Fostering Intercultural Understanding and Competencies in U.S. Classroom Teachers Through Critical Engagement With Somali Refugees

• In Event: 25.061 - Narratives of Challenges and Barriers of Intercultural Teaching

Abstract

Objectives:
In post-truth times policy discourse on refugee families entering the U.S. has becoming increasing polarized generating direct hostility toward immigrants across the country. These polarizing attitudes reflected in current educational debates on immigration, race, and social justice, compel teacher educators to call for research on how to develop intercultural understanding and competencies in pre and inservice teachers aimed at addressing the academic needs of all K-12 students. With this in mind we present the results of research exploring how US American classroom teachers and Somali refugee immigrant families connect with each other, identify, and overcome barriers to foster intercultural understanding through school-community partnerships.
Theoretical Framework:
We used Dimitrov and Haque’s (2016) framework for intercultural understanding based on teachers becoming critically aware of their own and others’ perspectives on worldviews, value systems, and social justice issues. This framework focuses on teachers’ intercultural understandings and competencies in three areas: a) shifting one’s attitudes, knowledge, and skills in response to students from specific cultures and nationalities; b) developing competencies for inclusive curricula design; and, c) facilitating intercultural teaching and learning as an ongoing classroom practice.
Modes of Inquiry:
This phenomenological study began with IRB approval in 2009 and analysis of the data was completed in 2017. According to van Manen (2007), phenomenology is the study of lived experience useful in exploring how a phenomenon is experienced, perceived, and interpreted by the actors in a given situation, event, or condition. In keeping with phenomenological research, this study explored:
1. What has been the experience of US American classroom teachers and Somali refugee parents when interacting with each other?
2. How does connecting with Somali refugee parents promote intercultural understanding and competencies in teachers that respond to the unique experiences of all students?
We conducted the study at an urban school district in the Midwest with twelve teachers and twelve Somali refugee immigrant parents as participants. Data consisted of response to questionnaires, focus groups, and follow-up individual face-to-face interviews and data were analyzed thematically.
Findings:
Findings from this study identify barriers to intercultural teaching such as differences in how teachers and parents conceptualize their respective roles in the educational process, differing parenting norms, and the inability of teachers and parents to communicate in a common language. The study also revealed school-community partnerships facilitated by research helped mediate the differences in perceptions between teachers and refugee immigrant parents.
Significance:
This study sheds light on how school-community partnerships assist Somali parents and other diverse parent groups to develop a deeper understanding of school culture, context and expectations for students, teachers, and parents. This study also provides evidence that classroom teachers need ongoing professional development aimed at intercultural understanding and competencies so that all students in their classrooms experience equal educational opportunity for academic success.

Authors

• Suniti Sharma, Saint Joseph's University

• Wangari Gichiru, Central Connecticut State University