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Article
Publication date: 30 November 2020

Roxanna Senyshyn and Ann Martinelli

The purpose of this paper is to report on a collaborative project and study implemented by two teacher educators in an elementary education program. To prepare teacher candidates…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report on a collaborative project and study implemented by two teacher educators in an elementary education program. To prepare teacher candidates for field experiences and practicum in a diverse (bilingual) urban school, the program uses coursework to impart asset-based pedagogies and practices.

Design/methodology/approach

In this mixed-method case study, this paper examined the awareness and perspectives of preservice teachers (n = 26) to cultural and linguistic diversity and relevant teaching and learning practices. In particular, this study gauged their engagement with multicultural children’s literature in a collaborative interclass activity. The data sources included beginning and end of semester survey responses, notes on participant interactions during the mid-semester collaborative interclass activity and participant retrospective reflections about the activity.

Findings

This paper found that teacher candidates showed increased awareness and positive shifts in perspectives. This study also ascertaind that, in learning to become culturally (and linguistically) responsive and sustaining teachers, they benefited from collaborative peer work that focused on learning about multicultural children’s literature, analyzing it and planning to integrate it into their classrooms.

Originality/value

Studies show that culturally relevant literature in schools is beneficial; however, teacher candidates often lack knowledge of such literature and how to use it. This need is especially critical and relevant when learning about and implementing culturally relevant and sustaining practices. The collaborative undertaking discussed in this study fills this gap through co-teaching and interclass activity that brings preservice teachers as a cohort to collaboratively learn about, discuss, reflect on and plan lessons as they prepare to work with students from different backgrounds than their own.

Book part
Publication date: 5 September 2022

Maria Elo, Tanvi Kothari and Maria Ivanova-Gongne

This chapter aims to increase our understanding on how the language diversity of multiethnic Central Asian countries and their diasporas constitutes a talent and resource-base for…

Abstract

Goals and Objectives of the Research

– This chapter aims to increase our understanding on how the language diversity of multiethnic Central Asian countries and their diasporas constitutes a talent and resource-base for local and global businesses. We revisit the role of ‘language capabilities’ for boundary-spanning abilities and the particular challenges and opportunities posed by linguistically diverse contexts among diaspora members and their homeland.

Methodology

– This chapter provides an overview of prior research and uses qualitative interviews and ethnographic data.

Results/Findings

– The findings indicate that language diversity is an important multi-layered resource and a socio-economic link that allows culturally distant markets to interact and bridges the gaps across geographic boundaries. Individuals with multiple languages and migrant ties may develop alternative ways of communicating for business, such as translanguaging and cultural communication mode-shifting.

Novelty/Originality/Value

– The administrative ‘imperial’ languages are often perceived as the oppressor's instrument, however, the alternate perspective presents it as a resource for economic relations and international business development that exists in parallel to the indigenous language heritage. We introduce a concept, on diaspora ‘language portfolio’ that is a toolbox of communication assets that allows migrants to connect and operate interculturally and inter-regionally.

Theoretical or Practical Implications

– We deviate from the English language dominance of the international business literature and address how another geographic and linguistic context such as the Russophone business provides a contextual lens to understand how language capabilities of diaspora members is an asset to both, their home and host nations. We illustrate how both the Russian language and the regional and minority languages offer a great potential for entrepreneurial and trade relations. By introducing a Framework of Diaspora ‘Language Portfolio’ this study underlines that minorities and diasporas are key boundary spanners and connectors in new markets and enhance the development of trade in the region.

Article
Publication date: 9 August 2013

Jakob Lauring and Jan Selmer

Post‐secondary educational organizations are currently some of the most diverse settings to be found. However, few educational studies have dealt with staff diversity and hardly…

3083

Abstract

Purpose

Post‐secondary educational organizations are currently some of the most diverse settings to be found. However, few educational studies have dealt with staff diversity and hardly any has looked outside the USA. The purpose of this paper is to present a study of members of international university departments in Denmark. The authors set out to investigate the relationship between different types of staff diversity and openness to diversity in terms of linguistic, visible, value, and informational heterogeneity.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses responses from 489 staff members from diverse university departments to a self‐report electronic survey.

Findings

It was found that diversity‐related internationalization (cultural and linguistic) was generally positively related to favorable diversity attitudes. Inherent demographic diversity (age and gender), on the other hand, was unrelated or negatively associated with positive diversity attitudes.

Originality/value

Few studies deal with the role of staff diversity and no prior studies the authors know of have examined the link between diversity types and openness to diversity.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 27 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 August 2009

Hui‐Yin Hsu

Although teacher educators have worked on improving pre‐service teachers' diversity awareness, researchers still face the challenge of pursuing a better approach to achieve the…

974

Abstract

Purpose

Although teacher educators have worked on improving pre‐service teachers' diversity awareness, researchers still face the challenge of pursuing a better approach to achieve the goal. In an era when educators are calling for evidence‐based practice, the purpose of this paper is to explore various ways in which both teacher‐education programs and general schools can integrate diversity issues into literacy teaching and learning. The paper undertakes this exploration on the basis of Gollnick and Chinn's cultural‐identity model and of weblog‐technology use.

