Course Syllabus

 

Children in a Multicultural Context DIS Logo

CDD, Multicultural.jpg

Semester & Location:

Spring 2018 - DIS Copenhagen

Type & Credits:

Core Course - 3 Credits

Core Course Study Tours:

London and Western Denmark (Short Tour)

Major Disciplines:

Child DevelopmentEducation/Educational StudiesHuman Development

Faculty Members:

Maja Sbahi Biehl & Amana Talala Mbise

Program Director:

Maja Sbahi Biehl - msb@dis.dk

Program Assistant:

Colleen Kolb - cko@dis.dk

Time & Place:

Monday 10:00-13:00, N7-A23 

Description of Course

Scandinavia is known to be one of the best places for raising children to be competent, independent, democratic, and social beings. In Denmark today, approximately 9% of the total Danish population is of another ethnic background than Danish with the highest representations from Turkey, former Yugoslavia, Iraq, Poland, Germany, Afghanistan, and Somalia[1]. This in many ways mirrors global transformations and instigates the growing multiculturalism in Danish schools and childcare institutions. By implementing Nordic childhood as our entry point, this course examines the following questions: Are the long-standing childcare traditions in Denmark being challenged? How are Danish childcare institutions, schools and programs influenced by Danish integration policies? How is multicultural discourse examined in a Danish context? And how are children in Denmark influenced by these processes? Through this window, we will reflect on and investigate complex multicultural processes.  We will delve into the terms of multiculturalism, childhood, inclusive education, pedagogy and different learning paradigms and make an effort to enhance nuanced reflections from diverse interdisciplinary, theoretical and personal perspectives. 

We will explore how the concepts of multiculturalism, intercultural pedagogy, multilingualism, diversity, dual socialization, social entrepreneurship, creativity and the good childhood in Danish childcare and educational settings influence each other. The course will incorporate both theory on culture and cross-cultural competence as well as writings, activities and public debates.  We will question and look upon our own reflection, ways of knowing, meanings, and discourses. Furthermore, we will stress the connection between the class and the practicum sites by asking students to take notes on issues, themes, questions, successes and challenges that emerge in the practicum site and reflect on what the field experience can add to theory. Students will acquire knowledge about intercultural learning, critical pedagogy, child development discourse and educational sociology.

 Learning Objectives:

  • To visualize the dynamic processes in childhood discourse
  • Describe different traditions in Danish childcare, policy and education with comparisons to traditions in the students’ home countries and visits in London
  • Acquire knowledge on child rights in Denmark and the rights based approach to working with children
  • Acquire experience working with children and reflect critically on observations in real-life situations in settings for children through practicum, study tour and field study visits, and course readings
  • Gain knowledge about cross-cultural competence, multilingualism, multiculturalism, social inclusion, and child and youth development
  • To question, reflect and critically analyze multicultural discourse in a Danish context
  • To analyze different perspectives in the public debates, policy and your practicum experience, drawing on your theoretical inspirations and through qualitative methods
  • To evaluate different perspectives, concepts, practices, and their consequences as well as contributions to the themes discussed and dealt with throughout the course; this kind of evaluation will enable students to take responsibility for their own learning and will motivate them to think at a higher level
  • To develop reflective, critical and analytical skills in presentations and writing

Faculty

Maja Sbahi Biehl

Email: msb@dis.dk

Cand.comm. in Communication and Educational Studies from Roskilde University (2004). Specialized in Intercultural Communication and pedagogy. BA in Speech and Communication from San Francisco State University. International Student Advisor at Roskilde University, Communication Department (2001-2002). Interpreter and pedagogical supervisor for Turkish youth in Farum municipality (1999-2000). Substitute teacher at Bybækschool (prep class for minority students) and playschool teacher at International Bernadotte school (1998-2000). Experience working with children in daycare center- Sofiegårdens vuggestue (1998) and for an ethnic youth project for Copenhagen municipality (1999-2000). Experience as a volunteer for the Danish Red Cross Asylum center - Culture House and aided in the upstart of a Mother and Child group “Mamatu” (2002). Volunteer work with Danish-Turkish parent association and inner city schools (2008). With DIS since 2005.

