Integrating Multicultural Practices to Ensure Success for Diverse Learners

In recent years, our society has experienced a major renaissance regarding cultural and personal beliefs, which has affected the overall environment and traditions within our current school settings, thus the need for integrating multicultural theoretical practices to ensure success for diverse populations within Pre-K-12 and postsecondary education. According to Guo and Jamal, there is a need for learning environments to embrace diversity and engage in the personification of respect for the views, beliefs, and values of students. This body of work is focused on the identification of barriers surrounding academic achievement for diverse learners in the Pre-K-12 and postsecondary settings and provides useful tools and strategies that educators may use to further support diverse learners.

Teachers’ Implicit Attitudes Toward Ethnic Minority Students: A Systematic Review

Although instruments to assess implicit attitudes were introduced more than 20 years ago, still there are few studies in the field of education that use them, despite the evidence that teachers with negative implicit attitudes can negatively affect the academic performance of their students. This review aims to summarize the results of studies that investigated the relationship between implicit ethnic attitudes of teachers and achievement of students. The review was conducted according to PRISMA-statement through searches in the scientific database PsychINFO, PsycARTICLES, and ERIC. Nineteen studies were included. Results show that overall teachers (from different school levels and different countries) hold negative implicit attitudes toward ethnic minority students, which play an important role in affecting the academic path of these groups of students. This review highlights the need to continue to use implicit attitudes procedures in future researches, in order to identify those factors that may contribute to the formation and expression of implicit attitudes of teachers; and the need to increase awareness of the implicit attitudes and multicultural practices of teachers in teaching programs.

The Holistic Analysis of Multicultural Teaching Framework: Capturing Teachers’ Pauses and their Hybrid and Fluid Multicultural Practices

James Banks’s framework for determining the levels of integration of multicultural content in teachers’ pedagogy has long been a tool used by researchers worldwide. This article introduces the Holistic Analysis of Multicultural Teaching Framework that rethinks Banks’s framework to allow research analysis to capture the hybrid and fluid aspects of teachers’ multicultural practices as well as the pauses in their practices over time. Data from a study on U.S. dual language teachers’ classroom implementation of multicultural practices serves to illustrate the utility of the Holistic Analysis framework in analyzing teachers’ multicultural practices. Implications for teacher educators and researchers are discussed.

Pedagogical Conditions for Value Self-Determination of Students in the Multilingual Education

The article is dedicated to the problem of the value self-determination in the multilingual education. The article defines the relevance of the stated problem expressed in the fact that modern conditions both external (globalization, integration, informatization, mobility) and internal (life in a multinational, multicultural environment, maintenance of national identity) dictate the need to solve an important strategic task – the formation of a person capable of living and actively participating in all processes of a multicultural, multilingual world. The article emphasizes that science has accumulated sufficient experience in the development of multicultural, multilingual education, however, there are unresolved issues relating to the content, means of education, and the organization of the process of multilingual education. As a result of the theoretical analysis, the article defines that self-determination is a valuable part of the student’s development, reflecting ascension to the values of multilingual education and the result expressed in the ability of responsible choice of aims and values, multicultural cooperation. As a result of the theoretical analysis and the application of such methods as questionnaires, cultural value orientation test, the test of communicative skills by L. Michelson, the pedagogical conditions of student’s value self-determination in multilingual education have been revealed: axiologization of the educational content, enrichment of value attitude to the multicultural world, other nations and one’s own Self, value cooperation in multicultural practices. Keywords: multilingual education, value self-determination, pedagogical conditions

The Transcultural Projections of the Strategies of Global Integration of the Contemporary Multicultural Societies

The article deals with the innovative theoretical problems related to the research of the prospects for the further development of the integrative multicultural practices and the harmonization of intercultural communications in the multicultural societies of the modern world under economic, political, and cultural globalization. The author presents the characteristic of the conceptual evolution of the idea of ​​multicultural coexistence and analyses the cognitive potential of the concepts of acculturation and cultural diffusion in the cultural and sociological studies. The scientific significance of generalization of the specialized knowledge concerning the real practices of realization of the multicultural projects into the processes of organizing the social order of modern societies under the contexts of increasing the global social movements of the forced and voluntary character of various ethnocultural groups and communities is argued. The article substantiates the need for wider use in scientific studies the concept of transculturalism which has distinct perspectives to become an effective methodological tool to provide the non-violent coexistence of interacting ethnocultural communities presenting different national-states and regional unions. The author identifies specific problematic complexes of transcultural studies paying attention: 1) to the problem of basic determinants that restrict the global universalism of multicultural politics; 2) to the problem of identification of the most conflicting spheres of the contemporary multicultural world; 3) to the problems of the integrative potential of new socio-cultural phenomena. Further scientific researches will contribute to the creation of a new conceptual model of the transcultural integration of contemporary societies.

Multicultural Education Practices and Socio-Religious Values: The Study of Trans-Dalam Community in Central Kalimantan of Indonesia

This article describes the practice of multiculturalism education among local migrant communities with Trans-Dalam community in Pulang Pisau regency, Kalimantan Tengah province, Indonesia, as its focus of analysis. It asks the question about how Trans-Dalam community members with diverse social and religious backgrounds develop multicultural practices in their daily lives. The required data were collected through in-depth interviews and observation. This article argues that Trans-Dalam villagers preserve and conduct multicultural ideas and practices as seen in their day-to-day harmonious communal life due to their shared local values and wisdom. Inspired by their own expressions of shared social-religious values, each community of different ethnic background develops these multicultural practices, which are closely connected to their need for security as settlers with diverse social-cultural backgrounds that make them aware of the importance of living in harmony, mutual respect, and solidarity regardless of their differences in ethnicity, place of origin or religion.

