The Narrative as Pedagological Tool
Let’s Talk! : How Do Caregivers in Collectivistic Cultures Support Young Children Narrative Skills?
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Raquel Plotka, Xiao-lei Wang
Early narrative skills are predictive of later academic success (e.g., Fivush, Haden, & Reese, 2006). In different cultures caregivers engage in different narrative styles when supporting children expressive language skills (e.g. Schieffelin & Eisenberg 1984). European-American parents rely on an elaborative style, which consists of adults asking numerous questions to structure the narrative. Yet, parents in collectivistic cultures are likely to rely on a participatory conversation style, which focuses on social bonding and consists of adults and children sharing the role of “story-teller” without the adult guiding the conversation through questions (Melzi, Schick, & Kennedy, 2011). The participatory style has received limited attention in the literature, and most studies have focused on Latino families (e.g. Melzi et al., Plotka & Wang, 2016, Plotka & Wang, 2018). Participatory interactions studies have not included other collectivistic groups residing in the U.S. This study attempted to narrow this gap by examining the effects of participatory style in the narrative skills of young children of twenty Hindi and Yiddish speaking families. The results show that participatory styles are effective at promoting narrative skills in young children of collectivist backgrounds. These results have implications for practice. Educators are trained to use elaborative narrative styles (e.g. Wilhelm, 2014). Given the increased diversity of home language and cultural background in the typical U.S. classroom and in the world, it is important for educators to familiarize themselves with diverse interaction styles. Adopting participatory strategies can be a culturally-sensitive effective way of fostering expressive language skills in young children.
Education beyond Borderlines: The Challenge of Teaching Contradictory Narratives in Times of Conflict
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Tamar Ketko
Multicultural education generally refers to a mixture of different social and historical values, which involve a complex of issues related to identity, national or political loyalty and pertinence. Stressing the importance of moral and professional borderlines about these aspects points out the necessity to re-observe them regarding the increasing of racism and intolerance attitudes in the 21st century. Despite the popularity of innovation, cross-border communication and multicultural dialogues, standing in front of heterogenic classes in states under threat of ongoing wars, forces teachers to cope with inevitable conflicts about existential rights and resistance. This case study will try to expose some pedagogical approaches at the Kibbutzim College of education in Israel, which implements experimental teachers' training methods of Jewish-Arabic students. It will emphasize the reciprocal relations between teacher's responsibility to fulfill academic and pedagogical obligations, and the awareness of political conflicts within the students' cultural communities and their leeway activities at schools. This educational policy and practical approach among future teachers and educators, may give an answer to the unsolved conflicts and gaps between students who belong to different nationalities and religions, and grew up on contradictory historical narratives, such as Jews and Arabs in the state of Israel.
Digital Storytelling as a Entry Point for Women’s Narratives of Hope
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Christina Romero Ivanova
This paper is part of the larger narrative inquiry on women’s digital storytelling. The research focuses on how women from different backgrounds use digital storytelling to reveal their diverse experiences. Through one-on-one interviews, reflective writing, and the digital stories themselves, categories of hope emerged. This paper will involve data from on 2-3 participants’ digital stories that were created during the time of a professor and her students second year teaching digital storytelling in a women’s domestic violence shelter.
