Note from the Editors - Sfu

, Heesoon Bai

I

Note from the Editors

It is with great pride that the College is launching the very first edition of the

Journal of Global Citizenship and Equity Education. As Founding Editors we are honored

to have had the privilege of being involved in the process. The Journal aims to provide a

forum for sharing ideas on global citizenship and equity. The field of global citizenship

and equity is a new and emerging field and the field is still being defined.

In this inaugural issue we have articles on a wide range of topics from different

parts of the world. Sandra Bhatasara discusses the need to manage global governance

systems, global trade, the global financial market, multinational corporations and

information systems in order to ensure a successful transition to sustainable globalization.

Margaret Brigham surveys the literature on the development of global citizenship

education and discusses a signature pedagogy for global citizenship. The model she puts

forward consists of five components: theory, content, experiences, methodology, and

assessment. Catherine Broom and Heesoon Bai present us with a case study of developing

global citizenship through service learning curriculum. Vicki Bismilla provides us with an

insight into our multi-cultural and multi-ethnic classroom and how the use of a student’s

mother-tongue in the classroom can complement the learning process. Rafiqul Islam

explores the issue of the empowerment of rural women in Bangladesh through the

assistance of non-governmental agencies and the creation of self-income generating

activities.

Also in Bangladesh, Kazi Rouf examines the role that a micro-financing institution,

Grammen Bank, plays in encouraging participatory democracy. Eva Aboagye provides an

account of a college’s journal to incorporating global citizenship and equity principles in

the curriculum and the organization as a whole. Finally, Brenna Quigley takes a look at

issues of equity and social justice in the context of standardized tests with her review of the

Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test.

We were very encouraged by the quality of submissions we received and look

forward to a lively dialogue as we continue to define the field of global citizenship.

Dr. Vicki Bismilla

Dr. Margaret Brigham

Dr. Eva Aboagye

Editors

Journal of Global Citizenship & Equity Education Volume 1 Number 1 2011 journals.sfu.ca/jgcee

From Globalization to Global Sustainability: Perspectives on Transitions

Sandra Bhatasara Lecturer & Member of the Faculty of Social Studies Research Working Committee University of Zimbabwe, Sociology Department Research Associate – Women and Law in Southern Africa Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Consultant – Centgold Discovery Mining Consultancy

Keywords: Globalization; Transition; Sustainability; Pathways; Scenarios ABSTRACT: This paper critically looks at the development of sustainable globalization by offering a transition perspective. Globalization in its current form presents more challenges than opportunities to the global societies. Reversing the process is a myopic idea, yet it cannot be left to the dictates of its movers such as multinational corporations, global financial markets and trade regimes among others to make it sustainable. The argument forwarded here is that there is the need for a transition to sustainable globalization. A number of fundamental pathways maybe followed in the process of transition such as managing the global governance systems, global trade, global financial market, multinational corporations and information systems. However, this is not prescriptive but a set of scenarios and ideas that nation states and policy makers may consider. The transitions processes are also not smooth thus it is also important to critically look at the challenges that stand in the way and the negative repercussions to societies.

Introduction

This paper presents a transition perspective to sustainable globalization. In my view, globalization is not entirely bad. Globalization presents various opportunities in different domains. However, we cannot deny the fact that the current nature of globalization, in terms of the speed, extensiveness and impacts on the earth system is unsustainable. The argument that globalization should be steered towards sustainability is undeniable yet the daunting question is how can that be done? The complexity of globalization and sustainability defy simplistic explanations, thus one should take an interactive perspective on transition by looking at some key scenarios in global governance, global trade, multinational corporations, markets and information systems. However, one ought to acknowledge that transitions should be viewed in long term perspectives. Specific targets, indicators for transition and importance vary. There is no guarantee that transitions to sustainable globalization will be smooth thus, a number of challenges can be seen such as lack of institutional mechanisms, resources, political and ideological resistance among others. In this regard, the imperatives for understanding the necessity for transitions, the possible scenarios and challenges will be understood by subjecting relevant literature to critical scrutiny using the Critical Discourse Analysis approach. This paper should be considered as a “think piece”. Globalization, sustainability and transitions are too complex to be considered only from literature reviews. However, on the basis of the literature I

From Globalization to Global Sustainability: Perspectives on Transitions • 2

have reviewed, it has been possible to derive some scenarios and conclusions on the transition to sustainable globalization.

Review and Definitions of Concepts

Globalization has a plurality of definitions, some of them proffered by the

internalization, liberalization, universalization, westernization, modernization and deterritorialization approaches. This paper is concerned with transition to sustainable globalization which stems from the fact that the current nature of globalization is unsustainable hence the definition proffered here. Globalization refers to the unsustainable, accelerated integration, at the global level, of economic growth, environmental problems, human development, cultural dynamics and political engagements.

Sustainability is a difficult concept to define for various reasons. It is normative and there is no global consensus on what should be sustained. Some people argue for sustaining production systems whilst others argue for sustaining consumption patterns. At the same time, there are others who call for sustaining environmental quality, economic and social capital (Kemp and Loorbach, 2003). Borrowing from the World Commission on Environment and Development (1987), the issue of sustainability is related to development or growth that meets the present needs without endangering the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainability should be about equal opportunities to utilize resources intra-generationally and inter-generationally. Sustainability should also be based on the ethical principles of equity in distribution of income, wealth and control of resources. The National Research Council (1999), defines sustainability transition as meeting the needs of a stabilizing future world population while reducing hunger, poverty and maintaining the planet’s life support systems. The definitions by the World Commission on Environment and Development and the National Research Council capture the three pillars of sustainability, which are economy, society and ecology on which transitions to sustainability should focus. Grosskurth and Rotmans (2004), argue that one important denominator of these definitions is an implied balance of economic, ecological and social developments.

The concept of sustainable development has received criticism from various angles, one example being that it is considered as vague. Some scholars argue that the concept lacks definitional clarity thus it is prone to manipulation. However, the lack of clarity can be a strength in the sense it allows for a multiplicity of contextual interpretations which are absent in classical development discourses. At the same time, sustainability in most cases is interpreted in economic terms to mean sustainable economic development. Bensimon and Benatar (2006), for example argue that sustainable development should not be considered in economic terms, but should reflect other important aspects that are needed for a decent human life as well (e.g. education, a healthy living environment and democracy). As noted by Huynen (2008), they propose an alternate concept the “development of sustainability” instead of sustainable development.

Transition is also a highly contested concept, invoking various views from different scholars. According to Rotmans (2000), referring to the ICIS-MERIT (International Center for Integrated Assessment and Sustainable Development–Maastricht University Economic and Social Research Institute for Innovation and Technology) Report, transition is a gradual process of societal change in which society or an important sub-system of society structurally changes. Kemp and Loorbach, (2003) noted that transition is a result of an interplay of developments

JGCEE, Vol. 1, No. 1, August 2011 • 3

that sustain and reinforce each other thus transitions are not caused by a single variable and are non-linear in nature.

Thus, borrowing from Martens and Rotmans (2002), in this paper, transitions refer to possible policies, strategies, paths or projects that can be undertaken towards the development of sustainability in a globalizing world.

A Case for Transitions to Sustainable Globalization

The phenomenon of globalization raises a number of questions or even quarrels and

one of the most imperative questions is on sustainability. Here I present why we need transitions to sustainability in a globalizing world.

Supporters of globalization often associate it with unending prosperity and peace yet there are built in contradictions that make globalization unsustainable. Globalization supporters address the question of sustainability in a token fashion, if at all. The rapid growth of global markets and corporate capital is evident; however this growth raises the issue of sustainability. Huynen (2008) noted that “today it is acknowledged that achieving sustainable development on global scale is one of the greatest challenges for the 21st century” (p. 3).

In addition, a number of scholars converge on the idea that the current nature of globalization is threatening the earth’s capacity to sustain life. Nagarajan (2006) noted that some global indicators of change in the Earth’s landscape are distinct signs of human domination of the planet. These are increased atmospheric carbon dioxide, substantial modification of the planet’s land surface, increased use of finite fresh water supply, vastly modified nitrogen cycles, overexploitation or depleted fisheries and mass extinction of species (Nagarajan, 2006). Global warming, the thinning of the ozone layer, pollution, loss of biodiversity, depletion of natural resources, widespread desertification and deforestation are occurring within the context of globalization. These environmental problems restrict the set of options at the disposal of future generations to meet their needs thus sustainability becomes problematic. Furthermore, massive population movement and urbanization are also causing an ecological crisis. Ecological degradation reduces land productivity, threatens human health and worsens the conditions of the poor. In this regard, globalization is unsustainable.

Globalization may improve the material and social wellbeing of poor people but may be economically, socially, politically and ecologically unsustainable. The volatility of global markets is evident and history may repeat itself. The crash of the Argentine economy, the financial crisis in Asia in 1997 and the 2008 worldwide financial crisis are clear indicators of how financial contagion can produce economic depression. The volatility of global financial markets is systemic and there is nothing that is fully regulating it. Electronic trading makes it impossible to regulate global financial markets and international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are unable to do so.

The myth of free trade is causing instability and socio-economic exclusion of the poor. According to Baum (2001), the current forms of globalization are making the world a safe place for unfettered market liberalism and the consequent growth of inequities. The developed countries use protectionist policies and subsidies on agricultural and cultural products whilst reducing protection over manufacturing industries. This is leading to the marginalization of the less developed countries in the form of low trade. In addition, there are myopic ideas of economic growth with prosperity. What is happening is not economic growth but, growth of specialization of production in countries such as India and China. The question is who will consume all the innovation and products? Another reason, globalization is economically


unsustainable is because of labour requirements and the devaluation of labour. The question is who will provide labour for the entire world?

Globalization is socio-culturally unsustainable because it is exclusionary and uneven. Two thirds of humanity is living in endemic poverty yet high growth rates are being witnessed. There is poverty among plenty or growth with poverty. The trickle down effect that proponents of globalization talk about has remained elusive. International and intra national income inequalities have widened. Globalization is distorting and swallowing local and national cultural values. Globalization is destroying subsistence economies of the poor, social security and moral geographies of poor nations. The principles of sustainability are therefore distorted. McMichael, Smith and Corvalan (2000) noted that it is because of unmanaged “transition” to development that is generalized to all countries in the form of unsustainable production patterns and wasteful consumption of rich nations that a new system is urgently required.

Financial assistance to the poor nations by the developed nations is reducing the poor nations to super exploited neo-colonies relegated to the roles of primary commodity producers entirely dependent and subordinate to the powers of multinational corporations. Globalization creates a risky and speculative or spoiled dependency. The nation state is said to have been incapacitated by liberalization.

On another note, immigration policies of the developed countries are exclusionary. They regulate the free movement of skilled labour yet they advocate free, unregulated trade. Globalization supposes integration yet there are no equal opportunities between the rich and the poor. This inequality negatively affects the economic performance of the poor countries. Global inequalities may also give rise to nationalistic reactions, resentment and terrorism thus upsetting peace and political stability. Ultimately, trade and the flow of people and goods are threatened. Consequently, the social, economic and political sustainability of globalization is jeopardized. To this end, there is a strong case for transitions.

Methodology

This paper is essentially a “think piece” and is based on qualitative literature review.

To avoid omitting critical data, the review of literature did not follow a strict exclusion and inclusion criteria thus literature that contains relevant information on the theme focused on in this paper was included. A rigorous desk review was conducted to identify the relevant literature which includes journal articles, reports and books. In reviewing the literature, Critical Discourse Analysis method/approach was employed.

A number of scholars acknowledge that the concept discourse is slippery thus does not have a unitary definition. Jorgensen and Phillips (2002) define discourse as a “particular way of talking about and understanding the world or aspect of the world” (p. 1-229). The scholars go on to say that discourse can be a group of ideas or patterned way of thinking which can be identified in text, verbal communication or social structures or a form of social action that plays a part in producing and reproducing the social world. On the other hand, Wood and Kroger (2000) state that “Discourse are possible statements about a given area and organizes and, gives structure to the manner in which a particular topic, object, action and process is talked about.” (p. 137). In this regard, narratives or debates about globalization, transitions, and sustainability can be treated as discourse.

