References
Part 1: Canadian Context
Banting, K., &
Soroka, S. (January 01, 2012). Minority nationalism and immigrant integration
in Canada. Nations and Nationalism, 18, 1,
156-176.
In thinking about the integration of cultural communities, Quebec’s situation is very different from any other province in Canada. Immigration in Quebec has always been seen as a threat to the national culture (p. 157). The Quebec government has a unique role among Canadian provinces in having a direct and important say in which immigrants are allowed into Quebec (p. 158) with its intercultural goal being the francization of immigrants (p. 159). A big difference between Canadian multiculturalism and Quebec interculturalism has been the importance that Quebec has placed on the secular nature of the province’s institutions, which has been a huge source of conflict in the province (p. 159).
This article demonstrates how the competing nation-building agendas of the state (Canada) and substate (Quebec) dilute the ‘we’ the newcomers are supposed to be joining (p. 157). The study shows that immigrants in Quebec tend to show less of a sense of belonging to Quebec and Canada then other immigrants in other provinces (p. 160).
Berger, P., & Epp, J. R. (March 08, 2007). Practices against Culture that "Work" in Nunavut Schools: Problematizing Two Common Practices. Mcgill Journal of Education, 41, 1, 9-27.
I found this paper to be of note because it highlights how cultural insensitivity is not always malicious. Just because a pedagogical approach “works” doesn’t mean we are being just in our use of it. Certain pedagogical approaches although academically useful work against the culture. The paper looked specifically at the approaches of non-Native teachers in Inuit schools but I believe that teachers dealing with students from diverse cultures can reflect on many of the themes in this paper (p. 9). Berger and Epps stress the need to engage the community in meaningful consultation to determine if “effective teaching practices” are culturally sensitive. Academic success should not directly result in alienation and confusion between elders and youth of the community (p. 10) because of the importance of group cohesion and ecocentricity of the Inuit people (p. 11). Berger and Epps provide some interesting suggestions in their paper such as the possibility of reducing the school day to make time for other types of learning (p. 13) or revising disciplinary approaches to reflect Native conflict resolution approaches (p.16).
Bouchard, G., Taylor, C., & Québec (Province). (2008). Building the future, a time for reconciliation: Abridged report. Québec, Qué.: Commission de consultation sur les pratiques d'accomodement reliées aux différences culturelles.
Prior to the writing of the report there were many instances in the mainstream news in Quebec of unreasonable accomodations to minorities. Bouchard and Taylor were appointed to investigate these cases and conduct a series of public and private hearings to explore what steps Quebec had to take in order to help newcomers integrate while also reassuring French-Canadian Quebecers who felt they were losing their culture (p. 218). Bouchard & Taylor cite numerous cases of misrepresentation of the incidences in the media. Basing themselves on Quebec’s intercultural model of integration and an understanding for the creative tension that exists in the constant search for equilibrium resulting from the process (p. 229) they make 37 recommendation for the ‘harmonzition’ of society based on the four civic virtues of equity, reception, moderation/wisdom and patience (p. 252). Pauline Marois’ PQ party attempted to use the Bouchard & Taylor Report as evidence of the need for her Charter of Quebec Values although their model sought out a more open model of secularism. Phillippe Couillard’s Liberals are also preparing Quebecers for their own model of the Charter so it will be something very interesting to watch for as it often has a direct result on our educational institutions.
Cook, S. A. (April 01, 2006). “Patriotism, Eh?” The Canadian Version. Phi Delta Kappan,87, 8, 589-593.
Compared to our American neighbors Canadians are very unassuming patriots. Cook looks at this topic in her paper. In the article she quotes philosopher John Raulston Saul who said that Canada has given the world a unique type of nationalism, a quiet nationalism characterized by compromise between the three founding nations: English, French and Native (p. 589). Cook suggests a reason that Canadian nationalism is so quiet is the fear of provoking French-Canadian separatist nationalism that is always brewing underneath the surface in Quebec (p. 590). What this has translated through in schools is that most educators prefer to teach their curriculum promoting understanding through debate rather than patriotism with an emphasis on celebrating our institutions that unite us (p. 589).
Courchêne, R. (1996). Teaching Canadian culture: teacher preparation. TESL Canada Journal, 13(2), 01-16.
This article was very practical because it looks at the difficulties that occur when trying to define Canadian culture in particular and some solutions to teaching it. Cultural competence has become an increasingly important part of second language education. But what is Canadian culture and how should it be taught? These are the questions that Courchêne looks at in this paper. After looking at different definitions of the word culture, Courchêne points out some problems with defining Canadian culture in particular: namely the huge size of the country and very diverse geography as well as social class (p. 4). Furthermore, many immigrants adopt certain celebrations such as buying gifts at Christmas not out of cultural memory but of a desire to participate. The meaning of cultural markers thus changes with time (p. 5).
However, new Canadians must have a voice so that in this new common space we build a culture that “is a synthesis of the past and the present, the old and the new, but never the reified and the fossilized.” (p. 8). He points out several important steps to achieving this new vision: First, we have to teach history to explain how we got to where we are. Second, we have to promote our rights and freedoms so that all peoples know that there are multiple ways of belonging in our country. Third, we have to acknowledge failings towards some minorities. Finally, it will be reflected in some symbols (flag, Canada Day etc) (p. 8). But we can only teach what we know, so Canadian teachers have to learn more about their own nation (p. 9).
7. Friesen, J. W., & Friesen, V. A. L. (2002). Aboriginal education in Canada: A plea for integration. Calgary: Detselig Enterprises.
Although there have been steps taken to allow more independence of Aboriginals concerning education a further step is needed. Friesen & Friesen argue that Aboriginals have to take the initiative to ‘evangelize’ non-Natives to their culture. First, to foster understanding and second because as many teachers know, there is no better way to learn something than to teach it (p. 19). Friensen & Friesen present various aspects of First Nations philosophy such as the global-holistic perspective of and not necessarily live by the clock (45). I agree with Friesen & Friesen that it is necessary for the First Nations to have a more direct impact on our educational system. They provide some example but I will need to do more research to discover what is the best way for this to happen.
8. Ghosh, R., & Abdi, A. A. (2013). Education and the politics of difference: Select Canadian perspectives. Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press Inc.
This is an important book. First of all, it is very recently published and provides a very relevant study of what is going on in integrative attempts around Canada. It focuses on the Canadian context but also has a section about Quebec. It provides a good general brief overview of the impact of the B & B Commission (p. 42) and the Bouchard and Taylor (p. 40).
The final chapter on the future of multicultural education in particular was very instructive. Education is dialogical. It relies on interaction and interdependence (p. 167). Therefore, the development of identity must be negotiated ‘through dialogue through the curriculum and interactions that occur in the school culture’ (p. 174). However we must know the “I” to be able to retain the “I” in creating a “we” in what Taylor terms the ‘fusion of horizons’ (p. 175). This is a very rich text and I am still digesting it. I believe another reading is necessary.
. Graveline, F. J. (1998). Circle works: Transforming eurocentric consciousness. Halifax, N.S: Fernwood.
This book is intended to encourage teachers and other professionals who work in schools to use alternative teaching strategies based on Aboriginal teachings. It is written by a self-proclaimed educator, feminist, anti-racist activist Métis woman (p. 8). Due to her Métis status, the question of authenticity of the Native voice emerges a couple of times through the book (p.21). Who is the real ‘Indian’? (p. 30).
Graveline explores different facets of traditional Aboriginal teaching such as the prominence of elders (p. 61), story telling as identity statements (p. 64) and the pedagogy of ceremonies (p. 62). Aboriginal culture was very communitarian and emphasized interdependence (p. 50). Education happened in regular daily life through observation and learner initiation through instruction, which itself was only provided upon request of the learner (p. 61). This was a setting where formal educational institutions were an alien concept until the arrival of the colonial forces. The radical change that was enacted in the new educational approaches brought over with the European powers was a “pedagogical violence” that sought to assimilate Natives completely into the dominant culture (p. 27). In a similar way, due to their smaller percentage of the population, First Nations peoples are often viewed as invisible and “belonging to history,” which often leads to romanticized reimaginings that further marginalize their voice (p. 36, 123).
