VOC2 -Global and Multicultural Activities

Activity1:

- What is meant by the word "culture"? 

- What is meant by the concept "cultural differences"? 

I see culture in the context of the social phenomenon and I do not believe it is biologically determined. As explained in the cognitive approach it is a set of behaviors and forms that are expressed through symbols. Some of these forms of cultural expression are irrational but are accepted as cultural beliefs.

The cultural differences are very much expressed through the way people view time, space, patterns of communication and arguments.

For example after living in London for almost fifteen years with extremely crowded  underground and streets I was sometimes very much surprised by the way people in Finland stand so much apart from each other in ques and especially if the ques are in the busy store where people are passing by in the walkways. I have to say it was a bit unnerving at times.

Generally, I have observed that in Finland it is not polite to intrude on someone’s personal and mental space. This means that touching, hugging and kissing are reserved for close family members or intimate friends. In addition, it is not polite to stare at anyone in public. It is best to avoid eye contact with strangers.

This may be different in other cultures, especially Russian culture as it was pointed out in the video on intercultural communication.

For example, countries that value individualism such as Britain for example will also make efforts to save time as this contributes to individual achievement. That is why we can say that Britain is monochronic culture.

Polycronic cultures have more emphasis on human interactions and especially family relations and these cultures are therefore also influenced by collectivism, as mentioned in the Hofstede’s dimensions of cultural difference.

Patterns of communication are very interesting to point out especially between the different languages. This also implies verbal and nonverbal communication. In Latin cultures people tend to be much more expressive with the gestures and the way that they may switch between many different topics at the same time. This is not the case with some other languages that have a more silent approach, for example Finnish or Japanese language.

In addition, it is important to point out the difference between instrumental and affective style of communication. For example Russian style of communication can be described as more affective since a lot of meaning in the conversation is left as implied and it is not directly expressed. This is not the case with instrumental languages such as English where the meaning is expressed directly, this is the reason why English is preferred language in the business world.

The attitude in relation to arguments can be also described as lenient or holistic. Russian language has the more holistic approach to arguments were the rules of traditional logic may not apply and the arguments are drawn from many different areas and fields. This I believe is also the case with Serbian language as well. 

Activity 2: Teaching and Learning in Multicultural Environment

Interview an international student on cultural differences

I did an interview with Tina a translator from Germany, who has lived in Finland for some time now and has some experience of study in Finland as well, although it was some time ago.

Familiarize yourself with Hofstede's dimensions of cultural difference and read chapter "3.3 Koulutuksessa ilmeneviä kulttuurieroja". (Only in Finnish.) Compare Hofstede's dimension differences between your own culture and your interviewee's culture. 

1. Has your interviewee noticed these differences? Or any other intercultural differences? Have they impacted his or her experience about Finland?

Tina has lived in Finland over 10 years now and I thought she would be an interesting person to interview since she works as a translator and has a very good knowledge of Finnish language and culture. One of the things that I noticed about the style of Tina’s answers was that they were so direct and very much reflect the German style of communication: “to be “honest, even if it hurts.” 

Tina: “I found people in Germany much more ready to protest social inequality - here we're making life far too easy for the likes of Katainen, Wahlroos & Co”.

Although both countries score low just over 30 % in power distance which means that the control is disliked and leadership is challenged, there seam to be some differences since perhaps people in Finland are much more relaxed about their political situation. I guess the major changes in the coming years will be related to the balance between the need for outside business investments and the effects that this may bring in the labor market.

Both Finland and Germany are individualist societies and score above 60%.

Tina: “Neither Finland nor Germany are particularly "tribal" - it seems that people typically prefer to mind their own business rather than look out for each other”.

Masculinity level is much higher in Germany, over 60% and in Finland it is about 26%. So, the value system is driven by success and competitiveness. Although Tina feels that Finland’s low score in this area is not realistic:

Tina: “Finland on the one hand is often too consensus-oriented for its own good, but on the other hand caring for the weak seems to be very much in decline under the present government”.

Compared to some other European countries, Nordic countries are still very strong in their support of the welfare state that aims to promote social mobility and ensure human rights. Although many countries are under pressure to cut costs in their support of free education, healthcare and other services that ensure the well being  of the their population. These values should be preserved. Also the education system should support the equality as it has done since the reforms in the 70's. In addition  there are considerable differences in attitudes towards women as well. As Tina pointed  out her interest in metal music and the style of dress at the age of 40 would definitely  not be so acceptable in Germany as it is in Finland.

Uncertainty Avoidance score for Both Finland and Germany was high, slightly higher for Germany 65% and 59% for Finland.

Tina:“Never thought of uncertainty at a cultural level, only as a personal feeling. My vague gut feeling is that Germany has a stronger UAI than Finland, but with regional differences (Germany has never been a unified culture to begin with)”.

It is interesting for me also to see that this can be viewed on the cultural level since I have lived in Britain for a long time and can identify more with the British relatively low score 35% in uncertainty avoidance. I am definitely more of a risk taker and would not fit well with the German attitude to plan everything in great detail. I can appreciate some aspects of planning but overall my interests are more in the creative field which thrives on change and innovation.

It is interesting that Pragmatism score is much higher in Germany. I would have thought that both cultures are very pragmatic. Tina also thought so.

Tina: “I think both societies are quite pragmatic. “

 Have they impacted his or her experience about Finland?

