Intercultural Education in the Post-Primary School - National Council ...

• support the student who was the target ofdiscriminatory behaviour, and with dueregard to the sensitivities of otherstudents, affirm them with specificreference to the focus of the othersstudent’s discrimination. For example, ifother students have made fun of theirname, identify that their name is beautifuland that millions of people world-widewould love to have that name;• enable students who engage indiscriminating behaviour to relate tohow they would feel if they werediscriminated against in a similar way;• help students identify why they wereuncomfortable with difference. Forexample, identify if there is amisconception or a prejudiced beliefwhich underlies their actions andaddress these causes immediately, and if,appropriate, in on-going work.(These suggestions draw on the work ofDerman-Sparks’ (1989) The Anti-BiasCurriculum.)Teachers can, through their interactionwith students, provide unintentionalinappropriate cues to students. They may,for example, find it difficult to pronounceunfamiliar names or identify appropriatelanguage for referring to ethnic groupssuch as not knowing whether to refer tosomeone as black, white or a Traveller.Teachers may also have unconsciously heldideas about the normality of culturalartefacts (‘normal’ homes, ‘normal’ food,‘normal’ hairstyles etc.). In order toprevent inappropriate messages beinginadvertently transmitted to students, it isvaluable for teachers to reflect on theirown language and interactions in theclassroom as part of the process ofreviewing the classroom environment.BUILDING A CO-OPERATIVE LEARNINGENVIRONMENTTraditional classroom organisationemphasises individualistic, competitivevalues. However, alternative approaches toclassroom organisation, based on acooperative model, can produce positiveacademic and social outcomes for nearlyall students.Co-operative learning opportunities givepupils an opportunity to work closely withpeople from different social, ethnic orability groups. Co-operative learningshould give rise to frequent, meaningfuland positive contact in which the diversityof skills and capacities of differentmembers of the group are brought to thefore and can be recognised. Suchinterpersonal contact provides a key site oflearning. Relationships between students ofdifferent groups have been demonstrated toimprove significantly if mixed-group cooperativelearning strategies are used,irrespective of the content that is covered.In addition, ethnic minority students haveshown greater academic gains incooperative settings than in traditionalclassrooms. Through the use of mixedgroupco-operative learning strategies,every subject can provide an opportunityfor children to develop interculturalcompetence, irrespective of its content.Placing people in a position where a skillcould be practised will not always besufficient to ensure it is learned. Forexample, making books available is noguarantee that someone will learn to read.This is also true of the social skills andattributes which give rise to intrapersonaland intercultural competence. Simplyorganising students in groups is noguarantee that they will learn how toengage in co-operative learning.42Intercultural Education in the Post-Primary School