Wood and Kroger (2000) noted that “Discourse Analysis is a way of thinking about discourse, treating data, action or spoken language”. (p. 156) Critical Discourse Analysis has been informed by scholars such as Habermas, Lucas, Althusser, Gramsci, Ardono and Foucault


and their main argument is that critical theory should be directed towards critiquing, changing and improving the understanding of society. Taylor (2004) regards Critical Discourse Analysis “as a framework for systematic analysis of multiple and competing policy discourses” (p.1-20). Thus, in this paper, transitions and sustainability maybe regarded as policy options. Critical Discourse Analysis is reflexive, open to multiple readings and accepts the limits of objectivist impartiality (Flowerdew, 1999: 1093). Critical Discourse Analysis is an interpretive, descriptive and explanatory form of critical research that rejects the dominance of value-free science and disinterested facts. Flowerdew, 1999:1094), says that “Critical Discourse Analysis approach is dialogical and it is made plausible by literature review and self-disclosure. To this end, the literature review looked at debates, arguments and statements on transitions, globalization and sustainability are subjected to systematic inquiry using Critical Discourse Analysis.

However, Critical Discourse Analysis approach has some limitations. Discourse and Critical Discourse Analysis can be defined from any perspective and this may lead to conceptual confusion and dangers of competing and uncontrolled methodologies. On the other hand, Stubbs (1997) acknowledged that Critical Discourse Analysis is a disguised form of political correctness. Furthermore, there is no specific method for conducting Critical Discourse Analysis thus replicability of methods of analysis may be difficult.

Pathways to Sustainable Globalization: Key Scenarios

The necessity for a transition to sustainable globalization has been shown above.

However the actual transition processes may vary among global nations, from moderate to radical, incremental to contingency or precautionary approaches. Some people would argue that moderate approaches, reforms and management are what are necessary and feasible to correct imbalances created by globalization and, to steer globalization in the direction of long term sustainability. Though not very explicit, there can also be conditions that should be met for smooth transitions. In addition, we cannot deny the fact that transitions can have very negative repercussions on nations and societies therefore there should be careful considerations on which direction to take. In order to avoid misunderstandings, it is imperative for me to state what this paper does not argue. The following views are not blueprints or prescriptions that should be followed. These are desirable scenarios in order to make the transition to sustainable globalization.

Governance Systems

Transitions require new forms of adaptive and dynamic systems of governance and

strong institutions. We need to acknowledge the limits of traditional global bureaucracies. “The sustainability transition cannot be expected to occur on its own or as the inevitable outcome of current trends. It will only occur if we make it happen, and so in the near future. This is a task for the international community, as it feels its way towards more effective forms of global decision making” (McMichael, Smith and Corvalan, 2000).

McMichael et al. (2000) noted that the biggest motivation for transition will be to understand the risks to human health posed by overloading the biosphere. In line with this, one can argue that transitions within the ecological domain of globalization should focus first on the three cornerstones of global governance. These are intergovernmental organizations, Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and finance mechanisms. Intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and World Trade


Organization (WTO) are responsible for coordinating different policies at the international level. According to the World Resources Institute (WRI, 2003), UNEP can be strengthened by substantial and reliable funding (including national contributions) and restructuring for effective coordination of policies. MEAs represent the legal framework for international governance, for example the Kyoto Protocol and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). One can argue that transition within the current system of international environmental treaties for sustainable globalization requires a mix of incremental policies and fundamental systems change. Goals should be institutionalized within the United Nations frameworks. Borrowing from the WRI (2003), harmonizing MEAs by cooperative research, shared capacity development, education programmes and cooperative monitoring of compliance are steps that can be taken. For example the Kyoto Protocol is not enough to reduce carbon emissions if there are no credible monitoring mechanisms.

The global financial regimes represented by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are responsible for financing different mandates including environment policies. In light of this, transition to sustainable globalization in this domain should be done by creating new rules for investment, lending, and borrowing. There is a need to synchronize the environment management regimes with the economic and financial policies and responsibilities of the World Bank and IMF. There is an urgent need for transparency and accountability by the financial regimes so as to promote a sustainable system of financial assistance to the developing countries. Though it is not clear how it can be done, the aid and debt regimes should be such that they do not harm developing countries, they provide risk reduction and provide ways towards international bankruptcy laws that specifically benefit poor nations (Stiglitz, 2006).

I would rather subscribe to Streck’s (2002) concept of “networked governance” than nothing. She presented that “networked governance” brings together governments, the private sector, and civil society organizations. There are also commendable recent trends in global governance that indicate that the focus has shifted from intergovernmental activities to multi-sectoral initiatives such as changes from governance at the international level to governance across different levels, and from a largely formal, legalistic process to a less formal, more participatory and integrated approach. However, the successes of this framework cannot be overstated.

Global public policy networks have been identified as a noble part of such governance framework to address sustainability problems posed by globalization hence they should be supported. Global public policy networks offer a promising model for how to handle new governance problems because complex sustainability problems cannot be governed by a single sector, such as the public sector or from a single level, such as the national level. Governance structures building on networks are able to bridge the gap between the public, the for-profit, and the non-profit sectors and to integrate human and financial resources to globalized multifaceted sustainability problems. Streck (2002:7) emphasized that:

The promise of these networks lies in two central domains. First, through their ability to formulate quick responses to urgent problems, networks offer the opportunity to close the operational gap that characterizes international environmental policy today. Second, through their multi- sectoral and non-hierarchical structure, networks promise to bridge the participation gap that often is the main reason behind international political deadlocks. Because of these two characteristics, global public policy networks generate benefits that go beyond the sum of their parts. (p. 7)


For example, though not everyone would agree and of course there are some flaws, the World Commission on Dams (WCD), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and the flexible mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol are some of the cases of networks that have been instrumental in forging successful working arrangements (Streck, 2002). Inclusiveness, openness, and transparency are the key principles around which the WCD was formed. With funding from a variety of public, private, and civil society organizations, the WCD conducted a comprehensive global review of the performance and impact of large dams. The organization held public consultations on five continents and was funded through a new model involving contributions from governments, businesses, and NGOs. One of the lessons learned from the WCD is that establishing a basic measure of trust is critical for consensus building and standard setting in a conflict-ridden environment, although it is time consuming and costly. In highly contentious policy arenas, a participatory and inclusive approach, using open sourcing to pool knowledge, is imperative for producing effective and politically sustainable results (Streck, 2002).

The GEF has attempted to operationalize a unique and integrative governing structure which combines structural flexibility with a strong ability to adapt to a changing globalizing environment. Through the restructuring process, the GEF became more transparent, more democratic (with a double majority voting system), and more detached from the control of the World Bank (Streck, 2002). It built a significant role for NGOs, recognizing the value of institutionalizing alternative perspectives (Esty, 1998). NGOs within the GEF contribute to consultations prior to each Council meeting; observe at Council meetings; engage in working groups on demand by the GEF Secretariat; generate data, information, and independent analyses; provide inputs to other activities initiated by the Secretariat (monitoring and evaluation activities, programs, and operational strategies) and lobby for donor contributions.

In as much as I have problems with the Kyoto Protocol, I cannot deny the fact that some of its aspects provide evidence of the strength of networked governance. Through the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI), the flexible mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol, the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change established a platform that allows public-private networks to develop, finance, and supervise projects. The Kyoto mechanisms surely present great examples on deal making, matching interest and resources. In this regard, “networked governance” through global policy networks can be a great mover of the transition process.

Trade

Trade is one of the major driving forces of globalization. As mentioned above, new

systems of global governance should be adopted and should, among others, be extended to governing trade. However we cannot expect the World Trade Organization (WTO) to be democratic in a day. We should seek other avenues thus, a dynamic transition towards more fair-trade and fair traders is necessary. Fair-trade has some of the following characteristics: paying a fair wage in local context, public accountability, long term trade relationships, transparency about production costs, and nutritional characteristics of products (Becchetti and Adriani, 2004). Fair-trade must be a strategy towards global sustainability and to alleviate poverty that goes a long way than economic benefits. Raynolds, Murray and Taylor (2004) noted that while financial benefits of fair-trade appear the most significant in the short run, in the long run, it is the empowerment and capacity building nature of fair-trade that will prove most important in fuelling sustainable development. Becchetti and Adriani (2004) provide the bottom up approach in the fair trade system whereby consumers in the developed countries can


demand ethical products and fair prices for goods from the developing countries. This also requires a transition from free traders to more fair traders.

Stiglitz (2006) has outlined some of the conditions necessary for the transition to a sustainable fair trade system such as developed countries opening their markets without conditionalities, broadening development alternatives of developing countries and moving away from reciprocal trade among all to reciprocal trade among equals. In this case, medium income countries will trade with developing countries in a more fair way because the development and power gaps are not as wide. However, transition is also required in the developing countries for the fair trade system to take effect such as good governance, knowledge, infrastructure and technology.

The relative success of fair trade movements and Alternative Trade Organizations (ATOs) as highlighted by Leclair (2002) and Raynolds (2000) indicates that transition to global sustainability is possible. Raynolds (2002), in her reference to global agriculture, noted that by demystifying global relations of exchange and challenging capitalist market competitiveness, fair trade movements can create progressive ways to bridge the North/South divide and end MNCs socially and environmentally destructive business. New systems of production and trade in the agro-food system can be created through lobbying for progressive alterations of international regulations, creating new networks and raising consumers’ consciousness.

Leclair (2002) showed that transition is possible as he outlines some of the achievements that have occurred so far to promote the global fair trade agenda. By focusing on the most disadvantaged groups in countries such as Kenya, India and Peruvia, ATOs have managed to foster product development, raise consumer awareness, empower local producers and give producers a relatively stronger position in the world market. On a different note, following the collapse of talks in Doha in 2006, the ideas of greening trade and creating an open, non-discriminatory multilateral trading system are still very challenging yet they are crucial in sustainable globalization. Successful transitions can be achieved by widening the terrain for negotiation, creating new regimes for partnerships, interactive and multidimensional synergies within the global trading system.

Multinational Corporations

Global sustainability transitions require some continuous redefinition of social

responsibility of corporations and economic responsibility of the state. This redefinition can be done within the realm of global governance mentioned in the preceding paragraphs. Bhagwati (2004) said that the edifice of corporate social responsibility should be based on altruism and regulations. Stiglitz (2006) though not very explicit, suggested that the globalization of monopolies requires global corporate laws that are enforceable. Stiglitz (2006) further argued that there should be polices to limit the power of multinational corporations, improve corporate governance and systems to reduce the scope of corruption by both governments and corporations. For example, let us examine global taxation systems, particularly the harmful effects on developing nations when multinational corporations engage in tax avoidance scams.

Singh (2005) agrees that tax issues have remained very essential in the debates of international financial architecture. Gray (1998:82), noted that investment decisions are influenced by the ability of transnational corporations to extract tax and regulatory concessions from competing governments, leading to profound market distortions which undermine the assumptions of the global trade model. The world saw in Germany in the summer of 2004, crowds of people joining together to act against tax avoidance carried out by multinational telecom Vodafone and experts in taxation and activists of social movements from India, UK,


Belgium, Finland and Peru have also called for reforms against practices such as transfer pricing, thin capitalization, and bank secrecy.

