A fractal approach to implement cooperative learning in German classrooms

The development of skills necessary to master the challenges of culturally heterogeneous classrooms is impeded seriously by linear teaching/learning procedures within the majority of educational institutions. One of the most serious obstacles is the systematic organisation of teaching according to strictly separated subject matter areas. This article describes an approach to implement cooperative learning by radically changing the organisational structure of teaching as well as the roles of teachers and students. Because this approach tries to create similar structures and processes within all organisational units from staff level to the level of cooperative teams of students, it is called a fractal model of implementation.

All students of the same grade are assigned to one of several ‘learning islands’ that comprehend those subject matter areas, which can easily be linked to each other. In our study 12th grade students will access the topic of ‘energy’ on three ‘islands’ under the perspectives of natural sciences/mathematics, linguistics, and social sciences. According to a modified version of Jigsaw learning, the students take turns as inhabitants of each of the learning islands. A team of teachers introduces the overlapping topics. Each student has to complete the assignments of one of the disciplines represented on the learning island in order to become an ‘expert’, while other students on the same learning island will become experts for the other subject matter areas. Later, back in their ‘basic teams’ they will share their different expert knowledge, teaching each other and learning from each other with increasing self‐responsibility. The teachers are available during this phase of learning as moderators of group dynamics, learning procedures, and as subject matter experts. This organizational principle is realised on all levels of the teaching/learning system, from structuring a complete grade level according to learning islands, breaking them down into expert groups, teams, and finally individual learners.

First observations and interviews with selected teachers and students show that the fractal learning model is accepted widely both by students and teachers — but there are some students and teachers who seem to b & overwhelmed by the complexity of the new situation. This difference must be taken into account if we want to promote learning in processes of social exchange.     

Teaching critical self-reflection through the lens of cultural humility: an assignment in a social work diversity course

Social workers engage with marginalized groups in society. However, many social workers are of privileged groups and have not personally experienced social exclusions. This study explored social work graduate students’ evaluation of an assignment designed to encourage critical self-reflection as part of a required diversity course. The assignment approaches diversity using a cultural humility lens, which seeks to remove historical, unidimensional approaches to teaching about diverse populations. Data were collected from 47 MSW students enrolled at an urban, Midwestern university in the United States. Thematic analyses of students’ critical self-reflections revealed positive experiences regarding the influence of personal histories, development of professional identity, and importance of cultural humility.     

A constructivist approach to the help-seeking process of clients: A response to cultural diversity

The issue of cultural diversity presents clinicians with both delemmas and opportunities. To deal with such a challenge, I have proposed a constructivist approach to the help-seeking process of clients from diverse ethnoracial backgrounds. A model of clients' help-seeking processes provides a useful and systematic frame for clinicians to understand clients' construction of their problem situations and possible solutions. It provides a useful key for clinicians non-presumptuously to understand clients' subjective experiences, and to enhance clients' ability to resolve problems.     

Challenging western hegemony through systematic study of cultural diversity: an undergraduate course on child development and culture

Traditional courses in developmental psychology treat the development of white, middle‐class European American children as normative. This approach offers an inaccurate representation of child development, displays a lack of sensitivity towards the cultural diversity of students, and fails to meet these students’ intellectual needs. This paper describes an attempt at rectifying this ethical, paradigmatic error in an undergraduate course on child development and culture. Key concepts at the interface of culture and development in cultural geographical zones that contrasted with the European‐American tradition were systematically treated, employing varied instructional strategies. The experience suggests that synthesizing a multicultural classroom with a multicultural syllabus compels students to confront their own intellectual ethnocentrism, diversifies intellectual experience and, for minority students, addresses an intellectual lacuna that they may not yet have articulated.     