Graveline stresses the need to rewrite history by highlighting acts of resistance and challenging euro-consciousness throughout the curriculum (p. 37). In this way, Natives can reaffirm their own bicultural identities by keeping any positive aspects of traditional education and blending it with the new. But it has to be on their terms (p. 21). This book goes into a great deal of details on these topics and provides a better context to understand the dissonance that was created with colonialism.
10. Guardado, M. (2010). Heritage Language Development: Preserving a Mythic Past or Envisioning the Future of Canadian Identity?. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 9(5), 329-346.
Guardado begins the article emphasizing the importance of language as the socializing tool that individuals use to interact and understand the world around them (p. 330). In his qualitative study, many participants equated L1 language loss with cultural identity loss (p. 331). For these families, multilingualism is an important bridge for family unity and maintaining cultural identities (p. 331). However, the families interviewed saw Spanish learning as a starting point to learn and appreciate other languages (p. 337). They clearly valued other languages and cultures (p. 337) and showed preference in their interactions with their children of building a pan-ethnic identity (p. 336). Additional language learning was seen as the key to accessing otherwise ‘inaccessible physical, symbolic and cultural spaces (p. 339).
Guardado refers to the participants’ children using Rumbaut and Ima’s ‘Generation 1.5’ or ‘Third Culture Kids’ label in the article. Generation 1.5 refers to individuals who immigrate as children or teens to a new country and experience different experiences than 1st or 2nd generation immigrants (Ryu, 1991 on p. 331). These children show a tremendous ability to adapt and an openness to incorporate elements of different communities in their lives. They display a strong sense of cosmopolitanism, or a strong global sense of place (Massey, 1994 on p. 332).
Haque, E. (2012). Multiculturalism within a bilingual framework: Language, race, and belonging in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Focusing on the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, which took place between 1963-70, Haque demonstrates how the emergence of the bilingualism and multiculturalism policies of the Canadian government came about. Haque explores how the French and English founding nations origin myth became our national narrative. She provides numerous examples of how this came at the expense of other minority groups. Some of these groups like the Ukrainians fought hard for their right to be acknowledged and have rights to protect their languages. They submitted many papers and talks fighting for their rights. While other groups like the First Nations peoples were completely left out of the discussion. When the Preliminary Report was finally released there was a lot of national interest. Some of the media did present a critical perspective of the findings, namely that there seemed to be a built-in bias in the approach of the Commission. This is an important article for my research because it demonstrates how our current system came to take its shape. It also explains why certain parties such as the Ukrainians and more notably the First Nations communities feel betrayed by the proposed multiculturalism with a bilingual framework.
James, C. E. (1995). Seeing ourselves: Exploring race, ethnicity & culture (p. xiii). Toronto: Thompson Educational.
This is a collection of personal comments and essays written by students from diverse ethnic backgrounds that demonstrates what it means to participate in contemporary Canadian society. In his introduction, James explains that one of the most difficult things about his work was getting his students to understand that racial, cultural and ethnic differences were not merely abstract notions but actually did influence us personally (p. 18). Through critical analyses of pedagogies he hopes teachers will be engaged in conscientization (p. 22). I was particularly interested in the idea that cultural identities are a product of contexts (p. 28). According to Stuart Hall, questions of identity are exercises in selective memory and always involve “silencing of something in order to allow something else to speak” (p. 28). Many “real” Canadians view themselves as culturally neutral (p. 34) and this subsequently implies that our understanding of culture is seen as a symbol of “foreignness” (p. 33). The many interviews and comments provide a number of important points about expectations, understandings and shared values.
16. McAndrew, M. (2001). Immigration et diversité à l'école: Le débat québécois dans une perspective comparative. Montréal: Presses de l'Université de Montréal.
This is an important book because its focus is primarily on Montreal and Quebec. It also offers some interesting comparisons to situations in Europe and the United States. Some of the most pertinent points that emerged were as follows. First, teachers do not give enough importance to factors other than culture. For example, sometimes teachers mistake students’ behaviour as a product of their culture rather than of other factors such as class or gender (p. 152). Another interesting issue brought up in the book is that most ethnic students in Montreal are highly concentrated in certain boroughs and thus go to the same schools. So these schools have huge numbers of visible minorities compared to other schools. This benefits these minorities because it allows them to come into contact with many different cultures and gives them a great opportunity for building intercultural skills. However, it disadvantages them in that they come into less contact with members of the majority host Quebec culture and thus are less familiar with it (p. 189). I think this is an important issue here in Montreal that should be looked into in more depth.
Shariff, A. (2006). Gender, acculturation, ethnic identity, and parenting stress among South Asian families.
In my paper it will be important to also look at how family relations affect integration. While educators cannot presume to take the place of trained counselors, this article is helpful in providing ideas on how to understand the reasons behind this conflict and also how to proceed in a situation where a student’s integration might create family tension. This article describes ethnic identity formation and parenting stress that is common among South Asian families. No group is homogeneous: South Asians have different religions and language, but they do share a similar culture based on the importance of family (p. 36). They prefer to keep family matters private and are often very reluctance to seek out counseling (p. 36).
Citing J. W. Berry’s work on immigration and acculturation, immigrants have two decisions to make in their acculturation. How much of their heritage culture do they want to keep? and how much of their new culture do they want to adopt? Girls are shown to be particularly susceptible to increased rates of conflict and pressure from parents (p. 39). Based on their decisions Berry explains that there are four possible results: assimilation, separation, integration and marginalization (p. 37). In the case of South Asian families, some families may see their adolescents’ preference for their host culture as a sign of poor parenting and consequently leads to lots of stress (p. 38). This may mean that the adolescents may engage in the compartmentalization of self, acting differently at school and at home (p. 38). Educators should be sensitive to these situations.
Shariff recommends examining parents’ beliefs without judging them (p. 39). Counsellors need to examine their own cultural beliefs and values and look for “potential blind spots that could intensify family conflict” (p. 42). Counsellors can help them resolve difficult situations by simply allowing each side to have a voice and conducting cost-analyses with the families (p. 40).
20. Steinbach, M. (December 01, 2010). "Eux Autres versus Nous Autres": Adolescent Students' Views on the Integration of Newcomers. Intercultural Education, 21, 6, 535-547.
This study involved focus group interviews with high school students in Quebec concerning the integration of immigrants. According to the 2005 Statistics Canada research in this study, while Quebec is less ethnically diverse than other provinces in Canada, the groups of visible minorities is rapidly increasing. This is seen especially in schools (p. 536). The study provides a brief review of the findings of the Bouchard and Taylor Report (p. 536) and its subsequent result on pedagogical approaches to multicultural education. According to Ouellet (2004) intercultural education is an effort to “develop a better understanding cultures, a greater ability to communicate with people of other cultures and positive attitudes of other groups” (p. 17 on p. 537). There is criticism in the study of presenting different cultures in a “folklorisation of a saris and samosas approach” without serious reflection (Ghosh & Abdi, 2004, p. 537). A very helpful perspective on intercultural education by Kanouté is included. Kanouté stresses the need to train teachers to be aware of their own cultural identity in order to begin authentic evaluation of the ethnocentrism present in Quebec schools (p. 538).
Steinbach is surprised by the frank and politically incorrect nature of the statements of the teenagers. The first part of the interview is with the newcomer students. The second part of the interview was with students from the dominant Quebec culture. Some of the emerging themes of the study was the frequent overestimation of the number of minorities in the school, the “assimiliationist” attitude of the French-Canadian students (p. 539) and a high level of intolerance for the presence of the immigrants and the need to share spaces with “them” (p. 540). Futhermore, there were frequent statements concerning the erosion of Quebec culture (p. 540). Both groups felt that the only point of social contact between them was confrontational (p. 541). Immigrant students were felt to not make any effort to integrate, while immigrant students complained of the physical and psychological distances created by the accueil classes (p. 541). Steinbach sees the Ministry’s focus on language mastery as insufficient to more fluent integration (p. 543). Finally there is an interesting discussion of who makes up the “nous” (p. 542-3).
The final section of the study proposes some suggestions for administrators. Most importantly the need to foster more interaction in both academic and non-academic environments (p. 543).