Regarding tax avoidance and other associated tax problems, several policy scenarios are necessary though it is difficult to conclude which ones work. Some scholars such as Hampton and Christensen (2003) proposed that the only way to effectively counter harmful tax practices is through global initiatives. Singh (2005) goes for the Tobin tax and removing tax bureaucracy. On the other hand, Christensen, Coleman and Kapoor (2005) argue that tax justice should be the focus of global activism. From all these scenarios, I support that a multilateral framework is required to balance the need for sovereign states to protect their tax revenues from aggressive tax avoidance, respecting the right of democratic governments to determine a tax rate appropriate to their circumstances. At the same time, measures are required that will empower governments to stem their tax losses and to resist pressure from transnational corporations to degrade their tax regimes. For example, in 2003, the United Nations General Assembly signaled a move in this direction when it decided to move towards the creation of an inter-governmental commission to re-orient the international tax policy framework.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR), although regarded as a dubious agenda is one way in which multinational corporations can move the transition process. I do not agree with the conclusion by Frynas (2005) that “…, my argument is that there are fundamental problems about the capacity of private firms to deliver development, and the aspiration of achieving broader development goals through CSR may be flawed”. Multinational corporations (MNCs) can have a positive impact in developing countries, especially through CSR initiatives focusing on sustainable development and co-operation with civil society (Ite, 2004). I would agree with his conclusion that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has a powerful potential to make positive contributions to addressing the needs of disadvantaged communities if underlined by good governance practices. There is need to strengthen global corporate social responsibility movements like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Corporate Watch and Social Accountability International in their endeavors to influence corporate behavior in socio-economic and environmental issues through rational persuasion, litigations, consumer boycotts, shareholder activism, social auditing and selective purchasing laws. There are some success stories such as those against Chevron and Shell in Nigeria, Unocal in Burma and Texaco in Ecuador. Global corporate social responsibility movements may one day lead to the adoption of globally enforceable legal standards that bind MNCs to their social and environmental responsibilities for us to have a transition to sustainable globalization.

Markets

In this area, new architecture and modest adjustments are required for transition to

sustainable globalization. Bhagwati (2004) talked about the new architecture of non-governmental entities such as Merck in Botswana, which can be platforms for economic transition and offer international alternatives to global marketization. Though it seems utopian, some scholars have suggested global and regional social contracts and surveillance of banking and finance systems by a central world institution. One can argue that after the 2008 economic and financial crisis there is need for a transition towards new global market and financial order around the nexus of partially regulated economic growth, financial discipline, social development and environmental quality based on trustworthy partnerships between the public and private spheres. Becchetti and Adriani (2002) noted that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) supports the idea of creating global public goods, however the feasibility of the idea is questionable.


The deregulation of markets is not enough to ensure sustainability thus, rules of international markets should be radically reformed by establishing a minimal but effective regulation of these markets. The regulations of international markets should be done in a non-bureaucratic and accountable way and it should ensure the participation of all countries in the decision making process and its application. The process of deregulation should be in line with environmental and social constraints that underlie the sustainability of globalization. Regional markets and blocks, though their flaws cannot be underestimated can also be alternatives to global neoliberalism and these should be taken seriously. For example, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), formed in 1967 has recorded some notable successes.

Global Activism

Globalization can be managed and moderated if activism and public opinion pressure

governments and markets decisions for democracy, equal market competition and environmental sustainability or quality to improve economic, ecological and social conditions. In Seattle in 1999 activists denounced starvation wages, labor standards in Asia and inadequate work and health conditions. There were anti-IMF/WB demonstrations in Washington in April 2000 and Prague in September 2000 and Mexican farmers demonstrated in solidarity for credit at favorable interests for agricultural development and better conditions of access of their products to North American markets.

Berchiesi (2001) looked at South African organized labour, with particular regard to the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU). SAMWU has been challenged by the pervasive penetration of global capital and multinational corporations in schemes of “Public–Private partnership” in the delivery of municipal infrastructures and it identified international action against global capitalism as a decisive terrain of struggle for workers’ and citizens’ rights. Berchiesi noted that the struggles of South African municipal workers underline the relevance of issues of privatization, both in linking union activism to the broader demands of grassroots communities and in providing new potential connections between the discourses of local specificity and globalised resistance. However, Berchiesi (2001) acknowledged the union’s difficulties in articulating an effective confrontation reflects broader problems in internationalist approaches adopted by South African labour.

The response of Brazil’s Central Única dos Trabalhadores to the challenges of liberalization posed by the rise of the Common Market of the Southern Cone (MERCOSUR) shows the need for transnational alliances:

With the globalisation of economy, we will not be able to face problems like unemployment through defensive and corporatist actions, confined to a national ambit. On the contrary, it will be by acting in an integrated form with workers of other countries that we will confront the consequences of trade and production liberalisation…. One of the weaknesses of our action has been the nonexistence of joint co-ordination and action with other organisations of the social and popular movement. MERCOSUR affects the sovereignty and the interests of the whole society and a charter of social rights must be a joint demand. (Central Unica dos Trabalhadores, 1996, p. 12)

Global activism needs to be coordinated and solidarity negotiated. These organizations can be invaluable allies to worker organizations as unions forge new networks of opposition to capitalism (Waterman, 2000).


These episodes and examples show how irresponsible and unsustainable globalization can be challenged in order to make it sustainable. In line with activism is the promotion of policies on education to redress inequality, particularly in the current phase of globalization characterized by increased mobility of information. This should be linked to new institutions that ensure participation of all nations. These new institutions can also become strong platforms for global education, macro-economic policies, infrastructure and rule of law.

Transition Challenges

Transition to sustainable globalization can be deterred by a number of challenges.

Because of their economic and political hegemony, developed nations reject alternatives by the developing countries such as the removal of subsidies to farmers in developed countries. Realities in developing countries such as poverty, meager human, technological and financial resources, political instability and HIV and AIDS are setbacks towards sustainable globalization.

On the other hand, transition to democratic and fair systems of trade may not include progressive forces, for example the creation of parallel markets and right wing corporate opposition. Cheru (2000) noted that there are no basic institutional pillars for transitions such as education, democratic participatory structures and infrastructure especially in developing nations. For example in some Asian and African countries, administrative incapacity can make them fail to implement strategies and laws that are noble to deter harmful corporate deeds by multinational corporations.

The other major challenges that we would face are issues of prioritization and disagreements on what really needs to be sustained to achieve global sustainability. The cases in point are the debates on climate change and biodiversity. As if geography, climate, population size and resource differences are not enough, there are irreconcilable ideological differences for example between the Western and the Islamic worlds.

Conclusion

The transitions to sustainable globalization should be projects worth pursuing. The

unsustainable character of the current globalization process poses threats to the earth system and all life within it. In this regard, there is a need for coming up with effective transition policies and strategies. However, there is also need to recognize that transitions cannot occur over night. It has been shown in this paper that a number of impediments or setbacks stand in the way. It is very challenging to find solutions to these barriers but it is worth trying. Among others, transnational non-governmental organizations and other global movements can lobby governments through the United Nations for specific changes, strengthening informal society groups, and informal economies, building inclusive alliances, monitoring Corporate Social Responsibility of multinational corporations and promoting collective self-reliance in developing countries. There is need to create social protection networks to cushion those who are negatively affected by the transition processes. It is also necessary to monitor trends, for example regionally, and assess progress otherwise we will end up with unsustainable transitions. There is no doubt this will take new dynamics in global partnership commitment and resources.


References

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Creating a Global Citizen and Assessing Outcomes Margaret Brigham, Ph.D. Dean, Institute for Global Citizenship & Equity Centennial College

Keywords: Global Citizenship Education; Learning Paradigm

ABSTRACT: This article examines development of the field of global citizenship education in postsecondary education in Canada. Analysis centers on the forces of globalization and internationalization as a catalyst for innovation. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is invoked to explain the nature of transformative education and reflective practice. A signature pedagogy is identified for global citizenship education based on an emerging model. The model consists of five components: theory, content, experiences, methodology, and assessment. Student outcomes are defined in terms of a demonstrated ability to act with a global mindset based on an application of values, ethics, identity, social justice perspective, intercultural skills, and sense of responsibility.

Introduction

Global citizenship education provides an opportunity for situational analysis into the

dynamics of organizational development and change. This article explores reform, revitalization, and innovation. Research questions include:

• What set the direction for change? • How was implementation executed in postsecondary education in Canada? and • What was the impact of such change?

The case study narrative, based on documents and scholarship, gives meaning and

definition to such questions as: What is global citizenship education? What are its components? Moreover, how do we define it for assessment purposes?

Part I: The Policy Context

A. The Impetus for Change

The forces of globalization and internationalization represent a powerful catalyst for

change. Globalization is the process of increasing interconnectedness between societies such that events in one part of the world more and more affect people and societies far away (Kelleher and Klein, 2006). Internationalization applied to a campus involves integrating an international, intercultural, or global dimension into the purpose, functions or delivery of postsecondary education (Knight, 2004). In a report that evaluates study abroad and international exchange programs, the authors note that “globalization may be the most


important factor in the development of higher education worldwide” (Massey and Burrow, 2009). The first research question guiding our inquiry is ---What set the direction for change?

Canada’s postsecondary education system, which consists of several sectors, perceives itself thrust into change. Accordingly, the Association of Canadian Community Colleges notes that, “Canadian society is transforming in response to the forces of globalization, the demands of the knowledge/information economy, and the challenges of demographic change” (ACCC Pre-Budget Consultations, 2009). Similarly, from the university sector, the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, points to an “unprecedented level and depth of global interaction in all domains -- economic, political, and cultural” that alters the way we do business in the “new global context” (AUCC, 1995). Further, from an institutional perspective, Massey and Burrow (2009) in a recent research report suggest that the influences are widespread and impacting “where, when, and for how much, higher education is provided, delivered and practiced”.

What is Global Citizenship? About some things, there is much agreement and common definitions tend to overlap. Yet, as demonstrated by the following descriptive statements, global citizenship is a concept that assumes many forms and meanings and it is highly dependent on the particular context in which it is used.

Atlantic Council for International Cooperation, Halifax

Global Citizenship is: • A way of understanding---how the world works, links between our own lives and

those of people throughout the world. • A way of seeing--- social justice and equity, other people’s reality, diversity, inter-

connectedness, and the way that people can make a difference. • A way of acting---exercising political rights, critical thinking, and challenging

injustice

Oxfam Canada

We see a Global Citizen as someone who: • is aware of the wider world and has a sense of their own role as a world citizen; • respects and values diversity; • has an understanding of how the world works economically, politically, socially,

culturally, technologically and environmentally; • is outraged by social injustice; • participates in and contributes to the community at a range of levels from local to

global; • is willing to act to make the world a more sustainable place; • takes responsibility for their actions.

Centennial College President, Ann Buller

We want our students to: • Better appreciate the role they can play in addressing challenges in the world today

Creating a Global Citizen and Assessing Outcomes • 17

• Be equipped with the critical thinking skills necessary to work together in today’s multicultural and multinational business environment

• Learn about the global issues of our time • Show compassion for people in our community and other communities • Take action to improve our lives, our community and the global community

University of Alberta, Dialogue on Educating for Global Citizenship

The aim is to create a global citizenship curriculum that: • Helps prepare students to be active, responsible citizens • Engaged in the democratic process • Aware of their capacity to effect change in their communities, society and the world.

The Influence of Government

The concept has received further definition as a result of political proceedings. Global

citizenship is invoked by government as being synonymous with globalization and internationalization. For instance, Ontario’s postsecondary education review, conducted by Bob Rae (2005), was entitled Ontario a Leader in Learning and it indicated several areas for reform. As the rationale of the report notes, “Ontario must face up to the many different challenges of globalization”. While the report did not directly address global citizenship, it did pursue a theme of quality and innovation to make the student experience rewarding and successful through “experience abroad” and “international students”. Specific recommendations called for improvements in the internationalization of the student population; in the marketing of colleges and universities to students from other countries; and for an increase in study abroad opportunities.

