Transculturalism and Teacher Capacity: Professional Readiness in the Globalised Age

183 Pages·2019·13.026 MB·English

by  Niranjan Casinader

Transculturalism and Teacher Capacity
Based on new research data, with a 135-teacher study over 8 countries, this
book challenges the assumption that all teachers automatically have the exper-
tise to teach cultural understanding and argues, instead, that there is the need
for teachers to acquire transcultural expertise to teach cultural understanding
effectively in the present age, rather than depending on current multicultural
and intercultural approaches.
By outlining a new model to teach cultural understanding that is appropri-
ate and relevant, this volume focuses on the expertise of teachers to address
this gap in current teaching practice. Using the framework of education in
Britain and its former empire, this book traces the role that teachers have
played in teaching cultural understanding throughout history, and then uses
the results of a recent international research project to outline recommenda-
tions for teacher education and professional learning that both develop and
enhance the ability of teachers to address cultural understanding effectively
in their work.
Transculturalism and Teacher Capacity: Professional Readiness in the Globalised
Age is the perfect resource for any researcher, school leader and educational
administrator, or those interested in education that prepares teachers to meet
the demands of the profession in the current age.
Niranjan Casinader is Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education at Monash
University, Australia.
Routledge Research in International and Comparative Education
This is a series that offers a global platform to engage scholars in continuous
academic debate on key challenges and the latest thinking on issues in the
fast-growing field of International and Comparative Education.
Titles in the series include:
Comparative Perspectives on Refugee Youth Education
Dreams and Realities in Educational Systems Worldwide
Edited by Alexander W. Wiseman, Lisa Damaschke-Deitrick, Ericka Galegher,
and Maureen F. Park
50 Years of US Study Abroad Students
Japan as the Gateway to Asia and Beyond
Sarah R. Asada
Informal Learning and Literacy among Maasai Women
Education, Emancipation and Empowerment
Taeko Takayanagi
Parental Involvement Across European Education Systems
Critical Perspectives
Edited by Angelika Paseka and Delma Byrne
Transculturalism and Teacher Capacity
Professional Readiness in the Globalised Age
Niranjan Casinader
For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.routledge.
com/Routledge-Research-in-International-and-Comparative-Education/
book-series/RRICE
Transculturalism and
Teacher Capacity
Professional Readiness in the Globalised Age
Niranjan Casinader
First published 2020
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2020 Niranjan Casinader
The right of Niranjan Casinader to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN: 978-0-367-19378-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-20202-5 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Cenveo® Publisher Services
For Lee, who has always been with me, one way
or another, throughout this academic journey

Contents
List of figures ix
List of tables x
Foreword xi
Preface xiii
Acknowledgements xvii
1 Teaching for cultural difference: a temporal
and spatial reflection 1
1.1 Why the need to teach cultural understanding? 1
1.2 The nuances of globalisation 2
1.3 The cosmopolitanism of the past and the modern 5
1.4 T he framework of consideration: defining
the parameters of the discussion 10
1.5 Culture, faith and morality: teaching for the ‘Other’ 14
References 25
2 Cultural understanding and teaching expertise: a glimpse
through British time and place 28
2.1 Education as moral citizenship 28
2.2 The teacher and British educational morality: a temporal consideration 30
2.3 Pitfalls and conclusions: teachers as moral guides towards the ‘Other’ 48
References 53
3 Cultural education for the globalised age 55
3.1 Culture and the global imperative: the garden of cultural education 55
3.2 Changing notions and contexts of cultural education 57
3.3 Transculturalism: a way forward for the 21st century 63
References 67
viii Contents
4 Cultural education in current policy and practice: a selective
critique 70
4.1 The disjunctures of international comparisons 70
4.2 The substance of cultural education in policy 72
4.3 And whither the teacher? 83
References 84
5 Measuring transcultural capacity in teachers 88
5.1 The notion of professional readiness 88
5.2 Teacher standards and cultural expertise 90
5.3 Determining the cultural readiness of teachers 97
5.4 Project methodology 103
References 113
6 Transcultural capacity of teachers: a comparative analysis 117
6.1 Overview 117
6.2 Transculturality as a teacher attitude 118
6.3 The deeper characteristics of transcultural dispositions 121
6.4 Discussions and analysis 124
6.5 Conclusion 141
References 142
7 Building transcultural capacity in teachers: implications for
teacher education and professional learning 143
7.1 Overview 143
7.2 Cultural displacement: the basis of developing
expertise in cultural diversity as the norm 145
7.3 A personal epilogue: the cultural elephant –
premonitions for the future 153
References 155
Index 158
Figures
3.1 Transpatiality 64
3.2 Three Paradigms of Cultural Education 66
5.1 Model of Cultural Dispositions of Thinking 108
6.1 Model of Cultural Dispositions of Thinking (Reprise) 118
6.2 CDT of Teachers across All Regions by Percentage
of Participants 120
6.3 Attitudes of Teachers by Region: Global Mindedness
and Change and Difference 122
6.4 Attitudes of Teachers by CDT: Global Mindedness 123
6.5 Attitudes of Teachers by CDT: Change and Difference 123
6.6 Number of Regions Visited by Cultural Disposition
of Thinking (Percentage of Teachers in CDT) 132
6.7 Number of Regions Visited by Cultural Disposition
of Thinking (Number of Teachers in CDT) 132
6.8 Travel Experience by Case Study: Number of Teachers 135
6.9 Travel Experience by Case Study: Percentage of Teachers 136
6.10 Living or Meeting Difference: Most Effective Means
of Developing Cultural Understanding by Percentage
of All Teacher Participants 137
6.11 Living or Meeting Difference: Most Effective Means
of Developing Cultural Understanding by Number
of Teachers and CDT 138
7.1 Teacher Participants: Years of Teaching Experience by CDT 145