CULTURE

1. CULTURE “The water that bears the ship is the same that engulfs it.” (Chinese Proverb)

2. Intercultural Communication Skillsfor EducationCultivatingThe Space in Between Kathryn Brillinger Conestoga College CEDP Phase 2 May 2009

3. Areas of Diversity We can apply cultural competency to the categories of ethnicity, race, religion, and nationality, and • Gender • Age (Veteran, Baby Boomer, x, y and …) • Education (1st generation, generation 1.5) • Profession • Socio-economic status/employment status (Internationally Trained Immigrants, 2nd Career) • Sexual orientation • Wellness/illness and Mobility • Abilities/disabilities, etc.

4. Your Stories:Diversity in College Teaching • 2 minutes • Turn to a person in your vicinity (that you did not come in with) and enthusiastically and with as many gestures as possible, tell them about an experience you have had with diversity in teaching. • We will share 2 examples as a full group.

5. Dimensions of Diversity Primary Dimensions: Aspects that we cannot change. Things people know about us before we even open our mouths - they are physically visible (race, gender, age, mobility etc). Primary dimensions are well-protected in Canada under federal legislation. Secondary Dimensions: Aspects we have some power to change. We can sometimes (be forced to) conceal characteristics such as ethnicity, wellness, education level, language origins, religious beliefs etc. Secondary dimensions face many invisible barriers within our education system. Many secondary dimensions are also protected.

6. Workshop Objectives and Agenda Recognizing the opportunities that diversity can bring to education • Culture and its Impact • Cultural Competence • Principles of Intercultural Communication • ICC (Inter-Cultural Communication) Repair Strategies

7. Stop, Continue, Start

8. Striving for a Balance:Continuums NOT Stereotypes

9. A Few K-W Stats Compare the stats to the place where you teach. Does this data: * reflect/not reflect your experience? * suggest a need?

10. K-W Population (2006) The Waterloo Region had the 4th highest net in-migration in Ontario between 2001 and 2006. Ethnic Origin and Number • English 96,270 • German 92,485 • Canadian 87,950 • Scottish 68,785 • Irish 62,860 • French 34,215 • Polish 18.075 • Dutch 16,310 • Portuguese 15,055 • East Indian 10,440 • Italian 10,145 • Chinese 9, 200 • Latin America 6,910 • S-E Asian 6,210 • Arab 3,175 Source: Statistics Canada, 2006 Census of Population, Statistics Canada catalogue no. 97-562-XCB2006015. In 2006, visible minorities comprised 13% of the Waterloo Region Census Division population. Immigrants represent 23% of the Waterloo Region's population (28% - Ontario).

11. Health Informatics Diversity Data (Intake September 2008) • 19 females and 9 males • 40% speak English as a Second Language • 14 students have no post high school work/study experience • 14 have worked full-time for at least a year • 11 students are 19 or under, 10 are 20-29, 4 are 30-39, and 3 are 40 or older • 8 have completed a post-secondary qualification (2nd career, internationally-trained immigrants)

12. (Very Near) Future Trends • Ontario Community Colleges will see increasing numbers of culturally diverse students (immigrant students, ESL students, internationally trained individuals) and other non-traditional students (2nd career, 1st generation).

13. O’ Canada! Riddle: What stays in one corner yet can travel all over the world? O Canada, Drew Brook-Cormack, 1000-pc jigsaw puzzle

14. Internationalization in Canada has not kept pace with Globalization • Globalization is theeconomic, political, and societal forces pulling us towards international involvement. • Internationalization is theupgrading of international perspectives, skills and resources via inter-cultural training and enhanced language support.(Altbach & Knight, 2007)

15. Intercultural Communication Training Needs • personnel with intercultural skills • intercultural experts • research and knowledge in cultural practices • workplace and material internationalization (Huisman & van der Wende, 2005)

16. Prejudice and Discrimination Exists • Prejudice • Negative personal attitude towards a member or members of a racial or cultural group • Discrimination • Observable adverse behavior towards such group members • Prejudice + Discrimination + -Organizational/Dominant group power = - Deliberate denial of recognition, power, and privilege Who experiences this?

17. Nadia-Alysha-Zahra-Tameera

18. A Practical Model for Cultural Competency Development Yuri Kagolovsky, internationally-trained MD, MSc (Health informatics) and 2-time immigrant Kathryn Brillinger, MEd (TESL), 20 plus years experience in settlement language teaching and 10 plus years in teacher training

19. What is culture and how does it impact interactions?

20. Culture = Shared Meaning “Shared meaning” informs values, beliefs, standards, language, thinking patterns, behavioral norms, communications styles, etc. Culture guides the decisions and actions of individuals and groups. Cultures are always changing but the change is not always obvious except in hindsight.

21. “Shared” Meaning • Cognitive (concepts, ideas) “Group work is a crucial skill builder/a waste of time.” • Affective (emotions) “I think that’s perfectly ok/disgusting!” • Behavioral (procedures, rules, rituals) “Make yourself noticeable in class via contributions.”/ “The nail that sticks out gets pounded down.”