Besides the Rae report, Ontario’s Internationalization Strategy (Steenkamp, 2008) reports key objectives for the marketing of postsecondary education services to the international community, and for developing and increasing the opportunities for Ontario students to study abroad. An official of Ontario’s Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, notes in relation to the strategy, that international education has become a “competitive sector within the field of postsecondary education”. In fact, since 2004 the province has approved a yearly allocation of $1 million for the international marketing of postsecondary education. The intent of the stimulus is to enhance the reputation of postsecondary educational institutions as distinguished, diverse, and the welcoming providers of a valuable learning experience (Steenkamp, 2008). The conceptual alignment of global citizenship with the broader forces of change is a prelude to the strengthening of global citizenship education.

A Strategic Learning Objective

Of the utmost importance, are the policy directives by colleges and universities that

translate the concept into an educational objective. Mission statements clearly reflect an alignment with globalization and internationalization, but in addition seek to produce graduates who possess a global mindset. A case in point, Centennial College’s policy commitments state that “In creating good global citizens” we will promote the values associated with global citizenship, social justice and equity, as distinguished through portfolios, international learning


experiences, cross-cultural learning opportunities, and an international bursary program for study abroad. Along the same lines, Lambton College’s value commitments state, “In all of our interactions, we commit to responsible global citizenship”. Likewise, Thompson Rivers University has a global competency commitment, and the University of Ottawa’s academic strategic plan affirms that to move onto the international stage, “ensure that the University’s main concern is to train global citizens.”

In short, global citizenship remains a broadly defined concept in Canadian postsecondary education. An important development however, is that it has the attention of policymakers. As a new and emerging priority, communication pertaining to the concept of global citizenship differs across a variety of Canadian educational and legislative contexts. For the task at hand, we will devise a more specific definition, as a step toward identifying what skill set will be incorporated later as student learning outcomes. As indicated, the influence of globalization and internationalization is changing lives worldwide, leading government and higher education to articulate goals for international and cross-cultural experiences. Additionally, there are some general themes emerging from the various contexts reviewed. In the current study, global citizenship means possessing the values, ethics, identity, social justice perspective, intercultural skills, and sense of responsibility to act with a global mindset.

B. The Implementation Framework

Accountability for internationalization reform is highly dependent on collaboration

rather than formal compliance. Results of a survey reported by the Canadian Bureau for International Education (2009), show that Canadian institutions view “developing global citizens” as their top reason for promoting study abroad (44%), followed by strengthening international understanding (23%), developing intercultural awareness (11%), and as a means to increase job skills and employability (5%). Furthermore, in this report, the president of the organization, underscores that “Canada cannot afford a new generation of graduates whose exposure to the world is confined to the classroom and the media, however in-depth, ubiquitous and helpful these may be” (CBIE, 2009). A submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance by the Association of Canadian Community Colleges makes note that while “many employers are anxious to hire graduates with international experience” Canada lags behind other countries “in promoting and investing in international student mobility” (ACCC Pre-Budget Consultations, 2009).

Mobility Statistics

Mobility programs that “send or receive” students constitute a step toward preparing

them for global citizenship. As a policy relevant statistic, study abroad rates show that 2.2% of University students and 1.1% of College students in Canada take part in mobility programs (ACCC, 2010; AUCC, 2007). Although the number is quite low, there is growing interest among students. According to the Canadian Bureau for International Education’s World of Learning report “the institutional vehicle for these mobility programs is study abroad” with the “potential to be no less than a transformative experience that alters a student’s sense of self and understanding of others in the world.” Study abroad is defined as “any internationally based program or experience including exchange, clinical placement, field placement, internship, co-op placement, practicum or voluntary service/work placement offered by a postsecondary


institution, of varying durations and places, and for which academic credit may or may not be granted” (CBIE, 2009).

International Activity

Unlike the United States where the integrated postsecondary database system (IPEDS) provides higher education statistics, Canada has no comparable system. Instead, internationalization is evaluated through surveys conducted by the various sectors. To illustrate, the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (2010) conducted a survey on “Internationalizing Canadian Colleges and Institutes”. Data collection will serve as a benchmark for how institutions are doing in comparison to their peers, and as a baseline for the degree of internationalization taking shape in the coming years. The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (2007) conducted a similar survey to track the “depth and breadth” of member institutions’ international activities and “integration of an international and intercultural dimension to teaching/learning, research and community service on campuses across the country.” These reports, which had survey response rates of 74% and 78% respectively, constitute voluntary monitoring of the scope of internationalization that is occurring in Canadian higher education.

Outcome-Based Learning

Student learning outcomes connect program quality and workforce training to the emerging global economy. As an accountability mechanism, they consist of two types of outcomes. Program outcomes refer to the performance demonstrated by all learners upon completion of a program. Course learning requirements, also called benchmarks, reflect the outcomes set for a course, module, or unit of learning (Algonquin College, 2008). For global citizenship education, it is important to note that the same learning outcome is achievable through the study of a wide variety of content, and by student participation in different learning experiences. The measures are part of a trend towards outcome-based education in Ontario. Introduced in a government document entitled Vision 2000: Quality and Opportunity (1990), student outcomes are affirmed by the Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Act, 2002 (Woodhead, 2009).

What is the status of research on global citizenship outcomes? According to a recent report on internationalizing Canadian campuses, targeted research is lacking that can “identify the benefits of an international experience, specify the desired learning outcomes and determine the indicators for the skills, values and perspectives needed to become a global citizen” (AUCC, 2006). In a study that looked at the study/volunteer abroad programs offered as part of Canada‘s foreign policy mandate, a focus was on their role in educating global citizens. Outcomes are described as “life-transforming experiences” that increased “cross-cultural understanding” by immersion in different cultures. Researchers point out that “personal growth” often is quite simply a natural outcome of living abroad (Tiessen, 2008) and not necessarily a result of participation in a postsecondary experience. Yet, a dominant claim of international immersions is their ability to transform participants (Crabtree, 2008). The challenge for college and university programs is to isolate the human experience involved in global citizenship education, as well as develop measures for tracking global competence.

A study by Hunter et al (2006) investigated the question “what does it mean to be globally competent?” Using a Delphi technique and a survey of 133 participants, the study


involved human resource managers, international educators, United Nations officials, intercultural trainers, and foreign government officers. Results produced a formal definition for assessment purposes. Global competence was technically defined as “having an open mind while actively seeking to understand cultural norms and expectations of others, plus leveraging this gained knowledge to interact, communicate and work effectively outside of one’s own environment”. Applying Hunter’s definition as a measure of global citizenship, Grudzinski-Hall, (2007) evaluated a representative group of 25 colleges and universities offering undergraduate level global citizenship programs on a range of specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes. According to the findings of this study, global competencies are not synonymous with global citizenship. Further research is needed to decipher the implications of these results.

C. The Turning Point

Global realities combined with the internationalization of postsecondary education,

marks a turning point for global citizenship education. Colleges and universities have traditionally cordoned off learning experiences related to global citizenship across a range of departments. Examples of these affiliations include General education, International education, Service learning, Foreign languages, Teacher education, and Study Abroad programs. The location, in terms of organizational structure, speaks to the emerging nature of the field and a need to focus from an academic perspective on global citizenship as a learning objective.

Not surprisingly, scholarly conferences offer a forum to discuss global citizenship. For

instance, Brandon University’s President Emeritus, Dr. John Mallea offers a viewpoint that “Canada is at a crossroads in developing its global role in the 21st century.” Specifically on the university’s role in developing global citizens, he notes that the “international dimension of people’s lives is becoming more important, as well as their global identification, not only in consumption and employment, but also participation in global civic society.” As an astute observer, Mallea makes the point that “A central challenge is reinterpreting the public good, civic society and citizenship in global terms” (Mallea, 2006).

Reframing Global Citizenship Education

Global citizenship education is not new. The concept of a “global citizen” continues as

a contested site of scholarly discourse and debate. What is new is the reframing of it as an educational policy objective by Canada and other nations of the world. Study abroad, for example, is undergoing a profound shift in goals from “cultural acquisition to global citizenship” per the new global order (Lewin, 2009). Similarly, student outcomes once articulated as the preparation of students to move seamlessly between North America and Europe and characterized as “the Grand Tour”; now reflect a focus on the preparation of students to compete in the global marketplace or to find solutions to problems of global significance (Lewin, 2009). The factors involved in this shift are the blurring of economic boundaries between nations, the nation state failing as the principal site for identity construction, the increase in global cooperation to address political, social, economic, and environmental problems, and the advent of Internet and instantaneous communications (Lewin, 2009).


Emerging Field in Canada Global citizenship education in many sectors has subsumed multicultural education,

peace education, human rights education, and international education. It is an emerging field of research and scholarship that “combines the local and international with the goal of global citizenship as an educational outcome” (Longo and Saltmarsh, 2011). To illustrate, Pike (2008) explores the broadening of citizenship education in Canada to a global context and indicates a “merging of learning objectives”. Shultz and Jorgenson (2008) survey global citizenship literature and highlight “transdisciplinarity” as a new research approach allowing for “holistic” framing and analysis of socially relevant issues. Pashby (2008) examines the potential of global citizenship for negotiating a “sense of belonging” that “re-imagines political community, encounters and engages diversity, and in exposing the symbolic act of citizenship, constructs citizenship as a site of struggle.” Finally, O’Sullivan and Pashby (2008) relate Canadian perspectives to a host of issues such as “global and national citizenship, critical and transformative pedagogies, and mutually responsible and competitive global impulses”.

D. Summary

In sum, reform in Canadian postsecondary education was triggered by globalization

and internationalization. More importantly, however, it was a response to the marketplace. As a result of this shift in national priorities, global citizenship education was strengthened considerably. In fact, the new emphasis placed on the field of global citizenship education gives clear evidence of systems level “structural” change. Policymakers set an agenda for the introduction of change into Canada’s postsecondary education system, for purposes of increasing market advantage in attracting international students to Canada, and to promote the concept of global citizenship primarily by sending more Canadians to study abroad. Activity emerging from this agenda initiated dialogue on the definitions, concepts, and meanings associated with global citizenship as a learning objective.

Part II: Implementing Change

A. Creating a Global Citizen: Plato’s Allegory of the Cave

The second research question guiding our inquiry is ---How was implementation

executed in Canadian higher education? Global citizenship as a learning objective implies transformation of perceptions and views of reality. In many ways, it invokes images of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave (Plato, 1955) where people seated on a log with a fire behind them; perceived reality as the shadows cast on the wall in front of them. Of course, after stepping outside of the cave, their reality shifts and at least philosophically, they are transformed forever. Similar to the exit from the cave, global citizenship education emphasizes the transformational nature of student experiences that often are international in scope, containing various forms of study abroad, civic engagement or community service. Global citizenship education also incorporates a strong element of reflective practice, which in the metaphor would help teachers and learners make sense of the “exit from the cave”.


B. Global Citizenship Model

The global citizenship model taking shape in Canada’s postsecondary system is market-driven. On the global level, the model represents a comprehensive approach for achieving Canada’s strategic goal of internationalization. On the local level, it brings together an institutional response to the objective of global citizenship as a student outcome. It also involves pedagogy, defined as “all aspects of the postsecondary delivery system”, and consists of five academic components related to assessment oriented learning. Each component represents a necessary step in the educational process, and must undergo a “retrofit” to ensure proper expansion and integration of the international dimension.

The model has three organizing principles: theory to inform practice, transformative learning, and critical reflection. It draws from the scholarly literature on past practices in global citizenship education, study abroad, service learning, civic engagement, and the findings and reports of empirical research conducted on relevant topics. It is a work in progress, however, as new thinking and better research will lead to improvements that may alter the structure of it. A schematic of the model is provided for purposes of clarity (see Figure 1). The components consist of (1) theory, (2) content, (3) experiences, (4) methodology, and (5) an assessment component. Figure 1 - Global Citizenship Pedagogy

(1) Theory

Learning Objectives & Constructs. (Includes emerging thinkers, integrated learning theory & student development.)

