Intercultural Literacy and the International School
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Tasmania Open Access Repository Intercultural Literacy and the International School by Mark Heyward, B.A., Dip. Ed., M. Ed. Stud. Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Tasmania December 2004 Intercultural Literacy and the International School 2 This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for a degree or diploma by the University or any other institution, except by way of background information and duly acknowledged in the thesis, and to the best of my knowledge and belief no material previously published or written by another person except where due acknowledgement is made in the text of the thesis. Signed: Date: Intercultural Literacy and the International School 3 This thesis may be made available for loan and limited copying in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. Signed: Date: Intercultural Literacy and the International School 4 Acknowledgements This thesis is dedicated to my father, who taught me the base values and competencies of intercultural literacy. I would like to acknowledge and thank those who provided support and assistance in the development of this thesis: • Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) for providing access to the site, personnel and documents, welcoming me into the community, providing accommodation and local transportation, and providing assistance with translation • Dr David Klinger and Conzinc Riotinto of Australia (CRA) for assistance with travel costs • Language Australia, for assistance with travel costs • The Department of Education, Culture and Community Development (DECCD), Tasmania, for providing access to the school • Somchai Sakulthap for friendship, advice and assistance with accommodation in Thailand • Ibu Ruly for assistance with transcriptions and translation in Jakarta • Sue Clayton for photographs • MAJ. Juri Karlis Linins, Dr Hamad Hasan (IKIP Bandung) and others who read and commented on drafts of the thesis I would also especially like to acknowledge and thank those who collaborated in the research: • Drs Sopantini and Drs Enny Asmororini for voluntary assistance with data collection and translation, and for lengthy discussions on the interpretation of cultural meanings • Supervisors, past and present, especially Dr John Braithwaite, Dr Joan Abbott-Chapman and Dr Carmel Desmarchelier from the University of Tasmania • Members of the Tanjung Bara Reference Group including principals, staff and parents of the Tanjung Bara International School • Elizabeth Traumans and Louise Cunningham for assistance conducting interviews • Richard Pearce, Anne McKillop-Ostrom and others researching culture learning in international schools, who engaged in dialogue, provided feedback and shared ideas And, finally, to all those who participated in the study in Tanjung Bara and other schools visited in South East Asia: Thank you for welcoming me into your schools, your communities, your homes and your lives. Thank you for so generously sharing your time and your experiences. Intercultural Literacy and the International School 5 Abstract In this study a new developmental model describing the nature of intercultural literacy and how it is learnt is proposed and trialled. Intercultural literacy is defined as the understandings, attitudes, competencies and identities which enable effective participation in a cross-cultural setting. As such it is presented as a crucial literacy for the globalised world of the twenty-first century. The Multidimensional Model for the Development of Intercultural Literacy is developed on the basis of theory from social psychology and international education, is checked for validity against reference groups in the field – practitioners in international schools in Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand - and is modified in the light of inputs received. The model is then trialled in the context of a case study of the Tanjung Bara International School and its community in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. The case study seeks to map the school and community in terms of intercultural literacy, evaluate the school’s intercultural literacy curriculum and explore the relationship between the community and school in relation to intercultural literacy learning. The broad aim is to determine the extent to which the proposed model is useful in helping to describe the case and to answer the questions posed by the case study. The case study concludes that the school and its community is predominately at a monocultural or ‘distancing’ level with a smaller group moving into the more positive learning stage characteristic of the cross-cultural level in the model. The community is found to have been deeply divided on cultural lines between the Indonesian and the largely Australian expatriate communities. The international school contributed to this divide through reinforcing the status of expatriates as privileged and separate. The objectives of the curriculum and non-core school programs to facilitate intercultural literacy were found to have been seriously hampered by this cultural divide, among other factors. The school was not found to have played a significant role in facilitating intercultural literacy learning in the broader community. The thesis concludes that the proposed Multidimensional Model for the Development of Intercultural Literacy is useful in this case study and is potentially useful in a wide range of contexts, particularly in international schools and their communities. It provides a tool which may assist educators in understanding intercultural literacy and facilitate the development of policy and practice including curriculum, extra-curricular programs and assessment. Intercultural Literacy and the International School 6 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................................4 Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................5 Table of Contents.........................................................................................................................................6 Figures ..........................................................................................................................................................9 Tables..........................................................................................................................................................10 Photographs ...............................................................................................................................................11 Glossary of Terms......................................................................................................................................12 Chapter 1....................................................................................................................................................15 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................16 The Context of Globalisation...................................................................................................................20 Defining the International School............................................................................................................29 A Changing Context for International Schools........................................................................................33 Research Approach and Outline of the Thesis.........................................................................................39 Chapter 2....................................................................................................................................................43 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................44 Defining Key Terms ................................................................................................................................45 Defining Intercultural Literacy ................................................................................................................50 The Theoretical Context ..........................................................................................................................52 Research into the Cross-Cultural Experience: A Brief Historical Overview...........................................55 Modelling the Cross-Cultural Experience: A Survey of Theoretical Models ..........................................59 Children and Intercultural Literacy..........................................................................................................86 A Multidimensional Model for the Development of Intercultural Literacy.............................................94 Intercultural understandings ....................................................................................................................98 Intercultural competencies.................................................................................................................104 Intercultural attitudes.........................................................................................................................108 Intercultural participation ..................................................................................................................113