Raising cosmopolitans: localized educational strategies of international families in Shanghai

This qualitative research documents the educational strategies of international migrants to Shanghai who are attempting to raise their children as cosmopolitans through immersion in local Chinese schools. We distinguish this localizing educational strategy from the established network of international schools designed to serve the families of corporate expatriates. Instead, our research subjects consist of self‐initiated expatriates, or ‘middling transnationals’, who have chosen to prioritize immersion in the language and culture of China by sending their children to local schools. This localized, or Sinocentric, model exposes non‐Chinese children to a challenging and nationalistic Chinese curriculum. Our analysis of these practices as a form of cosmopolitan education challenges both the goal of teaching a universal and placeless ethical cosmopolitanism and the assumption that a meaningful cosmopolitan education must take place in the idealized setting of a liberal cosmopolitan school system. We also highlight the difficulties families face in this approach, describing this as an ‘entangled cosmopolitanism’, an enriching but uncomfortable engagement with both local and home‐country educational cultures.     

New ways of seeing: enhancing student learning through community-based collaborative photography

The opportunity to participate in a community-based documentary photography project facilitated university students’ ability to develop an empathetic and multifaceted understanding of a complex urban space, gain critical insight into key theoretical debates about the nature of photographic representation, and contribute to a local place-making initiative.

This article reflects on the approaches and innovations that have been the key in realising the objectives of this project. Exploration of the relationship between photographic representations and reality provided students a crucial understanding of the active role they as photographers play in the creation of visual narratives. Collaborative critiques of the photographs they were producing helped students make thoughtful decisions about how to depict various aspects of urban life. Innovative ways to facilitate access to people living and working in the city made it possible for students to move beyond surface appearances. An emphasis on producing ethnographic captions and written reflections on the evolving processes of seeing further contributed to student understandings of this urban space and the possibilities for integrating visual and written accounts. Finally, the opportunity to help curate exhibits of their work involved students in a real place-making dialogue and the attendant ethical and political challenges of representing the city in a public venue.     

Designing for diversity: incorporating cultural competence in prevention programs for urban youth

Low-income urban youth of color frequently confront a wide variety of challenges and hardships that other young people never experience. The offering of prevention programs represents one strategy to help urban youth avoid the risks associated with substance abuse. In this chapter, an alternative program strategy is posited-one that places diversity with respect to culture, class, and environment at the center of prevention efforts. Such an approach, the authors argue, is more effective not only in appealing to the sensibilities of urban youth but also in altering their behavior.     

Crisis communicative strategies in Taiwan: Category,continuum, and cultural implication

The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to investigate crisis communicative strategies (CCSs) in a Chinese context, and (2) to develop a model integrating the measures, categories, and continuum of CCS. A survey of public relations and public affairs managers from Taiwan's top-500 companies was undertaken to examine actual experiences of handling crises. The results showed that five crisis communicative strategies emerged from the factor analysis, i.e., denial, diversion, excuse, justification, and concession. The cultural implication of the new factor, i.e., diversion, accordant with the theme of strategic ambiguity in the business literature, is explored. Moreover, this paper suggested placing the five CCSs in a two-continuum matrix, i.e., defense-accommodation and specification-ambiguity. The paper concludes with a discussion of practical applications, theoretical contribution, and cultural implications of the results.     

Moving barriers: Promoting learning for diversity in initial teacher education

This study considers the effectiveness of initial teacher education in one university college in Northern Ireland in preparing students for teaching in an increasingly diverse society and promoting a culture of tolerance. A cohort of 168 students in their final year were surveyed and this was followed by three focus group interviews. The findings showed that the student population came from a largely similar sociocultural background, with little prior experience of diverse contexts. Although students viewed the accommodation of diversity as an important issue for teachers, a limited number felt comfortable with and prepared for dealing with diversity in the classroom. The paper proposes that alternative strategies need to be employed to ensure the more effective preparation of beginning teachers.     

