The Dialogue Of Pedagogical And Family Cultures In Educational Environment

Abstract

The reality of multicultural educational environment presupposes the extension of scientific concepts of modern intercultural education. The authors’ vision of it represented in the article is determined by the traditions of cultural theories among which Ch. Jacob’s concept of “the site of learning” (lieu de savoir) was chosen as the leading one. The authors ponder intercultural education as the base for a new environment where the dialogue of pedagogical and family cultures takes place. This position enables the orientation of the research towards a wider and more profound perception of education and its interpretation as a continuous process of lifelong and life-wide learning. The concept involves the unity and continuity of education ensuring the development of teachers’ and parents’ competences and determines the mission of intercultural education as the key factor of competence parenting. The paper provides the characterization of intercultural education as “the site of learning” of the dialogue of pedagogical and family cultures and reveals their interaction within educational environment. The orientation of the dialogue of both cultures towards balanced coexistence in the child’s best interest can ensure reliable social integration of families through expanding their pedagogical and social awareness and educational experience acquired in modern education environment.

Keywords: Pedagogical cultureFamily cultureCompetence parenting

Introduction

In modern educational environment intercultural education is seen as social reality and as a matter of great concern in international, regional and local contexts, it is involved in many international initiatives and widely discussed in the academic sphere (Strategiya razvitiya vospitaniya v Rossijskoj Federacii na period do 2025 goda, 2015; Child Protection. Rethinking the Role of Parents? 2016 ; Commission européenne/EACEA/Eurydice, 2019). This interest is determined by growing recognition of cultural diversity phenomenon “whether historically inherent to nation-states … or resulting from migration” (UNESCO, 2015, p. 66). Being a mechanism of the formation of common vital space in the conditions of cultural diversity expanding in modern countries intercultural education implies the participation of people who possess worldviews and experience originating in different realities. Therefore, the future of intercultural education depends on to what extent this kind of education is essential for them and to what extent they recognize the need to learn “to establish our common heritage” (UNESCO, 2015, p. 31).

Family and parents are the most important agents of educational environment who fulfill their mission and build our future in dynamically changing context of the contemporary world. They require continuing education which appreciates the diversity of parenting models and learning pathways, pursues openness, mutual understanding, the acceptance of uniqueness of each individual, the dialogue of educational and family (parental) cultures. Nowadays the opposition between one’s own and alien cultural models is fraught with serious difficulties and a growing feeling of social exclusion for people who migrate to other countries and in this unfamiliar reality encounter a new educational system they have to be involved in. Nevertheless, we are witnessing considerable success achieved by pedagogical communities all over the world which promote programs of intercultural education and support initiatives aimed at engagement of migrant families with children in educational environment.

Theoretical and empirical studies conducted in different social and linguistic communities provide effective solutions to the problem of parental engagement in educational system of the receiving country as well as develop the methods of pedagogical support of groups at risk of exclusion in the context of intercultural education (Abylasynova & Kadyrkulova, 2019; Astashova & Bondyreva, 2016; Danilova et al., 2019; Duke et al., 2016; Merzlyakova, 2016; Sehnem et al., 2016; Veraksa & Sheridan, 2018). We believe that an experience of teaching of languages to migrant children and parents can be interesting for the international scientific and pedagogical community in the new conditions of challenges of modern society. It helps them overcome a language barrier and master the language as an instrument of dialogue in socio-educational environment (Khamraeva, 2019; Lukina, 2017; Perregaux et al., 2016; Sugarman et al., 2016; Shireen, 2017; Strugielska & Piątkowska, 2017; Yuen, 2019).

Problem Statement

Intercultural education in different spheres of humanities is associated with different ideas, concepts and approaches, but just in education it appears as a universal phenomenon the knowledge of which constantly changes, develops and expands. Nevertheless, the extension of scientific view of the world towards value aspects of intercultural education occurs in a fragmentary, and somewhat shallow, way. While studying such a complex phenomenon as intercultural education we couldn’t find any elaborate studies revealing the mission of contemporary intercultural education which eliminates linguo- and sociocultural differences of modern families and contributes to the development of competent parenting. The present paper, being a part of authors’ scientific research, problematizes the value mission of intercultural education in educational environment of the dialogue of pedagogical and family cultures in the interest of competence parenting development.

