Fostering intercultural competence in teachers: A multi-modal training concept

Transcription

1 FH des Bundes University of Wuppertal Fostering intercultural competence in teachers: A multi-modal training concept Dr. Tobias Ringeisen Training Centre of the Federal Ministry of Finance Federal University of Applied Sciences

2 Table of contents 1. What was the starting point? 2. Project partners 3. Theoretical background 4. Development of the training concept 5. Methodological approach 6. Elements of the training 7. Evaluation 8. Conclusion

3 What was the starting point? Multinational learning environments at German schools Increasing rate of students with migration background Globalization in education: degrees (bachelor / master) and study subjects (e.g. intercultural communication, LMU, 1996)

4 What was the starting point? Multinational learning environments at German schools Increasing rate of students with migration background Globalization in education: degrees (bachelor / master) and study subjects (e.g. intercultural communication, LMU, 1996) Fostering intercultural learning in students Intercultural learning as a part of secondary education (European education ministers, 1996/2001; European council, 2003) LIFE concept (Bavarian Ministry of Education / BMW Group, 1997/2005) T-Kit Set Intercultural learning (European council, 2000)

5 What was the starting point? Multinational learning environments at German schools Increasing rate of students with migration background Globalization in education: degrees (bachelor / master) and study subjects (e.g. intercultural communication, LMU, 1996) Fostering intercultural learning in students Intercultural learning as a part of secondary education (European education ministers, 1996/2001; European council, 2003) LIFE concept (Bavarian Ministry of Education / BMW Group, 1997/2005) T-Kit Set Intercultural learning (European council, 2000) Need for intercultural competence in teachers Insufficient skills for integrating foreign students Lack of training concepts for practice and university education

6 Project partners Department for developmental and educational psychology Department for general didactics Department for educational counseling and adult education Nominated for the BMW Award on Intercultural Learning 2005

7 Table of contents 1. Starting point 2. Project partners 3. Theoretical background 4. Development of the training concept 5. Methodological approach 6. Elements of the training 7. Evaluation 8. Conclusion

8 Dimensions of culture (Hofstede, 1980; 2005) Uncertainty avoidance Power distance Masculinity / Femininity Individualism / Collectivism Does a society feel threatened by unclear and open situations? As a response, are there a number of precise rules / regulations or not? Acceptance of the fact that power is irregularly divided among individuals or hierarchies in an organisation (e.g., employers - employees) Competition and achievement (Rigid gender stereotypes) OR Cooperation and social responsibility (Flexible gender roles) Society: An open social frame with personal autonomy OR a narrowly defined social web with allocation of positions / roles for all Self-definition: interests, hobbies, etc. OR status / role within a group

9 Behaviour at school: cultural examples Uncertainty avoidance High: - Learning environments are structured, responsibility and duties are clear - Students expect clear task assignment, definition of precise goals, and non-ambiguous instructions on tasks and learning processes - Tendency to detailed planning / scheduling ahead of deadlines, weighing up pros and cons, detailed conclusions from little data Low: - Cooperative learning teams, flexible task assignment - Variable use of methods, open discussions about possible solutions - Process-oriented approach: Goals, roles and methods may be adapted

10 Behaviour at school: cultural examples Uncertainty avoidance Power distance High: - Teachers are authorities, students accept unilateral dependency - Open criticism is disregarded, especially to knowledge authorities - Students show a tendency to follow rules without much questioning, engage in avoidance / passive coping during confrontation Low: - Teachers and students interact in an equal manner - Teachers value self-responsible work approaches by students - Students are encouraged to support learning outcomes by taking over tasks, disclose own needs, and make contributions for improvement

11 Behaviour at school: cultural examples Uncertainty avoidance Power distance Masculinity / Femininity High (equals high masculinity): - Competition and achievement orientation are central to school environments; awards and marks are related solely to performance - Teachers = experts; pedagogical qualification is less important - Traditional roles: Men = professors, women = primary school teacher Low (equals high femininity) - Team-oriented organisation with self-assertive & cooperative stundets - Life-long learning / training to keep up high functional working level, individual stuff qualification programs to balance out weaknesses - Teacher qualities: social competence, empathy and integrative skills