21. Taylor, D. M. (1997). The quest for identity: The plight of aboriginal people, ethnic minorities, and generation X. Montreal: P.S. Presse.
This book seeks to explore the reasons for the academic underachievement and serious social problems faced by certain minorities. According to Taylor, disadvantaged groups are attempting to balance competing collective identities. Disadvantaged minority groups are attempting to build meaning in a collective identity vacuum with poorly defined templates to follow (p. 60). These groups lack the advantage of a clear framework for “mainstream” culture as well as the clear vision of the “heritage” culture (p.9). This ‘internal colonialism’ (p. 67) leaves members of these groups feeling disengaged and looking to make meaning. This behaviour devoid of meaning such as being forced to attend classes and do classwork that bear no import on personal realities, this leads to ‘collective demotivation’ (p. 7).
Taylor has strong criticism for the ‘cultural relativism’ that goes on in some classes, or the superficial treatment of differences between ethnic groups (p. 13). Groups need to be empowered. However, Taylor points out that Aboriginals are not yet empowered. They will only be empowered when they will be capable of affecting the mainstream (p. 60).
Colonialism and globalization has led to collective identity overload (p. 69) and certain groups have been left feeling no clarity concerning their identity (p.89). Groups articulating a collective identity is the ultimate democratic exercise but ultimately it is a process that only group members can initiate (p. 90).
Tsang, A. K. T., Irving, H., Alaggia, R., Chau, S. B., & Benjamin, M. (2003). Negotiating Ethnic Identity In Canada The Case of the “Satellite Children”.Youth & Society, 34(3), 359-384.
In this qualitative study, Tsang et al., examine the negotiation of ethnic identity by satellite children. The ‘satellite’ term was coined to address migratory patterns of Chinese in the 1990s (p. 360). Satellite or parachute children are children of families where members live in different countries. Parents in these families are referred to as astronauts. Often one parent, usually the father, stays in the country of origin to pursue economic opportunities, while the other parent raises the children in a Western country with more promising educational prospects (p. 361). These children are faced with the drastic rearrangement of their family structures (p. 361), uncertainty about the future, racism (p.374) as well as the resulting tension of the contrasting collectivist identities of their native lands and the more individualized and autonomous Western perspectives (p. 362).
Through the study, Tsang et al. explore some sociological, educational and psychological definitions of ethnicity (p. 367). They describe participants’ complex range of self-identification not solely on ethnic origins but also incorporating sociopolitical considerations (p. 368). For example, one participant from Hong Kong, referred to himself simultaneously as ethnically Han Chinese, a British citizen and also a Canadian resident. Tsang et al. also look into the role played by peers and reference groups exploring how strong subcultures can reinforce native culture (p. 372). Finally, they point out that acculturation is not unidimensional – satellite children encounter many different cultural communities in their resident countries (p. 372).
24. Waddington, D. et al. (2012). Interculturalism in Practice: Quebec’s New Ethics and Religious Culture Curriculum and Religious Culture Curriculum and the Bouchard-Taylor Report on Reasonable Accomodation. In Besley, T. E., & Peters, M. A. E. (2012). Interculturalism, Education and Dialogue. Global Studies in Education. Volume 13. Peter Lang New York.
I come across the terms multiculturalism and interculturalism often in the literature. This article offers a clear definition of the two key terms. Waddington et al. explain that Quebec rejected Canadian multiculturalism because it saw multiculturalism as a betrayal of Quebec’s unique status in Canada. According to Trudeau, there were to be two official languages but “no official culture” (p. 3). They point out that initial fears that multiculturalism lacked a sense of social cohesion led to its eventual evolution and so the interculturalist and multiculturalist approaches in Canada resemble eachother more closely now (p. 4). Multiculturalism sees cultural diversity as a good in itself, or what they term ‘cultural diversity management’ (p. 10) while interculturalism’s goal is social transformation through contact (p. 7). Interculturalism’s co-constructive process is achieved through three key elements: dialogue, sociological asymmetry and the moral contract (p. 8).
In thinking about the integration of cultural communities, Quebec’s situation is very different from any other province in Canada. Immigration in Quebec has always been seen as a threat to the national culture (p. 157). The Quebec government has a unique role among Canadian provinces in having a direct and important say in which immigrants are allowed into Quebec (p. 158) with its intercultural goal being the francization of immigrants (p. 159). A big difference between Canadian multiculturalism and Quebec interculturalism has been the importance that Quebec has placed on the secular nature of the province’s institutions, which has been a huge source of conflict in the province (p. 159).
This article demonstrates how the competing nation-building agendas of the state (Canada) and substate (Quebec) dilute the ‘we’ the newcomers are supposed to be joining (p. 157). The study shows that immigrants in Quebec tend to show less of a sense of belonging to Quebec and Canada then other immigrants in other provinces (p. 160).
Berger, P., & Epp, J. R. (March 08, 2007). Practices against Culture that "Work" in Nunavut Schools: Problematizing Two Common Practices. Mcgill Journal of Education, 41, 1, 9-27.
I found this paper to be of note because it highlights how cultural insensitivity is not always malicious. Just because a pedagogical approach “works” doesn’t mean we are being just in our use of it. Certain pedagogical approaches although academically useful work against the culture. The paper looked specifically at the approaches of non-Native teachers in Inuit schools but I believe that teachers dealing with students from diverse cultures can reflect on many of the themes in this paper (p. 9). Berger and Epps stress the need to engage the community in meaningful consultation to determine if “effective teaching practices” are culturally sensitive. Academic success should not directly result in alienation and confusion between elders and youth of the community (p. 10) because of the importance of group cohesion and ecocentricity of the Inuit people (p. 11). Berger and Epps provide some interesting suggestions in their paper such as the possibility of reducing the school day to make time for other types of learning (p. 13) or revising disciplinary approaches to reflect Native conflict resolution approaches (p.16).
Bouchard, G., Taylor, C., & Québec (Province). (2008). Building the future, a time for reconciliation: Abridged report. Québec, Qué.: Commission de consultation sur les pratiques d'accomodement reliées aux différences culturelles.
Prior to the writing of the report there were many instances in the mainstream news in Quebec of unreasonable accomodations to minorities. Bouchard and Taylor were appointed to investigate these cases and conduct a series of public and private hearings to explore what steps Quebec had to take in order to help newcomers integrate while also reassuring French-Canadian Quebecers who felt they were losing their culture (p. 218). Bouchard & Taylor cite numerous cases of misrepresentation of the incidences in the media. Basing themselves on Quebec’s intercultural model of integration and an understanding for the creative tension that exists in the constant search for equilibrium resulting from the process (p. 229) they make 37 recommendation for the ‘harmonzition’ of society based on the four civic virtues of equity, reception, moderation/wisdom and patience (p. 252). Pauline Marois’ PQ party attempted to use the Bouchard & Taylor Report as evidence of the need for her Charter of Quebec Values although their model sought out a more open model of secularism. Phillippe Couillard’s Liberals are also preparing Quebecers for their own model of the Charter so it will be something very interesting to watch for as it often has a direct result on our educational institutions.
Cook, S. A. (April 01, 2006). “Patriotism, Eh?” The Canadian Version. Phi Delta Kappan,87, 8, 589-593.
Compared to our American neighbors Canadians are very unassuming patriots. Cook looks at this topic in her paper. In the article she quotes philosopher John Raulston Saul who said that Canada has given the world a unique type of nationalism, a quiet nationalism characterized by compromise between the three founding nations: English, French and Native (p. 589). Cook suggests a reason that Canadian nationalism is so quiet is the fear of provoking French-Canadian separatist nationalism that is always brewing underneath the surface in Quebec (p. 590). What this has translated through in schools is that most educators prefer to teach their curriculum promoting understanding through debate rather than patriotism with an emphasis on celebrating our institutions that unite us (p. 589).
Courchêne, R. (1996). Teaching Canadian culture: teacher preparation. TESL Canada Journal, 13(2), 01-16.