Twenty-first century learning in states: the case of the Massachusetts educational system

A current crisis in education is leaving students less prepared to succeed in the working world than any generation before them. Increasingly complex external, nonacademic pressures have an impact on many of today's students, often causing them to drop out of school. Only 76 percent of Massachusetts high school students graduate, and only 29 percent earn a college degree. National figures are worse. Most educational institutions share a common goal to support students in becoming skilled, productive, successful members of society, but the author argues that this goal is not being met. Despite the constant changes in the world, educational practices have remained static. Most public schools are not adapting to meet the shifting needs of students. Universities are not able to prepare the right mix of prospective employees for the demands of the job market; for example, schools are graduating only 10 percent of the needed engineers. Institutions of higher learning cannot keep up with employers' needs in an evolving global market: strong math, science, and writing abilities; critical thinking skills; and the ability to work in teams. The author draws on exemplary efforts at work in his home state of Massachusetts--whose improvements in student achievement outcomes have been some of the best in the nation--to suggest there is promise in twenty-first century learning. Middle school students involved in a NASA-funded project write proposals, work in teams, and engage in peer review. Older students participate in enhanced, hands-on cooperative school-to-work and after-school programs. Schools are starting to offer expanded day learning, increasing the number of hours they are engaged in formal learning. Yet such programs have not reached significant levels of scale. The author calls for a major shift in education to help today's students be successful in the twenty-first century.     

Critical aspects of cultural diversity in music education: examining the established practices and cultural forms in minority language schools in Finland

This article addresses the role of general music education within the framework of cultural diversity. The empirical part of the article focuses on teachers in Swedish-speaking minority schools in Finland and their perceptions of the relationship between music and multicultural perspectives. The results showed that in some instances it took some time for teachers to discuss, define and grasp the concepts of multiculturalism and cultural diversity in relation to their teaching activities. While much was discussed on a theoretical and/or political level, it was not necessarily something that they would connect to their own practice.     

Learning to live together: an exploration and analysis of managing cultural diversity in centre-based early childhood development programmes

This paper explores how early childhood development practitioners running centre-based programmes with children aged 3–6 years address the needs of an increasing number of children from diverse cultural backgrounds in their care. This is important as early childhood is a critical moment in which to create a positive awareness about diversity. A qualitative and interactive research design was employed to identify what values, attitudes, knowledge and strategies practitioners and families believe are important to promote the social integration of children from diverse backgrounds. In-depth interviews and participant observation were used to collect data from 10 practitioners working in two urban settlements in two provinces of South Africa, while focus group interviews were carried out with the families of children attending two of the centres. The findings showed that an intercultural education approach provides the necessary tools to address challenges faced by practitioners including promoting social integration, respect for diversity and multilingualism, and the prevention of racist, xenophobic and discriminatory attitudes and actions.

Este trabajo explora la manera en que los educadores, trabajando en centros de educación infantil con niños entre tres y seis años atienden las necesidades de cada vez mayor número de niños de orígenes culturales y lingüísticos diversos. Esto es importante porque la etapa de la infancia es un momento crítico para crear una conciencia positiva sobre la diversidad. Se utilizó un diseño de investigación cualitativa e interactiva para identificar cuales son los valores, actitudes, conocimientos y estrategias que los educadores y las familias creen que son importantes para promover la integración social de los niños de diversos orígenes. Se utilizaron entrevistas en profundidad y observaciones participativas para recopilar datos de diez educadores de dos comunidades urbanas situadas en dos provincias de Sudáfrica. Asimismo, se entrevistaron las familias de los niños que asisten a dos de dichos centros. Los resultados mostraron que el modelo de educación intercultural proporciona las herramientas necesarias para hacer frente a los desafíos que los educadores enfrentan: la promoción de la integración social, el respeto a la diversidad y el multilingüismo, y la prevención de actitudes y acciones racistas, xenófobas y discriminatorias.     

