Stressors experienced by immigrant and other non-native English-speaking students in U.S. schools and their families

Abstract

This literature-based study of stressors experienced by recent immigrant families focuses on their impact on school-aged children. The author, a trainer of teachers of English as a second language and an education researcher specializing in issues affecting students with non-mainstream language backgrounds, identifies stressors resulting from (a) separation of families, (b) changes in familial roles, (c) social and legislative pressure that targets immigrant families, and (d) school bullying and harassment. Many immigrant students experience stressors in all four categories in addition to the stress of learning a new language and adapting to a new culture. To help mitigate the negative impact – which can include difficulty focusing on academics, developmental delays, or problem behavior – the author recommends that schools and communities embrace difference and support the struggles of immigrant students and their families and that schools, in particular, develop cultures and provide resources to help new Americans to thrive despite challenges.     

Between ‘homeland’ and ‘diaspora’: multicultural education in Israel and South Korea

The aim of this qualitative case study was to explore multicultural education for ‘newcomers’ in Israel and in South Korea. Despite their differences, the two countries face the same inflow of two types of newcomers – one group that is expected to fully integrate, and the other of newcomers considered temporary. The educational challenge that results is recognition of the cultural groups, and providing equal educational opportunities, for both. Four schools were compared, two in each country, measuring multicultural education according to Bank’s five dimensions. Findings show that the same dimensions could be identified in all schools. The differences were in the school’s interpretation of the cultural identity of the students, congruent with their legal status, and degree of acceptability by the host country. The groups that were expected to fully integrate into the host country (perceived as a ‘homeland’) were given a more assimilatory education, as manifested in the Content Integration dimension; whereas the groups that were considered foreign were given a more multicultural education, with the schools making more references to their national culture, thus enhancing an identity of a ‘diaspora.’     

Multi-ethnic school environment from the school leader’s perspective: challenges and approaches to improve multi-cultural competency among teachers in Malaysia

This study aims to identify the challenges and approaches to improve a multicultural competency among teachers in multi-ethnic schools environment based on school leaders’ perspective. Data collection method used in this study is qualitative method. A total of nine school leaders from the states of Kedah, Penang, and Perak were included in the interview session. The results of this study show that the challenges faced by teachers in practicing the multicultural competency are lack of experience toward cultural diversity. A late exposure to cultural diversity makes it difficult for teachers to accept and adapt in a multi-ethnic school environment. The approaches suggested by school leaders to improve the multicultural competency are as follows: (1) Courses on cultural diversity should be organized to enhance the knowledge about cultural diversity; (2) the development of more open and better policy for education system in Malaysia in order to prepare teachers with a higher multicultural competency for teaching students from diverse ethnic and cultural groups; (3) an early exposure to cultural diversity in order to increase the multicultural competency, especially during teaching practicum.     

Rethinking Learning Disabilities in the College Classroom: A Multicultural Perspective

This exploratory, qualitative study examined the opinions of social work faculty/instructors on teaching multicultural content with the inclusion of individuals with learning disabilities. It seeks to create a framework for understanding learning disabilities within the definition of a multicultural population and diversity in order to create a more inclusive educational atmosphere that relinquishes the focus on individual deficits that has long been the standard of education policy. This phenomenological research supports the groundbreaking work of Gilson and DePoy, who define individuals with disabilities as being inclusive in the definition of multicultural diverse groups, often termed unique cultures; these individuals, possessing shared life experiences peculiar to that group, possess unique social status, rules, and languages. Three hundred and twenty-six surveys were returned as completed from a state stratified selection method used to ensure accurate representation of social work educators nationally. The phenomenological format, which focuses on the individual's experiences, gives voice to individuals who might not otherwise have a voice. Adult Learning Theory is utilized as the framework to understand educational contexts that illuminate learning culture in higher education and support LD as a genuine population for inclusion in the diversity schema. Historical oversight of including individuals with LD in the definition of multicultural diverse groups is discussed and reasons for the oversight are explained. National social work faculty/instructors were surveyed and an exploratory survey was constructed to compare teaching of multicultural content. Ten multicultural diverse groups were defined, with the inclusion of individuals with LD, and qualitative questions were created and responses were coded into themes. Findings, implications, and limitations of the study are discussed along with supporting suggestions for more social work research concerning individuals with learning disabilities.     

