Is there a difference between an Educator and an Intercultural Educator? Is the difference in the cross-cultural communication competency of the individual?
I struggled with the wording of this question because I assumed that an intercultural educator was also an educator and that the difference for these educators was in the audience.
This reflection has me thinking more critically about what it means to be an Intercultural educator and has me re-examining Michael Tucker’s work on the Overseas Assignment Inventory (OAI). The OAI is a written inventory that measures fourteen attitudes and attributes found to be important for successful cross-cultural adaptation (Tucker 46-47). It is only my hypothesis but it may be possible that individuals who do well on the OAI demonstrate cross-cultural awareness that is transferrable to an educational context. Is there an inventory that assesses an educator’s competency as an Intercultural Educator? Have tools been created for this purpose?
Educators are expected to be effective communicators and the OAI seems to focus on the communication skills of the individuals as well. I have outlined areas where I feel that the OAI has connections to a teaching context.
The fourteen dimensions are summarized below:
1. Expectations: Anticipations, positive and negative, about living in a new country
If an educator is able to convey realistic expectations of living in another country then my assumption is that the educator will be able to have an understanding of students who have moved to Canada.
2. Open-mindedness: Receptivity to the ideas, values, and ways of other cultures.
Although, this is a dimension specific to perceiving cultures abroad it is also reflective of how educators can perceive of the diversity of cultures within the classroom context. An individual scoring high on this dimension would certainly be open-minded in the classroom which is an important attribute for an intercultural educator. This is a trait that would be inclusive for all educators but would be highly expected of an Intercultural educator.
3. Respect for Other Beliefs: Ability to be accepting and nonjudgmental of other religious and political beliefs.
Yes. An individual who has respect for Other Beliefs would certainly be an effective educator. It is interesting to note that Tucker’s notion of respect adheres to the principles of teaching and is not specifically connected to individuals teaching within an Intercultural Context.
4. Trust in People: Ability to have trust and faith in other people.
Again, trust is an important factor in relationship building in the classroom, and it seems one that supports the immersion of an individual in another country. Trust is also an important element of the educational environment because a student needs to trust a teacher in order to engage in the learning dynamic.
5. Tolerance: Willingness and ability to adapt to unfamiliar and sometimes uncomfortable surroundings and circumstances.
Tolerance is a factor in both trust, respect and open-mindedness and even others that appear on this list. Looking at it in isolation seems difficult if not impossible. However, this factor is one of those that leads to an environment of inclusivity and understanding for all. Accepting diversity seems less a problem for the students than sometimes the adults. For example, fewer students react to those who have a same-sex orientation that teachers do. It is the adults who seem to emphasis differences rather that similarities.
6. Personal Control (Locus of Control): Internal versus external locus of control over the direction and outcome of one’s life events.
I first believed that this dimension as being important to an educator, not only for an intercultural context, since educators need to feel that they have control over their lives since it affects the classroom dynamic. I do not want to generalize but an individual who has a sense of personal control will feel empowered and to a degree empowered teachers will be able to transfer this sense of power to their students creating a richer environment.
However, after speaking to a colleague abou this topic I realize that some students may come from backgrounds where they have no practice at lining up, sitting in desks, meeting deadlines, not do other things that we would expect of our students by a certain age. My first assumption that is that these students have no control and no understanding of responsible behaviour. Furthermore, viewing the role of the teacher with a high amount of power and in some other cultures as powerless.
7. Flexibility: Willingness to consider new ideas and approaches in dealing with problems and tasks.
This may be a harsh conclusion but educators who are not willing to adapt to new ideas and approaches will find themselves becoming obsolete or irrelevant since this flexibility is fundamental to education in the 21st Century. Perhaps, the term Intercultural Educator is truly the inclusive classification for 21st Century educator who accepts the changing nature of the classroom.
8. Patience: Ability to remain patient in dealing with frustrating situations and unanticipated delays.
I don’t see this dimension as being just important in an intercultural setting. It is a virtue in all personal and social situations so should be a necessary attribute for all educators and professionals.
9. Social Adaptability: Ability to adjust to new, unfamiliar social situations.
Regular classroom teachers are expected to adapt to unfamiliar situations since they are working with others and trying to foster social relationships. This is evident in the constantly evolving duties of the classroom teacher. Over the last decade even, we have faced the rise of the IPP, the reintroduction of special education into mainsteam, the Healthy Minds initiative for mental health -- todays classroom are varied in many ways.
10. Initiatives: Willingness to be the first to take charge of new or challenging situations.
In education there is a sense of shared leadership in certain situations. For example, I am taking the initative with the Intercultural initative at my school but the question is that do teachers see this as taking initaitve or as a function of the school environment.
I believe that teachers see taking initiative as part of their daily practice with some teachers being more open to it than others. We seem to have some teachers in the school who are always on the cutting edge and we have some individuals who seem to be more apathetic but who will be brought into the initiative when it becomes school and district wide.
11. Risk-Taking: Willingness to take risks, meet challenges, and cope with change.
I cannot think of a profession where these traits/attitudes would not be an asset. Going into a building with 1200 hormonal adolecents... how can it not be risk taking?
12. Sense of humour: Ability to use humor in difficult or confusing situations.
A sense of humour is important in any classroom environment. One of my retired colleagues reminded me that learning would be diminished in a classroom for a period if a student was confronted with anger in that course; however, humour enhanced learning because it makes it a positive experience and students are better able to connect to positive emotional experiences for learning. However, there is one caution: what one culture finds humourous may not be funny to another.
13. Interpersonal Interest: Interest and enjoyment in being with other people.
This is a dimension that is strongly aligned with effective educators since educators are placed in social situations on a regular basis. We teach students and not content. A part of the reason why we focus on healthy bodies, time management, and respectfulness, is to develop the whole individual and not just the mind. We teach students how to say "please," and "thank-you," because we are developing them into social beings and how can do this if we do not have the skills ourselves. We undermine our profession when we group in the staffroom ridiculing our students.
14. Spouse Communication: Level and quality of communication between spouses.
I am sure that this is not connected to the skills of an educator and I am still pondering on the significance of its inclusion on the OAI.
This may not be a direct factor but the home situation of a teacher may affect what the teacher brings to the classroom. As well, the home situation also affects student because the student will bring this to the classroom environment.
Resource: Tucker, M. (1999). Self-awareness and development using the overseas assignment inventory. In S. Fowler & M. Mumford’s (Eds.). Intercultural sourcebook: Cross-cultural training methods
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