Eighteenth International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

While the challenges to be globally competent bombard the field of education, what meaningful conceptual frameworks exist for considering (and assessing) students as globally-minded citizens developing intercultural competence as educators? The conceptual framework for this presentation evolves from Roland G. Tharp’s (1994) levels of causation and Paulo Freire’s (1989) critical consciousness. Interpreted through funnels incorporating ethnogenetic levels of causation, border regions and the people who live there are interpreted through dramatically different lenses than less culturally aware and historically informed analyses have provided. Equally, consideration of educational policies and practices, historical and contemporary, related to diversity can be explored more completely and meaningfully through funnel analysis. Tharp’s levels of causation analysis is an indispensable concept in education because it teaches the culturally aware individual to analyze current events beyond the present timeline, to replace stereotyping and simplistic identifications with richer, more contextualized and often globally inclusive interpretations. Profiles of students, particularly student research fellows, engaged in critical reflection, initially on their experiences through the analytical process of “I Am From” (Pipher, 2006) and summatively through a critical analysis called clips and captions (Huber, 2002, 2011, 2017), provide curricular models and transformative strategies for creating a culture of critical consciousness in education.