Abstract
What does it take to be an active member of contemporary diverse societies? What are important competences for communicating and participating in such societies and how are they expressed by young people? In this chapter I address these and other related questions and discuss the usefulness of different approaches in addressing the liquidity and complexity of social relations in contemporary diverse societies. The chapter draws on research conducted in 2011–2014 with students from various ethnic backgrounds in upper secondary schools and universities in Iceland. A survey, focus-group interviews and semi-structured interviews were used for data collection. The young people were asked to reflect on the increasing diversity in Icelandic society, their communication and their participation in this society. The aim of the chapter is to explore which factors these young people see as being important for active communication and participation in a diverse society. Questions considered in the chapter also include whether these young people relate obstacles for communication to their different origins, cultures, values, religions or other factors, or whether they consider these as irrelevant factors. The theoretical framework of the chapter is in writings on critical multiculturalism, cosmopolitan citizenship, cosmopolitanism and liquidity in modern societies. The findings indicate that the young people see diversity as a normal or intrinsic part of their society and their daily life and do not describe different origins, cultures, values or religions as obstacles for communication. These views and attitudes indicate or connote that the young people share certain competences for communication in a diverse society, which may perhaps be defined as intercultural. Some of them describe themselves as cosmopolitan and discuss various competences which they see as important for participation and communication. Young people’s views on communication in a contemporary diverse society can provide indications on what competences are important for communication and participation in diverse societies more generally.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Appiah, K. A. (2006). Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a world of strangers. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Banks, J. A. (2007). Multicultural education: Characteristics and goals. In J. A. Banks & C. A. M. Banks (Eds.), Multicultural education: Issues and perspectives (6th ed., pp. 3–30). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Barett, M. (2011). Intercultural competence. EWC statement series. The European Wergeland Centre. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/1158374/Intercultural_Competence
Bauman, Z. (2007). Liquid times: Living in an age of uncertainty. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Baumann, G. (1999). The multicultural riddle: Rethinking national, ethnic, and religious identities. New York: Routledge.
Bjarnason, Þ. (2006). Aðstæður íslenskra skólanema af erlendum uppruna. InAdd space in front of Rannsóknir í félagsvísindum VII (pp. 391–400). Reykjavík: Háskóli Íslands, Félagsvísindadeild.
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2000). Research methods in education (5th ed.). London: RoutledgeFalmer.
Cummins, J. (2009). Challenges and opportunities in the schooling of migrant students. In B.-K. Ringen & O. K. Kjørven (Eds.), Teacher diversity in diverse schools: Challenges and opportunities for teacher education (pp. 53–69). Oplandske Bokforlag: Vallset.
Dolby, N., & Rizvi, F. (2008). Introduction: Youth, mobility, and identity. In N. Dolby & F. Rizvi (Eds.), Youth moves: Identities and education in global perspective (pp. 1–14). New York: Routledge.
Elliott, A., & Urry, J. (2010). Mobile lives. London: Routledge.
Félagsmálaráðuneytið (2007). Stefna ríkisstjórnarinnar um aðlögun innflytjenda. Reykjavík: Félagsmálaráðuneytið.
Finnbogason, G. E., Gunnarsson, G. J., Jónsdóttir, H., & Ragnarsdóttir, H. (2011). Lífsviðhorf og gildi: Viðhorfskönnun meðal ungs fólks í framhaldsskóla á Íslandi. Ráðstefnurit Netlu – Menntakvika 2011. Retrieved from http://netla.hi.is/arslok-2011
Flick, U. (2006). An introduction to qualitative research (3rd ed.). London: Sage.
Garðarsdóttir, Ó., & Hauksson, G. (2011). Ungir innflytjendur og aðrir einstaklingar með erlendan bakgrunn í íslensku samfélagi og íslenskum skólum 1996–2011. Ráðstefnurit Netlu—Menntakvika 2011. Menntavísindasvið Háskóla Íslands. Retrieved from http://netla.hi.is/menntakvika2011/020.pdf
Giddens, A. (1997). Modernitet og självidentitet. Göteborg: Daidalos AB.