This article was very practical because it looks at the difficulties that occur when trying to define Canadian culture in particular and some solutions to teaching it. Cultural competence has become an increasingly important part of second language education. But what is Canadian culture and how should it be taught? These are the questions that Courchêne looks at in this paper. After looking at different definitions of the word culture, Courchêne points out some problems with defining Canadian culture in particular: namely the huge size of the country and very diverse geography as well as social class (p. 4). Furthermore, many immigrants adopt certain celebrations such as buying gifts at Christmas not out of cultural memory but of a desire to participate. The meaning of cultural markers thus changes with time (p. 5).
However, new Canadians must have a voice so that in this new common space we build a culture that “is a synthesis of the past and the present, the old and the new, but never the reified and the fossilized.” (p. 8). He points out several important steps to achieving this new vision: First, we have to teach history to explain how we got to where we are. Second, we have to promote our rights and freedoms so that all peoples know that there are multiple ways of belonging in our country. Third, we have to acknowledge failings towards some minorities. Finally, it will be reflected in some symbols (flag, Canada Day etc) (p. 8). But we can only teach what we know, so Canadian teachers have to learn more about their own nation (p. 9).
7. Friesen, J. W., & Friesen, V. A. L. (2002). Aboriginal education in Canada: A plea for integration. Calgary: Detselig Enterprises.
Although there have been steps taken to allow more independence of Aboriginals concerning education a further step is needed. Friesen & Friesen argue that Aboriginals have to take the initiative to ‘evangelize’ non-Natives to their culture. First, to foster understanding and second because as many teachers know, there is no better way to learn something than to teach it (p. 19). Friensen & Friesen present various aspects of First Nations philosophy such as the global-holistic perspective of and not necessarily live by the clock (45). I agree with Friesen & Friesen that it is necessary for the First Nations to have a more direct impact on our educational system. They provide some example but I will need to do more research to discover what is the best way for this to happen.
8. Ghosh, R., & Abdi, A. A. (2013). Education and the politics of difference: Select Canadian perspectives. Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press Inc.
This is an important book. First of all, it is very recently published and provides a very relevant study of what is going on in integrative attempts around Canada. It focuses on the Canadian context but also has a section about Quebec. It provides a good general brief overview of the impact of the B & B Commission (p. 42) and the Bouchard and Taylor (p. 40).
The final chapter on the future of multicultural education in particular was very instructive. Education is dialogical. It relies on interaction and interdependence (p. 167). Therefore, the development of identity must be negotiated ‘through dialogue through the curriculum and interactions that occur in the school culture’ (p. 174). However we must know the “I” to be able to retain the “I” in creating a “we” in what Taylor terms the ‘fusion of horizons’ (p. 175). This is a very rich text and I am still digesting it. I believe another reading is necessary.
. Graveline, F. J. (1998). Circle works: Transforming eurocentric consciousness. Halifax, N.S: Fernwood.
This book is intended to encourage teachers and other professionals who work in schools to use alternative teaching strategies based on Aboriginal teachings. It is written by a self-proclaimed educator, feminist, anti-racist activist Métis woman (p. 8). Due to her Métis status, the question of authenticity of the Native voice emerges a couple of times through the book (p.21). Who is the real ‘Indian’? (p. 30).
Graveline explores different facets of traditional Aboriginal teaching such as the prominence of elders (p. 61), story telling as identity statements (p. 64) and the pedagogy of ceremonies (p. 62). Aboriginal culture was very communitarian and emphasized interdependence (p. 50). Education happened in regular daily life through observation and learner initiation through instruction, which itself was only provided upon request of the learner (p. 61). This was a setting where formal educational institutions were an alien concept until the arrival of the colonial forces. The radical change that was enacted in the new educational approaches brought over with the European powers was a “pedagogical violence” that sought to assimilate Natives completely into the dominant culture (p. 27). In a similar way, due to their smaller percentage of the population, First Nations peoples are often viewed as invisible and “belonging to history,” which often leads to romanticized reimaginings that further marginalize their voice (p. 36, 123).
Graveline stresses the need to rewrite history by highlighting acts of resistance and challenging euro-consciousness throughout the curriculum (p. 37). In this way, Natives can reaffirm their own bicultural identities by keeping any positive aspects of traditional education and blending it with the new. But it has to be on their terms (p. 21). This book goes into a great deal of details on these topics and provides a better context to understand the dissonance that was created with colonialism.
10. Guardado, M. (2010). Heritage Language Development: Preserving a Mythic Past or Envisioning the Future of Canadian Identity?. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 9(5), 329-346.
Guardado begins the article emphasizing the importance of language as the socializing tool that individuals use to interact and understand the world around them (p. 330). In his qualitative study, many participants equated L1 language loss with cultural identity loss (p. 331). For these families, multilingualism is an important bridge for family unity and maintaining cultural identities (p. 331). However, the families interviewed saw Spanish learning as a starting point to learn and appreciate other languages (p. 337). They clearly valued other languages and cultures (p. 337) and showed preference in their interactions with their children of building a pan-ethnic identity (p. 336). Additional language learning was seen as the key to accessing otherwise ‘inaccessible physical, symbolic and cultural spaces (p. 339).
Guardado refers to the participants’ children using Rumbaut and Ima’s ‘Generation 1.5’ or ‘Third Culture Kids’ label in the article. Generation 1.5 refers to individuals who immigrate as children or teens to a new country and experience different experiences than 1st or 2nd generation immigrants (Ryu, 1991 on p. 331). These children show a tremendous ability to adapt and an openness to incorporate elements of different communities in their lives. They display a strong sense of cosmopolitanism, or a strong global sense of place (Massey, 1994 on p. 332).
Haque, E. (2012). Multiculturalism within a bilingual framework: Language, race, and belonging in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Focusing on the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, which took place between 1963-70, Haque demonstrates how the emergence of the bilingualism and multiculturalism policies of the Canadian government came about. Haque explores how the French and English founding nations origin myth became our national narrative. She provides numerous examples of how this came at the expense of other minority groups. Some of these groups like the Ukrainians fought hard for their right to be acknowledged and have rights to protect their languages. They submitted many papers and talks fighting for their rights. While other groups like the First Nations peoples were completely left out of the discussion. When the Preliminary Report was finally released there was a lot of national interest. Some of the media did present a critical perspective of the findings, namely that there seemed to be a built-in bias in the approach of the Commission. This is an important article for my research because it demonstrates how our current system came to take its shape. It also explains why certain parties such as the Ukrainians and more notably the First Nations communities feel betrayed by the proposed multiculturalism with a bilingual framework.
James, C. E. (1995). Seeing ourselves: Exploring race, ethnicity & culture (p. xiii). Toronto: Thompson Educational.
This is a collection of personal comments and essays written by students from diverse ethnic backgrounds that demonstrates what it means to participate in contemporary Canadian society. In his introduction, James explains that one of the most difficult things about his work was getting his students to understand that racial, cultural and ethnic differences were not merely abstract notions but actually did influence us personally (p. 18). Through critical analyses of pedagogies he hopes teachers will be engaged in conscientization (p. 22). I was particularly interested in the idea that cultural identities are a product of contexts (p. 28). According to Stuart Hall, questions of identity are exercises in selective memory and always involve “silencing of something in order to allow something else to speak” (p. 28). Many “real” Canadians view themselves as culturally neutral (p. 34) and this subsequently implies that our understanding of culture is seen as a symbol of “foreignness” (p. 33). The many interviews and comments provide a number of important points about expectations, understandings and shared values.
16. McAndrew, M. (2001). Immigration et diversité à l'école: Le débat québécois dans une perspective comparative. Montréal: Presses de l'Université de Montréal.
This is an important book because its focus is primarily on Montreal and Quebec. It also offers some interesting comparisons to situations in Europe and the United States. Some of the most pertinent points that emerged were as follows. First, teachers do not give enough importance to factors other than culture. For example, sometimes teachers mistake students’ behaviour as a product of their culture rather than of other factors such as class or gender (p. 152). Another interesting issue brought up in the book is that most ethnic students in Montreal are highly concentrated in certain boroughs and thus go to the same schools. So these schools have huge numbers of visible minorities compared to other schools. This benefits these minorities because it allows them to come into contact with many different cultures and gives them a great opportunity for building intercultural skills. However, it disadvantages them in that they come into less contact with members of the majority host Quebec culture and thus are less familiar with it (p. 189). I think this is an important issue here in Montreal that should be looked into in more depth.
