Abstract
As the Norwegian society, and thereby the kindergartens, have become more multicultural, the need for cultivating teachers capable of operating in an ever diversified and global world is highlighted as an important educational strategy within teacher education. The purpose of the specific intercultural program in kindergarten teacher education discussed in this article refers to competences needed as a professional teacher in a multicultural kindergarten. Teachers often have various assumptions and beliefs taken for granted. Therefore, reflexivity appears in intercultural education as a crucial asset. However, the article argues that the notion of self-contemplation and self-reflection that can give the subject freedom as a thinking being needs to be challenged. Questioning beliefs and assumptions includes an examination of one’s emotional experiences, values and perspectives. This examination can threaten one’s core beliefs and create powerful feelings such as anger, shame or resentment. Introducing the concept of disorienting dilemmas, the article problematizes the rationalist intellectual orientation in teacher education and discusses the need to focus on intercultural experiences as sensuous, intellectual and affective. The article illustrates some disorienting dilemmas with narratives from students who have attended the program. Finally, the article considers the conditions and pedagogical means that might support a more holistic approach to learning in intercultural experiences.
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Notes
A 30 ECTS optional program in the third year of the kindergarten teacher education at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (https://www.hvl.no/studier/studieprogram/emne/kkp1).
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This study was funded by Western Norway University of Applied Sciences.
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Åsta Birkeland declares that she has no conflict of interest. Siv Ødemotland declares that she has no conflict of interest.
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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Kindergarten teacher education in Norway is a three-year Bachelor degree qualifying for work in kindergarten. Kindergarten is an early childhood education and care institution for children aged 1-5 years.
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Birkeland, Å., Ødemotland, S. Disorienting Dilemmas - the Significance of Resistance and Disturbance in an Intercultural Program within Kindergarten Teacher Education. Integr. psych. behav. 52, 377–387 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-018-9433-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-018-9433-y