12 Behaviour at school: cultural examples Uncertainty avoidance Power distance Masculinity / Femininity Individualism / Collectivism High (equals high individualism) - Promotion of self-directed learning, focus is on problem-solving competence to find the most fitting solution for a challenge - Students are encouraged to choose a job mainly for interests, pursue self-development and realization of individual goals Low (equals high collectivism) - Students are encouraged to follow traditional problem solutions - Education = tool for societal advancement which defines one s status and increases prestige and proud of family - Within schools: Blend-in is required of students, no standing out

14 Development of the training concept 2004 Modular course on intercultural competence to MOBIS foster successful integration of foreign students (University of Wuppertal, Germany) 2005 Adaptation to multinational learning setting Focus: intercultural interactions in education Perspective of the teacher is central Didactics: Learning, experiencing, trying out Conception and piloting Helpful for daily practice? Modification Targets: psychology / education students 2006 Roll-Out and Pilot with teachers (training-on-the-job) evaluation Application to teachers-in-training

15 Methodological approach (cf. Kinast, 2003) Intercultural competence 3 major goals and complementary didactical methods Cognition: How do cultural lenses impact on perception? Presentation Exchange Discussion Emotions: How to adopt perspectives of others? Exercises Self-analysis Reflection Behavior: Why do I act like this, but others differently? Role play Video example Feedback => culture-nonspecific experience-based training

16 Elements of the training (designed as a 2-day seminar ) Facilitation by 2 interculturally experienced trainers If necessary, assistants for individual / small group exercises Thematic block 1: Cultural influences in education settings Thematic block 2: My own cultural identity as a teacher & trainer Thematic block 3: Cultural differences in communication Thematic block 4: Intercultural conflict management Day 1 Day 2

17 Elements of the training (designed as a 2-day seminar ) Thematic block 1: Cultural influences in education settings Thematic block 2: My own cultural identity as a teacher & trainer Thematic block 3: Cultural differences in communication Thematic block 4: Intercultural conflict management Day 1 Day 2

18 Block 1: Culture in education settings Short presentation and discussion with participants What does intercultural competence mean (for you)? Why are these competencies important in education settings?

19 Block 1: Culture in education settings Short presentation and discussion with participants What does intercultural competence mean (for you)? Why are these competencies important in education settings? Exercise 1: Erasmus With guidance, participants reflect own intercultural experience in education (positive / neutral / negative) Self-exercise, selected outcomes presented to the group; trainer identifies underlying key topics and problems

20 Block 1: Culture in education settings Short presentation and discussion with participants What does intercultural competence mean (for you)? Why are these competencies important in education settings? Exercise 1: Erasmus With guidance, participants reflect own intercultural experience in education (positive / neutral / negative) Self-exercise, selected outcomes presented to the group; trainer identifies underlying key topics and problems Presentation and discussion: culture-dependent values Which cultural dimensions differentiate societies? In which ways do these values impact upon process of thinking, feeling and acting in multinational settings?

22 Block 2: Cultural identity as a teacher Exercise 2: The ideal teacher In multinational teams, participants create a teacher profile with ideal and unwanted characteristics (positive / negative) Presentation to the group; trainer reflects cultural content of profiles; aim: recognition of cultural dependency of profiles

23 Block 2: Cultural identity as a teacher

24 Block 2: Cultural identity as a teacher Exercise 2: The ideal teacher In multinational teams, participants create a teacher profile with ideal and unwanted characteristics (positive / negative) Presentation to the group; trainer reflects cultural content of profiles; aim: recognition of cultural dependency of profiles Presentation and discussion: Value-related teacher behavior My own intensity profile of the 4 core cultural values? In which ways do the influence my behavior at school?

26 Block 2: Cultural identity as a teacher Exercise 2: The ideal teacher In multinational teams, participants create a teacher profile with ideal and unwanted characteristics (positive / negative) Presentation to the group; trainer reflects cultural content of profiles; aim: recognition of cultural dependency of profiles Presentation and discussion: Value-related teacher behavior My own intensity profile of the 4 core cultural values? In which ways do the influence my behavior at school? Exercise 3: In class (together with cultural experts) Video examples with teacher-student-interaction are shown (Examples from different countries, e.g. Turkey / Finland) Aim: Identification of culture-specific patterns in cognition and behavior, in relation to the 4 culture dimensions

29 Block 3: Intercultural communication Presentation and discussion: cultural communication patterns Based on Schulz v. Thun: Is there culture-dependent use of the 4 levels? Collection of examples in learning settings

30 Block 3: Intercultural communication Presentation and discussion: cultural communication patterns Based on Schulz v. Thun: Is there culture-dependent use of the 4 levels? Collection of examples in learning settings Exercise 4: Do we understand each other? In pairs, participants collect possible reactions to 3 typical conflicts in learning settings; reflection with the group Aim: Is successful behavior transculturally valid?