Shariff, A. (2006). Gender, acculturation, ethnic identity, and parenting stress among South Asian families.
In my paper it will be important to also look at how family relations affect integration. While educators cannot presume to take the place of trained counselors, this article is helpful in providing ideas on how to understand the reasons behind this conflict and also how to proceed in a situation where a student’s integration might create family tension. This article describes ethnic identity formation and parenting stress that is common among South Asian families. No group is homogeneous: South Asians have different religions and language, but they do share a similar culture based on the importance of family (p. 36). They prefer to keep family matters private and are often very reluctance to seek out counseling (p. 36).
Citing J. W. Berry’s work on immigration and acculturation, immigrants have two decisions to make in their acculturation. How much of their heritage culture do they want to keep? and how much of their new culture do they want to adopt? Girls are shown to be particularly susceptible to increased rates of conflict and pressure from parents (p. 39). Based on their decisions Berry explains that there are four possible results: assimilation, separation, integration and marginalization (p. 37). In the case of South Asian families, some families may see their adolescents’ preference for their host culture as a sign of poor parenting and consequently leads to lots of stress (p. 38). This may mean that the adolescents may engage in the compartmentalization of self, acting differently at school and at home (p. 38). Educators should be sensitive to these situations.
Shariff recommends examining parents’ beliefs without judging them (p. 39). Counsellors need to examine their own cultural beliefs and values and look for “potential blind spots that could intensify family conflict” (p. 42). Counsellors can help them resolve difficult situations by simply allowing each side to have a voice and conducting cost-analyses with the families (p. 40).
20. Steinbach, M. (December 01, 2010). "Eux Autres versus Nous Autres": Adolescent Students' Views on the Integration of Newcomers. Intercultural Education, 21, 6, 535-547.
This study involved focus group interviews with high school students in Quebec concerning the integration of immigrants. According to the 2005 Statistics Canada research in this study, while Quebec is less ethnically diverse than other provinces in Canada, the groups of visible minorities is rapidly increasing. This is seen especially in schools (p. 536). The study provides a brief review of the findings of the Bouchard and Taylor Report (p. 536) and its subsequent result on pedagogical approaches to multicultural education. According to Ouellet (2004) intercultural education is an effort to “develop a better understanding cultures, a greater ability to communicate with people of other cultures and positive attitudes of other groups” (p. 17 on p. 537). There is criticism in the study of presenting different cultures in a “folklorisation of a saris and samosas approach” without serious reflection (Ghosh & Abdi, 2004, p. 537). A very helpful perspective on intercultural education by Kanouté is included. Kanouté stresses the need to train teachers to be aware of their own cultural identity in order to begin authentic evaluation of the ethnocentrism present in Quebec schools (p. 538).
Steinbach is surprised by the frank and politically incorrect nature of the statements of the teenagers. The first part of the interview is with the newcomer students. The second part of the interview was with students from the dominant Quebec culture. Some of the emerging themes of the study was the frequent overestimation of the number of minorities in the school, the “assimiliationist” attitude of the French-Canadian students (p. 539) and a high level of intolerance for the presence of the immigrants and the need to share spaces with “them” (p. 540). Futhermore, there were frequent statements concerning the erosion of Quebec culture (p. 540). Both groups felt that the only point of social contact between them was confrontational (p. 541). Immigrant students were felt to not make any effort to integrate, while immigrant students complained of the physical and psychological distances created by the accueil classes (p. 541). Steinbach sees the Ministry’s focus on language mastery as insufficient to more fluent integration (p. 543). Finally there is an interesting discussion of who makes up the “nous” (p. 542-3).
The final section of the study proposes some suggestions for administrators. Most importantly the need to foster more interaction in both academic and non-academic environments (p. 543).
21. Taylor, D. M. (1997). The quest for identity: The plight of aboriginal people, ethnic minorities, and generation X. Montreal: P.S. Presse.
This book seeks to explore the reasons for the academic underachievement and serious social problems faced by certain minorities. According to Taylor, disadvantaged groups are attempting to balance competing collective identities. Disadvantaged minority groups are attempting to build meaning in a collective identity vacuum with poorly defined templates to follow (p. 60). These groups lack the advantage of a clear framework for “mainstream” culture as well as the clear vision of the “heritage” culture (p.9). This ‘internal colonialism’ (p. 67) leaves members of these groups feeling disengaged and looking to make meaning. This behaviour devoid of meaning such as being forced to attend classes and do classwork that bear no import on personal realities, this leads to ‘collective demotivation’ (p. 7).
Taylor has strong criticism for the ‘cultural relativism’ that goes on in some classes, or the superficial treatment of differences between ethnic groups (p. 13). Groups need to be empowered. However, Taylor points out that Aboriginals are not yet empowered. They will only be empowered when they will be capable of affecting the mainstream (p. 60).
Colonialism and globalization has led to collective identity overload (p. 69) and certain groups have been left feeling no clarity concerning their identity (p.89). Groups articulating a collective identity is the ultimate democratic exercise but ultimately it is a process that only group members can initiate (p. 90).
Tsang, A. K. T., Irving, H., Alaggia, R., Chau, S. B., & Benjamin, M. (2003). Negotiating Ethnic Identity In Canada The Case of the “Satellite Children”.Youth & Society, 34(3), 359-384.
In this qualitative study, Tsang et al., examine the negotiation of ethnic identity by satellite children. The ‘satellite’ term was coined to address migratory patterns of Chinese in the 1990s (p. 360). Satellite or parachute children are children of families where members live in different countries. Parents in these families are referred to as astronauts. Often one parent, usually the father, stays in the country of origin to pursue economic opportunities, while the other parent raises the children in a Western country with more promising educational prospects (p. 361). These children are faced with the drastic rearrangement of their family structures (p. 361), uncertainty about the future, racism (p.374) as well as the resulting tension of the contrasting collectivist identities of their native lands and the more individualized and autonomous Western perspectives (p. 362).
Through the study, Tsang et al. explore some sociological, educational and psychological definitions of ethnicity (p. 367). They describe participants’ complex range of self-identification not solely on ethnic origins but also incorporating sociopolitical considerations (p. 368). For example, one participant from Hong Kong, referred to himself simultaneously as ethnically Han Chinese, a British citizen and also a Canadian resident. Tsang et al. also look into the role played by peers and reference groups exploring how strong subcultures can reinforce native culture (p. 372). Finally, they point out that acculturation is not unidimensional – satellite children encounter many different cultural communities in their resident countries (p. 372).
24. Waddington, D. et al. (2012). Interculturalism in Practice: Quebec’s New Ethics and Religious Culture Curriculum and Religious Culture Curriculum and the Bouchard-Taylor Report on Reasonable Accomodation. In Besley, T. E., & Peters, M. A. E. (2012). Interculturalism, Education and Dialogue. Global Studies in Education. Volume 13. Peter Lang New York.
I come across the terms multiculturalism and interculturalism often in the literature. This article offers a clear definition of the two key terms. Waddington et al. explain that Quebec rejected Canadian multiculturalism because it saw multiculturalism as a betrayal of Quebec’s unique status in Canada. According to Trudeau, there were to be two official languages but “no official culture” (p. 3). They point out that initial fears that multiculturalism lacked a sense of social cohesion led to its eventual evolution and so the interculturalist and multiculturalist approaches in Canada resemble eachother more closely now (p. 4). Multiculturalism sees cultural diversity as a good in itself, or what they term ‘cultural diversity management’ (p. 10) while interculturalism’s goal is social transformation through contact (p. 7). Interculturalism’s co-constructive process is achieved through three key elements: dialogue, sociological asymmetry and the moral contract (p. 8).
Part 2: Other Contexts:
Clayton, J. B. (1996). Your land, my land: Children in the process of acculturation. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
This book provides the account of the acculturation process of four children into elementary school as seen by those stakeholders involved. This book was especially appealing to me because it provided me with authentic views of children and parents involved in the acculturation process.