Consultation: Office Hours by appointment

Amana Talala Mbise

Email: atm@dis.dk 

Ph.D. University of Illinois at Chicago. His research interests are in child rights and rights based approaches to working with children. Amana also holds a Masters in Social Welfare specializing in Community Health and Urban Development (CHUD) from the same university. Amana’s experience spans over eight years working in the civil society sector and academia. From 2006-2010, Amana was instrumental in supporting social service system strengthening initiatives in Tanzania. In these initiatives, Amana was a key member in curriculum development and training para professional community child workers in Tanzania and southern Africa. Amana was also instrumental in designing, launching and coordinating the Child Protection System Strengthening Project in Tanzania in partnership with the Institute of Social Work, UNICEF and the Ministry for Regional Administration and Local Government.  This innovative model allows state and non-state actors to holistically prevent, and respond to, cases of violence against children in their communities. Since 2012 Amana served as program evaluation specialist with the Midwest AIDs Training and Education Center (MATEC), University of Illinois at Chicago, helping to evaluate clinician training programs under the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH). With DIS since 2015.

Readings

Adran, M. (2009). Islamic Feminism: Whats in a Name? In Feminism in Islam: Secular and Religious Convergences

Bame Nsamenang, A. “Cultures in Early Childhood Care and Education.” Childhood Studies and the Impact of Globalization: Policies and Practices at Global and Local Levels. New York: Routledge, 2009. 23-45. Print.

Bitsch Olsen, Poul, et al. (2008) Problem-Oriented Project Work. Roskilde University Press

Brostrøm, Stig. (2006) Children’s Perspectives on their Childhood Experiences. In: Nordic Childhood and Early Education.  Age Publishing, pp. 223-255. ISBN: 1593113501. (310p.)

Children's Places of Belonging in Immigrant Families of Caribbean Background. In Children's Places: Cross Cultural Perspectives, Karen Fog Olwig and Eva Gulløv, eds. London: Routledge, forthcoming.

Cohen, Louis, et al. (1994) Chapter 5- Being a Careful Observer. In: Research Methods in Education. Routledge, pp. 94-111. ISBN: 0-415-10235-9. (416p.)

Education of ethnic minority children in Denmark: monocultural hegemony and counter positions, by Christian Horst & Thomas Gitz-Johansen, Intercultural Education, (2010), 21: 2, p. 137-151. (URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14675981003696271)

Gauri, V., Gloppen, S. (2012). Human Rights-Based Approaches to Development: Concepts, Evidence, and Policy. Polity, 44(4), 485-503

Gilroy, Paul (1997) Diaspora and the Detours of Identity in: Woodward, Kathryn (ed.) Identity and Difference. London: Sage Publications

Goncu, A., Ozer, S. & Ahioglu, N. (2009) Childhood in Turkey: social class and gender differences in schooling, labor and play. In M. Fleer, M. Hedegaard and TJ, Tudge (Eds.) Childhood studies and the impact of globalization: policies and practices at global and local levels (pp. 67-85) New York: Routledge.

Gready, P. & Ensor, J. (2005) Introduction. In Gready, P. & Ensor, J. (eds.) Reinventing Development? Translating rights-based approaches from theory into practice. Zed Book: London.

Gulløv, E. and Bundgaard, H.: “Children of Different Categories”. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 32:1, 2006. Pp. 145-155.

Gulløv, Eva. (2004). Creating a Natural Place for Children. In: Children’s Places: Cross-cultural Perspectives. Routledge, pp. 23-38.  ISBN: 978-0-415-29641-0. (264p.)

Haider, H. (2015). Radicalisation of diaspora communities (GSDRC Helpdesk Research Report 1187). Birmingham, UK: GSDRC, University of Birmingham. http://www.gsdrc.org/docs/open/hdq1187.pdf

Hall, Stuart (1996). What is this ‘black’ in black popular culture? In avid Morley & Kuan-Hsing Chen (eds=. Stuar Hall: Critical dialogues in cultural studies. New York and London: Routledge.

Hofstede, Geert. (2005). Intercultural Cooperation and Its Importance for Survival. In: Culture and Organizations. The Successful Strategist Series. 49-79. ISBN: 0-0714-39595 (429).

Jensen, G. J., Torsleve, M. K., Vitus, K., Weibel, K., Integration, Difference and (anti) discrimination in Danish Primary and Lower Education. The Danish National Centre for Social Research, 2012.

Jaffe-Walter, Reva (2013): Who would they talk about if we weren’t here? Muslim Youth, Liberal Schooling and the Politics of Concern, Harvard Educational Review 83 (4), pgs. 613-635.

