Connecting religion and teacher identity: The unexplored relationship between teachers and religion in public schools

It is increasingly acknowledged that for individuals to participate in a pluralistic and democratic society, they must understand religious conviction and difference. In educational literature, the discussion surrounding education and religion focuses on the implications for students. It is important to consider what this may mean to the teachers, as teachers directly influence student learning. This article uses literature on religion, multiculturalism, teacher identity, and popular culture to connect teachers' private religious identifications to their professional identities in public school classrooms. It supports future research in this area and provides a theoretical framework for subsequent studies.     

New peace,new teachers: Student teachers' perspectives of diversity and community relations in Northern Ireland

This paper reflects upon student teachers' conceptions of inter-community relations and the preparation they receive to address issues of diversity and mutual understanding. The study in Northern Ireland is set against a backdrop of political, social and educational change, where a shared, peaceful future appears possible. Student teachers at a Catholic institution and a predominantly Protestant institution indicated a willingness to engage with issues concerning diversity and inter-community relations, despite having a limited knowledge of the concepts. However they also demonstrated clear views about the relevance and value of the preparation they received. The findings are evaluated using multicultural theory.     

多元文化主义与科学教育改革

多元化主义理论经过同化论→整合论→化多元论的三次演变后，成为西方国家民族（种族）教育政策的重要理论基础。多元化科学教育就是在这一理论基础上形成的一种新的科学教育理论，并体现在西方许多国家的科学教育政策中。它要求科学教育应当在多元化的背景下进行，使不同的化的学生、尤其是少数民族（或群体）的学生认识到，科学不仅仅是西方的科学。多元化科学教育为科学的普及和科学教育质量的提供了重要的理论支持。     

Inside and outside the integrated bilingual Palestinian-Jewish schools in Israel: Teachers’ perceptions of personal, professional and political positioning

The purpose of this study was to investigate how teachers of the integrated bilingual Palestinian-Jewish schools in Israel construct their school culture in relation to various outside pressures in their attempt to achieve educational change. Field notes from an in-service training workshop were analyzed according to three levels of the teaching context: the personal, professional and political. It was found that the teachers perceive themselves as primarily pedagogical experts with a shared vision based on multiculturalism and coexistence. According to the findings, recommendations are made for improving the positioning of the teachers in relation to pupils, parents and policy-makers.     

Multicultural education, pragmatism, and the goals of science teaching

In this paper, we offer an intermediate position in the multiculturalism/universalism debate, drawing upon Cobern and Loving’s epistemological pluralism, pragmatist philosophies, Southerland’s defense of instructional multicultural science education, and the conceptual profile model. An important element in this position is the proposal that understanding is the proper goal of science education. Our commitment to this proposal is explained in terms of a defense of an ethics of coexistence for dealing with cultural differences, according to which social argumentative processes—including those in science education—should be marked by dialogue and confrontation of arguments in the search of possible solutions, and an effort to (co-)live with differences if a negotiated solution is not reached. To understand the discourses at stake is, in our view, a key requirement for the coexistence of arguments and discourses, and the science classroom is the privileged space for promoting an understanding of the scientific discourse in particular. We argue for “inclusion” of students’ culturally grounded ideas in science education, but in a sense that avoids curricular multicultural science education, and, thus, any attempt to broaden the definition of “science” so that ideas from other ways of knowing might be simply treated as science contents. Science teachers should always take in due account the diversity of students’ worldviews, giving them room in argumentative processes in science classrooms, but should never lose from sight the necessity of stimulating students to understand scientific ideas. This view is grounded on a distinction between the goals of science education and the nature of science instruction, and demands a discussion about how learning is to take place in culturally sensitive science education, and about communicative approaches that might be more productive in science classrooms organized as we propose here. We employ the conceptual profile model to address both issues. We expect this paper can contribute to the elaboration of an instructional multicultural science education approach that eliminates the forced choice between the goals of promoting students’ understanding of scientific ideas and of empowering students through education.

