“the same but different…” understanding other cultures Julie Luxton: ESOL / Literacy Adviser Secondary Teacher Refresher Course September 2009

the same… The whole world is my village and all people are my relatives Tamil poem

…but different… I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any. Mahatma Ghandi

understanding difference? We make generalisations about other people, ideas, and events on the basis of our personal constructions of reality. Considerable research documents that teachers have difficulty incorporating new visions of reality that conflict with their own personal beliefs and experience. Ball 1989

overview what is culture? looking at different cultures culture in the NZ education context steps to understanding five goals

Where do I come from? Where am I coming from? What makes me ______________________? What are the distinctive features of my own culture? What makes me different from people who belong to other cultural groups?

Where do I come from? Where am I coming from? What makes me Kiwi? wearing jandals Split Enz stirred by the haka conservationist need for green nuclear free egalitarian ideal self-sufficient reservedmodest sense of fair playChristian values

culture: towards a definition… What constitutes culture? What makes up culture? What are the components of culture? How does cultural difference manifest itself? Brainstorm with a partner.

The cultural panorama observable, public and conscious geographical location the community landscape ______________________________ underpinning cultural influences and philosophies learned ways of clarifying the world from New to NZ p.28

culture: a definition “Culture is the integrated system of socially acquired values, beliefs and rules of conduct which delimit the range of accepted behaviours in any given society. Cultural differences distinguish societies from one another.”

What is an ethnic group? An ethnic group is “a social group whose members share a sense of common origins, claim a common and distinctive history and destiny, possess one or more dimensions of collective cultural identity, and feel a unique collective solidarity”. Statistics NZ

“As ethnicity is self-defined, one can belong to more than one ethnic group and a person’s ethnicity may change over time.” Statistics NZ

culture: key features learned internalised complex pervasive layered “norm-referenced” dynamic cultivated over time evolving linked to language

acculturation assimilation integration “I have in my arms both ways”

cultural diversity in NZ 2006 census data over 1 in 7 Māori almost 1 in 10 Asian in the Auckland region, 1 in 8 Asian, 1 in 8 Pacific and 1 in 10 Māori

more people born overseas almost 1 in 4 (22.9%) New Zealand residents born overseas in Auckland region, over 1 in 3 born overseas in Auckland city, almost 1 in 5 born in Asia in the Auckland region, almost 1 in 10 were born in the Pacific Islands 32,079 ESOL funded students in 1255 schools (1-300+) nationwide (2009)

ESOL funded students in our schools 2009 ESOL Funded Student Numbers % of Total Northern Region22, Central North2, Central South3, Southern Region2, ,079

diversity in our schools % NZ European MāoriAsianPacificother HGHS HBHS HFHS SHGC Fairfield St John’s Melville TBC TGC Te Puke

diversity in one Hamilton school

steps to understanding make contact acknowledge respect communicate learn value understand

looking at other cultures Resources: New to NZ Community Language Cards Learner English China India Korea Somalia Samoa

looking at other cultures a jigsaw task In expert groups read the resources for your chosen ethnic group and complete the Cultural Understandings grid together. Re-group into home groups (different ethnic groups / different colours ) and report back.

acknowledging cultural diversity in schools some resources welcoming new students school policies and practices for refugee students home-school partnership student learning and culture a lesson from Butterflies

dealing with cultural difference in the classroom: five goals acknowledge, value and celebrate cultural differences develop a culturally responsive classroom develop strategies for dealing with learning styles foster affirming communication strategies in the classroom promote socialisation beyond the classroom

understanding difference If you just learn a single trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it. To Kill a Mockingbird