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UNIT
5 - MODULE ON INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE & (CULTURAL)
IDENTITY - PART I
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Activities:
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European
nations are confronted more and more with diverse populations,
especially due to increased migration. Perhaps for the first
time European nations, traditionally emigration nations,
have to adjust to a new identity as immigration nations.
Coming to terms with such a new identity has ramifications
for various institutions and their functioning in society.
We can easily see changes in governmental policies, the
legal domain, and also within education. Within the educational
realm multiculturalism is a reality throughout Europe. In
today's classrooms, we will now find a large variety of
cultures, languages, nationalities, religions, etc.
However,
we need to realize that Europe has always been multicultural
and
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migration is
not a new phenomenon. But educational systems have been slow to respond
to the growing diversity in society. In the past, and in many classrooms
of the present, the approach to education is still a monocultural one,
reflecting only the majority culture, with little openness for the diversity
that characterize the student body.
The following
module uses a very broad concept of culture. Children bring different
types of diversity with them: culture, language, gender, class, lifestyle,
etc. All of these can lead to an enrichment of experiences or to conflict,
depending on the climate that is created in and outside of the classroom.
In this unit
there is not a specific focus on a student's culture or nationality,
but instead on identity (we all share a complex of identities), as a
way of understanding identity. There is also a focus on communication
and conflict resolution.
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