While in the past, acculturation was understood to mean assimilation; today there is a greater emphasis to integrate students of different backgrounds. Traditionally, teachers saw cultural differences as deficiencies whereas now they are seen as distinctions to be celebrated (p. 6). The teachers showed a willing positive attitude towards integrating the new students. This is important because as Clayton points out, immigration is very difficult on children who often don’t have any say in the move (p. 6). They are thrust into these very confusing situations where they are unsure what are the expectations and protocol and who may be familiar with a completely different educational framework (p. 70).
Clayton notices teachers interchanging two strategies in their interactions with the students. Sometime they used a more egalitarian approach believing the student wanted to figure things out themselves. In this situation teachers would wait until the teacher asked for an intervention. Other times, they would use a more integrative approach with much more guidance and attention (p. 170). Clayton also stresses the need for teachers to make students understand that equality doesn’t mean equity (p. 127). That is, some students require more help or attention because their needs are different.
Although the teachers were confident that they were taking all the steps necessary to ease the families’ transition into the new environment, the families and researcher provided examples of moments where they failed to consider the families’ needs (p.111). This often occurred due to overload of information (p. 59) or a failure to communicate expectations clearly (p. 98)
Cushner, K., McClelland, A., & Safford, P. L. (2012). Human diversity in education: An integrative approach. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
A very well-organized and well-thought-out book designed for teachers. It is meant to help teachers in their encounters with diversity in schools. The book is broken up into 13 chapters. Each chapter explores the various forms of diversity, such as gender, cultural, sexual orientation, exceptional students, etc. Each chapter provides a case study, theoretical discussions, additional reading suggestions, classroom anecdotes, reflection questions for teachers, lesson plan examples and more. It is a veritable wealth of information. I found chapters 4, 6 and 7 most applicable to my work.
Chapter 4 deals with cultural intersections in the classroom. Teachers must recognize the necessity of occasional discomfort within the context of a successful integrative classroom (p. 114). Teachers as cultural mediators (p. 114) guide members of the class community through the stages of intercultural encounters: emotional arousal, understanding the unfamiliar and finally personal growth adjustment (p. 121).
Chapter 6 deals with multicultural teaching in action. This chapter breaks down why prejudice and racism occur. There is also an interesting section on evaluation. I was most concerned with the section entitled, ‘Improving Social Contact and Intergroup Relations.’ Some ways to improve intergroup relations is to make sure that different groups feel that they have equal status in the community (p. 189). Moreover, superordinate goals often serve to make different groups collaborate (p. 190). Another important aspect is that educators have to promote intergroup interactions (p. 191). Finally, personal contact with diverse people reduces stereotype associations (p. 192).
Chapter 7 deals with the global classroom. Increased exposure to diversity has been shown to result in increased levels of intercultural sensitivity (p 216). Technology plays a prominent role today in bringing different communities together (p. 223). Teachers should encourage students to develop ‘perspective consciousness’ that is the understanding that your views are not necessarily shared by others (224).
11. Hall, T., Coffey, A., & Williamson, H. (December 01, 1999). Self, Space and Place: Youth Identities and Citizenship. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 20, 4, 501-13.
A number of factors have broken down established patterns of youth to adulthood. The transition has become more protracted and complex, which is reflective of the increased capacity of self-determination that is a reality of our society today. This requires people to “produce, stage and cobble together their biographies themselves” (p. 502). It is within this context that citizenship over adulthood has become a useful way of discussing young people’s transition into independent members of society (p. 503).
In the interviews conducted for the study, Hall, Coffey and Williamson uncover many students look for a place other than school and home to make meaning of their identity (p. 507). Youth clubs are a popular choice for some students while being seen as a source of social control by other students (p. 508). Because locality is seen as an important component of identity, knowing where a person is from, allows you to ‘place them’ (p. 508). While this article looks at upper level secondary students in particular I think the idea of shared spaces is something that is important to the elementary context as well, as any school yard supervisor would easily agree with.
Haynes, B. (2009), History Teaching for Patriotic Citizenship in Australia. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 41: 424–440. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-5812.2008.00430.x
I was interested in this article because the Australian quest for collective identity is similar to our Canadian one. It is helpful to see how other nations are grappling with
this issue. Canada and Australia are both commonwealth countries with a high rate of immigration and an unfortunate relationship with its aboriginal peoples. Within this context, the Australian government is looking at ways of promoting patriotism in schools. One of the most important criticisms of promoting patriotism in schools is that “patriotic loyalties have often served to disrupt [rather] than to propel the movements toward justice” (p. 56). Haynes lists four important reasons why many people want to see patriotism promoted more rigorously. First, patriotism promotes a shared nationality. Furthermore, it is important to understand the role of the institutions that advance and protect our rights. Moreover, it encourages people to work together for a common goal. Finally, it reinforces distributive justice through a sense of duty and association (p. 55).
14. Hernández, S. R., & Hollins, E. R. (1999). Racial and ethnic identity in school practices: Aspects of human development. Mahwah, N.J: L. Erlbaum Associates.
A lot of great things happen in schools. Unfortunately, often these things happen in closed classrooms with few other people in the school aware of what is going on. A good leader will transform the entire school environment. In order to bring about authentic change, school leaders need to prepared by critical inquiry, they have to learn to be egalitarian, non-authoritarian activists in their schools (p. 235). The other idea that really stuck with me in this chapter was a notion taken from Banks concerning the creation of a national or shared culture. According to Banks (1988) each national or shared culture is a macroculture with shared values and symbols. Within this macroculture there are many microcultures who might interpret these values and symbols in very different ways (p. 238). School leaders have to first recognize and then subsequently manage these different cultures.
Kubal, T., Meyler, D., Stone, R. T., & Mauney, T. T. (2003). Teaching diversity and learning outcomes: Bringing lived experience into the classroom. Teaching Sociology, 441-455.
Riehl, C. (June 06, 2000). The Principal's Role in Creating Inclusive Schools for Diverse Students: A Review of Normative, Empirical, and Critical Literature on the Practice of Educational Administration. Review of Educational Research, 70, 1, 55-81.
This article provided an insight into the unique test that administrators have in creating inclusive schools. The challenge of the influx of newcomers in schools is not just difficult for teachers but for administrators as well. It is not always clear for administrators to know whether their role in creating an inclusive milieu should be direct or indirect (p. 57). Administrators are infrequently seen as agents of change as they are expected to maintain their institutions and this sometimes means encouraging compliant rather than critical thinking and preserving hierarchical and oppressive conditions (p. 59).
Those administrators who are aiming to transform their schools need to engage all stakeholders and inspire them to invest in the vision (p. 60). Riehl points to the principal’s power as meaning-maker in the school and his/her power to influence what things mean (p. 61). Authentic change requires coordination of services in the community (p. 67).
Teel, K. M., & Obidah, J. E. (2008). Building racial and cultural competence in the classroom: Strategies from urban educators. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
The book is a collection of articles about teachers working on the process of recognizing the experience, history and culture of their students of color (p. 1). The book provides various perspectives because it is written from the perspectives of practicing teachers and teacher educators from diverse backgrounds. The narratives highlight different issues and offers ideas to help teachers. I found Christine Sleeter’s “Learning to Become a Racially and Culturally Competent Ally” the most pertinent to my work.
A reoccurring theme in the chapter is the need for constant self-reflection and the need for authentic dialogue. Racism and cultural ethnocentricsm is so ingrained that it is necessary to peel away layers gradually (p. 83). Sleeter explains how rainbow groups were formed at her school. The groups were made up of diverse members of the school staff with a goal of identifying inequality in schools and developing curriculum to teach inclusiveness both explicitly and implicitly (p. 86). Sleeter shares a situation when her colleague asked her why she put up being attacked in the meetings. She did not feel attacked but had felt that there was heated but constructive debate. The colleague confessed extreme discomfort. Perspectives in this case were important. Sleeter emphasizes that racial and cultural competence is a relative state and not a final state (p. 93), but that achieving this competence requires moving into sometimes taboo subjects of conversation (p. 85).
Zembylas, M. (December 01, 2010). Teachers’ emotional experiences of growing diversity and multiculturalism in schools and the prospects of an ethic of discomfort.Teachers and Teaching, 16, 6, 703-716.
