UC Santa Barbara UC Santa Barbara Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Italian Teachers' Intercultural Pedagogical Strategies in Multicultural Classroom Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3db1b7c2 Author Pierfederici-Leifer, Monica Publication Date 2014 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Santa Barbara Italian Teachers’ Intercultural Pedagogical Strategies in Multicultural Classroom A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Education by Monica Pierfederici-Leifer Committee in charge: Professor Jenny Cook-Gumperz, Chair Professor Carol N. Dixon Professor Judith L. Green December 2014 The dissertation of Monica Pierfederici-Leifer is approved. __________________________________________________ Professor Judith L. Green __________________________________________________ Professor Carol N. Dixon __________________________________________________ Professor Jenny Cook-Gumperz, Committee Chair September 2014 Italian Teachers’ Intercultural Pedagogical Strategies in Multicultural Classroom Copyright © 2014 By Monica Pierfederici-Leifer DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my family: My parents Adele Milozzi e Silvano Pierfederici, My brother Claudio In loving memory of my dearest grandparents And to my beloved Ira, for his unending love and support And especially to my beloved grandfather Gaetano (nonno Nino) for teaching me to seek social justice and that no one is ever too old to study and learn. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the members of my committee, Dr. Jenny Cook-Gumperz, Dr. Judith Green, and Dr. Carol Dixon for their knowledge, their encouragement, and their patience during this long journey of finishing my dissertation. I owe special thanks to Jenny Cook-Gumperz whose care, wise guidance, and support throughout my graduate career have been invaluable. Thank you for encouraging me to follow my interests, and believing in my ability to do so successfully. I am thankful to Judith Green for her care, her dedication and thoughtful mentorship throughout my graduate career. To Carol Dixon I am thankful for her wise advice and for offering care and support in critical moments during this process. I would like to thank my family who has always been my by my side and supported me in every possible way and my husband, Ira, for his love, constant support, and editorial talent. Thank you for believing in me, encouraging me, and accompanying me during this long journey in graduate school, and for sharing discussions on my research. Without you I would never be where I am today! I also would like to thank my parents- in-law Robert and Diane Leifer, for their love and support throughout these years. To my parents, Adele and Silvano I thank you for stirring, nurturing, and encouraging my love for knowledge, and my interest for seeing, and experiencing other countries and cultures. Thank you for your wisdom and open-mindedness. Thank you, Mamma for your care, empathy, and for coming to my rescue across the world when I most needed you most. Thank you, Babbo, for your ability to always look at the bright side of things, when it is most needed it. To my brother, Claudio I provide a special thanks for supporting me, v and coming to my aid when needed in the last year. To my recently departed nonna Graziaplena, I will always carry my memories of your optimism, patience, and love that inspired me all these years. And to my nonna Cecilia, I am thankful for your care and love. To my nonno Dante, your quiet strength and wisdom was an inspiration to me. Finally I would like to thank my friends, peers, and colleagues, for their constant encouragement and support. I owe special thanks to the teachers of this study, friends, and colleagues who let me into their worlds. Without them this dissertation would not have been possible. vi VITA OF MONICA PIERFEDERICI-LEIFER December 2014 EDUCATION 2014 Ph.D. Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, University of California Santa Barbara. Emphases: Cultural Perspectives and Comparative Education Qualitative and Interpretive Research Methodology Applied Linguistics Certificate of College and University Teaching 2005 M.A. Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, University of California Santa Barbara Cultural Perspectives and Comparative Education 2000 B.A. Università degli studi di Macerata, Macerata, Italy. Lingue e Letterature Straniere Moderne 1998-1999 National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland. English Language, Literature and, translation. