Getting to Know Myself the Other Cultural Awareness

Getting to Know Myself & the ‘Other’: Cultural Awareness Training for Early Childhood Educators Anastasia Psalti Professor of Psychology Department of Early Childhood Education Alexander Technological Education Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece www. bc. teithe. gr May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 1

Aim of the workshop to explore participants’ personal beliefs and ideas regarding the contact with and the provision of services to diverse populations to study the background behind the formulation of these ideas, and to clarify the way these views affect practices used in the workplace May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 2

Structure of the workshop PART I: Introduction Introducing myself Who is the ‘Other’? Why do we need to be trained in cultural awareness? PART II: Activities & Brief lectures • 1 st Training Module: Who am I? – Cultural self-awareness • 2 nd Training Module: ‘How I View the ‘Others’? ’ – Stereotypes & Prejudice • 3 rd Training Module: ‘Who Are the ‘Others’? ’ – The Reality of the ‘Others’ – My role as an educator • PART III: Closure • Comments May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 3

PART I: INTRODUCTION May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 4

Two “cultures” May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent Read. Point Tumblr http: //2 dimlarisas. weebly. com/ My personal path-1 Pen pals 5

My personal path-2 Demita Frazier Diane Coulopoulos May 31, 2017 Patricia Arredondo Barbara Poggio Adriana Rodriguez 5 th International Week, Ghent Ena Vazquez-Nuttall 6

My personal path-3 Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Department of Psychology May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent «Students from the former Soviet Union and Albania in Greek Schools: Attitudes, Needs, Expectations» Doctoral dissertation 1995 -2000 7

My personal path-4 Istanbul Δημήτρης Ψάλτης Feryal Ozel Deniz Αλεξία Psaltis Selin Έλενα Psaltis May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 8

Basic personal assumptions • Diversity management is a political issue • The term ‘diversity’ does not apply only to ethnocultural minorities • We do not live in a ‘cultural gap’ – we are all defined, at some degree, by (at least) one culture • The western way is not the only way – no culture is inherently better or worse than another May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 9

gomishopperwordpresscom Basic personal assumptions May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 10

May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 11

Q: Why Promote Cultural Awareness In Education? A: Our futures are inextricably linked to those we serve and underserve. 12

Multiculturalism in Greek schools A total of 4. 7 million people immigrated to one of the EU-28 Member States during 2015 Dramatic changes in the composition of the student population in Greece (Damanakis, 1997; Drettakis, 2003; Nikolaou, 2000; Psalti, 2000) over the past 20 years More than 500. 000 legal immigrants in Greece (2016) Refugee population in Greece: 62, 000+ (over half of them women and children) – International Rescue Committee (2016) May 31, 2017 http: //www. themalaymailonline. com/features/articl e/on-greek-islands-children-of-war-hungry-for-school 5 th International Week, Ghent 13

How multicultural are Greek schools? School year 2008 -2009(IPODE, 2010): Foreigners: 119, 815 Repartiated greeks: 14, 474 Kindergarten students (4 & 5 years old): Foreigners: 15, 447 Repatriated greeks: 1, 122 May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 14

PART II: ACTIVITIES & BRIEF LECTURES May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 15

A pilot programme in teacher training Title: “Integrating Culturally Diverse Students into the Greek Educational System through Inservice Teachers' Empowerment & Systematic Training in Cultural Awareness” Funded by: European Social Fund & the Greek Ministry of Education Duration: 2002 -2004 May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 16

Cultural competence is… “A system of practice that acknowledges and incorporates, at all levels, • the importance of culture, • the assessment of cross-cultural relations, • vigilance towards the dynamics that result from cultural differences, • the expansion of cultural knowledge and the adaptation of services to meet culturally unique needs” (Cross, 1988, p. 725). May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 17

Training Model ASK (Wittmer, 1992) Awareness Skills & Sensitivity Knowledge May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent «I’m afraid of those who are different from me because I don’t know them and I don’t know them because I’m afraid of them» (“All Different – All Equal Education Pack, ” European Youth Centre, 1999, p. 30) 18

MODULE #1: 'Who Am I? ' Cultural Self-awareness The exploration of trainees' own cultural tradition and its role in the formation of their perceptions, assumptions and the discovery and acceptance of themselves as cultural beings. • The self as a cultural being • The development of our own social & cultural reality • Our own cultural identity May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 20

Activity #1 - What’s in a name? Where does your name come from? What does it mean for you? How do others react when hearing your last name? Is there an incident related to your last name that you would like to mention? May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 21

