two or more cultures, such as Chinese-Canadians, Turkish-Germans, or Arab-Americans. They are more likely to see…
Abstract
Multicultural individuals are those who identify with two or more cultures, such as Chinese-Canadians, Turkish-Germans, or Arab-Americans. They are more likely to see multiple sides of an ethical dilemma than monocultural individuals, who identify with one culture. This tendency toward ethical relativism – where ethics are seen to be relative to the context – could help multicultural individuals excel as ethical global leaders. Global leaders must manage the ethical tensions inherent in their multinational operations by understanding multiple ethical perspectives. Multiculturals’ inclination toward relativism may be driven by the structure or content of their cultural identities. The identity structure argument is based on the patterns in which individuals mentally organize their cultural identities, while the identity content argument is based on the degree to which individuals endorse relativism as a result of having internalized cultural schemas with relativist norms. We offer an exploratory test of these dual hypotheses, and find evidence to support the identity structure, but not the identity content argument. Specifically, multicultural individuals who separate their cultures are more likely to exhibit relativism in decision-making than those who integrate them. This indicates that identity patterns can drive relativism. In contrast, individuals who identify with high relativism cultures are not more likely to endorse relativism than those who identify with low relativism cultures, indicating a lack of evidence for identity content driving relativism. These findings have implications for hiring or placement managers who seek global leaders who are likely to see more than one side of an ethical issue.
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