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 2010- Bubbleology Research International (Human Resources) 2006- Santa Barbara City College (Italian as a Foreign Language) 2005 San Roque High School (Italian as a Foreign Language) PUBLICATIONS Pierfederici-Leifer, Monica (2014). Italian Teachers’ Intercultural Pedagogical Strategies in Multicultural Classroom, PhD Thesis, University of California, Santa Barbara, Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, pp. 215. CONFERENCES and WORKSHOP Pierfederici, Monica, (2009). Learning from the field: Teachers’ narratives on strategies, success, and constraints when teaching in multicultural classrooms in central Italy, American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, April 13 –17 2009, San Diego, CA. Pierfederici, Monica (2007). American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Chicago April 8-13, 2007. Form Participant to Researcher. Frame Clash as resource for video analysis. Pierfederici-Leifer, M., Green, J., Yeager, E., Becoming Ethnographers: Discursively shaping common language and practice in an intergenerational research community. AERA, Annual Meeting, Montréal, Québec, Canada, April 11-15, 2005. vii Pierfederici-Leifer, M., Green, J., Cook-Gumperz, J., An analysis of teachers’ talk in constructing students’ multiple identities. International Pragmatic Association (IPrA), Riva del Garda, Italy, July 11-15, 2005. Research Projects Participation “Researching the Ladin Language” with Prof. Carol Genetti, March-June 2006 “Thematic School”, with Professor Green (UCSB-LINC) and Michael Agar (professor emeritus in Anthropology and Linguistics at the University of Maryland) May 2005, October 2005, January 2006. “Students as Ethnographers, Documenting the Documenters”. Urban Site Conference, Santa Barbara, CA, April 26, 2003. Data collection, dissemination, and data analysis (April 2003-present). Goleta Community Center, Boys and Girls Club: “Club Proteo”, October –December 2001, April-June, 2003. Participant observation, data collection. Academic Honors National Primary School Teaching Certificate – Teaching French Spanish, and English, as Foreign Languages. National Kindergarten Teaching Certificate – Teaching French, Spanish, and English, as Foreign Languages. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Research Projects: 2006 Researching the Ladin Language, under Prof. Genetti, UCSB, 2005 Thematic School – special workshop under Prof. Green, UCSB. 2001, 2003 Club Proteo: Participant observation, data collection, Goleta Community Center, Boys and Girls Club: October –December 2001, April-June, 2003 Languages: English, Italian, French, Spanish (spoken and written), and Latin (written). Interests Applied Linguistics. Classrooms as Cultures, Classroom Language(s). Foreign Languages, Literatures and Poetry. Writing. History. Geography. Environment. Art History. Drawing. Travelling. Natural and Holistic Medicines. viii ABSTRACT Italian Teachers’ Intercultural Pedagogical Strategies in Multicultural Classroom by Monica Pierfederici-Leifer Italian socio-cultural landscape has changed dramatically in a relatively short time (since the early 1990s). Due to the influx of immigrants and the changing demographics of classrooms, teachers are faced with pressure to adapt to the classroom environment and the pressures from the Italian educational bureaucracy. The pressures generated by these environmental factors have been particularly acute due to the absence of adequate resources. This research study focuses on the classroom changes in the context of the regional and larger Italian societal changes, addressing the increasingly significant problem of teaching in a multicultural classroom environment. This study employed ethnographic methods of data collection and analysis employing qualitative, open-ended interviews to examine teachers’ perspectives on their everyday practices, actions, and reactions to multicultural changes in classroom environments in central Marche Region. Regional, national, and European policy documents were collected for the analysis. Analysis of policy documents revealed complexity and changeability in mandates under conditions of inadequate resources and additional demands on their time. ix Faced with the realities in their classrooms, teachers adapted to the rapid changes by drawing on their own creativity, developing various methodologies to approach the cultural other, such as songs and personal stories. These pedagogical tools were multi- dimensional in terms of their positive effects on the students, which included reducing stereotypes - beyond ethnocentricity – and strengthening student empathy, among others. Other important meta-themes were improved sense of self, students as researchers, and students as resources. These meta-themes support important over-arching themes related to intercultural pedagogy, the valorization of diversity and student engagement. A common unifying theme was identified that teachers who were involved in