As a teacher I am often very disappointed with the marginalization of teachers’ voices in decisions made in schools. This article looks at the importance of the individual and collective processes of making sense of growing diversity (p. 706). Zembylas points to an absence in the literature about the economies of affect and an ethic of discomfort. The ethnocultural study involved a two-year study of Greek-Cypriot schools with growing Turkish immigrant students. Many of the comments made by the Greek-Cypriot teachers presented in the study are representative of many of the comments heard in Quebec schools as well. There is discomfort and fear of cultural erosion by the Turkish students’ presence in the schools (p. 710). There is anxiety at changing working conditions (p. 711).
Zembylas presents an example of a school community whose principal used this discomfort as a starting point to challenge his staff to deal with the problem in constructive ways (p. 712).
This book provides the account of the acculturation process of four children into elementary school as seen by those stakeholders involved. This book was especially appealing to me because it provided me with authentic views of children and parents involved in the acculturation process.
While in the past, acculturation was understood to mean assimilation; today there is a greater emphasis to integrate students of different backgrounds. Traditionally, teachers saw cultural differences as deficiencies whereas now they are seen as distinctions to be celebrated (p. 6). The teachers showed a willing positive attitude towards integrating the new students. This is important because as Clayton points out, immigration is very difficult on children who often don’t have any say in the move (p. 6). They are thrust into these very confusing situations where they are unsure what are the expectations and protocol and who may be familiar with a completely different educational framework (p. 70).
Clayton notices teachers interchanging two strategies in their interactions with the students. Sometime they used a more egalitarian approach believing the student wanted to figure things out themselves. In this situation teachers would wait until the teacher asked for an intervention. Other times, they would use a more integrative approach with much more guidance and attention (p. 170). Clayton also stresses the need for teachers to make students understand that equality doesn’t mean equity (p. 127). That is, some students require more help or attention because their needs are different.
Although the teachers were confident that they were taking all the steps necessary to ease the families’ transition into the new environment, the families and researcher provided examples of moments where they failed to consider the families’ needs (p.111). This often occurred due to overload of information (p. 59) or a failure to communicate expectations clearly (p. 98)
Cushner, K., McClelland, A., & Safford, P. L. (2012). Human diversity in education: An integrative approach. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
A very well-organized and well-thought-out book designed for teachers. It is meant to help teachers in their encounters with diversity in schools. The book is broken up into 13 chapters. Each chapter explores the various forms of diversity, such as gender, cultural, sexual orientation, exceptional students, etc. Each chapter provides a case study, theoretical discussions, additional reading suggestions, classroom anecdotes, reflection questions for teachers, lesson plan examples and more. It is a veritable wealth of information. I found chapters 4, 6 and 7 most applicable to my work.
Chapter 4 deals with cultural intersections in the classroom. Teachers must recognize the necessity of occasional discomfort within the context of a successful integrative classroom (p. 114). Teachers as cultural mediators (p. 114) guide members of the class community through the stages of intercultural encounters: emotional arousal, understanding the unfamiliar and finally personal growth adjustment (p. 121).
Chapter 6 deals with multicultural teaching in action. This chapter breaks down why prejudice and racism occur. There is also an interesting section on evaluation. I was most concerned with the section entitled, ‘Improving Social Contact and Intergroup Relations.’ Some ways to improve intergroup relations is to make sure that different groups feel that they have equal status in the community (p. 189). Moreover, superordinate goals often serve to make different groups collaborate (p. 190). Another important aspect is that educators have to promote intergroup interactions (p. 191). Finally, personal contact with diverse people reduces stereotype associations (p. 192).
Chapter 7 deals with the global classroom. Increased exposure to diversity has been shown to result in increased levels of intercultural sensitivity (p 216). Technology plays a prominent role today in bringing different communities together (p. 223). Teachers should encourage students to develop ‘perspective consciousness’ that is the understanding that your views are not necessarily shared by others (224).
11. Hall, T., Coffey, A., & Williamson, H. (December 01, 1999). Self, Space and Place: Youth Identities and Citizenship. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 20, 4, 501-13.
A number of factors have broken down established patterns of youth to adulthood. The transition has become more protracted and complex, which is reflective of the increased capacity of self-determination that is a reality of our society today. This requires people to “produce, stage and cobble together their biographies themselves” (p. 502). It is within this context that citizenship over adulthood has become a useful way of discussing young people’s transition into independent members of society (p. 503).
In the interviews conducted for the study, Hall, Coffey and Williamson uncover many students look for a place other than school and home to make meaning of their identity (p. 507). Youth clubs are a popular choice for some students while being seen as a source of social control by other students (p. 508). Because locality is seen as an important component of identity, knowing where a person is from, allows you to ‘place them’ (p. 508). While this article looks at upper level secondary students in particular I think the idea of shared spaces is something that is important to the elementary context as well, as any school yard supervisor would easily agree with.
Haynes, B. (2009), History Teaching for Patriotic Citizenship in Australia. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 41: 424–440. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-5812.2008.00430.x
I was interested in this article because the Australian quest for collective identity is similar to our Canadian one. It is helpful to see how other nations are grappling with
this issue. Canada and Australia are both commonwealth countries with a high rate of immigration and an unfortunate relationship with its aboriginal peoples. Within this context, the Australian government is looking at ways of promoting patriotism in schools. One of the most important criticisms of promoting patriotism in schools is that “patriotic loyalties have often served to disrupt [rather] than to propel the movements toward justice” (p. 56). Haynes lists four important reasons why many people want to see patriotism promoted more rigorously. First, patriotism promotes a shared nationality. Furthermore, it is important to understand the role of the institutions that advance and protect our rights. Moreover, it encourages people to work together for a common goal. Finally, it reinforces distributive justice through a sense of duty and association (p. 55).
14. Hernández, S. R., & Hollins, E. R. (1999). Racial and ethnic identity in school practices: Aspects of human development. Mahwah, N.J: L. Erlbaum Associates.
A lot of great things happen in schools. Unfortunately, often these things happen in closed classrooms with few other people in the school aware of what is going on. A good leader will transform the entire school environment. In order to bring about authentic change, school leaders need to prepared by critical inquiry, they have to learn to be egalitarian, non-authoritarian activists in their schools (p. 235). The other idea that really stuck with me in this chapter was a notion taken from Banks concerning the creation of a national or shared culture. According to Banks (1988) each national or shared culture is a macroculture with shared values and symbols. Within this macroculture there are many microcultures who might interpret these values and symbols in very different ways (p. 238). School leaders have to first recognize and then subsequently manage these different cultures.
Kubal, T., Meyler, D., Stone, R. T., & Mauney, T. T. (2003). Teaching diversity and learning outcomes: Bringing lived experience into the classroom. Teaching Sociology, 441-455.
Riehl, C. (June 06, 2000). The Principal's Role in Creating Inclusive Schools for Diverse Students: A Review of Normative, Empirical, and Critical Literature on the Practice of Educational Administration. Review of Educational Research, 70, 1, 55-81.
This article provided an insight into the unique test that administrators have in creating inclusive schools. The challenge of the influx of newcomers in schools is not just difficult for teachers but for administrators as well. It is not always clear for administrators to know whether their role in creating an inclusive milieu should be direct or indirect (p. 57). Administrators are infrequently seen as agents of change as they are expected to maintain their institutions and this sometimes means encouraging compliant rather than critical thinking and preserving hierarchical and oppressive conditions (p. 59).
Those administrators who are aiming to transform their schools need to engage all stakeholders and inspire them to invest in the vision (p. 60). Riehl points to the principal’s power as meaning-maker in the school and his/her power to influence what things mean (p. 61). Authentic change requires coordination of services in the community (p. 67).
Teel, K. M., & Obidah, J. E. (2008). Building racial and cultural competence in the classroom: Strategies from urban educators. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
The book is a collection of articles about teachers working on the process of recognizing the experience, history and culture of their students of color (p. 1). The book provides various perspectives because it is written from the perspectives of practicing teachers and teacher educators from diverse backgrounds. The narratives highlight different issues and offers ideas to help teachers. I found Christine Sleeter’s “Learning to Become a Racially and Culturally Competent Ally” the most pertinent to my work.
