The Effects of Globalisation on Personal Identity

The OECD has identified globalisation as one of the major trends affecting the future of education. Upward economic mobility, according to Pearson, means that the world’s middle class numbers are set to rise from one to three billion. This, along with the relative affordability of international travel and the proliferation of digital technologies, is already having a major impact on education across the globe.

The impact of any one of these factors alone is wide and varied. However, I believe that it is the combination of these factors and their impact on personal identity that are of most significance to the future of education.

How is Personal Identity Formed?

When I reflect upon the factors that have influenced who I am today, I recognise that it is a complex interplay of people, places, and experiences; each of which have helped to shape my beliefs, values and general outlook on life.

Thandie Newton describes the development of our personal identity as a quest for belonging and affirmation, which has direct links to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory.

Whilst there is a tendency to assume that identity is a fixed entity, this is not the case. Each new experience and social interaction serves to either challenge or affirm our personal beliefs and worldview. 

     

Image sourced from https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

How is Personal Identity Relevant to the Future of Education?

The affordability and proliferation of digital technologies has huge implications for education. From the infographic, you can see that 54% of gamers play with others online (or in person) at least once a week. This means that many of our students are interacting with people in a global online community on a regular basis.

Image sourced from https://www.gamespot.com/articles/graphics-not-among-the-top-reasons-people-buy-game/1100-6426659/

As participants in online communities, students will inevitably encounter people who will challenge their assumptions and beliefs.  Whilst students with a well-developed sense of self are capable of exploring ideas from different perspectives, without damage to their mental well-being, this is not the case for everyone.

According to Stats NZ, a quarter of all children in New Zealand live in medium to 

high-risk households. These children are our most vulnerable members of society. A large proportion of them are also likely to be among those members of society who do not have a strong sense of belonging. The problems associated with   

disconnection are many and varied, but are increasingly attributable to the rise   in nationalism and radicalisation.

Teachers and policy makers across the world have a responsibility to ensure that all students have an opportunity to establish a healthy sense of belonging and develop the skills necessary to display positive citizenship attitudes and behaviours in local, national, global, and online communities.

      

Practical Implications for Education

Teachers are in a unique position to contribute to the development of their students’ sense of belonging and personal identity. Below is a brief list of practical strategies for addressing this issue. It is by no means complete.

1. Aroha – teachers should take the time to get to know their students. Making the time for a chat and taking an interest in what they are interested in outside of school is a positive way of building relationships and showing that you care.

2. Student Agency – teacher should demonstrate that they value and respect student ideas and opinions by involving them in planning and decision-making processes whenever possible.

3. Whanaunatanga – teachers should actively strive to develop positive home-school partnerships. Positive and effective communication is the best way of ensuring continuity of expectations and behaviour between home and school.

4. Treaty of Waitangi – teachers in New Zealand have a duty to adhere to the principles outlined in the Treaty. Language connects people and contributes to our sense of belonging – just image the sense of disequilibrium experienced by an English language speaker living in a country where the people do not even speak the same language! Teachers should strive to use Te Reo as part of their daily teaching practise.  

5. Citizenship education - teachers need to prioritise learning experiences that provide students with an opportunity to have a positive impact on their school, local, or global community. It could be as simple as practising netiquette during a Skype session with a class in another country; or helping to restore the sand dunes at their local beach. Every positive learning experience will contribute to their sense of belonging and personal identity.

To the reader…

What is your take on the issue of globalisation and personal identity?

What strategies do you use to establish positive working relationships with your students and their families? 

References

Newton, T. (n.d.). Embracing otherness, embracing myself. Retrieved June 30, 2017, from https://www.ted.com/talks/thandie_newton_embracing_otherness_embracing_myself

P. (2013, April 26). Global trends: The world is changing faster than at any time in human history. Retrieved June 28, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdZiTQy3g1g

Trends Shaping Education 2016 | OECD READ edition. (n.d.). Retrieved June 28, 2017, from http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/education/trends-shaping-education-2016_trends_edu-2016-en#page32

Vulnerable children and families: Some findings from the New Zealand General Social Survey. (n.d.). Retrieved June 30, 2017, from http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/people_and_communities/Children/vulnerable-children.aspx

The Interplay of Socio-Economics and School Culture

School Climate vs School Culture

In a video by ‘The Academy for Social-Emotional Learning in Schools’, a clear distinction is draw between the school climate and school culture.

School climate is readily accessible to outsiders and forms the basis of their first impressions of the school. It includes everything from the physical appearance of the school, to how people interact with one another in public spaces within the school.

School culture is the implicit beliefs and values that help to shape the people and practices within the school environment. Whilst there is some suggestion by ‘The Academy for Social-Emotional Learning in Schools’ that an organisation’s climate and culture may differ, my experience has been that the school climate is heavily influenced by the values and beliefs embodied in the school’s culture.

An example from my own school would be how outside educators (such as sports coaches and Life Education teachers) have commented on the enthusiasm and manners of our students. Positive feedback is always satisfying; however, it is something that we actively reinforce through explicit teaching of our school values and the use of our Wonderful Wainuioruian system, in which students are formally acknowledged for the consistency and effort with which they demonstrate the school values. 

Socio-Economic Status and Our School Community

Wainuioru School is a decile 9 school situated in a small rural community. Whilst many of our students are from local farming families in the area, the number of students commuting to school from Masterton is growing. Most of our students participate in multiple extra-curricular activities and enjoy regular holidays abroad – they are from middle class families and enjoy a comfortable life.