Kvale, S. (2002) InterViews.  Sage Publications.  Pp. 1-13, 88, 94-98, 124-135.  ISBN: 978-0803958203 (344p.)

Le Roux, Johann (2001): Social Dynamics of the Multicultural Classroom, in Intercultural Communication: A Reader, Wadsworth, UK.

MacNaughton, Glenda (2005): Doing Foucault in Early Childhood Studies: Applying post structuralist ideas, Routledge, Oxon. 

Modood & Ahmad (2007). British Muslim Perspectives on Multiculturalism. Theory Culture Society 2007 24: 187

Nasar Meer and Tariq Modood (2009). The Multicultural State We’re In: Muslims, ‘Multiculture’ and the ‘Civic Re-balancing’ of British Multiculturalism. POLITICAL STUDIES: 2009 VOL 57, 473–497

Olwig, KF 2011, 'Children's Sociality: The Civilizing Project in the Danish Kindergarten', Social Analysis, vol. 55, nr. 2, s. 121-141. Olwig and Karsten Paerregaard, Cambridge Scholars, UK (Introduction, chapter 7 and epilogue by Jenkins).

Parekh, B. (2000) Rethinking Multiculturalism. Cultural Diversity and Political Theory. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, chapter 5, pp.142-178.  ISBN: 0-333-60882-8 (379p.)

Shonkoff, Jack P. (Editor) 2000; Phillips, Deborah A. (Editor); Committee on Integrating the Science of Early Childhood Development. From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. Washington, DC, USA: National Academies Press, chapter 3.

The Question of Integration: Immigration, Exclusion and the Danish Welfare State (2011), Eds. Karen Fog

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/ProfessionalInterest/crc.pdf

Wagner, J. T. (2006): “Fishing Naked – Nordic Early Childhood Philosophy and Practice in Nordic Childhoods and Early Education.  Information Age Publishing.  ISBN: 978-1593113506 (324p.)

Field Studies

Field studies serve to complement your course work by placing you in the professional field to extend and rethink what we read about, discuss in class, and encounter in practicum. Please be ready for each field study by completing all readings and preparing questions in advance.

We may divide the class into smaller groups, each visiting different sites located in the greater Copenhagen area. Specific field study details are yet to be determined.

Guest Lecturers

At certain points in the course, guest lecturers may be invited to provide their experience and expertise on select topics being covered in class.

Approach to Teaching

This course applies experiential learning. There will be a combination of lectures, class activities, group work, debates, students’ presentations, exercises, fieldwork and cases. You will be expected to complete all reading assignments thoroughly and critically prior to coming to class so that you can contribute to class discussions and group activities. You should draw upon and apply your practicum experiences, interactions with children and observations from daily life in Denmark to the theory about multicultural pedagogy and education that you learn in class. You are expected to be able to work independently and to be active in group work.

Expectations of the Students

Students are expected to have completed the readings prior to each class and be prepared to contribute to the class with questions derived from the readings, and reflections from your practicum sites. You are also expected to participate in online forum discussion on Canvas. A core element of this class is to link student’s practicum observations and experiences to prior knowledge and class readings and discussions.

It is also expected that students:

  • Are active participants in class discussions
  • Study the readings for each class and prepare questions for discussions
  • Collaborate in groups during class time for knowledge exchange
  • Bring your practicum logbook journal to class and write in it frequently
  • Discuss readings and prepare presentations with an assigned study group outside of class
  • Relate the course to personal experiences in practicum
  • Develop and exercise critical thinking throughout the course
  • Be independent, manage own time and execute self-directed learning.
  • Take an active part in creating a sincere, interesting, and safe classroom environment where different perspectives are presented and discussed
  • Assist in creating a class culture and community of learners

Be prepared to discuss your reflections in class and complete assigned readings that will be assigned in each class or communicated to you via Canvas

Practicum

See practicum course syllabus

Evaluation and Grading

Assignment

Percent

Participation and weekly eye and ear:

Reflection papers in class, partaking in discussions on Canvas and in-class, presentations, peer reviews and being an active student overall. Students will also be expected to participate in the weekly eyes and ears. In this students are expected to keep an eye and ear on the current issues happening in Denmark and abroad that are relevant to children and multiculturalism. 

