1. Multicultural Education 1 English Seminar BK21 Vocational Education and Workforce Development Team 2007. 11. 23.

2. Importance of Possessing Multicultural Competence Today, we are in urgent need of national and global citizens who possess multicultural competence and are committed to the achievement of worldwide social justice and economic equity as a foundation for lasting peace on the planet. The Global Economy requires workforce that possesses multicultural competence.

3. What is Multicultural Education? What is multicultural education? What is culture?  Culture is a complex concept that anthropologists and sociologists have defined in a variety of ways.  Prior to the late 1950s, it was typically defined in terms of patterns of behavior and customs.  More recent definitions of culture focus on shared knowledge and belief systems, or symbols and meanings, rather than on habits

4. Comparison of Definitions of Culture E. B. Taylor  Culture is a complex whole that includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. LeVine  Culture is a shared organization of ideas that includes the intellectual, moral, and aesthetic standards prevalent in a community and the meanings of communicative actions.

5. Cultural Consciousness Where we happen to be born and when, may influence the culture we acquire. One way to develop cultural consciousness is to see how someone from another culture perceives or misperceives us.

6. What are the examples of Korean culture that may be strange to foreigners? A public bathhouse Bow Grownups living with their parents Body smell (due to the digestion of garlic, kimchi, etc.) Talking with a mouth full Sounds of yawning, burping, chewing, drinking, etc. Lack of eye contact during a conversation What else?

7. American Examples Dating and romantic love Body odor associated with eating beef Nursing home Avoiding personal questions What else?

8. High-and Low-Context Cultures People from different cultures may perceive the world differently, but often are often unaware that there are alternative ways of perceiving, believing, behaving, and judging. One promising way to conceptualize culture and avoid cross-cultural misunderstanding has been developed by Edward T. Hall. Interpersonal communication styles

9. High-and Low-Context Cultures Low-context Cultures: the United States, Germany, and Scandinavia  Meaning is gleaned from the verbal message itself and what is said is more important than who said it High-context Cultures: East Asian, Arab, southern European, Native American, Mexican, rural Americans  Meaning must be understood in terms of the situation or setting in which communication takes place

10. High-Context Low-Context (Time) Polychronic  Loose schedules  Multiple simultaneous activities  Last-minute changes of important plans  Time is less tangible Monochronic  Tight Schedules  One event at a time  Importance of being on time  Time is more tangible (e.g., is spent, wasted, is “money”).

11. High-Context Low-Context (Space and Tempo) High Sync  Synchrony, moving in harmony with others and with nature, is consciously valued  Social rhythm has meaning Low Sync  Synchrony is less noticeable  Social rhythm is underdeveloped

12. High-Context Low-Context (Reasoning) Comprehensive Logic  Knowledge is gained through intuition, spiral logic, and contemplation  Importance of feelings Linear Logic  Knowledge is gained through analytic reasoning  Importance or words

13. High-Context Low-Context (Verbal Messages) Restricted Codes  “Shorthand speech”  Reliance on non- verbal and contextual clues.  Stress on social integration and harmony; being polite Elaborate Codes  Verbal amplification through extended talk or writing  Stress on argument and persuasion; being direct

14. High-Context Low-Context (Social Roles) Tight Social Structure  Individual’s behavior is predictable  Conformity to role expectations Loose Social Structure  Behavior is unpredictable  Role behavior expectations are less clear

15. High-Context Low-Context (Interpersonal Relations) Group is paramount  Clear status distinctions (e.g., age, rank, position)  Strong distinctions between insiders and outsiders  Stronger personal bonds, bending of individual interests for sake of relationships Individual is paramount  Status is more subtle, Distinctions between insiders and outsiders less important  Fragmented, short-term human relationships

16. High-Context Low-Context (Social Organization) Personalized Law and Authority  Customary procedures and whom on knows are important  Oral agreements are binding  In face of unresponsive bureaucracies, must be a “friend” to make things happen Procedural Law and Authority  Procedures, laws, policies are more important than whom one knows  Written contracts are binding  Policy rules, unresponsive bureaucracy

17. High-Context Low-Context It may appear that high-context cultures are more humanistic and low-context cultures are more mechanistic. However, the greater personal freedom, openness, and individual choice found in low- context cultures might be seen as more humanistic. It is important to realize that both high- and low- context cultures possess positive ingredients that are necessary for human survival.

18. Cultural Assimilation vs Cultural Pluralism Cultural assimilation is a process in which people of diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds come to interact, free of constraints, in the life of the larger community. It is a one-way process through which members of an ethnic group give up their original culture and are absorbed into the core culture, which predominates in the host society.

19. Cultural Assimilation In an attempt to educate students in “the American (in our case, Korean) way,” many teachers view cultural differences as deficits and disadvantages.

20. Cultural Pluralism In recent years, the theory of cultural pluralism has emerged as an alternative to the melting pot (cultural assimilation). Cultural pluralism, in its ideal form, is a process of compromise characterized by mutual appreciation and respect between two or more cultural groups.

21. Cultural Pluralism In a culturally pluralistic society, members of different ethnic groups are permitted to retain many of their cultural traditions such as language, religion, and food preferences, so long as they conform to those practices deemed necessary for social harmony and the survival of society as a whole.

22. Review Importance of multicultural competence Concepts of “culture” Hall’s theory of “High- and Low-Context Culture” Cultural Assimilation vs Cultural Pluralism At the next seminar, more concepts and practices of multicultural education will be introduced. See you at the Next seminar!