Research Questions

The following Research Questions will be addressed:

What is the essence of contemporary intercultural education as “the site of learning” the dialogue of pedagogical and family cultures?

How does the interaction, as the process and the result of the dialogue of pedagogical and family cultures in educational environment, promote the development of competence parenting?

Purpose of the Study

To substantiate and reveal the distinct features of intercultural education as the environment of the dialogue of pedagogical and family cultures which forms, accumulates and disseminates the knowledge on competence parenting phenomenon.

Research Methods

The present research uses the following Research Methods:

• the critical analysis as a research method is directed at the systematization and specification of main concepts revealing the distinct features and the essence of contemporary intercultural education as “the site of learning” the dialogue of pedagogical and family cultures;

• the phenomenological method defined the cognitive strategy: examining the experience of pedagogical and family cultures we try to comprehend in their dialogue the real pedagogical significance of the phenomena of intercultural education and competence parenting;

• the implicit comparison is used for identifying positive trends in contemporary intercultural education in the context of competence parenting development which look promising for the improvement of family support system in contemporary educational environment.

Findings

Cultural diversity in contemporary educational environment faces contradictions and paradoxes of modern parenting that results in the necessity of rethinking the essence of intercultural education in the context of family-school interaction defined in a broad conceptual sense. Thereby, intercultural education as we see it should focus not only on migrant families with children. Based on the principle of universalism we consider all the families with children regardless of their ethnic and linguistic background. We suggest examining how intercultural education promotes social integration of the families which differ from each other in characteristics of family context (e.g. number of adults per household, availability of permanent or temporary housing, educational level of family members), in models and practices of parenting, in their perception of its socializing power and parental responsibility. For this reason, we focus our attention on that mission of intercultural education which eliminating linguo- and sociocultural differences of modern families promotes competence parenting development.

The development of the theoretical framework of the present research is based on the concept of “sites of learning” (Les lieux de savoir, 2007) introduced by the French historian and anthropologist Ch. Jacob as the continuation of Dumont’s (1968) cultural theories of “man’s locus” and P. Nora’s concept of “sites of memory” (Les lieux de mémoire, 1984). Taking into consideration the main models of Ch. Jacob’s concept we define intercultural education as the environment of the dialogue of pedagogical and family cultures which forms, accumulates and transfers knowledge. On the one hand, such understanding of intercultural education opens up new horizons of pedagogical knowledge of modern parenting in multicultural society, on the other, it transforms education involving families from different ethnic and linguistic communities into a continuous process of lifelong and life-wide learning within common intercultural environment. In this context the idea of “sites of learning” acquires not only a material but also a symbolic value reflecting the possibility of the dialogue of pedagogical and family (parental) cultures on the base of universal values which ensure the integration of representatives of different cultures who “can learn a great deal from each other by being more open to the discovery and understanding of other worldviews” (UNESCO, 2015, p. 31). Thus, “the site of learning” determines the development of the dialogue of pedagogical and family cultures toward improving the quality of education and the quality of family’s life in general in accordance with contemporary social demands and traditional values. This message is of great significance today, when many countries undertake strategic reforms concerning public and family education and rethink the state policy in the sphere of family and childhood for which states and governments bear global responsibility.

The dialogue of pedagogical and family cultures emerges in an interaction which requires strong partnership between teachers and parents, mutual responsibility and cooperative activity in the best interests of the child. The dialogue of two cultures within social environment is seen as a common good and supported by different social associations; it protects key values of family and school as social institutions ensuring peaceful coexistence of democratic societies in the 21th century. In this context, the logic of the dialogue development presupposes the unity and continuity in improving teachers’ and parents’ key competences: communicative, social and pedagogical. Therefore, the urgent pedagogical task consists in providing families with essential resources for the development of their competences which will contribute to a practical interaction based on common goals and values in the best interests of the child.