Culture and personality in international schools: are trait differences in students’ personalities attenuated or amplified?

International schools provide a unique context for examining the influence of culture on adolescent personality and identity. In order to investigate whether intercultural education attenuates or amplifies known cultural differences in personality, the traits of 81 students from Chinese, North American, and mixed Chinese-North American cultural backgrounds were assessed. An online version of a Five Factor Model (FFM) personality inventory was used to measure personality. Students participating in the study attended a large, American international high school in Hong Kong. Despite previous studies showing cultural differences in personality, MANOVA results yielded no significant differences between the personality traits of students from Chinese, North American or mixed Chinese-North American cultural backgrounds. The findings support theories that propose intercultural schooling is associated with acculturation. Paradoxically, numerous qualitative investigations of cultural identity have concluded that a more distinctive, amplified cultural identity emerges when individuals move to more multicultural environments. The paper considers these different findings and the role of personality in culturally diverse classrooms. Implications for intercultural education are discussed.     

Student Acceptance of a Multicultural Education

Abstract

While the virtues of a multicultural education are debated in the general US populace, most social work educators and organizations have embraced such an approach. Subsequently, social work journals have offered numerous essays on multicultural teaching techniques. Yet, these same journals have rarely explored the multicultural attitudes of social work students. To fill this gap, this paper empirically explores the ways in which BSW students accept or reject some multicultural goals. To do so, close-ended surveys were distributed to 437 undergraduates. After describing their responses to the authors' multicultural index, the project explores the survey results via demographic, social-psychological, and educational variables. With the assistance of a multiple regression, this project suggests that student acceptance of multiculturalism is swayed by the matters of gender and their stances on White privilege and institutional racism. However, student perceptions do not seem static since students become more positive toward a multicultural education after they have initiated interracial exchanges and completed a social diversity class.     

A revised approach to racism in youth multiculture: the significance of schoolyard conversations about sex,dating and desire

Anxieties about social cohesion in multicultural societies have prompted scrutiny of how young people negotiate culturally diverse spaces. A key perspective of the literature at the intersections of youth studies and urban multiculture is that young people shift between racist and convivial modes of relationality to navigate their complex social worlds. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in a culturally diverse high school in Melbourne, Australia, I suggest that this binary framing fails to capture some of the diverse logics and practices within multicultural youth sociality. Reconciling dichotomous conceptual frames that position young people as moving back-and-forth between forms of exclusion and openness, I propose an alternative frame – a perverse form of everyday cosmopolitanism – through which to consider young people’s intercultural relations. To do this, I draw on young people’s conversations about sex, dating and desire as an entry point for new theorising about racism. Race and ethnicity were cornerstones of students’ frequent discussions about sexual ‘tastes’ and activity, discourses that have racist histories and effects. However, students did not understand their social world in such terms. These students’ social practices offer a situated illustration of how racism can function as part of a more inclusive cosmopolitan ethos in young lives, which I term ‘perverse cosmopolitanism’.     

Outcomes of an interdisciplinary study abroad course: learning Spanish and multicultural education concurrently

This study reports the outcomes of undergraduate students completing a pilot Interdisciplinary Intensive Course Abroad (IICA) with a service learning component. The IICA model is comprised of a three-part sequence of study that includes a seven-week course on campus, followed by three weeks of study abroad, and a summative seven-week course back on campus. The additional summative component gives students the opportunity to bring together their newly acquired knowledge and skills, and to reflect on how to integrate these experiences in their future. The sequence integrates discipline-specific content studies with foreign language classes, and grounds them with a study abroad experience. A mixed-method design was used to measure students’ development of language skills, understanding of multicultural education concepts, and intercultural skills. Primary data sources were pre/post-assessments, student field notes and reflections, and a post-course survey. Results indicated that students gained confidence in their Spanish skills and were likely to enroll in further Spanish courses, their ability to define multicultural education concepts increased, and service learning, homestays abroad, and their time in an indigenous reservation contributed to development of intercultural skills.     