Design/methodology/approach

The participants of this paper are 27 pre‐service teachers. The researchers set up a private group blog and invited all participants to be blog authors. The blog enabled the instructor to archive and categorize all posts and to continue to invite cohorts of pre‐service teachers to join the blog. Pre‐service teachers are placed in culturally and linguistically diverse classroom settings and are required to post their weekly reflections on the weblog. The researchers adopte mixed methodology to collect both qualitative data (field observation reports, discussion content on the blog, case studies, and focus groups) and quantitative data (pre‐post surveys).

Findings

The pre‐service teachers in this paper possessed positive and open‐minded attitudes toward English language learners. According to the pre‐ and post‐survey, pre‐service teachers are confident that they could resolve issues related to diversity in the classroom after participating in the paper. According to the results of the case‐scenario analysis, the instructor should use reading contexts to address diversity issues, especially those pertaining to exceptionality, geography, class, and gender. The pre‐service teachers' discussions and interactions on the blog were rich. Pre‐service teachers felt motivation to expand their diversity‐themed discussions from the classroom to the blog.

Originality/value

With the assistance of weblogs, the instructor can extend the in‐class discussion. In the paper, group blogs became a tool that helped the instructor and the pre‐service teachers not only link the in‐class discussion to their field observations but also share personal experiences and resources. For introverted pre‐service teachers, a group blog can serve as a channel through which the pre‐service teachers can comfortably express carefully organized opinions. In general, the commenting feature of the blog enriches interaction among pre‐service teachers and widens their discussion in a way in which limited class time cannot.

Details

Multicultural Education & Technology Journal, vol. 3 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-497X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 22 August 2015

Penny Haworth

Hollie (2011) maintains that pedagogy is the most frequently overlooked facet of culturally responsive teaching. This chapter puts forward a promising pedagogy for working with…

Abstract

Hollie (2011) maintains that pedagogy is the most frequently overlooked facet of culturally responsive teaching. This chapter puts forward a promising pedagogy for working with diverse learners, particularly those from ethnic minorities. It opens by providing a brief background to the New Zealand context in which my research has been conducted, before moving on to identifying key UNESCO principles relating to cultural and linguistic diversity, and examining key tensions and challenges that impact on the development of relevant pedagogies for diversity in different international contexts. Relevant pedagogies identified in the international literature are then summarized. Next, examples from case study data on teachers in New Zealand schools are presented. These data highlight four key aspects of a promising pedagogy: knowing, doing, being, and belonging. Consideration of how these aspects influence the pedagogical objective of becoming suggests that, while generating relevant practices (doing) is more effective in combination with theoretical input (knowing), this is insufficient without concurrently engendering a sense of being with and belonging in diverse communities of learners. The final model for a promising pedagogy is therefore more than just a simple, linear process, but the components doing, knowing, being, and belonging are viewed as part of a dynamic, interactive, and cyclical model.

Details

International Teacher Education: Promising Pedagogies (Part B)
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-669-0

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 26 November 2020

Carlos M. Cervantes and Langston Clark

Given their history of preparing African Americans, ethnic minorities, and first-generation college students for careers in education, the culture and traditions of Historically…

Abstract

Given their history of preparing African Americans, ethnic minorities, and first-generation college students for careers in education, the culture and traditions of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) can provide insight into the preparation of diverse physical educators for the cultural, linguistic, and ethnic diversity in today’s American K-12 schools. As such, this chapter will present practical findings from an ethnographic study of a historically Black urban Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) program with a large native Spanish-speaking population. Specifically, we focus on the concepts of cultural sustainment and code-switching as strategies used by teacher educators to promote bilingualism and biculturalism. To achieve this, we highlight the relationship among institutional, programmatic, and classroom cultures for the cultural ­sustainment and development of preservice physical educators. According to Paris (2012), culturally sustaining pedagogy seeks to perpetuate and foster linguistic, literate, and cultural pluralism as part of the democratic project of schooling. We conclude with strategies on how to successfully work with culturally diverse college students, promoting bilingual and biculturalism through cultural sustainment and code-switching.

Details

Technology-enhanced Learning and Linguistic Diversity: Strategies and Approaches to Teaching Students in a 2nd or 3rd Language
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83982-128-8

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 July 2009

Hanne Tange and Jakob Lauring

This paper aims to identify communicative practices emerging from the management decision to implement English as a corporate language, assessing their implications for social…

8507

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to identify communicative practices emerging from the management decision to implement English as a corporate language, assessing their implications for social interaction and relationships within the multilingual workplace.

Design/methodology/approach

An exploratory study based on qualitative research interviews was used.

Findings

The analysis highlights the discrepancy between a general openness to the use of English as a corporate language in Danish organisations and language users' communicative practice. This leads to the identification of language clustering and thin communication as characteristic behaviours within the multilingual workplace.