Nonetheless, there is a small proportion of our community whose life experiences are very different. Some families face the struggle of balancing cheap rent (due to the rural location) with the challenging of ensuring that there is enough food and fuel to last until the next payday. Our school culture emphasises active parent involvement which further compounds the financial challenges experienced by our less affluent families – one such example is the expectation that parents will transport their children to rural sporting events such as cross country, which is a 43Km drive from our school.

School Response to Societal Changes

Over the past three years, we have had a significant staff turnover (at least one new teacher each year) – something easily encountered in a small school with only four teachers and a principal! We are fortunate in that each of our staff members has had experience working in larger schools with a lower decile rating, so we are familiar with the challenges associated with a wide socio-economic gap.

Image sourced from: https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=equity+versus+equality&safe=strict&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiyhO6n4sjUAhWEXrwKHfXBCioQ_AUICigB&biw=1536&bih=736#imgrc=lTFsXR43ySwvdM: 

Part of the process of developing our school culture has been to re-examine our expectations around parent involvement in school life, especially in light of the growing number of households in which both parents are engaged in full time work. Whilst parent involvement is still heavily encouraged, we have established systems for helping those parents who cannot attend every school function. On rural sports days, for example, we now offer a limited bus service for those parents who are unable to attend. 

In response to our observations on the number of students who were coming to school without breakfast (due to a number of factors, including early starts; long bus journeys; and -for some students - a lack of food in the cupboards) we established a daily breakfast club, which is open for all students to attend. Interestingly, the breakfast club program met with resistance from some families who felt that the responsibility for feeding their children lay with them. In many respects, this opinion reflects the backgrounds of the majority of our community. The idea that some families may not have enough food to feed their children is beyond their comprehension or personal experience.

As a staff, we are continually working on the developing a culture of equity (not to be confused with equality). We strive to achieve the cultural norms associated with
Stoll’s improving schools, however we acknowledge that each of the norms requires continuous effort and a willingness to challenge our beliefs and practices, and to be challenged by others who seek to understand the culture of our school community.  

References:

Stoll (1998). School Culture. School Improvement Network’s Bulletin 9. Institute of Education, University of London. 

What is School Culture and Climate? (2015, April 28). Retrieved June 18, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-_NvhlcusQ

Communities of Practice

What is a Community of Practice?

Wenger (hyperlink) describes communities of practice as a way of locating yourself and building a sense of identity. He uses the analogy of hills created by groups of people who share a particular interest, whereby discussion and the construction of shared understandings and artifacts lead to the formation of the hill.

In my mind, I liken communities of practice to neurons:

·        The neuron represents my passion or interest in a particular issue
·        The dendrites represent the many ways in which I pursue my passion or interest
·        The axons represent my connection to groups that share my interest
·        The synaptic terminals represent my contributions to the communities of practice       of which I am a member

       Each time I actively engage with my community of practice I am strengthening the myelin sheath; that is the knowledge and skills associated with my passion or interest

However, it is important to note that that, unlike neurons, communication and transmission of ideas is bidirectional in communities of practice.

Image sourced from: http://readingroom.mindspec.org/?page_id=8852

My Communities of Practice:

As a teacher, I belong to many communities of practice. Some are local, while – thanks to advances in technology - others span the globe. All of the communities of practice I belong to contribute to my personal and professional development and afford me the opportunity of improving my teaching practice. Nonetheless, there is something special about meeting with people face-to-face and sharing the experience of discussing, problem solving, and learning together.

Masterton Future-Focused Teaching and Learning Cluster:

One of communities of practice that I most look forward to meeting with is the Masterton Future-Focused Teaching and Learning cluster. The cluster meets once each term and is open to every school in the Masterton district. Some schools have permanent representatives who attend the meetings, whilst others share this professional development opportunity with different people each time.

As the permanent representative for my school, I feel very fortunate to belong to this group. The group is still in its infancy, established at the beginning of 2016. At our inaugural meeting, we began by developing a shared vision – namely, to develop and sustain future-focused teaching and learning practices in Masterton. Being part of the group from the very start has instilled a strong sense of belonging and commitment to the group. Having attended every meeting, I have access to all of the notes, emails, Google Docs, and readings that we have generated. Furthermore, I have shared memories and experiences with core members of the group who have also been members since the very start.

The importance of these shared experiences cannot be underestimated. I developed a heightened awareness of this at our last meeting, where a number of people were attending for the first time. They described the experience as feeling like a fish out of water – everyone else seemed so far ahead in terms of their pedagogy and future-focused philosophy. Whilst this may be true for individual members of the group, the understandings generated within the group do not always translate back into schools once the meeting is over.

My primary role within the future-focused teaching and learning group is ‘active participant’. Since I am the only person from my school who attends these meetings, I have no choice but to interact with teachers from other schools. This in itself is very useful as I have an opportunity to gain insight into how other schools have tackled the challenges associated with future-focused education. However, in order to address the goals associated with the group’s shared vision I am also, what Wenger describes, a broker.

As a broker, I am accountable for reporting to my colleagues. The shared vision and goals of the group – to develop and sustain future-focused teaching and learning practices in Masterton - would be impossible to achieve without the process of dissemination.  

Whilst there is no formal requirement to act on new learning, I have found that challenging my colleagues to try out at least one new idea and provide feedback ahead of the nest FFTL meeting is a useful way of transferring new knowledge and/or practices from one setting to the other.

On that note, my question to you is what strategies do find most useful in your role as a community of practice broker?

References:

O. (2009, September 15). Etienne Wenger talks about 'walking the landscape of practice' Retrieved June 16, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjw0YoqpEq8&feature=youtu.be&list=PLb5Ty6fTaPkWE

Wenger, E. (n.d.). Education. Communities of Practice, 263-278. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511803932.022