22. The Problematic “Saris and Samosas” Approach Prescription (versus description) can occur where power exists.

23. One culture’s competence is another’s incompetence!

24. Haptics (the study of touching behaviour) Seven types of touch: *positive affect (support, appreciation, inclusion)*playfulness*control (compliance, attention wanted, response needed)*ritual (greeting/leave-taking)*hybrid (mix some of above as in a hug good-bye)*task-related*accidentalJones and Yarbrough (1985)

25. Proxemics (the study of distance in interaction) • Public (teacher to class) • Social (classmates chatting) • Personal (student asking teacher after class) • Intimate (friends in class whispering) Traditional Forms of Greeting

26. Haptics and Proxemics • Share an example with a partner of being surprised or having someone else surprised by a haptic or proxemic difference • Think inter-culturally, inter-generationally, inter-professionally, inter-gender etc.

27. Oculesics (the study of eye contact) • attentive focus/challenging stare • shifty-eyed/respectful looking away • flirtatious up-look/“adultery of the eyes” • lustful glance/complimentary notice • attempt to access vocabulary/lack of attentiveness or ability

28. Gesture • The triangle • The wrist • The hand to heart • The 3 per utterance

29. What rules are involved? 1. 2. 3. What cultural values are displayed? 1. 2. 3. Story: The Iranian Student and the ‘Rude’ Canadians To what degree did both parties “share meaning”?

30. The Persian concept of “ta’arof” involves language, discourse, culture etc. • Central concept = warm welcoming, praising, politeness and good manners • Origins in the Arabic term for “mutual recognition” • Essential ability for negotiating relationships • Involves offers, compliments, exchange of pleasantries, food, gifts, and invitations • Expression of selflessness and humility - necessary for keeping face - “shaxsiiyaet” and showing sincerity and respect - “ehteram” • Can be interpreted as empty formality or ritual courtesy by NA but runs much deeper - has no equivalent in NA culture • Iranians can be dismayed by a lack of ‘ta’arof’ in our classroom cultures (Cultural info from Eslami, 2005)

31. Confucian Heritage Cultures: Face • Dominant concept in interpreting and regulating social behavior • Must be maintained and enhanced • Each person in a social group is responsible for saving his/her own face and the face of others • The teacher, having a higher social standing, is expected to adhere to a higher standard of ethics and to maintain self-control • The teacher should not “argue” with the students and vice versa • The teacher should protect the face of the students, the other teachers, and the institution “I lost a lot of face by being unable to answer the question. How could he do that to me? I really have no face now.” (Chan, 2005)

32. What Comes to Your Mind? • 2 minutes • Turn to another person and share a story or experience where you have not shared meaning with another culture. • What did it mean to you? • Let’s share 2 examples.

33. Cultivating the Space in Between: Sharing Meaning

34. Cultural Boundary Lines • Cultural boundaries are fluid and our cultures can grow and decrease • Anthropologists have even found societies where people MUST marry someone who comes from a different culture. These societies adapt to extreme living conditions well. (Wade, 2007)

35. Preserving Diversity Other cultures are mirrors in which we can better see ourselves – what the anthropologist Margaret Mead (1934) called “the looking-glass self” Check out Canadian Wade Davis’ 22 minute lecture about the decreasing “ethnosphere” on www.ted.com http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/wade_davis_on_endangered_cultures.html

36. Looking BackLooking InwardsLooking Forward

38. Continuum of Perspectives Global Personal

39. Approaches to Gaining Cultural Competence • The culture-specific approach gives information about individual cultures - usually a business/marketing model. • The culture-general approach starts with an understanding and awareness of cultural issues before specific information is given. - an educational approach which reduces the chance of stereotyping and encourages a principled approach. • This workshop is a blend of both approaches. Further study would involve looking deeply at various groups (e.g. Confucian Heritage Cultures, East Indian, Middle-Eastern, 1st generation students etc.) and applying the principles.

40. Culture clearly impacts our every thought and move. What is cultural competence?

41. Individual Cultural Competency • knowledge of one’s own cultural practices/ paradigms and those of other cultures • ability to explain your own culture’s practices • ability to interact effectively with individuals from differing cultures • ability to effectively participate in diverse communities • ability to help solve intercultural conflict

42. Organizational Cultural Competency • set of congruent behaviors, practices, attitudes and policies • enable effective work to be done in inter-cultural situations • based on principles of Universal Design (UD) - changes made for a particular case/group group benefit everyone • expertise and training available • internationalization of the curriculum underway

43. Stages of Cultural Competence Unconscious Competence Unconscious Incompetence Mindfulness Practice Feedback Conscious Incompetence Conscious Competence Education

44. Unconscious Incompetence Feedback helps. Foisting a handshake on a devout Muslim of the opposite sex Telling jokes with graphic sexual content or identity ridicule (harassment) Making negative comparative statements about another person’s culture or country and the way things are done “here”

45. Conscious Incompetence Education helps. Avoiding interaction with members of another culture for fear of doing something inappropriate Insisting that “they” should adopt “our” ways, because they have moved here.

46. Gaining Competence Ghada and the coffee. • What rules are involved? • What does following the rules mean to each culture? • What cultural values are displayed? • What would each party have needed to know to avoid the intercultural breakdown? • Was I as the teacher negligent? Was the planned curriculum inadequate? Did the host workplace bear responsibility?

47. Conscious Competence Practice helps. Educating yourself on appropriate cross-cultural etiquette and experimenting in applying it Self-conscious, unsure of own capabilities

48. Unconscious Competence Comfortable with cross-cultural interaction Seek out opportunities to learn about and interact with new cultures Mindful of how your actions are affecting others, able to ask questions and adjust quickly Institute mindful and reflective adaptations of situation to accommodate diversity

49. What are some principles that I can apply to intercultural communication?

50. Principle #1 We are cultural beings.