Following the principle of diversity recognition, intercultural education avoids implementing prescribed standard approaches to building a dialogue of pedagogical and family cultures for the development of competence parenting. In each local, regional, national context this interaction is being promoted in accordance with the needs of its participants and the potential of “the site of learning” in which pedagogical and parental communities are meant to work together. Thus, all the agents of these communities become engaged in cooperative activities within local educational environment pursuing a common goal – to improve the quality of family’s life in general and the quality of child’s development and education in particular. They collaborate to produce and share knowledge, to peacefully coexist and to promote successful social progress through neighborhood solidarity.

The dialogue of pedagogical and family cultures focuses on communicative interaction considered a solid base for the development of competence parenting. The organization of communicative interaction acquires the status of a high-priority task for school. In this context, intercultural education as “the site of learning” is actualized not only for migrant parents but also for each family that seeks a dialogue with school to solve essential problems of local educational environment and is ready to acquire and share educational experiences in the interests of children’s development and education and the improvement of quality of their life.

Pedagogical community contributes to the development of competence parenting through encouraging families to participate in a productive dialogue. Firstly, this strategy ensures improving parents’ communicative and social competences aimed at their social integration in contemporary multicultural society and, particularly, in local educational environment. It helps parents better understand schooling, speak the same language with teachers and integrate in existing educational community in general. Secondly, school-family dialogue raises parents’ pedagogical awareness of their own rights and the rights of their children in the sphere of education. Pedagogical community provides parents with the information about educational and legal aspects of parenting, parental rights as well as duties and responsibilities to be obeyed. In intercultural education, according to the principle of universalism these aspects of parenting apply not only to migrant parents but to all parents involved in educational environment. Thus, raising parental awareness facilitates parents’ deeper perception of the importance of their parental responsibility for improving the quality of life of their children and all the family. Today, the existing parental responsibility measure demonstrated by modern families becomes a matter of concern for pedagogical communities in many countries by virtue of the fact that this parental responsibility for children’s development and education is entirely placed by parents on school and therefore becoming school’s responsibility for both children and their parents. This situation is widely discussed and comes in for serious criticism. In this context, the development of competence parenting should determine parental responsibility as a core component defining its quality and actualize this responsibility through the dialogue of pedagogical and family cultures, cooperative activity of teachers and parents for the improvement of quality of parenting and childhood. Thirdly, the dialogue of pedagogical and family cultures aims at broadening parent’s educational experience on the base of co-scolarization and co-education. These key concepts determine parents’ motivation towards the interaction with teachers for actualization of co-scolarization and co-education in current educational environment; a positive perception of parenting for establishing and maintaining productive relationship between all the agents of local educational community; the intensity and quality of using various resources existing in educational environment to acquire and improve parental competences which promote an effective dialogue of pedagogical and family cultures.

Conclusion

In modern multicultural society intercultural education transforms into “the site of learning” building the base of new environment for the dialogue of pedagogical and family culture. Thus, it widens the context of continuing education of teachers and parents as the agents representing different cultures and identities, but united through a common goal – to interact in the interest of the children in the conditions of cultural diversity. The dialogue of pedagogical and family cultures produces and transfers universal knowledge of a new quality of modern competence parenting which undergoes permanent changes. In the context of intercultural education this process takes on a dynamic and clearly marked socio-educational character. It is expressed through collective engagement in intercultural educational environment in which school becomes a source of the support of new parenting building various learning pathways for different levels of family’s social integration, giving parents the opportunity to improve the quality of parenting for child’s well-being in the family and in the society.

Thus, in modern intercultural education the dialogue of pedagogical and family cultures in its discursive sense establishes a common ground for peaceful co-being of these different cultures, for gaining experience of understanding an Alien, dissimilar and unfamiliar, but seeking convergence. This dialogue is an example of positive and competent interaction of teachers and parents enabling them to fulfil, both individually and collectively, their potential in child’s upbringing and education. We believe that the authors’ position concerning the definition of intercultural education as the environment of knowledge for the development of the dialogue of pedagogical and family cultures will contribute to the extension of pedagogical knowledge about the correlation of trends in family education as well as to the development of theory and practice of family education in domestic and foreign pedagogy.

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