Defining cultural awareness
Culture is a difficult concept to define and to explain to children. It can mean many different things depending on the context. In the context of teaching cultural awareness, culture can be defined as the process of living and being in the world, the part that is necessary for making meaning (Robinson-Stuart & Nocon, 1996). Intercultural competence can be defined as the ability to recognize oneself operating in cultural context, the identification and appreciation of cultural differences, and the development of general strategies for adapting to cultural difference (Bernett et al, 2003).
Cultural Awareness is not something that is learned over night. It takes a child many exposures to different cultures as well as his or her own culture in different contexts to be able to grasp the meaning of culture. Benette (2003) describes six stages people go though in becoming culturally aware and competent.
The six stages are:
1 - Denial: Lacks a perception of cultural difference.
2 - Defense: Attends to cultural difference, but often in negative way.
3 - Minimization: Assumes that everyone is equal, but still views others through his own cultural lens.
4 - Acceptance: Understands other’s native-cultural context/s; respects behaviors and values differences.
5 - Adaptation: Able to view the world through the lens of another culture.
6 - Integration: Shifts cultural frame of reference and cultural identity.
Why teach cultural awareness?
It is often difficult for a child to grasp culture and understand differences. It is important that educators and parents introduce the concept of culture in a positive light so that children can begin to understand and value other people and differences in the world. The six stages of cultural competence are difficult to move though alone. A children need to be coached in order to move past the first three stages into the more tolerant and positive stages of cultural awareness.
How to teach cultural awareness
How can we teach young children not only about Arizona, but Africa and Australia as well? How can we help them enjoy and appreciate cultural differences in a way that's meaningful to them? Make connections. The children you teach will learn about other cultures and global views through you, their parents, and other adults they are introduced to. Because cultural awareness is a process, teaching it through the presentation of isolated 'facts' or information cannot possibly begin to tap into the complexity of this concept (Galloway, 1998).
If you are a child's conduit to the world, it follows that the most effective way to teach children about cultures across the globe is to use what's available locally. Just showing children where another country is on the map and giving the dry facts will only introduce a vague idea that there is more out there. Instead, engage a child’s five sense and imagination to really make another culture come alive.
Bring in people from that country to talk about it, like a parent or relative of one of the children in your class. Have the person talk about what life is like in that country and show photos to capture a child’s imagination. Music, books, and food offer special opportunities to spark children's curiosity about other cultures and invite them to explore these cultures further.
It is easier to teach children about culture if it comes from a genuine place. As an educator, you must become culturally competent yourself in order to guide a child though his or her cultural journey. It is always easier to introduce the concept of culture to children though a culture the educator is familiar with and in which he or she feels comfortable.
Only though the genuine like and understanding of a culture, can a person really move though the six cultural competence steps. Once a child is introduced to a culture the educator is comfortable with, the educator and the child can move on to exploring different and less know cultures secure in the fact that they know how to explore cultures.
References
Bennett, J.M., Bennett, M.J. and Allen, W. (2003) Developing intercultural competence in the language classroom. In D.L. Lange and R.M. Paige (eds) Culture as the Core: Perspectives on Culture in Second Language Learning (pp. 237-270). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.
Bennett, M.J. (1993) Toward ethnorelativism: A developmental model of intercultural sensitivity. In R.M. Paige (ed.) Education for the Intercultural Experience (pp. 21-72). Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press.
Bloom, M (2008) . From the classroom to the community: building cultural awareness in first semester Spanish. Language, Culture and Curriculum 21 (2), 103-119.
Galloway, V. (1998) Constructing cultural realities: "Facts" and frameworks of association. In J, Harper, M, Lively and M. Williams (eds) The Coming of Age of the Profession: Issues and Emerging Ideas for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (pp. 129-140). Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle.
Derman-Sparks, L. & Moore, T. (2003). Giving children global views. Early Childhood Today 18 (3): 22-31.