Activity #1 - What’s in a name? What did you learn about yourselves? Any surprises? What happens when we hear a name before seeing a face? What happens in our mind when we hear names that do not ‘sound’ Belgian or your nationality? May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 22

CULTURAL ICEBERG Race, Age, Physical Abilities, Gender, etc. Marital Status, Religion/Spirituality, etc. Military Experience, Ethnic Background, Nationality, Educational Status, Socioeconomic Status, Language, Sexual Orientation, Political Affiliation, Hobbies, Family Roles, Health Status, etc. May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 23

ABILITY DISABILITY (Hidden) RACE AGE GENDER FAMILY AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT OPPRESSION EXPERIENCE URBANICITY CULTURAL IDENTITIES SES IMMIGRATION STATUS ACCULTURATION RELIGION BELIEFS VALUES LANGUAGE SOCIAL IDENTITY EDUCATION May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 24

Self-awareness of our own cultural identities and stereotypes …will allow us to improve cross-cultural interactions. Think about your thoughts and actions… 1. Distinguish between the “intent” and the “impact” of your behavior 2. Notice how you assign status and importance to individuals 3. Review your negative reactions to others and ask yourself “What am I responding to and why? ” May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 25

Module #2 - 'How Do I View the “Others”? ' - Stereotypes & Prejudice The exploration of trainees' personal beliefs and ideas regarding contact with culturally different individuals as well as the history of the development of their views of 'difference', and the clarification of the way in which those views affected their teaching practices • Prejudice and stereotypes in our society regarding other societies & cultures • Perceptions & beliefs toward 'difference' May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 26

Activity #2 – International Teacher Conference • Choose: • People with whom you would like to: (A) cooperate, (B) have fun, (C) share a room? Why? • Whom of these people I would like to avoid? Why? • Who of these people might wish to approach me? Why? • Who of these people might wish to avoid me? Why? May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 27

Activity #2 – International Teacher Conference • Discuss in groups: • Who of those people did you choose in the various conditions? • Compare and contrast similarities and differences in your choices • Create a common list of preferences (3+ and 3 -) May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 28

Stereotypes & Prejudice - Definitions Stereotypes - beliefs about attributes that are thought to be characteristic of members of particular groups Prejudice - a negative attitude or affective response toward a certain group and its individual members Discrimination - unfair treatment of members of a particular group based on their membership in that group From: Gilovich, T. , Keltner, D. , Chen, S. , & Nisbett, R. E. (2016). Social psychology (4 th ed. ). New York: W. W. Norton & Co. May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 29

Creating Prejudice: How we learn to discriminate The Cycle of Conditioning: We are all influenced by our environment. Prepare Separate groups Differences pointed out Justify marginalized group’s behavior Continue cycle-reinforced stereotypes May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 30

Reducing the impact of stereotyping • These efforts may, over time, reduce the strength of stereotyping: Commit to change. Monitor and attempt to make better hidden attitudes before they are expressed through behavior. Make a conscious decision to be egalitarian, which may lead one to widen one's circle of friends and knowledge of other groups. May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 31

Module #3 - 'Who are the “Others”? ' The Reality of the Others • Knowledge & understanding of: (1) factors that affect the adjustment of immigrant students in greek schools & their academic success (2) experience of immigration and stages of uprooting and adjustment (3) concepts of acculturation and assimilation and influence on individual development (4) role that teachers play taking the reality of 'others' into consideration May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 32

Elements of Cultural Competence 1. 2. 3. 4. Awareness of one’s own culture Understanding the dynamics of difference Awareness and acceptance of difference Development and application of cultural knowledge 5. Celebration of diversity May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 33

Cultural Competence “To be culturally competent doesn’t mean you are an authority in the values and beliefs of every culture. What it means is that you hold a deep respect for cultural differences and are eager to learn, and willing to accept that there are many ways of viewing the world. ” Dr. Okokon O. Udo May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 34

PART III: CLOSURE May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 35

Something to take home… Becoming aware of our own personal cultural filters is essential to this work. “How to” and cookbook approaches to cultural competency work to promote stereotyping. Stereotyping is a natural part of what we (people) do. May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 36

To conclude. . . Teachers: Need to form their own views and opinions Need to combine teaching with research Need to combine theory with practice May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 37

http: //www. motionelements. com/stock-video-1744839 -thank-you-in-different-languages May 31, 2017 5 th International Week, Ghent 38