Multicultural Awareness and Practices among Malaysian Primary School Teachers

This study was designed and aimed at identifying the awareness and practices of multicultural awareness among primary school teachers in Malaysia. It attempts to identify their awareness of multicultural concept when dealing with their students and staffs at their school. This awareness was measured by three variables: awareness, knowledge and skills. A number of 41 questions which inquired about the three variables were distributed randomly to 50 primary school teachers in Malaysia. These teachers were from three ethic types of primary schools: Tamil, Chinese and Malay primary schools. The reason for choosing the three different mainstream schools was because they represented the main different multicultural practices in the country. From these participants, five teachers were selected for further interviews to obtain richer data. The findings revealed that the awareness of multicultural education among primary school teachers was still at the medium level. Thus, this study suggests that there should be a multicultural awareness campaign at all schools in Malaysia in order to ensure that each student, no matter from what backgrounds they are from, feel they are part of the Malaysian society as a whole. The study also found that the awareness should start from the home, environment and peer and through parental guidance because school is a bridge between home and the society that will form one Malaysian society to achieve vision 2020.

International Student Teaching: A Transformational Experience

Today, being a teacher requires understanding and positively responding to the cultural and linguistic nuances present in the classroom. The increasingly diverse schools are placing higher expectations on teachers in regard to the use of multicultural practices. This is compelling teacher preparation programs to find new formulas to adequately train teacher candidates. International student teaching programs have been shown to yield important benefits for participants. This article describe an international student teacher exchange program between the University of North Texas and the University of Seville (Spain) and reflects on the effects of the experience on a Spanish preservice teacher and his mentor teacher in Texas. Implications and suggestions for teaching preparation programs are also provided.

National Self-consciousness in the Context of Multicultural Practices in Ukraine

In this article the main tendencies of change of national self-consciousness due to global multiculturalism are investigated. There are three possible variations of manifestations of national consciousness by the members of the Ukrainian society in the context of multicultural practices. Firstly, it is the return to the restriction of civil rights and freedoms of the person, the desire for state and socio-cultural self-sufficiency. Secondly, it is the tendency towards a growing nationalist orientation. Thirdly, it is the purposeful orientation towards democratic values, accompanied by not only declarative but also real steps towards the ever-increasing democratization of public life, legal, civil society, integration with other social systems, peoples and states. Finally, the author shows that the national self-consciousness can serve as a kind of “challenge” for the formation and development of multicultural practices of the members of contemporary Ukrainian society, as it can be manifested either by a committed attitude to a particular ethnic group; or because of the characteristics of ethnocentrism; or through the properties of ethno-radicalism; and finally, due to the properties and characteristics of tolerance. However, national self-consciousness is intended to develop national and above all the essential, rational in it and overcome the nature of purely ethno-national. It is these “levers” of the management of ethno-national relations in the country, which ensure the harmonious integration of the individual, the community, the country into the intercultural space.

MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION AS A MEANS OF SOLVING INTER-CULTURAL RISKS: PRO ET CONTRA

The article researches the essence and content of multicultural pedagogical paradigms common in the world practice. Thus, J. Benx's pedagogical model is understood as a continuous process that requires long-term investments of time and effort, as well as carefully planned actions and monitoring. L. Frazierer's pedagogical concept is aimed at the development of cultural diversity through the introduction of specially designed methodological materials into the educational practices and a special procedure of this material submission. U. Hunter offers multicultural education through the establishment of structural educational priorities, in which the emphasis is shifted towards cultural pluralism and the maintenance of the cultural heritage of disappearing ethnic groups. In the concept of B. Parekh, the content of pedagogical multicultural practices, first of all, is freedom in the study of other cultures, acquainting students with different models of historic knowledge through the use of the entire world cultural heritage. The content of multicultural education for K. Grant is the approval and popularization of an alternative lifestyle for all people on the basis of equality of education and ensuring the availability of knowledge of all cultural diversity. B. Sizemor under multicultural education understands the assimilation of knowledge about various groups and organizations that counteract the oppression and exploitation by studying the realities and ideas which result from their work. S. Nieto considers multicultural education as the pedagogical process aimed at counteracting all forms of discrimination, deepening of interpersonal contacts between pupils and students, spreading the principles of democracy and social justice in the pedagogical process.From the socio-philosophical standpoint, the analysis of the prospects of introducing elements of multicultural pedagogical models into the domestic educational space of the educational institutions as an instrument of tolerance of intercultural relations between Ukraine and Poland is conducted.The problem of the emergence of intercultural contradictions in the context of the existence of the historical memory of separate individuals and the nation as a source of conflict is considered. The priority directions of practical implementation of elements of multicultural pedagogy in the sphere of education, family, church, activity of cultural and educational centers, public associations, mass media with the aim of establishing intercultural dialogue and tolerance of relations between bearers of different cultural traditions are determined.