20%

 

Childhood Theory Assignment

15%

 

Child’s Rights Assignment 

15%

Qualitative Interview Paper 

25%

Final Project: Paper and Presentations

25%

Awards:

Academic Excellence Award

Each semester we recognize one outstanding student from the Child Development and Diversity Program (Child Development in Scandinavia or Children in a Multicultural Context) with an Award of Academic Excellence. It is reserved for a student who has distinguished him- or herself through diligence, commitment, academic performance, and ideally a student who contributes to a good, collaborative learning environment in class.

Class Representatives:

Each semester DIS looks for class representatives to become an official spokesperson for their class, addressing any concerns that may arise (in academic or related matters), suggesting improvements and coming up with new ideas. Class representatives are a great way for DIS faculty to ensure better and timelier feedback on their courses, assessments and teaching styles, and as such perform an invaluable role in connecting student needs with faculty instruction during term time. Class Representatives will be elected in class at the beginning of the semester.

Core Course Week/Short Tour:

When:  February 5th-9th

  • February 5th-7th: Western Denmark
  • February 8th-9th: Copenhagen

Purpose:  To gain broader knowledge about childcare and education through visits to different institutions in Western Denmark.

Orientation: There will be a short study tour orientation in class and you will each be given a booklet of the visits on the day of the tour. 

Long Study Tour:

When:  March 4th - 9th (Sunday – Friday):  London, England

Purpose: To gain cross-cultural perspectives on childcare and education through visits to institutions in London.

Orientation: You will have a long tour orientation during class and receive a booklet about the visits on the day of the tour.

Consultation: by appointment

Criteria for Course Participation:

Domain

Criterion

Percentage Point

Regular, on-time attendance

-Sign-in sheet

5

Active and critical in-class participation

-Demonstrates an understanding of the course readings

-Brings clarity and depth of thought to course readings, field practicum

-Is actively engaged in in-class collaborations and problem-solving with peers

10

Weekly contribution on discussion forum and weekly eyes and ear sessions  

-Reflects on readings of the week and responds to peer questions on Canvas

-Participates in weekly eyes and ears sessions

5

Total

 

20

Childhood Theory Assignment (15%) 

(4-6 pages):The childhood assignment will introduce you to theoretical perspectives in childhood and/or youth discourse. You will choose a theoretical and pedagogical perspective. You will investigate and research the chosen perspective and write a cohesive paper on the topic. The paper must relate to different themes relevant to childhood and/or education. The knowledge gained from this assignment will serve as a theoretical backbone and lens for your practicum, short study tour and core course week experiences as well as your project.  Specific guidelines will be given in class.

Child Right’s Assignment (15%)

(4-6 pages): This is an analytic and critical reflective paper on child rights. You will pick any theme or themes that are relevant to children’s rights (e.g. education, health, play, participation, survival, etc.) and critically reflect on these drawing upon literature and your experiences from site visits in Denmark and England. A critical take in this paper means going beyond the description of how these rights are met- or not-, in the two countries, to situating them in an analytical framework. This paper must include a bibliography of references used. More explanations will be given in class.

 Qualitative Interview Paper (25%)

(4-6 pages): This paper will introduce you to qualitative methods of research within childhood and youth studies by conducting an interview*. It is important that you start by choosing a topic of interest and the research question that you wish to address. You must include interview questions and answers as an appendix to your paper. You should integrate critical reflections resulting from working with the readings, class lectures/discussions, and preparation and completion of an interview. This assignment is not only about describing your interview but also much more about a synthesis of the theoretical perspectives and practical experiences through academic research and discussion. More information will be provided in class.

* Please discuss with the instructors if you decide to use other methods

Final Project: Paper and Presentations (25%)

As part of your final project, you will collaborate on a topic of interest within children in a multicultural context. This final project should help you to crystalize and bring together-in an analytical, critical and systematic manner, your learnings within the semester.  This final project has two components (which occur concurrently): The first is a six-page paper on the topic of your choice. The second is a 15-20 minute presentation in front of your peers and instructors. This final presentation can take any format that you feel best conveys your topic ( e.g. PowerPoint presentation, poster presentation, Prezi, Pecha Kucha etc.) and also allows for engagement and interaction with your peers. The presentation and paper should include academic insights, grounding in theoretical or analytical framework, a clear research question and critical personal reflections. Feel free to draw upon and integrate readings, class lectures/discussion, practicum and study tour experience, and additional research. Preparation for this project will run throughout the semester. 

To be eligible for a passing grade in this class you must complete all of the assigned work.

Academic Regulations  

Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:

 DIS - Study Abroad in Scandinavia - www.DISabroad.org

Course Summary:

Date Details Due