Hansen, D. (2010). Chasing butterflies without a net: Interpreting cosmopolitanism. Studies in Philosophy of Education, 29, 151–166.
Holliday, A. (2011). Intercultural communication and ideology. Los Angeles: Sage.
Hoskins, B., & Sallah, M. (2011). Developing intercultural competence in Europe: The challenges. Language and Intercultural Communication, 11(2), 113–125. doi:10.1080/14708477.2011.556739.
Kvale, S. (1996). Interviews: An introduction to qualitative research interviewing. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Kymlicka, W. (1996). Multicultural citizenship: A liberal theory of minority rights. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Lög um framhaldsskóla nr. 92/2008
Lög um grunnskóla nr. 91/2008
Lög um leikskóla nr. 90/2008
May, S. (2011). Critical multiculturalism and education. In J. A. Banks (Ed.), The Routledge international companion to multicultural education (pp. 33–48). New York: Routledge.
Mennta- og menningarmálaráðuneytið/Ministry of Education, Science and Culture. (2015). Jafnréttismál. Retrieved from http://www.menntamalaraduneyti.is/raduneyti/jafnretti/
Ong, A. (1999). Flexible citizenship: The cultural logics of transnationality. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Osler, A., & Starkey, H. (2005). Changing citizenship: Democracy and inclusion in education. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Parekh, B. (2006). Rethinking multiculturalism. Cultural diversity and political theory (2nd ed.). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Ragnarsdóttir, H. (2007). Fjölmenningarfræði. In H. Ragnarsdóttir, E. S. Jónsdóttir, & M. Þ. Bernharðsson (Eds.), Fjölmenning á Íslandi (pp. 17–40). Reykjavík: Rannsóknastofa í fjölmenningarfræðum KHÍ & Háskólaútgáfan.
Ragnarsdóttir, H. (2008). Collisions and continuities: Ten immigrant families and their children in Icelandic society and schools. Saarbrücken: VDM Verlag Dr. Müller.
Ragnarsdóttir, H. (2011). Líf og störf ungra innflytjenda: Reynsla ungmenna af tíu ára búsetu á Íslandi. Uppeldi og menntun, 20(2), 53–70.
Ragnarsdóttir, H., & Loftsdóttir, K. (2010). Námsefni og kennsluhættir í fjölmenningarlegu samfélagi. In H. Ragnarsdóttir & E. S. Jónsdóttir (Eds.), Fjölmenning og skólastarf (pp. 209–225). Reykjavík: Rannsóknastofa í fjölmenningarfræðum & Háskólaútgáfan.
Reykjanesbær. (2004). Fjölmenningarstefna. Retrieved from http://www.reykjanesbaer.is/stjornkerfi/stefnumotun/fjolmenningarstefna/
Reykjavíkurborg (2014). Heimurinn er hér. Stefna skóla- og frístundasviðs Reykjavíkur um fjölmenningarlegt skóla- og frístundastarf. Reykjavíkurborg: Skóla- og frístundasvið.
Spitzberg, B. H., & Changnon, G. (2009). Conceptualizing intercultural competence. In D. K. Deardorff (Ed.), The SAGE handbook of intercultural competence (pp. 2–52). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Statistics Iceland. (2013). Population. Retrieved from www.statice.is
Suárez-Orozco, C., & Suárez-Orozco, M. M. (2001). Children of immigration. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Urry, J. (2003). Global complexity. Cambridge: Polity.
Vertovec, S., & Wessendorf, S. (2010). Introduction: Assessing the backlash against multiculturalism in Europe. In S. Vertovec & S. Wessendorf (Eds.), The multiculturalism backlash: European discourses, policies and practices (pp. 1–31). London: Routledge.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2016 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ragnarsdóttir, H. (2016). Competences for Active Communication and Participation in Diverse Societies: Views of Young People in Iceland. In: Dervin, F., Gross, Z. (eds) Intercultural Competence in Education. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58733-6_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58733-6_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-58732-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-58733-6
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)