(2) Content

Specific Topics, “course of study”. (Includes ways in which faculty teach & the content of what is taught.)

(3) Experiences

Study Abroad; Service Learning; Civic Engagement (Includes global, intercultural, & international learning.)

(4) Methodology

Strategies & Techniques (Includes Transformative, Collaborative, & Experiential learning, and Reflective practice.)

(5) Assessment Process used to establish & document student learning outcomes.

1. The Theory Component

Theory includes emerging thinkers and integrated approaches for making meaning out

of learning and student development frameworks. These offer a foundational base for the model and learning outcomes. Profiles of several frameworks underscore the importance of incorporating theory into practice. In general, frameworks consist of two different types of models or learning theories. One type (inductive) is a schematic representation of reality, based on studies and empirical observation. It purports to explain how the reality it represents really works. Another type (deductive) is a prescriptive plan or blueprint for reality, based on valued ideals. It purports to represent the ideal version of reality and to show how it can be attained (Kallen, 2010). The global citizenship model proposed here is an example of the first type; the philosophy of learning proposed by Nicholas Maxwell is an example of the second type.


Wisdom

Nicholas Maxwell’s philosophy on The Urgent Need for an Academic Revolution: From Knowledge to Wisdom identifies qualities of wisdom that are significant for global citizenship education. The work is an example of intellectual development theory that was recently presented in an address to the Society for Research into Higher Education in South Wales, UK. (2010) Maxwell defines wisdom as “the capacity to realize what is of value in life, for oneself and others, wisdom thus includes knowledge and technological know-how.” Theorizing about the scientific approach to rational problem-solving, Maxwell found as a teacher of the philosophy of science, that “there is an urgent need to bring about a revolution in academia so that it seeks and promotes wisdom and does not just acquire knowledge”. Scientific knowledge is described as “increasing our power to act, but not our power to act wisely.” The fundamental aim of inquiry, organized around wisdom-inquiry as opposed to knowledge-inquiry, is to solve problems of living, of action, rather than problems of knowledge (Maxwell, 1984).

Maxwell delineates a role for academics to deal with this “major intellectual disaster at the heart of western science, technology, scholarship and education. ” Rather than blaming science for current global problems, the theory points to the role of academics as one of “resolving problems of living, in increasingly cooperative ways;” thus overcoming a failure to help humanity create a better world. There are seven qualities to the theory that can provide a foundation for colleges and university courses seeking to address ethical, personal, and civic responsibility. These include doing one’s best; integrity; contributing to local, national and global society; recognizing and acting on the obligation to inform one’s own judgment; relinquishing a sense of entitlement; engaging diverse and competing perspectives; and, refining ethical and moral reasoning (Macdonald,2009).

Identity and Belonging

Etienne Wenger's theory, Knowledgeability in landscapes of practice: from curriculum to identity is a useful framework for global citizenship education. The theory is an example of social identity and knowledge acquisition theory that is gaining prominence for its application to business, government, and education environments. Wenger defines the locus of learning as “taking place in a living landscape of communities of practice.” Communities of practice are “groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.” Theorizing about the production of identities and situated learning, Wenger describes communities of practice as sites for knowledge production, identity cohesion, and transmission of tacit knowledge, as participants figure things out (Wenger, 2010).

A set of principles connected to the theory offer a social perspective on learning, outlined as follows. Learning is inherent in human nature, ongoing and not separable from one’s life. Foremost, is its ability to negotiate new meanings, create emergent structures such as communities of practice, and yet remain fundamentally experiential and social. Learning transforms our identities; constitutes trajectories of participation similar to a journey; and means dealing with boundaries created by our multiple forms of participation. Learning is also a matter of social energy and power; a matter of engagement; and a matter of imagination and reflection. Learning gives cause for alignment of our actions, involves an interplay between the local and the global; and most importantly, it cannot be designed. Wenger’s point is that it can


only be “designed for” as actualization remains the purview of the communities of practice that form in response to any design (Wenger, 1998).

Global Mindset

David Cooperrider’s publication Elevation of Inquiry into the Appreciable World posits a useful approach for global citizenship education. The theory is an example of transformational learning and appreciative inquiry utilized in the internationalization of organizations. Theorizing about change, Cooperrider rejects a deficit approach that views change from the perspective of “what is wrong?” then directs attempts to “fix” it. In contrast, the process of appreciative inquiry operates from the premise that asking positive questions can draw out the human spirit. Cooperrider defines appreciative inquiry as “a process of search and discovery designed to value, prize, and honor” the core values of individuals in an organization (Cooperrider and Sekerka, 2003). The process involves “structured inquiry and asking questions that lead to reflection” (Davis, 2005). Moreover, since “the relationship of persons with their environments is constantly reconstructed with new meanings (Kegan, 1982), appreciative inquiry helps clarify a new mindset emerging as part of the focus of the inquiry.

The model uses both objective reframing by reflecting on the stories of others shared throughout the process, and subjective reframing as the learner responds to questions prompted by their own story telling. There are four phases to the model. The first, Discovery, initiates questions to identify the “best of what is” by eliciting stories. The second, Dream, focuses on “what might be” and encourages appreciative reflection on the stories. The third, Design, forms “provocative statements” on the creative vision emerging. The fourth, Destiny, centers on a praxis of “what will be”. In a meta-case analysis to determine when appreciative inquiry is “transformational”, it was validated as a process for “changing how people think” and for “supporting self-organizing change that flows from new ideas” (Bushe, 1995; Bushe and Kassam, 2005). Examples of its use include educational planning, curriculum design, faculty development, international and service learning programs; as well as world affairs associated with the Dalai Lama, and Kofi Annan while at the United Nations.

Knowing and Reasoning

Baxter-Magolda’s book Knowing and Reasoning in College identifies learning principles important for global citizenship education Baxter-Magolda’s model of epistemological reflection is an example of cognitive structural theory (Evans et al, 2010) that builds on William Perry’s work in ethical and intellectual development. Baxter-Magolda defines epistemological reflection as “assumptions about the nature, limits, and certainty of knowledge”. Theorizing about learning, Baxter-Magolda found that validating students as “knowers” is essential to encouraging the development of their voices. Further, that situating learning in the students’ own experience legitimizes their knowledge as a foundation for constructing new knowledge. There are four stages to the theory, absolute knowing, transitional knowing, independent knowing, and contextual knowing (Baxter-Magolda, 1992).

In the first stage, absolute knowing, knowledge is viewed as certain. Professors are seen as authorities with the answers. The purpose of evaluation is to reproduce what one learns so that the professor can determine its accuracy. Stage two, transitional knowing, involves an acceptance that some knowledge is uncertain. A realization that authority figures are not all-knowing is a turning point from absolute knowing. Transitional knowers expect professors to


go beyond merely supplying information to facilitating understanding and the application of knowledge. Evaluation that focuses on understanding is endorsed over that which deals only with acquisition (Baxter-Magolda, 1992).

Stage three, independent knowing, views knowledge as mostly uncertain. The role of the professor shifts to providing the context for knowledge exploration, promoting independent thinking, and the exchange of opinions. Evaluation that rewards thinking and does not penalize views that diverge from those presented by professors or in textbooks is sanctioned. Stage four, contextual knowing, involves the belief that the legitimacy of knowledge claims is determined contextually. While the individual still constructs a point of view, the perspective now requires supporting evidence. The role of the professor shifts to creating a learning environment that endorses contextual applications of knowledge, discussions that include evaluation of perspectives, and opportunities for mutual critiques by students and professor. Evaluation that measures competence contextually and permits the mutual involvement of professor and student is endorsed. Baxter’s theory results from a five-year longitudinal study of 101 university students (Baxter-Magolda, 1992). Additional theories related to global citizenship are available on the University of British Columbia’s web-based guide, the Ethics of International Engagement and Service-Learning (http://ethicsofisl.ubc.ca/).

2. The Content Component

Content includes the ways in which faculty are teaching the subject matter, as well as

the content of what is taught. One type of necessary change to “retrofit” global citizenship education is to shift

analysis from “thin” to “thick” descriptions of culture as articulated by Geertz (1973). Now a classic text on intercultural study, Geertz’s concept is that insight comes from interpreting signs “to gain their meaning within the culture itself.” Deardoff (2009 a.) in the Sage Handbook of Intercultural Competence, reiterates this need by noting a tendency to rely on “objective” culture consisting of history, literature, language, music, and so on, rather than the underlying cultural values, communication styles, and worldviews that create the boundaries of difference. Stearns (2009) in Educating Global Citizens in Colleges and Universities notes a second type of necessary change is to create “habits of mind” as a germane feature of global citizenship course offerings. This approach involves identifying and emphasizing core analytical skills, and privileging them over masses of factual data and memorization tasks. Both changes indicate going beyond the subject matter, and cultivating skills or tools so that students can arrive at their own analysis of global issues.

As a former provost and professor, Stearns (2009) offers basic guidelines for the design and delivery of global citizenship education courses. First of all, a global citizenship course should teach students how to compare, plus the value of comparison in looking at one’s own society through a global lens, as well as examining others. Second, it should provide experience in relating global factors to local developments, and vice versa. Third, it should generate cultural awareness of how some cultures differ or are similar to our own, with capacity to comprehend and utilize the information. Fourth, it should help students identify magnitudes of change in global situations, as well as being able to assess continuities and the factors that give rise to both. Fifth, it should encourage students to see connections, not just in different parts of the world, but also among systems and social institutions and processes (Stearns, 2009).

Teaching and learning is a third area of change in the content component. University of Sudbury president Zundel and McMaster University president Deane, point to a need for “a radical re-conceptualizing” of the teaching and learning process, where the goal becomes


“helping students learn” rather than teaching them to take notes (Zundel and Deane, 2010). In a similar vein, the President’s Task Force on Learning, initiated by Centennial College president Buller, calls for curricula centered on “global citizenship and social justice” and instructional methods/teaching strategies that best assist students in “engaging with the course and benefiting from their learning” (Centennial College, 2009). The quest is articulated as letting go of “feeding as many as possible from the same bread basket” to seeking new and better ways “to satisfy the hunger of our students” (Zundel and Deane, 2010).

The role of the professor is a fourth area of change in the content component. Zundel and Deane (2010) cite a need for moving beyond the model of a “teacher addressing a room of essentially passive students” to more engaging pedagogical and curricular design options. Specifically, they propose a series of threshold questions to reflect the shift “towards learning, away from teaching”. Namely, what do students need to be able to do by the end of their course or program? What pedagogical and curricular opportunities can we design to help them learn to do it? What resources can we consider as we design these learning opportunities? What can we do as institutions or educators to bring those resources to bear on student learning? And, How will we know whether we are successful? (Zundel and Deane, 2010).

Use of the questions can create a new direction. When faculty are engaged as designers and facilitators rather than dispensers of formal declarative knowledge, Zundel and Deane report the following changes. Course preparation becomes a “pedagogical design problem over the ultimate objective” rather than a task of selecting content with a weekly plan. Courses become “much more creative” as choices are made among many more variables. The traditional lecture course or power point is “no longer the only model utilized”, opening a door for activity that involves community members, community organizations, other societies and institutions. Concern with “what the students are actually doing”, allows planning into new kinds of situations in which students learn, such as intercultural environments, international internships, or service and experiential learning opportunities (Zundel and Deane, 2010).

Finally, while the content of what is taught to students was not part of this analysis, note is made that sample syllabi for global citizenship and equity programs are available in Centennial College’s Spring/Summer 2010 Global Citizen Digest. Course descriptions were researched and compiled from a variety of colleges and universities in Canada and the United States (http://www.centennialcollege.ca/citizenshipandequity/digest). Likewise, Schultz and Jorgenson (2009) in Global Citizenship Education in Post-Secondary Institutions: A Review of the Literature, provide a summary of current programs and practices in Canada and other nations world-wide.

