Activity 6: Contemporary
trend in New Zealand or internationally
The trend I have identified is Globalisation
Before I
look at Globalisation it’s important to note that for the purpose of this blog
a trend, according to Visser and Gagnon (2005), refers to the statistically
observable change or general orientation of a general movement (Visser &
Gagnon, 2005; Karataş et al,2016).Its trajectory is likely to continue in the
near or medium immediate future. Wilson (2012) notes on “trend” is that the
changes it bring would have impacts within the field or wider environment
(Wilson, 2012).
Globalisation
is a trend that I studied at University over 25 years ago and at the time held
by many an almost apocalyptic prediction for our future. Interestingly enough
here 25 years on it appears to have softened somewhat in its meaning and
potential impact on humanity.
Whilst the
message in the literature I read still predicts major impact for societies
around the world, there is not quite the same doom and gloom associated with
it, which is some what reassuring.
In the
article, Trends Shaping Education, 2016, globalisation is identified as the
widening, deepening and speeding up of connections across national borders. Facilitated
by fast changing technology and decreasing transport costs, individuals are moving
freely across countries and continents, bringing greater ethnic, linguistic and
cultural diversity to OECD countries.
At the school
I work at there is a real multicultural flavour in our school with students
from many different countries from all over the world.
We regularly
have cultural days and children come to school in their national costumes
representing their country and we have a very diverse range of cultural
represented.
We are very fortunate
to have at our school, to have a number of children whose parents have made the
most of the changing trends and attend our university and other tertiary
institutions to further their education and have come from overseas.
We also have
a number of families who are refugees and the children from these families
attend our school.
The Manawatū region has been home to refugees from
Africa and Asia since 2006. Refugees have come from Republic of Congo, Burma
and Bhutan. About 700 former refugees live in Palmerston North and the nearby
town of Feilding…
https://www.immigration.govt.nz/audiences/supporting-refugees-and-asylum-seekers/information-for-refugees-settling-in-new-zealand
https://www.immigration.govt.nz/audiences/supporting-refugees-and-asylum-seekers/information-for-refugees-settling-in-new-zealand
There
is a wide variance in the needs of these students, and a wide variance in their
life experiences.
Technology
has helped us make connections with these students, Google translate has helped
us as teachers connect with children who start with us as non-English speakers,
help explain some of the trickier instructions which can be very helpful for
those who appear confident in English.
We
are able to virtually visit their countries and understand their life before
New Zealand.
We
are able to skype and make connections
with other schools from overseas and give these students opportunities to talk
with other children who speak the same language.
As
teachers we need to remember that whilst many of these children come to us not
as New Entrants, but as older students, they may not be at the same level of
learning as our New Zealand born English speaking students due to the fact that
English is highly likely to be their second language. Not meaning they are not academically
capable, just not fluent English language users.
Many
may have experienced a wider range of experiences than our New Zealand born
children and some may of experienced life quite differently, especially those
who a refugees.
This
not just something experienced by my school, but by many, many other schools in
New Zealand.
When
I first started teaching 20 years ago in the school I am now, classes were
primarily made up of New Zealand European’s with a couple of Maori children and
some Chinese students (their parents attending the University). Today’s
classrooms are now made up New Zealand European’s, Maori, a range of pacific
islands – Samoan, Togan, Nuian, Fijian, a large range of Asian countries – China,
Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, just
to name a few, as well as a number of European countries.
I think it makes you realise as a teacher the importance of
teaching the Key Competencies and the strategies that will set our students up
for success in the future. We can’t teach our children all the same, they have
different life experiences and many will leave New Zealand and go back to the
countries their parents came from and so we have to help educate them with this
in mind.
I
found this Infographic very useful in thinking about how global trends can
interact with education.
References
OECD. (2016) Trends Shaping Education
2016, OECD Publishing, Paris. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/trends_edu-2016-en
Immigration New Zealand (2018) Information
for refugees settling in New Zealand Retrieved from https://www.immigration.govt.nz/audiences/supporting-refugees-and-asylum-seekers/information-for-refugees-settling-in-new-zealand
Visser, L., &
Gagnon, K. (2005). Defining “Trends” and “Issues” in Distance Education.
Conversation with Donald Paul Ely Y. Visser, L. Visser, M. Simonson & R.
Amirault (Eds. de la serie), Trends and Issues in Distance Education.
International Perspectives, pp.83-89.
The diversity of our students has certainly changed as a trend over time. With the growing number of students from all over the globe bring with them their cultural experiences and family values to our/your classroom. THe effect of the global trends such as Global Citizenship, Migration, Emerging Economics, Inequality and Climate Change certainly impact on the 'culture' within your classroom and our school. Catering for this within the digital classroom is a challenge but supported by the digital technologies available to us.
ReplyDeleteHi Audrey, this really does highlight how small our world is becoming - not geographically or due to population size, but through digital technology. There is so much more we can learn about our world or access from our classrooms digitally that makes us feel some much closer to others.
ReplyDeleteWe are also able to share with our students so much more and in a far more relevant and up to date way - than we have ever been able to before.
As teachers we can't be afraid of the challenges posed to us, but rather we need to embrace the purposefulness and practicalities of something that in years gone by, would have been out of our reach, seeing as it all a way for us to connect and make connections for our students.
Hi Amanda - It's funny how the older I get the smaller the world becomes or is it just our perception of things. as someone said you can only be sure of a few things in life, taxes was one of them I don't want to know the other. Change and the challenges it brings, from excitement to dread and like you have said, " we need to embrace the purposefulness", of what it brings. Keep the good and leave the rest. change is a constant in schools and life.
ReplyDeleteNga mihi
Paul
Good advice there Paul.
DeleteThe world has grown smaller - there is so much more available now that we haven't had in the past. Even just the whole ringing up someone on the other side of the work is an everyday occasion.
Travel is something done by more and more people and when I think back to my childhood, holidays were down the road at the beach, now its not uncommon for families to go to Australia or the Islands for a holiday.
Our children are seeing more and experiencing more and so yes their perception of the size of the world is quiet different to what ours may have been as children.