少数民族地区图书馆多元文化服务探析

开展多元文化服务是图书馆未来的发展趋势。在我国现代化建设进程中,少数民族地区多元文化发展趋势日益明显,少数民族文化传承面临危机。少数民族地区图书馆担负着保存少数民族文化遗产、弘扬民族文化、促进少数民族地区教育事业发展的责任和义务。因此,少数民族地区图书馆要加快开展多元文化服务的步伐,积极开展自我多元化组织建设、构建多元文化馆藏、开展多语言信息资源服务及面向偏远乡村的服务活动,以促进我国图书馆事业的健康发展。     

Cultural Diversity and Australian Commercial Television Drama: Policy,Industry and Recent Research Contexts

Media studies research in the 1990s illustrated an incongruity between cultural diversity in the Australian community and the representation of that diversity on commercial television screens. Australian drama in particular received much criticism for its seemingly 'Anglo' portrayal of Australian society. Most of this former research was based on program content analysis and critical approaches to studying the media. From the mid-1990s, anecdotal evidence suggested an improvement in the casting of actors from culturally diverse backgrounds. This paper contextualises policy and industry developments in the 1990s related to cultural diversity and presents new research undertaken within the commercial television drama industry. In order to determine the status of cultural diversity and commercial television drama at the end of the 1990s, a casting survey of all Australian commercial drama programs broadcast in 1999 was carried out. This was complemented by interviews with industry personnel and a two-week content analysis of programming. The research establishes the degree of casting for actors from culturally diverse backgrounds and offers explanations for both improvements made over the previous years and the continuing obstacles faced by some groups in gaining a place in our popular drama programs.     

Generalizing from negative contact: The causal sequence problem and proposed mechanisms of (negative) secondary transfer effects

The secondary transfer effect (STE) describes how contact with one outgroup (the so-called ‘primary outgroup’) can affect evaluations of another outgroup (the so-called ‘secondary outgroup’), that was uninvolved in the contact scenario. This research is about the transfer of negative contact. There are only few studies on the STE from negative contact available and even less longitudinal ones. We conducted such a longitudinal study, utilizing data from the GESIS-Panel, (N = 390; 3 survey waves). We investigated negative STE in an understudied intergroup context: forced migration. The primary outgroup was comprised of ‘foreigners’, living in Germany, the secondary outgroup were ‘refugees.’ We investigated three mechanisms by which negative STE might occur: firstly, contact might affect the primary outgroup attitude, which then affects the secondary outgroup attitude – a mechanism termed ‘attitude generalization.’ Secondly contact might be mediated by the general acceptance of diversity and thereby evaluations of outgroups associated with cultural diversity – a mechanism termed ‘multiculturalism.’ Lastly, contact might affect the perceived threat posed by the primary outgroup, and consequentially evaluations of secondary outgroups – a mechanism that we term ‘primary outgroup threat.’ Applying a cross-lagged panel mediation model, we investigated these theorized mechanisms. Negative STE emerged directly and also indirectly via ‘attitude generalization’ and ‘multiculturalism’ – findings congruent with previous cross-sectional research. Contrary to previous research no indirect effect via ‘primary outgroup threat’ emerged. Our results provide additional empirical evidence for negative STE. They further indicate that negative- and positive STE might operate via similar mechanisms.     

Canadian identity attenuates the negative impact of familial rejection on psychological distress

Bicultural individuals generally maintain their heritage cultures and live in accordance with mainstream culture with relative ease. However, when the two cultures hold incompatible values, beliefs, and social norms over what is considered appropriate, bicultural individuals may face unique challenges. One such challenge is potentially experiencing rejection from their families for transgressing their heritage cultural norms, which can cause psychological distress. The present study explored the association of familial rejection for transgressing heritage cultural norms and psychological distress in situations where those norms are incompatible with mainstream Canadian norms, and the role that Canadian group identification plays. Results revealed that familial rejection for transgressing heritage cultural norms may be associated with psychological distress; however, that association can be attenuated for those who strongly identify as Canadian. Results of the present study provide empirical support for the widely held but untested assumption that bicultural individuals’ experiences of familial rejection for transgressing heritage cultural norms is associated with psychological distress. Additionally, results of the present study suggest that Canadian group identification can assist bicultural Canadians to better cope when their familial relationships are threatened as a result of their heritage cultural norm transgressions.     

Does normative multiculturalism foster or threaten social cohesion?

The study advances a tri-dimensional model of multiculturalism that highlights the importance of perceived societal norms, i.e., the extent to which one’s society is perceived as characterized by culturally diverse groups in contact with one another (Multicultural Contact, MC), a widespread appreciation of cultural diversity (Multicultural Ideology, MI), and multicultural policies and practices (MPP) to support and accommodate that diversity. A community sample of 143 Hispanics and 141 non-Hispanic Whites in the United States completed an online survey that examined perceptions of normative MC, MI and MPP as predictors of trust and national attachment, key indicators of social cohesion. The results indicated that MI, MC and MPP predict greater national attachment and that MI predicts greater trust; however, the positive effects of MI are limited to Hispanics and not found for Whites. The findings point to the conclusion that normative multiculturalism is more likely to foster than to threaten social cohesion.