Country Considerations
(Asynchronous Session)
Glocal Citizenship Education and English Language Teaching: A Framework of Glocal Competencies of Jamaican English Language Teaching Professionals In Japan View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Nadine Nicole Muschette, Margaret Lo
The extra-regional migration and movement of Jamaicans (Yaadis) to serve as English Language Teaching (ELT) professionals in Japan suggest that Yaadis have identities as both local and global, or glocal citizens. Yet, Yaadi voices are absent in the academic discourses of glocal citizenship, glocal citizenship education and ELT in respect of the competencies they possess and develop that facilitate their adaptation to life in Japan and that influence their work as ELT professionals. This paper thus proposes a framework of glocal competencies from the perspective of Jamaican ELT professionals in Japan. The rationale for the development of this framework was a deductive qualitative content analysis of relevant local, regional, and international competency frameworks. Through a Coloniality-Capital theoretical lens, which highlights how desires for the image and culture of former Western colonisers persist in forms of power, the framework is explicated with responses from 47 Yaadi ELT professionals to an online questionnaire, engaging Yaadis in critical reflections on the relationship between their lives in Japan, ELT roles and the concept of glocal citizenship. The findings illuminate the relevance of continued vigilance for the consideration of geo-racio-historic factors that cultivate the development of glocal competencies.
Latin American Refugees and Immigrants in New Zealand: The Impact of Migration Status on Quality of Life View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Alfredo Lopez
This thesis explores how Latin American immigrants and refugees define their quality of life concerning their migration status and how their immigration status impacts their wellbeing in New Zealand. Besides, this research also aims to investigate the perceptions of Latin American refugees and immigrants on their status within a wider New Zealand society. There is very little research on how migration status impacts the quality of life of Latin American immigrants and refugees in New Zealand. So, one benefit derived from this research has been to develop a better understanding of the quality of life of Latin American refugees, and the factors influencing it. This research used a mixed method approach with both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Although a quantitative strategy using an online survey was adopted, this is primarily a qualitative study which uses ethnography and autoethnography as research methodologies. In this research, I employed three data collection methods: semi-structured interviews, digital observation (including document analysis posted on Facebook by the participants in their own pages) through Facebook, and an anonymous online survey. This study included 20 Latin American participants (11 immigrants and nine refugees) in the interviews, and 100 New Zealanders participated in the survey. Thematic analysis and quantitative analysis were used as a data analysis method. The findings of this research indicated that the participants define the quality of life as living in happiness, peace, being surrounded by loved ones and having sufficient financial resources to have a dignified, comfortable and pleasant life.
Diversity and the De-politicization of Arab Others: The Case of Palestinian Career Women in Israel View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Amalia Sa'ar
Diversity as a code word carries different meanings in different political settings. In Europe, for example, it has been used to talk about the accommodation of religious minorities, primarily Muslim immigrants and refugees. Outside Europe, other bearers of diversity and identity markers are used to talk about the dangers and needs surrounding their presence in the polity. This paper looks at the evolving notion of "diversity" in the case of Palestinians in Israel, who are at once nominal citizens entitled to individual liberal rights, and an indigenous national minority subjected to collective exclusion and discrimination. Since the new millennium, this duality has become even more polarized, with the passing of numerous draconian laws intended to de-legitimize and weaken their civil status, alongside new affirmative action regulations, accompanied by unprecedented budgets, aimed to increase their economic integration. The latter component, moreover, has been accompanied by a rising popularity of the idea of diversity, locally framed through the tropes of individual success, consumer subjectivity, and "liberated Arab women." I use the case of professional Palestinian women to explore the Israeli cultural translation of "diversity." I argue that, despite its benevolent appearance, it's primary target is to depoliticize ethno-national tensions and channel the Palestinians' civil discontent towards "economic citizenship." The analysis explores the articulation of neoliberalism and ethno-national exclusion in the present moment of rampant consumer capitalism, growing fascism, and the quest for self-fulfillment.
Examining Pre-service Teachers’ Dispositions towards Social Justice in India: Findings from a Survey View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Isha Verma
Teacher dispositions play a critical role in enabling teachers to embrace social justice praxis and ensure equitable educational outcomes for marginalized students. Teacher education programs thus have a formidable challenge to develop the social justice dispositions in pre-service teachers. The present study is an exploratory mixed methods study examining the efforts made by a teacher education program in India towards preparing elementary school teachers to teach for social justice in diverse classrooms. The study explores the dispositions of the pre-service teachers who are enrolled in their first year, final year, and one year out of a teacher education program at a large university in Delhi. Five social justice dispositions were conceptualized and examined using the concepts from critical theory and social justice education: Awareness of diversity, Critical self-reflection, Sense of preparedness for diversity, Challenging status-quo, and Advocacy orientation for social justice. A sequential design was adopted with two phases: the pilot study (online survey), the main study: a) online survey b) in-depth interviews with 20 participants selected purposefully. One hundred fifty-three participants responded to the pilot survey, and 300 participants responded to the survey in the main study (including demographic details). This paper focuses on sharing the design and findings from the survey as part of the larger study. As the policy reforms in India increasingly focus on technical solutions to educational inequality, this study will help teacher educators and policymakers think critically about ways to prepare and support pre-service teachers to teach for social justice.
Gender Sensitive Open-Government in Ghana: Challenges and Opportunities View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Charles Gyan
There have been relentless efforts to empower women and ensure gender equality in both developed and developing countries. Open Government presents new possibilities to change the socio-political, cultural, and economic agenda that continue to militate against women’s participation in governance processes. It has the potential of fostering gender equality in the design of government policies, delivery of social services, access to information and participation in all spheres of development. However, as government become more open, women and girls in Africa are more likely due to their socio-political and cultural location to be excluded and/or alienated especially their limited access to opportunities as compared to their male counterparts. Paradoxically, Open Government initiatives may not automatically foster gender equality. This paper considers gaps that currently hinder open government efforts in Ghana. Using an intersectional and postcolonial lens, the study delves into how government of Ghana can enhance women's access to government services and programmes; promote political participation of women; and support women's access to opportunities for greater social inclusion in contemporary Ghana.
Intersections of Decolonial and Global Citizenship Principles in Academic Literacy Curricula View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Oscar Oliver Eybers
Persistent South African dialogue around curricula decoloniality and epistemic pluralism in the higher education system evolves. However, an unresolved question between decolonial and global citizenship education advocates remains: How may these paradigms methodically intersect in an academic literacy curriculum by enhancing development in associated conventions? This study and literature review conceptually address this question.The results of this literature review indicated that while decolonial and global citizenship education scholars advance valid claims for implementing curricula that draw on their philosophies, additional thought is required that addresses how these paradigms may jointly address students’ needs in relation to applying academic literacy practices. By drawing on key arguments and concerns in the analyzed literature, this study advanced the claim that academic literacy modules are suitable environments to observe the interplay of decolonial and global citizenship methodologies. This is because the discipline of academic literacy, due to its social and interdisciplinary nature, draws on the cultures, histories, and inter-relatedness of humans, including scholars, who employ its conventions.