Inclusive education: an examination of school relationships and student interactions

The aim of this paper is to examine inclusive education in multicultural contexts from an interaction networks perspective. The paper is based on the idea that inclusive education can be better understood by studying how native and non-native students interact, and what kinds of networks they establish in school. To do so, we assume two premises: (a) class-group dynamics can have a socially inclusive impact and (b) the composition of classroom social networks often plays a significant role in educational achievement, especially in classes with students with different cultural backgrounds. Starting from these premises, we firstly discuss the relevance of research and theory on social and personal networks regarding both social inclusion and academic performance. We subsequently review recent literature on ‘social support’ as a factor that is directly related to the inclusion of minority cultural groups in school. We then discuss the importance of the relationships developed among them and their influence on academic performance. School relationships – student networks in and out of school and classroom dynamics – can be developed and shaped in many different ways and across numerous opportunities to enhance educational performance in inclusive multicultural environments.     

Teaching minority students within minority schools: teachers’ conceptions of multicultural education in Swedish‐speaking schools in Finland

Finland is experiencing increased cultural diversity due to immigration and is facing challenges in developing multicultural education (ME) in schools. There is a Swedish‐speaking minority in Finland, and immigrant students entering Swedish‐speaking schools hence become a minority within a minority. In this study, using open‐ended interviews, we explore the views of Swedish‐speaking teachers of ‘minority within a minority students’ and of ME. We found that Swedish‐speaking teachers have a positive attitude towards cultural diversity. On the other hand, they consider teaching to be independent of culture and take a colour‐blind approach to their work. Being minority language speakers themselves does not necessarily affect their views and understanding of immigrant students.     

Culturally Responsive Teaching: What do selected United States elementary school teachers think?

In this paper culturally responsive teaching is viewed as one way of implementing the concept of multicultural education in schools. In recent years, scholars have devoted considerable attention to the importance of aligning classroom experiences with students' home culture as a way of enhancing social, academic and cultural enrichment of all children. This study was, therefore, designed to identify perceptions of teachers toward the importance of culturally responsive teaching in elementary schools in the United States. The responses of 33 teachers were analyzed by using both qualitative and quantitative techniques. The findings of this study, along with a summary and implications for future studies, are presented in this paper. The data analysis clearly indicated that over 96% of the respondents considered culturally responsive teaching to be an important part of working with culturally diverse students. It was significant to note that the way teachers reported their perception toward the importance of culturally responsive teaching matched the manner with which they responded to the characteristics of culturally relevant teaching.     

Moving beyond ‘diversity’ to ‘social justice’: the challenge to re‐conceptualize multicultural education

This is a study of teachers’ conceptualizations of multicultural education (MCE) and their implications for practice in both schools and university courses. Through survey and interview data, the results reveal that teachers associated multicultural education with demographic diversity rather than with social justice, strategies for instruction rather than with theory, and that patterns of communication within the school precluded school‐wide implementation of multicultural education. The implications for bridging the gap between university courses grounded in social justice and school practice are explored.     

Refusing to be co-opted: revolutionary multicultural education amidst global neoliberalisation

Abstract

In this article, I explore how neoliberalism dictates the terms of debate about education reform and equity in the U.S. and abroad. In particular, I explain how two paradigmatic reforms – the edTPA evaluation for preservice teachers in the United States and the global initiative Teach For All – have co-opted the discourse of multicultural education in an attempt to advance their own priorities and not those at the heart of the field, thus jeopardising the possibility of real justice. Finally, I envision a way forward, through a theory of revolutionary multicultural education, as we seek to reimagine the terms of debate about the goals of educating all students.     

The representation of multicultural values in the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture-Endorsed EFL textbook: a critical discourse analysis

In transcultural and transnational communication settings, English learners have to be able to communicate with people from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. For this reason, English as a foreign language (EFL) textbooks, for instance, not only promote Anglo-American and British cultures but also include both EFL learners’ home and international cultures. The present discourse study looks at the cultural content of a nationally adopted EFL textbook in Indonesia. It particularly investigates multicultural values represented in the EFL textbook geared for senior high school students. Findings of the study reveal that four themes of multicultural values emerge from the textbook, such as: (1) respect for cultures of different ethnic and religious groups; (2) respect for cultures of indigenous people; (3) conflict avoidance and peace with all forms of life and nature; and (4) appreciation of creative cultural products. The implications of this textual study suggest that as English plays an increasingly important role as a global lingua franca, multicultural materials from outer and expanding circle countries need to be added to English language teaching (ELT) textbooks. Therefore, English teachers should creatively teach multicultural aspects and use multimodal materials to engage students in culturally laden language-learning tasks.     

