Cultural studies and multiculturalism: An experiment in classroom twinning
Titel:
Cultural studies and multiculturalism: An experiment in classroom twinning
Auteur:
Rose, Sheila D.
Verschenen in:
Language culture and curriculum
Paginering:
Jaargang 2 (1989) nr. 2 pagina's 117-133
Jaar:
1989
Inhoud:
Students aged 9-12 in three West Hartford, Connecticut classrooms were engaged in a four-month study about themselves, their community and the interdependence of cultures worldwide. Each classroom was twinned with a classroom in Canada (Inuit), England or Spain, and an ongoing exchange of letters, projects and reports took place. The study sought to determine (1) whether this type of contact results in a clearer and more sensitive understanding by American students of their own community, and its similarities and interdependence with another community in the world; (2) whether more sensitive or empathetic understanding, if it occurs, is transferred to other foreign people not involved in the study; and (3) whether the skills of mutual goal setting and cooperative learning were more fully developed as a result of participation in the twinning study. Students were given pre- and post-tests on a variety of instruments: open-end questions, picture-drawing, interview, and essay. The use of these projective measures in the assessment of social studies programmes is explained and illustrated. Results showed that cultural studies with broad objectives have to confront high levels of ethnocentrism. Yet there were clear indications that progress towards multiculturalism can be made using the school twinning technique.
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