Tina: “Can't say that it doesn't bother me - people should be in the streets protesting the secret "free trade" negotiations that aim to sell European citizens and governments into slavery to Monsanto & Co."

2.Did your interviewee receive any kind of tutoring for intercultural awareness issues when he or she moved to Finland.?

Tina: “I remember we got some sort of info brochure at the university, but I think it was more about practical matters”.

3.Has your interviewee's school taken multicultural issues into account in its teaching?

“I suppose they have at least by now, but I cannot say from own experience. In Germany I studied in an international programme whereas here I just tried to assimilate with the regular Finnish students and didn't take part in any intercultural activity."

Although Tina mostly studdied Finnish language and has only socialized predominantly with Finns I though it would be interesting to see what changes have taken place in Universities in order to accommodate higher level of international students in the last 10 years. I believe that Universities nowadays offer many courses in English and the information and a vast amount of literature which has made my move from UK almost seamless I have to say. Tina has been a great social springboard for me to meet a lot of new Finnish friends. We have a lot of affinity and similar interests so I also find her friends very interesting.

As I final analysis I did a comparison between Germany, Finland and Serbia where I originally come from.

It is immediately noticeable that the power distance relationship in Serbia is much greater then in Germany and Finland. It is quite high at 86%. 

This means that Serbians accept the hierarchical structures that exist in companies for example or on the level of leadership in the country. This is very disappointing, as I know that Serbians also value egalitarian society and that they can be very assertive when it comes to power relationships generally. Serbia has been recovering from the civil wars, sanctions, NATO bombings and loss of markets during Milosevic times. This has had a huge impact on economy and the emergence of ‘Wild Capitalism’. The post-Communist break down of trade unions and state run businesses has been challenged by non-ethical business practises of privatisation where the interests of workers are undermined by the need to make fast profit. I sincerely hope that this will change as Serbia comes closer to becoming the member of European Union.

Also there are significant differences with references to individualism and collectivism. Serbia scores only 25 % on the individualism scale and that means that it is a collectivist society with significant stress on family relationships, sense of belonging to groups that take care of its members in exchange for loyalty.

Actually a nice surprise for me was that Serbia is relatively feminine society, that values equality, solidarity and quality of life. Also it is a caring society. I guess this is why I feel more comfortable now with my life in Finland as opposed to my experience of British society that is quite masculine even more then Germany. Although my German friends perception was that Finland is becoming more of a masculine society in the recent years.

The other interesting comparison is in the area of indulgence. Serbia scores only 28% so the emphasis is on restraint and control of desires. I guess that also relates to the collectivism in society and the social norms that are imposed in societies where some behaviors are considered disrespectful to other members of the family or a group.


Comment someone else's blog post for previous question and discuss how you as a teacher could support students from diverse cultural and social background.

I very much liked  Ana Pesonen – Smith interview as student in India, comparing Indian and Finnish culture.

http://christophersmithple.blogspot.fi/2014/02/global-and-multicultural-activity.html

It gives some very interesting insights about a very different culture, that scores high in power distance, and low in Individualism. I think that incorporating Indian art and film would be a great way to show students a different view of the world, perhaps much more alive as Ana says in her interview. Also the inequality could be also discussed and power relations too. 

Reflections on how Global and Multicultural  themes are present in my own line of work.

3.2. Create a plan to enhance your own and/or your students’ internationalization  

1. What kind of skills you need for encountering diversity? Knowledge? Attitudes? 
2. How would you develop your intercultural competences 
3. What kind of international competences students will need for working in future’s society? 
4. How could you support your students’ globalization process?

I believe that all educator should look at the global educational needs and emphasize skills in educating about racial tolerance, empathy and human rights. The knowledge of these areas is important and it can be taught in the context of individual subjects. For example in photojournalism students look at photojournalists from different cultures and different time periods,  so that they get a good overview of the development of consciousness in the social sphere. For example we looked at Henri Cartier-Bresson, , Robert Capa, Jacob Riis, Gordon Parks, Max Dupain and a number of other artists who have been instrumental in the development of photojournalist's code of ethics.

I guess the subject of arts and photography is  perhaps more natural way to introduce the concept of intercultural competences as it has a long history of looking at cultural differences, telling the story of a certain culture and how it has evolved through history.

We have looked at Benet's developmental model of intercultural sensitivity that has six stages: denial, defense, minimization, acceptance, adaptation and integration. I think that I am in the acceptance stage and moving towards adaptation and integration.

I would actually like to show this video to my students as I think that they would benefit from seeing the importance of adaptation and integration of cultural differences. They are studying in an International IB school and must see the importance of these values and build on their personal experiences of different cultures. 

In the last couple of years I have worked on creating materials and projects that are linked to IB MYP assessment criteria; together with the main MYP themes (area of interaction) such as environment, human ingenuity, health and social education and community and service.

All of these themes offer opportunities for students to explore ideas around global education and intercultural sensitivity.

References:

http://ivetvoc2.blogspot.fi/p/activity-1.html

Elizarova, G., Speaking about basic approaches to the concept of culture, University of Jyväskylä. Retrieved from: http://moniviestin.jyu.fi/ohjelmat/hum/viesti/en/ics/41

Introduction to Intercultural Communication web course, University of Jyväskylä. 

http://moniviestin.jyu.fi/ohjelmat/hum/viesti/en/ics