A reoccurring theme in the chapter is the need for constant self-reflection and the need for authentic dialogue. Racism and cultural ethnocentricsm is so ingrained that it is necessary to peel away layers gradually (p. 83). Sleeter explains how rainbow groups were formed at her school. The groups were made up of diverse members of the school staff with a goal of identifying inequality in schools and developing curriculum to teach inclusiveness both explicitly and implicitly (p. 86). Sleeter shares a situation when her colleague asked her why she put up being attacked in the meetings. She did not feel attacked but had felt that there was heated but constructive debate. The colleague confessed extreme discomfort. Perspectives in this case were important. Sleeter emphasizes that racial and cultural competence is a relative state and not a final state (p. 93), but that achieving this competence requires moving into sometimes taboo subjects of conversation (p. 85).
Zembylas, M. (December 01, 2010). Teachers’ emotional experiences of growing diversity and multiculturalism in schools and the prospects of an ethic of discomfort.Teachers and Teaching, 16, 6, 703-716.
As a teacher I am often very disappointed with the marginalization of teachers’ voices in decisions made in schools. This article looks at the importance of the individual and collective processes of making sense of growing diversity (p. 706). Zembylas points to an absence in the literature about the economies of affect and an ethic of discomfort. The ethnocultural study involved a two-year study of Greek-Cypriot schools with growing Turkish immigrant students. Many of the comments made by the Greek-Cypriot teachers presented in the study are representative of many of the comments heard in Quebec schools as well. There is discomfort and fear of cultural erosion by the Turkish students’ presence in the schools (p. 710). There is anxiety at changing working conditions (p. 711).
Zembylas presents an example of a school community whose principal used this discomfort as a starting point to challenge his staff to deal with the problem in constructive ways (p. 712).
Part: Films
Le, B. T. G., Symansky, A., & National Film Board of Canada. (2002). A license to remember: Je me souviens. Montreal, Quebec: National Film Board of Canada.
A thought-provoking documentary which explores the Quebec license plate motto. Je me souviens, but who is the ‘I’ and what am ‘I’ supposed to remember?
One eloquent young French woman points out that it’s a singular ‘I’ and not a plural ‘we’, because ‘we’ implies more complexity and multiple ways of remembering.
The first people interviewed are Native speakers who dismiss the motto as irrelevant to them. It is ‘vehicular propoganda’ by Quebec nationalists according to one Native. Next, a sizable portion of the film is about different perspectives of French speaking Quebecers. Many French speakers state that the motto means that ‘we recall where we started and where we’re headed.’ One man who associates strongly as a French-Canadian mentions it makes him recall his ancestors. He happens to have a Polish last name and was never allowed to forget it in school.
One French man recalls when he was told to speak white, which meant to speak English, the ‘civilized language’. I had to look this up after watching the video. I had no idea that this was something that was said to French Canadians. It also brought me to the famous poem, I had never heard of either. Another French woman explains her interpretation. The motto appeals to the personal ‘I’ to choose whether to partake in the collective memory or not. Quoting Renan she explains that forgetting is essential to nation building. So according to the license plate, ‘I remember but I also forget’.
There is a clear lack of participation of visible minorities other than the First Nations in the video but one Haitian-Canadian man does appear for a few moments at the end of the video. He interestingly stretches the quote to include black history, pointing out that there is proof that a small number of black slaves existed in Quebec. Overall, a very interesting video.
8. Belcourt, S. & Murray, D. & National Film Board of Canada. (2009). Vistas Boxed In. Montreal, Quebec: National Film Board of Canada.
A short film but one that gives cause for reflection. A young woman of multiple backgrounds has to apply for a job. She is going through the application form quickly when she comes to the section of race, where she can only tick 1 box. Four of her ancestors stand behind her. A fight breaks out between her black, English and French forebears who argue why she should tick off their box. The quiet Native woman only speaks when there is silence and can finally get her word in. This is when she tells the young woman, at first in a First Nations language and later in English, ‘you are not part anything’. Why does she have to leave something behind? This made me reflect, how do we force our students to pick and choose parts of their identity? Forcing her to tick only one box was very insensitive but probably not done with malicious intent. What practices in the classroom do teachers sometimes use without considering their implications on students?
9. Nakagawa, A. M., Thompson, B., & National Film Board of Canada. (2005). Between: Living in the hyphen. Montréal: National Film Board of Canada.
This National Film Board video is about living life in Canada as a biracial or multiracial person. This is what they mean by saying they are living as resident aliens or living in the hyphen.The question ‘What are you?’ comes up often. The meaning is perfectly clear to these individuals, nobody who looks like you belongs here in Canada. You are from elsewhere. For Karina Vernon the answer depends on whose asking and how she’s feeling. She mentions how her parents hadn’t discussed these issues with her when she was a child, so she didn’t have strategies to deal with the questions, being called to account for her difference.
Many of the individuals talk about tiptoeing through mainstream culture and negotiating a place for themselves. Many of the participants also expressed how they went in and out of different categories, so that they felt phony. There are frequent crises of authenticity as young people.
A thought-provoking documentary which explores the Quebec license plate motto. Je me souviens, but who is the ‘I’ and what am ‘I’ supposed to remember?
One eloquent young French woman points out that it’s a singular ‘I’ and not a plural ‘we’, because ‘we’ implies more complexity and multiple ways of remembering.
The first people interviewed are Native speakers who dismiss the motto as irrelevant to them. It is ‘vehicular propoganda’ by Quebec nationalists according to one Native. Next, a sizable portion of the film is about different perspectives of French speaking Quebecers. Many French speakers state that the motto means that ‘we recall where we started and where we’re headed.’ One man who associates strongly as a French-Canadian mentions it makes him recall his ancestors. He happens to have a Polish last name and was never allowed to forget it in school.
One French man recalls when he was told to speak white, which meant to speak English, the ‘civilized language’. I had to look this up after watching the video. I had no idea that this was something that was said to French Canadians. It also brought me to the famous poem, I had never heard of either. Another French woman explains her interpretation. The motto appeals to the personal ‘I’ to choose whether to partake in the collective memory or not. Quoting Renan she explains that forgetting is essential to nation building. So according to the license plate, ‘I remember but I also forget’.
There is a clear lack of participation of visible minorities other than the First Nations in the video but one Haitian-Canadian man does appear for a few moments at the end of the video. He interestingly stretches the quote to include black history, pointing out that there is proof that a small number of black slaves existed in Quebec. Overall, a very interesting video.
8. Belcourt, S. & Murray, D. & National Film Board of Canada. (2009). Vistas Boxed In. Montreal, Quebec: National Film Board of Canada.
A short film but one that gives cause for reflection. A young woman of multiple backgrounds has to apply for a job. She is going through the application form quickly when she comes to the section of race, where she can only tick 1 box. Four of her ancestors stand behind her. A fight breaks out between her black, English and French forebears who argue why she should tick off their box. The quiet Native woman only speaks when there is silence and can finally get her word in. This is when she tells the young woman, at first in a First Nations language and later in English, ‘you are not part anything’. Why does she have to leave something behind? This made me reflect, how do we force our students to pick and choose parts of their identity? Forcing her to tick only one box was very insensitive but probably not done with malicious intent. What practices in the classroom do teachers sometimes use without considering their implications on students?
9. Nakagawa, A. M., Thompson, B., & National Film Board of Canada. (2005). Between: Living in the hyphen. Montréal: National Film Board of Canada.
This National Film Board video is about living life in Canada as a biracial or multiracial person. This is what they mean by saying they are living as resident aliens or living in the hyphen.The question ‘What are you?’ comes up often. The meaning is perfectly clear to these individuals, nobody who looks like you belongs here in Canada. You are from elsewhere. For Karina Vernon the answer depends on whose asking and how she’s feeling. She mentions how her parents hadn’t discussed these issues with her when she was a child, so she didn’t have strategies to deal with the questions, being called to account for her difference.
Many of the individuals talk about tiptoeing through mainstream culture and negotiating a place for themselves. Many of the participants also expressed how they went in and out of different categories, so that they felt phony. There are frequent crises of authenticity as young people.