Negotiating everyday life in Australia: unpacking the parallel society inhabited by Asian international students through their social networks and entertainment media use

Work on the experiences of international students in Australia often point out that these students do not successfully integrate into Australian society with many international students counting very few or no Australians as friends by the time they complete their studies. Through in-depth interviews with 47 Melbourne-based higher education international students from Asia – the source of Australia's largest export education market – this study explores the ways in which international students navigate their everyday experiences in their host nation. The findings suggest that Asian international students live in a parallel society almost exclusively made up of fellow international students who primarily come from the home nation and the Asian region. This parallel society allows them to create both a sense of belonging in Australia yet not to Australia due to disengagement from local society and culture. By investigating their social networks (society) together with their consumption of entertainment media (culture), this study presents an indirect yet creative way of understanding how international students negotiate everyday life as transient migrants in the Australian city of Melbourne. Doing so, this research highlights the ways in which international students make use of social networks and entertainment media to feel a sense of belonging in a foreign country.     

‘Inching’ towards interculturalism: ambiguities and tensions in teachers’ ideologies and practices in the context of Cyprus

ABSTRACT

This research examines teachers’ conceptualisations of diversity and intercultural education. It also investigates the teaching approaches adopted by teachers within their culturally diverse classrooms. More specifically, the current project investigates the following research questions: how do teachers define and understand the concept of intercultural education; what practices do they adopt (or not) to promote intercultural education in their classrooms; what barriers do they perceive in their efforts to teach in more intercultural ways; what are their suggestions for implementing intercultural education in more successful ways? Observations and interviews took place with twenty teachers from ten schools in Cyprus. Our data shows that two ideological positions co-existed in teachers’ discourses, namely: the monocultural approach (cultural-deficiency perspective), and the multicultural approach (cultural-celebratory perspective). We also examined how the ambiguities and contradictions in teachers’ ideologies influenced their teaching and practices. In their daily routines, teachers seemed to adopt a teaching-as-usual approach, while occasionally engaging in ‘intercultural moments’, which included their rare attempts to differentiate or add cultural content to their teaching.     

Discussing school celebrations from an intercultural perspective – a study in the Finnish context

The increased diversity in pupils’ cultural and ethnic backgrounds in schools creates urgent demands for the organization of school celebrations in many countries. Celebrations represent the cultural values of the society and it is important to find out how various traditions are expressed in them. This study examines teachers’ and other educational staff members’ perceptions of Finnish culture, Lutheran religiosity, and intercultural education relating to Christmas, Independence Day, and end-of-term celebrations in Finnish schools. The data of this paper consists of 12 thematic interviews, and participation in two school festivals. The interview data were analyzed qualitatively using content analysis. The analysis of this study shows that festivals are perceived as important parts of education and they can help to create a sense of national or cultural community. However, the intercultural potential of school celebrations is often not put to its full use. There exists an urgent need to create new ways of carrying out celebrations in multicultural school communities so that they would be meaningful for all students.     

The influence of a multicultural teacher education program on teachers’ multicultural practices

This study examined the multicultural classroom practices of two novice secondary English teachers employed by the same US school district that serves a diverse student population. Findings indicated a high level of consistency between the teachers’ intended multicultural practices and their implemented practices. Based on classroom observations, both teachers implemented the general multicultural practices of critical pedagogy, real life application, student choice, multicultural literature, individual student attention, cultural physical adaptation, active learning and cooperative grouping. The factors supporting multicultural infusion were the teachers’ previous experiences with diverse populations, the teachers’ own previous meaningful high school experiences and the teachers’ backgrounds that were similar to their students. The impeding factors were the structure of the school, time constraints, racism and tracking.