3. The Experiences Component

Experiences include study abroad, service learning, civic engagement, placements,

internships, and voluntary service/work connected to a postsecondary institution. These are of varying duration and place, and may or may not grant academic credit. While policymakers declare study abroad as the institutional vehicle for mobility programs and global citizenship initiatives, in reality, the vast majority of college and university students partake in global learning without leaving the country. The thrust of global learning experiences is to “generate learning that extends beyond the conventional subject-based content knowledge frequently associated with campus-based courses” (CNIE, 2009). Further, Hovland (2010) denotes these experiences as “high impact learning” that can be used to explore the local/global intersections that exist in every community.


Crabtree (2008) depicts study abroad and service learning experiences as “cross-cultural encounters” having disruptive as well as transformative power. According to Crabtree these experiences can “awaken global awareness, create cognitive dissonance, and lead to personal growth.” Hence, from an ethical perspective, the role of faculty is to “manage these changes in ourselves, in addition to helping our students process them” (Crabtree, 2008). Critical reflection has been identified as the developmental tool that can help make meaning out of such experiences. Yet, Jones and Steinberg’s (2011) analysis of international service learning programs found a range in the use of reflective practice. According to the researchers, one-time service events often have little reflection or academic integration; while on the other hand, there are service experiences of several hours per week during a semester with frequent and deep reflection (Jones and Steinberg, 2011).

Interestingly, criticism has accompanied the development of curricular and co-curricular global citizenship experiences. Sometimes viewed as an undesirable trend toward “commercialization” of higher education, the marketing of global citizenship education in international settings is issue sensitive. Lewin details such criticisms in the Handbook of Practice and Research in Study Abroad (2009). The issues include a sense that academic integrity is compromised as destinations become “exotic” commodities; colonialism is invoked through “poverty tourism” or engagement that involves “visiting the natives”; and more students going to more countries, from wide socio-economic backgrounds, is generating a debate over whether study abroad should be a privilege or a right in undergraduate education (Lewin, 2009).

4. The Methodology Component

Methodology includes transformative learning, reflective practice, experiential

learning, and collaborative learning. These strategies and techniques are being rediscovered as part of the new global citizenship learning paradigm.

Transformative learning involves a deep, structural shift in the basic premises of thoughts, feelings and actions. It is an education for the mind as well as for the heart. This implies a radical change towards interconnectedness and creates possibilities for achieving more equality, social justice, understanding and cooperation amongst peoples (Global Education Guidelines, 2009.) It is also a process, as Cranton (2006) points out, “that can be provoked by a single event—a disorienting dilemma—or it can take place gradually and cumulatively over time”. Further, it is also voluntary, “otherwise an educator steps outside of the definition of transformative learning and into something like brainwashing or indoctrination”. Moreover, a key in the process is discourse, as we need to engage in conversation with others in order to consider alternative perspectives and make a determination on their validity (Cranton, 2006).

In a study reported by Hendershot and Sperandio (2009) transformative learning was the focus. Lehigh University has a global citizenship program consisting of courses, study abroad, and experiential co-curricular activities related to global citizenship. The study set out to determine which of the three components was perceived by students as most transformative in the development of their global citizenship identity. The sample involved 75 students, and analysis of surveys, admissions essays, as well as self-reflective interviews Students identified “experiences with other cultures and places” as most significant in their global citizen identity development. Statements that emerged from the work pointed to critical incidents, encounters, and engagement as defining moments for participants. An important perspective shared with


the researchers, was that students and faculty, formed what could be described as a learning community “who shared with, and learned from each other” (Hendershot and Sperandio, 2009).

Reflective practice is the idea that while experience may underpin all learning, it does not always result in learning. We have to engage with the experience and reflect on what happened, how it happened and why. Without this, the experience tends to merge with the stimulants that assail our senses every day (Beard and Wilson, 2010). Moreover, everything is reflection-worthy, and few if any details are too small or insignificant to have meaning, according to researchers. In fact, critical reflection builds on itself. Bringle et.al (2011) report research that suggests using a “a pre-, mid-, and post experience structure” to direct the learner’s attention to changes in thinking and progress made toward fulfilling objectives.

In a program reported by Centennial College (2009) reflective practice was the focus. The college has a signature learning requirement for graduation that must be fulfilled by completion of a portfolio. Students complete the portfolio in conjunction with a mandatory general education course. The course is based on a faculty designed textbook entitled GNED 500 Global Citizenship, From Social Analysis to Social Action (Centennial College School of Advancement, 2011). Core concepts of the course include identity and values, inequality and equity, social analysis, and reflective practice. A condensed version of the course is available for faculty preparing to teach it or for staff advisors supporting it. As noted in the report, the program outcome is to “develop understanding of global citizenship, social justice and diversity”. While the course outcome is “to develop competencies for learning, teaching and working that value diversity and difference, and embrace and promote equity and inclusion.”

Experiential learning is the sense-making process of active engagement between the inner world of the person and the outer world of the environment. Active engagement is one of its basic tenets, and involvement of the ‘whole person’ through thoughts, feelings, and physical activity. Recognition of this ‘whole environment’ both internally and externally is important. Experiential learning can take on many appearances in life, such as recreational or leisure activities, exhilarating journeys or adventures, experimentation or play. It can also be in the form of painful events (Beard and Wilson, 2010).

In a study reported by Jones and Esposito (2006) experiential learning was the focus. Elon University has an experiential learning requirement for graduation. Students can fulfill it by participating in a winter term service learning abroad project, or through short-term study abroad experiences. A preparatory course offered by faculty involves historical and cultural reading materials on the destinations, training for participants in daily reflective practices for group discussions, and reflective techniques for journal writing. Prior to departure students develop learning goals related to academic knowledge, skill development, and personal and cultural awareness. The preparatory course is mandatory in the semester prior to the actual experience. As reported in the study, the program outcome is “to develop awareness of global citizenship”. While the course outcome is “to broaden the student perspective from a narrow ethnocentric one, to one that is more globally aware and globally sensitive”.

Collaborative learning entails “students teaching other students” through small groups, and as such it is a highly effective method for capitalizing on the value of peer interaction (Barkley et. al, 2005). The “scholarship of teaching” suggests that instructors must not only know their subject matter, they must also know how to get students actively involved in working with the concepts of the discipline to make the knowledge their own (Boyer, 1990). In other words, as Collaborative Learning Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty, points out “students must build their own minds through a process of assimilating information into their own understandings.” Definitive features of this learning strategy specify the professor’s


role as ensuring that meaningful learning takes place, there is an intentional design, and all group participants engage actively in working toward stated objectives (Barkley et.al, 2005).

In a study reported by Hill and Beaverford (2007) collaborative learning was the focus. The University of Manitoba, Faculty of Architecture offers a month- long study abroad experience allowing students to transcend the traditional studio environment. The context is an international service learning project organized around the construction of a tea house and garden. The study notes a shift in the role of the faculty, from studio professor, to co-investigator, co-learner, and facilitator due to the complexity, intensity, and unpredictability of the project. Intercultural experience is addressed through partnering with a local organization, community involvement, and family home stays. Other results include meaningful learning on course learning objectives, and students report learning from the professor, the community, and most importantly, from each other (Hill and Beaverford, 2007). As reported in the study, the course outcome was to “broaden international knowledge and intercultural competency”; while the program outcome is “to prepare our graduates to work in the global community”.

5. The Assessment Component

Assessment is a process used to establish and document student learning outcomes.

There is no one way to accomplish the assessment task. While standards exist on formulating learning outcome statements for programs and courses, guidelines are lacking on the assessment process itself. Briefly stated, the process involves several key questions. How was global citizenship broadly defined? What outcome, definition, or theory is associated with creating a global citizen? What constructs or measurements are to be used and aligned with the program, course, or experience? How will the researcher operationalize the constructs for assessment purposes, and finally, what means are available for the collection of evidence? (Sinicrope et.al, 2008; Rosenberg and Wartzok, 2010).

The first step in the process is to determine the student learning outcomes for global citizenship and intercultural learning (See Figure 2). In the case at hand, our definition of global citizenship, expressed as an outcome states: The graduate has reliably demonstrated the ability to act with a global mindset based on an application of values, ethics, identity, social justice perspective, intercultural skills, and sense of responsibility. Outcomes are specific on what the student will be able to demonstrate upon completion of a program of study (MTCU, 2005; OCAV, 2007) and require one to integrate and apply one’s learning. They do not break learning into the domains of knowledge, skills and attitudes and thus differ from behavioral objectives (Aligning and Building Curriculum, 2011). As indicated in the following examples from Ontario, global citizenship outcomes do appear consistent with existing regulatory criteria, and a “retrofit” means simply strengthening the international or global dimension, or adding such an element.

Figure 2 – Student Assessment Process

Student Learning Outcomes: Detail on skill set

Performance Indicators Direct (portfolios) Indirect (surveys, statistics)

Rubrics Levels for evaluating quality

Performance Descriptors Rating scales


The standards for colleges in Ontario, available in the Framework for Programs of Instruction, mandate that courses leading to a diploma, certificate, or other document awarded by a college must be designed so that students achieve outcomes prior to graduation (MTCU, 2005, 2006). Graduates are required to demonstrate skills and knowledge in three areas. These include, Vocational Learning Outcomes specific to a field of study, Essential Employability Skills (communication, numeracy, critical thinking & problem solving, information management, interpersonal, and personal), and General Education Skills (themes include arts in society, civic life, social and cultural understanding, personal understanding, and science and technology) for citizenship development. Of these, the category of “general education” specifies the development of “citizens who are conscious of the diversity, complexity and richness of the human experience; and, the society in which they live and work” (MTCU, 2005, 2006). Adding the international or global dimension would expand the criteria to include global citizenship.

Similarly, the standards for universities in Ontario, printed in the Overview of Provincial and Regional Quality Assurance Mechanisms in Canadian Higher Education require indicators to assess the quality of faculty, program outcomes, and learning objectives (AUCC, 2007). The Guidelines for University Undergraduate Degree level Expectations also details the performance expectations for graduates in six areas. These include depth and breadth of knowledge, knowledge of methodologies, application of knowledge, communication skills, awareness of the limits of knowledge, and autonomy and professional capacity (OCAV, 2007). Of these, the category of “autonomy and professional capacity” specifies qualities and transferable skills for community involvement, personal responsibility and decision making, working effectively with others, and behaviour consistent with academic integrity and social responsibility. Adding the international or global dimension would expand the criteria to include global citizenship.

Knight (2004) iterates the importance of addressing the intersection of international and intercultural in the promoting of internationalization. Barker and Crichton et.al (2008) found that the two dimensions are related, and that the “intercultural” is more inclusive and influential to student learning. Standards are available from UNESCO in Guidelines on Intercultural Education linking culture and education, particularly in programs that encourage dialogue between students of different cultures, beliefs and religions. Not a simple “add on” to the regular curriculum, intercultural education is described as consisting of “four pillars of education”. The pillars are: Learning to Know (combines general knowledge with opportunities to work on in-depth projects, exposure to other languages, communication); Learning to Do (the competence to deal with many situations, work in teams, and to find a place in society); Learning to Live Together (carrying out joint projects, managing conflicts, appreciating interdependence); and, Learning to Be (able to act with greater autonomy, judgment, personal responsibility, capacity for right of others to difference) (UNESCO, 2006).

The second step in the process is deciding on how to operationalize the stated outcomes. Some strategies are based on a definition, while others adopt a construct. A variety of theoretical constructs are available for assessment of global citizenship and intercultural learning. These constructs have been applied to study abroad, international service learning, civic engagement, and academic courses. Examples include intercultural competence (Sinicrope et.al, 2008), reflection (Ash et.al, 2005), cross-cultural skills and global understanding (Kitsantas, 2004), perspective transformation (Kiely, 2004), cognitive development, intrapersonal development, interpersonal development (Massey and Burrows, 2009), and intercultural effectiveness (Pederson, 2010). Illustrating the use of such constructs, Sinicrope et.al (2008) report three different ways of organizing assessment of “intercultural


competence”. One focuses on the communicative nature of intercultural competence, another on the individual’s adaptation and development when confronted with a new culture, and a third is empathic and tolerant reactions to other cultures. Further, Pederson (2010) shows how “intercultural effectiveness” can be used to assess results in a study abroad program.