Research limitations/implications

The interviews were performed in Danish organisations alone. New research is required in order to apply the findings to other linguistic or national settings.

Practical implications

The research identifies two barriers to employee interaction within the multilingual workplace. This is relevant in relation to language planning as well as diversity management.

Originality/value

The paper is original in its application of a sociolinguistic perspective to employees' linguistic practice. This points to the importance of language as a social resource and the possible limitations of corporate language policies.

Details

Journal of Communication Management, vol. 13 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-254X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 November 2011

Sanjica Faletar Tanackovic, Darko Lacovic and Snjezana Stanarevic

The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a small scale study the aim of which was to survey the information needs and library usage of major long‐established…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a small scale study the aim of which was to survey the information needs and library usage of major long‐established national minorities (Serbian, Hungarian and Slovak) in eastern Croatia (Osijek‐Baranya county); in particular in relation to the information and reading material in their native languages.

Design/methodology/approach

Owing to spatial limitations this paper focuses on the Serbian national minority. Data were gathered with the help of quantitative methodology. Self‐administered questionnaires were distributed through Serbian cultural associations (the snowball sampling method). In total, 140 valid and usable questionnaires were returned. Descriptive statistics and variant analysis were used to analyse the data.

Findings

The study indicated that respondents had the need for diverse information and reading material in their mother tongue and that for that purpose they used public libraries less often than some other information sources, such as TV, newspapers, internet and local Serbian cultural associations.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations of the research are inherent in the methodology. The authors will, in the next phase of the project, carry out in‐depth interviews with respondents.

Practical implications

The importance of this research lies in its implications for the development of library services to multicultural communities in Croatia, as well as offering suggestions for improving collection building in Croatian public libraries. This study could encourage librarians in Croatia to systematically collect and analyse information about their local community minorities; especially their library and information needs.

Originality/value

This is the first investigation into the information needs and library usage of long‐established national minorities in Croatia.

Article
Publication date: 3 June 2014

Daniel Woods, Mary Alice Barksdale, Cheri F. Triplett and Ann Potts

The purpose of this paper is to describe a study of identity development in the context of a preservice teacher education program that used a variety of approaches to support…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe a study of identity development in the context of a preservice teacher education program that used a variety of approaches to support development of understanding of cultural diversity.

Design/methodology/approach

Fifty preservice teachers in a graduate program in elementary education participated in the study. Of the 50 participants, 47 were Caucasian, two were African American and one was originally from India, but was a US citizen. The analyses were qualitative. A phenomenological approach to data analysis was taken, viewing the drawings and written explanations created by the participants as independently occurring phenomenon (as compared with data that might be considered for grounded theory or constant comparison) (Hycner, 1985; Moustakas, 1994).

Findings

Overall, the low number of drawings and writings that included representations of cultural, linguistic, special needs and gender diversity suggests of a lack of understanding about the significant roles of these student characteristics in the lives of elementary teachers dedicated to meeting student needs. Given the strong focus on diversity education in this preservice teacher education program, this was an unexpected finding. One explanation is that preservice and beginning teachers are highly involved in identifying their own beliefs and values about teaching and exploring how their personal characteristics can be reconciled and applied in their specific teaching contexts.

Originality/value

It is imperative that teacher education programs effectively address diversity in the classroom for the population typically entering the teaching profession. While many programs spend considerable time and effort “teaching” multicultural concepts, few, if any, have asked students to look inward in the way we did on this study.

Details

Journal for Multicultural Education, vol. 8 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-535X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 August 2022

Debra A. Giambo

The prioritization of multilingual and multicultural education (MME) must spread beyond educators and researchers, who have long known the benefits, to the politicians and

Abstract

Purpose

The prioritization of multilingual and multicultural education (MME) must spread beyond educators and researchers, who have long known the benefits, to the politicians and policymakers and to the general public. This paper aims to propose that the MME field needs a good economist who can explain MME benefits in terms of the language of economy, clarifying that economic advantages extend beyond diverse individuals, including those who may be ideologically opposed, via increased economic output to potentially benefit all.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a conceptual framework, connections are demonstrated between MME and increased cultural and linguistic sensitivity as well as between the effects of increased sensitivity on the potential for economic benefits. These connections can be logically extended to consider the effects of MME on economic output.

Findings

Research indicates that MME can increase cultural and linguistic sensitivity and that increased sensitivity to cultural and linguistic diversity can affect economic output. A logical bridge between the two fields of research is illustrated.

Originality/value

This paper uses a practical approach to support the flourishing of MME. If MME is, ultimately, to result in benefits that all can appreciate, it is imperative to get groups with various purposes on board. Then, maybe we can look forward to the effective and pervasive implementation of MME. The challenge remains that this message has not been reaching the general public, and a good economist’s communication could be the key.

Details

Journal for Multicultural Education, vol. 17 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-535X

Keywords

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