Applying interculturality into pedagogy
Three of our academics have released a new publication outlining the importance of applying interculturality into teacher pedagogy and classroom activities through a case study of five Sydney schools.
The book provides a professional development template for schools wishing to develop their own intercultural capabilities.
Q&A with authors Dr Robyn Moloney, Dr Maria Lobytsyna and Associate Professor John De Nobile regarding their latest publication Interculturality in Schools: Practice and Research, available from Routledge and other booksellers. Find out more on Booktopia.
1. What is intercultural education?
The word ‘intercultural’ indicates the educational aim to stimulate critical reflective attitudes to knowledge and inclusion, the search to know both the other and the self, and in particular, in this work, abilities to critically appraise taken-for-granted practice in schools in regard to students’ languages and cultures. In this book we use the notion of intercultural education as a ‘teacher development’ concept: professional learning which is individual, personal, and challenging. It challenges teachers’ abilities to engage with the other, and the self, with empathy, respect, and curiosity and to apply this to their pedagogy.
2. What does your book, Interculturality in Schools: Practice and Research, entail?
In this ground-breaking book, we see how a professional learning course in intercultural practice impacts teachers to make changes to classrooms, whole-school culture, and children’s lives in five Australian schools.
Chapter 4 provides a detailed description of the face-to-face delivery of the professional learning workshop relevant for in-service, pre-service teachers and university students.
This important feature of the book is a valuable resource which enables schools to replicate the program, and conduct the staff development activity themselves. The book is a comprehensive and supportive resource for schools or educational institutions, in any global context, that are seeking a fresh approach to intercultural education and holistic change.
The book was highly commended by the New South Wales Minister for Multiculturalism, Mark Coure, stating “[the book is] a nuanced text that emphasises the fundamental importance of cross-cultural interaction. As part of its practical approach, the book successfully details the study of professional learning courses in intercultural settings and importantly, examines how the lives of those most directly involved – the teachers and children – are affected.”
3. What does effective intercultural education in a classroom look like?
From findings in five schools, significant growth in culturally responsive teachers can be seen when staff are guided in creating intercultural initiatives in the classroom and school spaces. Effective intercultural education is the daily active inclusion of students’ languages and cultures across all curriculum, creative inclusive practice in the broader life of school rituals and practices, and proactive anti-racism. Teachers and schools who produce interculturally skilled students have a strong culture of racial, religious and cultural equality in all areas of school operations.
4. Who is this book intended for?
The book is intended for school teachers and leaders, teacher education, and all teacher educators at all levels. The content is readily adaptable to all international contexts wishing to critically disrupt assumptions in educators and teachers and their educational institutions and schools.
The practical application of this book is highlighted by one of the participants:
“In a rapidly changing world there is an increasing necessity for everyone to develop skills to manage and thrive through change. The professional learning workshop (delivered by authors) focused on intercultural understanding was thought provoking and immensely practical and helps educators in developing the skills to manage change. The workshop raised awareness while also harnessing the collective wisdom of the group. Staff enjoyed the challenge of designing mini projects to further enhance the quality learning programs and environments which invite curiosity and are inclusive. This professional learning supports educators in their goal of developing well-rounded and responsible global citizens who share responsibility towards creating a better world for themselves and everyone.”
5. What research findings informed your book?
The book proposes a model of personal teacher interculturality which is constructed from the inside out but is applied in changed practice in a school community made critically aware of itself.
This book tells the story of a structured process of teacher development in critical intercultural skills in five Sydney schools. Authors delivered a 3-hour program to whole-staff groups. Staff were guided in intercultural learning, then created and implemented new units of classroom teaching. Staff completed pre and post-program surveys and undertook reflective interviews following implementation of their units. The book analyses both quantitative and qualitative data from teachers in the five schools.
Quantitative survey data identified significant positive change in teacher attitudes and identified a number of attributes that make a specific difference in teacher intercultural development. These include the encouragement of positive disposition, tolerance, feelings of efficacy or confidence in new practice, the integration of personal experiences, the encouragement of global perspective, and the value of strong school leadership.
The book underlines how an effective Professional Learning course can bring about change in classrooms, school cultures and children’s lives.
6. What is the need for intercultural education?
We know that schools continue to be a site in which students experience racism. There are urgent calls for new critical approaches to interculturality in teachers, as globalization and movements of people increase diversity in the classroom. However, this critical work with teachers is still only recently recognised (AITSL, 2022) and is still in emerging stages.
Many Australian school populations feature a high percentage of children from language backgrounds other than English, in both rural and urban centres (Chik, Moloney and Benson. 2018). There is increasing need for a school to be a community which supports shared languages and intercultural goals, in supporting mental health, emotional and social welfare. Technologies have enabled the shift, for some teachers, to innovative online participation, dialogue, teaching and learning activities, but may have left little time for critical reflection and enquiry. In all domains, we need leadership, teachers and social practice which encompass equity in the scope of cultural and linguistic backgrounds.