31 Block 3: Interkulturelle Kommunikation

32 Block 3: Intercultural communication Presentation and discussion: cultural communication patterns Based on Schulz v. Thun: Is there culture-dependent use of the 4 levels? Collection of examples in learning settings Exercise 4: Do we understand each other? In pairs, participants collect possible reactions to 3 typical conflicts in learning settings; reflection with the group Aim: Is successful behavior transculturally valid? Exercise 5: Role play Group chose 3 of these 3 conflicts; selected participants engage in role play; rest serves as observers Analysis of (successful) behaviors by means of the observes, the players and the trainers (if desired taping)

33 Block 3: Interkulturelle Kommunikation

34 Elements of the training (designed as a 2-day seminar ) Thematic block 1: Cultural influences in education settings Thematic block 2: My own cultural identity as a teacher & trainer Thematic block 3: Cultural differences in communication Thematic block 4: Intercultural conflict management Day 1 Day 2 Aufbau des Trainings

35 Block 4: Intercultural conflict management Presentation and discussion: Managing intercultural conflicts Types of intercultural conflicts / Reasons for their upcoming; approaches how to solve them: What can I do personally?

36 Block 4: Interkulturelles Konfliktmanagement

37 Block 4: Intercultural conflict management Presentation and discussion: Managing intercultural conflicts Types of intercultural conflicts / Reasons for their upcoming; approaches how to solve them: What can I do personally? Exercise 6: role play Why don t you respond? Scene: 2 students with intercultural conflict; 2 teachers try to negotiate and identify the sources (4 actors in role play) Trick behind: students are instructed only to respond only to teacher of same sex and if eye contact is initiated Reflection of role play: How did the exchange develop? How did we act? Aim: recognize options and limitaitions of own behavioral solutions (if desired, video taping)

38 Block 4: Interkulturelles Konfliktmanagement

39 Block 4: Intercultural conflict management Presentation and discussion: Managing intercultural conflicts Types of intercultural conflicts / Reasons for their upcoming; approaches how to solve them: What can I do personally? Exercise 6: role play Why don t you respond? Scene: 2 students with intercultural conflict; 2 teachers try to negotiate and identify the sources (4 actors in role play) Trick behind: students are instructed only to respond only to teacher of same sex and if eye contact is initiated Reflection of role play: How did the exchange develop? How did we act? Aim: recognize options and limitaitions of own behavioral solutions (if desired, video taping) Closing-up round Thermostat ; Feedback by means of small group reflection

41 Evaluation design (Sample: teachers-in-training) T0 02 / 2006 Development of the Evaluation instrument (N=176) Each with N = 30 Control group CG 4-week school internship CG Training group Training (2,5 days) TG Diary TG T1 04 / 2006 T2 05 / 2006 T3 10 / 2006 Evaluation

42 Contents of the evaluation UV MD MF IK Knowledge Empathy Behavior Evaluation

43 Behavior change PD: sign. Interaction of group and time, p <.001 MF: sign. Interaction of group and time, p <.05 IC: sign. Interaction of group and time, p < UA MF PD IC CG TG CG TG T1 T2 Evaluation

45 Conclusion Pilot training on intercultural competence for teachers Contextspecific concept for professional education Target groups: teachers, trainers, counselors Possible adaptation to a country / context (e.g., job / school)

46 Conclusion Pilot training on intercultural competence for teachers Contextspecific concept for professional education Target groups: teachers, trainers, counselors Possible adaptation to a country / context (e.g., job / school) A multi-modal training approach for successful learning Fosters competence in knowledge, empathy and behavior Mixture of methods maximizes skill adoption (cf. Meyer, 2004)

47 Conclusion Pilot training on intercultural competence for teachers Contextspecific concept for professional education Target groups: teachers, trainers, counselors Possible adaptation to a country / context (e.g., job / school) A multi-modal training approach for successful learning Fosters competence in knowledge, empathy and behavior Mixture of methods maximizes skill adoption (cf. Meyer, 2004) Effectiveness and transfer into practice Evaluation: suggests change in behavior by means of the training, also implicit hints on increased knowledge Empathietraining noch ausbaufähig; long term effects?