Interculturality in a different light: Modesty towards democracy in education?

Abstract

This article problematizes interculturality in relation to how the notion of democracy is constructed, especially in education. Discourses of democracy have become more central in "interculturalspeak" (a somewhat uncritical approach to intercultural matters), especially after the mass arrival of asylum seekers and the spread of terrorism around the world. The authors challenge the often Western-centric considerations of the Other's democracy, through a close reading of a Chinese textbook. China seems to represent the Other par excellence when democracy is discussed. The article does not decide "subjectively" which country is better than others at "doing" democracy, especially in education. Neither do the authors wish to accuse anyone of "doing" it wrongly. What is demonstrated is that the topic of "democracy" is indeed found in China's secondary school textbooks. The following questions are asked: Which topics are covered? How is democracy problematized explicitly/implicitly? What potential similarities are to be found with the "Western" understanding of democracy? This rare insight into discourses of democracy (the changing self; relations between self-other; citizenship, rights, duties in the textbooks) from China proposes to rethink how we see self-other in intercultural terms, to develop more intercultural modesty and to learn with each other rather than against or merely from the other.

Vol. 4 (2023): International Journal of Literacy, Culture, and Language Education (IJLCLE)

“…It follows, then, that even the best efforts to instill democratic principles in people through imported education can achieve very little (Li & Dervin, 2018). To worsen the matter for Nigerians, the imported education system is haphazardly coordinated by halfhearted governments that pay lip service to the educational development of the citizenry, since the children of the people in government attend the best and most expensive of schools in foreign countries and private schools in the country (Aladejana, 2007;Adebayo, 2009;Maduewesi & Ihebereme, 2010;Nwokeoma, 2010).…”

Indigenous Language Endangerment as the Hearse of Democratic Culture among the Yoruba People of Nigeria

“…It follows, then, that even the best efforts to instill democratic principles in people through imported education can achieve very little (Li & Dervin, 2018). To worsen the matter for Nigerians, the imported education system is haphazardly coordinated by halfhearted governments that pay lip service to the educational development of the citizenry, since the children of the people in government attend the best and most expensive of schools in foreign countries and private schools in the country (Aladejana, 2007;Adebayo, 2009;Maduewesi & Ihebereme, 2010;Nwokeoma, 2010).…”

The influence of outside foreign language and culture exposure in EFL classroom collaborative writing tasks

“…Intercultural competence is defined as the cognitive and behavioural skills needed for individuals to engage with and interact with those from foreign cultural backgrounds in effective and appropriate manners (Sinicrope, Norris, & Watanabe, 2007). However, interculturality has often relied on subjective and biased comparisons between countries and cultures (Li & Dervin, 2018). If interculturality is integrated into a foreign language classroom, the students may not only learn what is culturally appropriate; they would also develop an understanding of how to use language to build relationships with others across cultures.…”