Abstract
Intercultural capital is a dynamic concept which draws from Bourdieu’s theory on sociocultural capital and constitutes an important asset in our globalized world. Intercultural capital includes experiences relationships and rationalities between (different) cultures as well as skills and competencies towards a successful interaction with cultural others. It can function as a marker of differences, cultural particularities and sociocultural distinction, and it is (re)produced in a wide range of contexts where it is likely to retain, or indeed enhance, its exchange value (field-transcendence). The concept of intercultural capital can serve as an asset for teachers, especially those who deal with different cultural backgrounds, in order to develop a practical intercultural awareness for the global interconnected world we inhabit, and thus pave the way for significant (inter)personal and social benefits. The concept of intercultural capital can serve as a framework for analyzing the relationship between educational background, cultural patterns, attitudes and lifestyle. An enhanced intercultural capital may lead to choices with greater benefit for personal and professional development of the teacher, thus, leading to the prevention of social exclusion and ethnocentric thinking. Recent data suggests that Greek teachers are unprepared to manage the new multicultural classroom. The purpose of this paper is to examine the life experiences of selected Greek teachers compared with the development of intercultural capital that may lead to a change of attitudes and behaviors relating to the acceptance of diversity within the classroom and in society in general.
Presenters
Spyridoula GiakiResearcher, University of Patras, Greece Eugenia Arvanitis
Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Sciences and Early Childhood Education, University of Patras, Greece, Greece
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
Learner Diversity and Identities
KEYWORDS
Intercultural Capital, Life
