Culture is one of those words in the English language that is used interchangeably and confusingly to mean very different things. Interminable opera cycles, atonal symphonies and aloof French cinema all denote culture of the exclusive, artistic kind. Yogurt contains live cultures, apparently. In schools, when we talk about cultural diversity we can find ourselves celebrating flags, foods and festivals on international days. As an Englishman, I refuse to believe my personal culture has much to do with Morris dancing and pork pies! In this educational quagmire nationality is used as shorthand to describe culture. The convention is inadequate as we move from theory to practice in our schools. Generalizing teaching strategies to address cultural differences based on points of origin leads to a bad play with two-dimensional stereotypes. Educators need to be clear what we mean when we talk about culture.
Culture is more helpfully defined as our core values, social norms and assumptions. It is formed by the interaction of beliefs and behaviors that exist in our family, community, schools and social environment. Our nationality may be important in this process, but equally it may not. For many of the global nomads in international schools, nationality is a confusing concept with little relevance to their fluid social environment. The originator of much of modern cultural theory, Geert Hofstede, described culture ‘as the software of the mind’. This is an appealing metaphor as it makes it clear that our minds can work in totally different ways based on its operating software. Like a computer, our cultural software can also be updated. One’s core values, social norms and assumptions can be modified and updated through life experience. Spend a little time waiting for a bus to depart in Sub-Saharan Africa and your basic assumptions about time and punctuality may be challenged.
We know that each new international student who enrolls in our school arrives with distinct values, assumptions and approaches to learning. A student coming from the South Korean educational system will be used to teachers controlling the learning and students sitting and absorbing. So, an IB Diploma History Teacher who asks that student to get stuck into a debate and express opinions will be administrating a profound culture shock. What we say as educators and what students hear are two different things. Age, gender, status, class, religion and the way we look can all be powerful mediators of meaning, just to list a few of the many communication filters between people. I would argue that culture is the most important filter for understanding between two people. The norms of communication – if we can even speak the same language – vary extraordinarily around the world. Teaching is a massive effort of communication. So we better pay attention to culture.
For many of the global nomads in international schools, nationality is a confusing concept.
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