Constructing the legitimacy of a financial cooperative in the cultural sector: a case study using textual analysis

This article investigates the foundations of cooperative identity and how it is constructed by the organization. More specifically, our research focuses on a financial cooperative in the simultaneously emerging and consolidating cultural sector. The originality of this article lies in the methodology used – textual analysis. We use the Economies of Worth model developed by Boltanski and Thévenot (2006 Boltanski , L. and Thévenot , L. , 2006 . On justification: economies of worth . Studies in Cultural Sociology Series Princeton : Princeton University Press . [Google Scholar]), which accounts for a plurality of legitimate forms of evaluation used in the processes of critique and justification.     

Calling capital: call centre strategies in New Brunswick and New Zealand

This article compares government promoted call centre initiatives in New Zealand and New Brunswick, Canada, thereby identifying differing policies and practices associated with ‘globalization’. Both New Brunswick and New Zealand are small resource based economies in which policy makers aspire to attract foreign investment into call centres as a new means of economic growth and job creation. However there are significant differences between the two call centre strategies. In New Brunswick the provincial government plays a central role, most notably through the use of incentives to lure companies to the province but also through the coordination of education and training. In New Zealand an informal network made up of public and private sector actors drives the strategy, and the relevant government agency (Trade NZ) plays only a coordinating role. Despite these differences both call centre strategies aspire to link service sector activities into global flows and networks, and foster low wage and feminized forms of employment.     

Engaging families through observation and reflection: a collaborative approach to making learning visible

Early childhood education is based on the assertion that young children are better prepared for school and life when educators and parents work together on their behalf. Family engagement is a central force in the education of young children, yet research suggests that parents and teachers often do not collaborate, and this can have an adverse impact on young children’s learning outcomes. This brief explores a new observation approach, referred to as Journey of Discoveries, to examine its influence on family engagement and its potential use as a collaborative tool for educators and parents to gauge children’s learning and development. Journey of Discoveries was tested with volunteer families and teachers in three select Early Head Start programs in California in 2014–2015. Responses from participants illustrated seven themes or potential pathways emerging from the approach that support family engagement, including: (a) teachers’ and parents’ celebration of children’s learning, (b) emotional responses to children’s learning, (c) importance of sharing learning as stories, (d) process of reflection, (e) holistic viewing of children’s learning, (f) the honoring of diverse voices, and (g) parents’ roles as leaders. The practical and policy implications of the Journey of Discoveries approach are also discussed.     

New forms of cultural identity in an African society: Comment to the paper by Ullamaija Kivikuru

The article argues that it is hard to see that media development so far has contributed neither to economic development or to political liberation in African states. The media situation and the literacy problems is connected to social differences and tensions between elite vs. local populations and the urban culture vs. the village. Media transmits stereotypes of modernity and urban life that are conflicting with rural and traditional cultural identities. It is being argued that media changes in the future will make things even worse. African countries are confronted with globalized media trespassing into rural culture and establishing themselves in local consumption patterns, before local media structures have had the possibility to develop. This means a severe threat to local culture and to the possibility of developing civil society at the local level.     

Backlash against the inclusion of students with learning disabilities in higher education: Implications for transition from post-secondary environments to work

Individuals with learning disabilities (LD), the largest group of people with disabilities in the United States, are attending college in greater numbers than ever before. Post-secondary training is critical for individuals with LD to make successful transitions into a changing and ever more demanding world of work. Research indicating that college faculty are willing to provide requested accommodations to students with LD suggests that they are increasingly likely to experience successful post-secondary outcomes, and therefore improve their vocational prospects. However, college students with LD and the accommodations they receive have recently garnered some highly critical press. These portrayals may portend problems in higher education for students with LD, who must self-identify and make specific accommodation requests to faculty in order to receive the instruction and testing environments that they require to succeed. Efforts to ensure that the LD label is not ubiquitously applied and that college faculty attempt to separate the idea of merit from achievement and implement instructional practices to better meet the educational needs of students with and without LD are recommended.