Enhancing Intercultural Competence: Begin with the Family

To increase intercultural competence, early childhood educators must think globally and act locally, providing their young students with an awareness of different cultures. Teachers can begin and continue the process of teaching intercultural competence by focusing on the family unit. This focus sho...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author Supon, Viola
Format Paper
LanguageEnglish
Published 1999
Subjects
Consciousness Raising
Cultural Awareness
Cultural Differences
Early Childhood Education
Intercultural Communication
Multicultural Education
Young Children
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Summary:To increase intercultural competence, early childhood educators must think globally and act locally, providing their young students with an awareness of different cultures. Teachers can begin and continue the process of teaching intercultural competence by focusing on the family unit. This focus should include four steps: (1) promoting advocacy (examining one's own biases, recognizing different family structures, and undoing biases); (2) maintaining steadfastness (examining and focusing on the various aspects of family diversity on an ongoing basis); (3) utilizing visuals (such as pictures from publications, family photographs, videos, and real objects); and (4) tapping varied resources (including local libraries, bookstores, the Internet, and computer software). (Contains 11 references.)