Guiding discussions in the class about ethnic diversity

Abstract

In the literature on intercultural education there is an abundance of text about what ought to be going on in the classroom and a lack of empirical descriptions of the dilemmas of intercultural education in practice. This article describes the practice of five teachers guiding discussions about sensitive issues in ethnically diverse secondary education classes in the Netherlands. On the basis of the literature, we differentiated five requirements regarding the role of teachers in these discussions. With the help of interviews we mapped the objectives and approaches that the teachers considered to be desirable and attainable. Observations gave an impression of what teachers actually did and said. The results show the courage and fears, dilemmas and solutions of the teachers. Four teachers experienced difficulties with various professional requirements. These findings give us a starting point for understanding and rethinking the professional development needed for the guidance of these types of discussions.

Keywords:

• guiding discussions in class
• teachers
• professional development
• intercultural education in practice

Acknowledgement

This research was funded by the Programme of Educational Research of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).

Notes

1. The names of the teachers are fictitious.

2. These people have featured extensively in the media because of their statements about Islam, which set the tone for the hardening of intercultural relations in the Netherlands. Two of them were murdered.