In the study, Pederson adopts a theory that views intercultural sensitivity as occurring in stages, or on a continuum. The points on the continuum are the basis for an instrument, the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), which measures movement through the stages suggested by the theory. The context for the study is a psychology course with intercultural pedagogy, guided reflection, and intercultural coaching. Participants (N=50) were placed in three groups, those who took the course and went abroad, those who went abroad without the course, and those who stayed on campus (control group). All were administered the IDI pre and post test. Results assessed whether a student moved on the continuum as measured by the scale. Findings reported the highest growth (statistically significant) for the group who took the course and went abroad. A conclusion was that “to simply send students to a location abroad is not sufficient toward facilitating the larger goal of creating effective global citizenship” (Pederson, 2010).

The third step in the process is selecting and establishing performance indicators. This involves obtaining and validating actual evidence of global citizenship and intercultural learning (Deardorff, 2009 b.). Maki (2002) notes the importance of using multiple data collection methods, and distinguishes between direct and indirect evidence of student performance. Direct indicators show gained knowledge or skills (Rosenberg and Wartzok, 2010). These include portfolios, course-embedded assignments, capstone or culminating projects, evaluation of specific behaviours such as collaborative problem solving or teamwork, performances, internships, observation of simulations, essays, interviews, and tests (Maki, 2002; Sinicrope et.al, 2008). Indirect indicators ask students to reflect on their experiences (Rosenberg and Wartzok, 2010). These refer to survey instruments, focus groups, document analysis of syllabi or transcripts, and follow-up statistics such as the percentage who go on to graduate school, retention and transfer data, and job placement data (Maki, 2002; Sinicrope et.al, 2008). Triangulation of the evidence, which means collecting more than one piece of evidence, is recommended as a means of validation (Deardorff, 2009 b.).

The fourth step in the process is devising rubrics as a tool for evaluating the quality of the student’s work related to global citizenship and intercultural learning. Rubrics are descriptive scoring schemes that clarify what is expected and how the student’s work will be evaluated. Oakleaf (2009) describes two types, namely holistic or analytic. A holistic rubric scores the overall process, without judging the component parts separately. One score is given for performance that is based on an overall impression. The second type, an analytical rubric divides performance into dimensions which are judged and scored separately. Formatted in a matrix or table, rubrics include criteria for assessment in the left column and levels of performance across the top. A rubric can be used for both formative (to give general feedback) and summative (to assign marks) (Red River College, 2009). Accordingly, a factsheet from Red River College indicates that rubrics provide clarity for both teachers and learners, especially for assessments that are complex and subjective. They reduce ambiguity by providing a guide that clearly states the criteria for the components of a project, assignment, skill or behaviours (Red River, 2009).

The fifth step in the process is deciding on performance descriptors or rating scales on global citizenship and intercultural learning if appropriate. According to the Sage Handbook of Intercultural Competence, the IDI is one of approximately fifty survey research scales available (Deardorff, 2009 a.).The IDI is a 50-item self-assessment with five-point Likert scales. Some


surveys result from individual researchers’ work, while others are available as commercial products. Key examples include the Cross-Cultural Adaptability Inventory, the Global Competency and Intercultural Sensitivity Index, the Global Perspective Inventory, the Global Mindset Inventory, Intercultural Development Inventory, the Behavioral Assessment Scale for Intercultural Competence, the Intercultural Sensitivity Inventory, the Intercultural Sensitivity Index, and the Assessment of Intercultural Competence. Sinicrope’s review of assessment tools, notes the most popular is the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) followed by the Cross-Cultural Adaptability Inventory (Sinicrope et.al, 2008). The reporting of results is based on whether a student moves on the continuum measured by a particular scale. As noted by Maki (2002), interpretations of assessment results enable an institution to verify how well it is achieving student outcomes, and determine how to improve the quality of education.

C. Summary

Revitalization efforts were instrumental in a reframing of Global Citizenship

Education. The creation of new alliances to align the curricula with the new learning paradigm gives clear evidence of organizational level “behavioral” change. Academic leaders responded to the agenda for change by increasing the ‘sending and receiving’ of international students, by encouraging new mobility programs, through new approaches to global citizenship education, and by promoting transformative learning. The new emphasis gave increasing importance to other practices such as study abroad, service learning, and collaborative methodologies. In time, these efforts and developments converged around an emerging global citizenship pedagogy.

Part III: The Impact of Change

The third research question guiding our inquiry is--- What was the impact of change?

Several key areas are major sites of change in Canada’s postsecondary education system. These include new directions for curriculum, teaching and learning, pedagogy, and the scholarship of teaching and learning.

A. Curricular Activity

First, global citizenship as a student outcome shifts the curriculum to a more learning-

centered approach. The reason for adopting a learning-centred approach is to support students in becoming deep learners, according to a policy document of the College Student Alliance titled Roadmap to Excellence (Woodhead, 2009). Moreover, deep learners take from a program the skills necessary to be productive in work and personal life while also intrinsically valuing learning itself (Woodhead, 2009). A focus on learners also requires content and experiences that expand learning beyond the conventional classroom or lecture hall. Addressing the challenges of assessing global citizenship and study abroad outcomes, Deardorff (2009 a.) notes that an assumption is that students’ active engagement in their own and the host community will increase intercultural competence and global awareness (Deardorff, 2009 a.). While there are alternatives to study abroad, a tendency exists to focus primarily on international vehicles for learning that involve less than 3 percent of university and college students in Canada.


Trilokekar and Shubert (2009) explore the question “Is there a distinctly Canadian approach to study abroad and the making of global citizens?” The researchers note vacillating federal and provincial support for study abroad. While internationalization is promoted as a means of advancing Canada’s global presence, financial resources are not adequate for the task. However, the needs of students who do not study abroad are being addressed in Canadian institutions (Trilokekar and Shubert, 2009). Offerings include multifaceted on-campus approaches to internationalization focused on curriculum, co-curricular activities, and work abroad programs, such as volunteering, internships, and co-op programs. According to the researchers, these appear more effective than study abroad, which provides less direct contact with the community at large and is expensive to pursue (Trilokekar and Shubert, 2009).

Internationalization of the curriculum has embarked on a uniquely Canadian approach. Some research indicates Canadian multiculturalism may be an impetus for global citizenship activity and a more inclusive curriculum (Trilokekar and Shubert, 2009). Moreover, Williams (2008) reports three forms of curricular realignment taking place in Canada. The first approach “add-on” adds international or intercultural content to existing curricula without modifying the pedagogy. The second approach “infusion” infuses the curriculum with cross-cultural content from interdisciplinary and international perspectives. And the third approach “transformation” modifies the curriculum to be more inclusive of culture, new ways of thinking, and new educational practices and methodologies. A conclusion of the study is that although the infusion approach is the most widely used in Canada, the more culturally inclusive transformation approach is being developed as the goal to which institutions aspire (Williams, 2008).

B. Teaching and Learning Activity

Second, global citizenship education engages faculty in new directions related to global

learning. A report issued by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada on internationalization efforts gives evidence of extensive discourse on major challenges, best practices, and the training of faculty to undertake course design (AUCC, 2009). Specifically, professional development to infuse interdisciplinary, thematic and more active and engaging learning methods into the curriculum is essential to support international learning. Tools of choice, noted in the report include case studies, problem-based scenarios, web-based technologies, video conferencing and comparative methodologies. New technologies, described in the report, make it possible to offer a globalized course that takes place simultaneously in four different institutions and three different countries (AUCC, 2009).

Other indications include a new focus on teaching and learning. A book commissioned by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO, 2010), entitled Taking Stock: Research on Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, links practice with student outcomes (Hughes and Mighty, 2010). Active learning pedagogies are emphasized that engage students in deep learning processes, rather than a surface approach to learning. Specific recommendations to improve teaching and learning include support for research on the effectiveness of teaching practice, better assessment of faculty competence during hiring and promotion, professional development offerings for faculty through teaching centres, pedagogical leadership at all levels of the academy, and creation of departmental cultures that value pedagogical creativity and experimentation (Hughes and Mighty, 2010).


C. Signature Pedagogy Third, global citizenship education creates unique teaching/learning experiences that

are reconfiguring how knowledge is transferred and produced. The term signature pedagogy refers to a mode of teaching and learning that prepares students to acquire a certain skill set. The concept, attributed to Shulman (2005), suggests that certain teaching and learning practices define the student learning experience in professions such as law, medicine, engineering, the clergy and teacher education. Features specified include: (1) Uncertainty, from the perspective of the teacher and the student who make decisions and interact around contingencies; (2) Engagement, where students are actively responding to the teacher and situation; and, (3) Formation, in that they build identity, character, dispositions, values. These are described as instilling habits of mind (routine analysis), as well as habits of heart (connecting reason, interdependence, emotion) (Shulman, 2005). Applying these criteria, global citizenship education does qualify as a signature pedagogy, on at least two counts.

One example, is that global citizenship education utilizes a teaching mode based on specific strategies and techniques that constitute a signature pedagogy. In much the same way as the profession of law uses moot courts, debates, and mock trials, global citizenship education uses study abroad, service learning, and civic engagement. Since student outcomes connect program quality and workforce training to the emerging global economy, global citizenship outcomes are specific on what the student will be able to demonstrate upon completion of a program of study. In the case at hand, the mode of teaching prepares students to acquire a certain skill set related to global competence. This is defined as “the ability to act with a global mindset based on an application of values, ethics, identity, social justice perspective, intercultural skills, and sense of responsibility”.

Another example is that global citizenship education involves learning environments that foster personal change. Transformative learning, experiential learning, reflective practice, and collaborative learning deliberately create such environments. Research in this area involves understanding how individuals construct meaning and the relationship between the self and the social environment (Kegan, 1994; Baxter-Magolda, 1992). Epistemological development theory suggests that as learners “deepen structural understanding” necessary for transformative learning, students also come to understand the structures that underlie meaning making generally, and their own meaning making specifically (Cunningham and Grossman, 2009). Thus, to some extent the learner is involved in knowledge production as one creates and builds new knowledge. The teacher as facilitator, rather than “sage on the stage” as noted by Deardorff (2009 b.) means that faculty expertise is still critical, but the transference of knowledge is different.

To illustrate the significance of this point, knowledge production is explored further. The term epistemology refers to the philosophical theory of knowledge; of how we know, what we know (Scott and Marshall, 2005). It gives rise to questions such as “how do people learn? “ And, what is the origin of knowledge, the place of experience in generating knowledge, and the place of reason in doing so? These issues link with other central concerns of philosophy, such as the nature of truth and nature of experience and meaning. As Blackburn (2005) points out “It is possible to see epistemology as dominated by two rival metaphors”. One is that of a building or pyramid, built on ‘given’ foundations as a basis of knowledge, with inference as a method of construction. The other metaphor is that of a boat or fuselage, that has no foundations but owes its strength to the stability given by its interlocking parts. This rejects the idea of a basis in the ‘given’ and favours ideas of coherence and holism (Blackburn, 2005).


What is exciting about interactive environments, is that the teaching/learning equation has potential to create new knowledge.

D. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Fourth, global citizenship education requires the cultivation of shared knowledge

among practitioners and researchers. Writing from a perspective of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), Poole et. al (2007) note that postsecondary institutions across Canada are producing research that is broad in scope, timely, relevant and engaging. For instance, multidisciplinary teams at the University of British Columbia’s Institute for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, create practitioner-designed studies into how to align student learning with goals articulated in the vision framework - TREK 2010: A Global Journey (Poole et.al, 2007). Other research involves faculty engagement projects for internationalizing course curriculum and teaching practices that embed intercultural and international dimensions into the design and delivery of instruction (Odgers and Giroux, 2006). Additionally, researchers are exploring formation of communities of practice such as the ABC Knowledge Exchange Network (Aligning and Building Curriculum, 2010) formulated to facilitate communication, enhance the scholarship of teaching, interdisciplinarity, sharing of knowledge, and the professionalization of teaching (Smith, 1997; Poole et.al, 2007).

E. Future Research in Global Citizenship Education

Creating a global citizen continues to attract the attention of researchers. Several items

are worthy of further study. One is the connection of transformative learning, situated learning and the epistemological nature of the teacher/learner exchange. Savicki (2008) describes the experiential learning process as “forming new knowledge” within the context of study abroad. This concept needs be assessed as a learning outcome. A second item worthy of study is student life. Internationalization activity has been directed to the role of the faculty and the curriculum, with less attention on students. The concept of student life needs to be considered as a site of situated learning. A research study might probe into comparative dimensions of student life in Canada versus an international location. A third item worthy of study is institutional research on the infusion of global citizenship education by colleges and universities. Rodenberg (2010) for example, proposes an instrument to measure educational activity related to internationalization that could be modified for global citizenship. The idea would be to create benchmarks and to plot progress toward a desired stage of global evolution.

F. Summary

Innovation was a result of faculty engaging with students to create global competency.

The new pedagogy constructed around the internationalization of Global Citizenship Education gives clear evidence of innovative change. Faculty responded to the need for students to demonstrate global competence by creating or revamping courses, introducing international and service learning experiences, and by utilizing transformative learning pedagogy. Activity centered on student learning outcomes and the establishing of global citizenship curricula. In particular, there was increasing academic interest in constructs and the pedagogy related to global competency.


Conclusion Global citizenship education provides insight into how organizations respond to

change. Systems level “structural” change is evident in the reforms leading to a new emphasis on the field of global citizenship education. Organizational level “behavioral” change is observed in the revitalization efforts of the faculty to learn new skills, redefine the teaching/learning relationship, and to engage in the scholarship on teaching and learning. The result was awareness of a signature pedagogy for global citizenship education. The type of change that this case exemplifies is “innovation” which was prompted by the marketplace. “Innovation” focuses on alliances within the organization, and usually does not involve a crisis.


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Exploring Deweyian Experiential Learning Pedagogy as Citizenship Development

Catherine A. Broom, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education University of British Columbia, Okanagan Heesoon Bai, Ph.D. Professor, Faculty of Education Simon Fraser University

Key Words: Service Learning; Citizenship Education; Experiential Learning

ABSTRACT: Developing good citizens is one of the root theoretical justifications and purposes of public schooling and social studies. Much discussion exists, however, over what good citizenship entails and how it can best be achieved. One approach—experiential learning and its associated service learning—is currently popular in a number of disciplines. It is argued to be an invaluable way of developing students’ citizenship through experience based learning. This paper begins by reviewing Dewey’s educational theory, which encompasses experiential learning with the aim of developing citizenship, thus setting the foundations for current experiential and service learning pedagogies. It then presents the findings of a qualitative interview study with high school students and teachers who have taken part in overseas service projects. The discussion illustrates the benefits and challenges of citizenship development through experiential curricula and concludes with recommendations that aim to strengthen this form of learning.

I Theories of Citizenship

Many philosophers (including Plato, Rousseau, Kant, and Dewey) have argued that the aim of education is the creation of good citizens which includes knowledge learning, ethical education, and the disposition to act on right morals for the betterment of their societies. They have theorized how good citizens can be developed through education. One of the key thinkers of the twentieth century was Dewey (1916). For Dewey (2007), experiential, project-based learning would shape individuals who could contribute positively to a continuously developing democratic society. His theory laid the foundation for experiential learning and democratic education out of which current service learning theories and methods have developed.

Dewey had a broad conception of education, viewing it as a social process, as learning that occurred in both informal and formal (school) settings through experiences. Informal settings, both within the family and social group, had a significant impact on the development of individuals. Schools also had a role to play in societies where informal learning was insufficient to master the depth and breadth of social knowledge and where they could help to further develop students’ capacities, temper bad habits acquired, and increase their understanding and connections to each other through a “common subject matter [that] accustoms all to a unity of outlook” (Dewey, 2007, section 2). A shared program of study


provided students with the possibilities of developing similar outlooks and dispositions; that is, it developed the ground work for a common community consciousness.

However, schools had a major shortcoming: they were subject to the danger of becoming places of dried out, overly abstracted knowledge that was meaningless to students, for learning is not a process of “telling” (direct teacher instruction) but rather of “doing” (student-centred learning). As life is a process of continuous growth and learning through experience, schooling should also be living and should provide students with the conditions that nurture their continued growth. Teachers should begin by understanding where their students are at and what they understand and then develop an environment that simulates their students’ development. This leads to individuals’ (and by extension, society’s) “progressive” or continual growth. As Dewey stated:

While a careful study of the native aptitudes and deficiencies of an individual is always a preliminary necessity, the subsequent and important step is to furnish an environment which will… shape the experiences of the young so that instead of reproducing current habits, better habits shall be formed, and thus the future adult society be an improvement on their own. (Dewey, 2007, section 6)

Aims of education are embedded in, contiguous with, process.

Dewey argued that the best pedagogy was “education of, by and for experience” (Dewey, 2007, section 2). Experiences were interactions between individuals and their social and physical environments, which provided opportunities for learning through reflection:

To "learn from experience" is to make a backward and forward connection between what we do to things and what we enjoy or suffer from things in consequence…. Under such conditions, doing becomes a trying; an experiment with the world to find out what it is like; the undergoing becomes instruction--discovery of the connection of things. (Dewey, 2007, section 11)

As knowledge is created in these situations, it is living. Knowledge formation follows a process similar to that scientific hypothesizing: incomplete understanding leads to hypotheses that one further refines through inquiry, research, and testing. Knowledge is, thus, socially and historically constructed and open to future refinement and amendment. Best teaching practices engage students in experiences that are meaningful to them and lead to issues (or problems) that the students address through conducting research and developing and testing tentative answers. It embeds subject learning in authentic experiences emerging from daily social life. A vital feature of this education is making “experience intelligent” (Rocheleau, 2004) through democratic (or social) inquiry, discussion, and reflection. The aim of this education is to create individuals with shared common interests, that is, with a shared conception of the public good who freely cooperate with a number of social groups and, as a result of the many “complicated conversations” (Stoddard and Cornwell, 2003) that result from this open and respectful interaction, continue their own (and society’s) growth.

With foundations in Dewey’s theory, service learning has become a widely advocated method for developing worthy citizens (Speck and Hoppe, 2004). Models developed from Dewey’s theory include Kolb, Zull, Pritchard and Whitehead (2004). These approaches involve students in authentic community learning experiences that are integrated with classroom content learning and reflection. The experiences are developed through reciprocal community relationships that meet authentic community needs (Pritchard and Whitehead,

Exploring Deweyian Experiential Learning Pedagogy as Citizenship Development • 46

2004). They can occur inside and outside of school, at both the local community and wider cross-cultural level.

The Significance of Community-based Citizenship

Our world faces many problems, including environmental degradation and

individualism (Beck and Beck-Gernsheim, 2006), which are the products of human action. Such action denies the potential of people to transform our world for the better, understood by some scholars to be humanity (Broom, 2010). The latter involves living ethically and engaging in moral activities of value that are embedded in a recognition of our common humanity. These activities improve the social community for all and actualize individual human potential. Well known scholars, including Dewey and Aristotle, have argued that individuals can best be educated to act with humanity through experiential learning: “It is well said, then, that it is by doing just acts that the just man is produced, and by doing temperate acts the temperate man; without doing these no one would have even a prospect of becoming good” (Aristotle, 2009).

Emerging from this attractive theory, then, is a question: is experience based learning an effective method of nurturing students’ sense of community consciousness (and thus their humanity)? The next section of this paper explores this ideal in practice. It describes the findings of a research project that analysed the inter-relationships between high school students’ experiential projects and the ideal described. We end the paper with recommendations that aim to strengthen this pedagogy.

II. A Case Study Exploration of Service Learning & Humanity

Twenty high school students who have taken part in overseas service were interviewed

by the researchers, both arms-length scholars, in the winter and spring of 2010. Each interview was structured around seven, open-ended questions that gave students flexibility in their answers and lasted from fifteen minutes to half an hour. (See Appendix One for the questions as well as sample representative answers, divided by the country, Nicaragua or Kenya, visited by students.) The questions were developed by the researchers, based on their experiences in the field and with the aim of highlighting the theoretical frame that informed the paper. The interviews were anonymous. Students’ answers were qualitatively analysed by the principal investigator and grouped into themes using content analysis, which involved studying and interpreting student and teacher interviews by identifying commonly repeated concepts. The interpretation also had a phenomenological angle in the sense that studying the interview data used horizontalization and linked the significant and repeated concepts that were identified to common themes that described the “what” and “how” elements of students’ service learning experiences (Creswell, 1998). Four teachers who organized service activities were also interviewed following the same procedures. The student and teacher findings are presented separately as the researchers understand that teachers and students differ in their ages, orientations, and relations to the experiential projects. The student interviews focused on understanding the students’ perspectives of the trips; the teacher interviews explored the teachers’ aims and methods, as well as details of their trip planning and organization.

The students participated in overseas service projects. Some went to Nicaragua where they worked with a couple to build a sustainable village for orphan children. They built structures in the village (such as a milking pad for cows and water troughs). Other students went to Kenya


where they helped to build a school kitchen and garden. Both groups also interacted with orphans and took part in some sightseeing trips.1 Student Remarks

Prior to participating in the trip, students had little knowledge of the nations they were

to visit. This made some students feel nervous and stressed. Although they were prepared for the trips by teachers, most students held stereotypes of the people, nations, and cultures. The majority imagined the countries to be poor both economically and culturally and perhaps hostile and dangerous. They were not sure what to expect regarding the people. Most of the students, particularly those who went to Nicaragua, were positively surprised after they arrived: they found the people to be warm, kind, appreciative, and welcoming; the culture to be colourful and vibrant; and the natural environment beautiful: “It was honestly the most amazing place I’ve ever been, some parts were so beautiful and pure” (student, interview). Another student stated, “I loved every bit of Nicaragua, the heat, the people, the culture, the sites. We slept outside and couldn’t have had a better bedroom. The showers were outside which is interesting because there were a lot of bugs. The beach was amazing” (student, interview). Students found the culture to be richer than they imagined, and the people happy, hardworking, and welcoming. Students were interested to learn about different cultural values, such as a strong family focus and a different conception of time, and enjoyed the active cultural life.

Many students mentioned that they valued the way Nicaraguan and Kenyan people enjoyed life, despite having less monetary wealth than North Americans: “They made me appreciate what we have here. They’re always happy there and they have nothing” (student, interview). Those who went to Kenya found it easier than they expected and found most of the people welcoming and helpful, but some came home still feeling that the place was unsafe. One student mentioned, for example, how armed police escorted the students to and from their worksites and how police were at their hotel all the time. Others, on both trips, were surprised by the physical poverty, or by the amount of “Westernization” and the decline of the traditional cultures and languages they saw: “Coca cola was everywhere,” one student mentioned. They came to understand cultures as fluid and open to change. In all cases, one of the students’ main insights was increased (“eye-opening”) cross-cultural knowledge and awareness, as well as increased acceptance and respect for different ways of being in the world--“not to judge by first sight” (student, interview). They viewed all nations “with a different mind set,” (student, interview) but all people as “no different than us” (student, interview).

1 Both trips happen annually at the schools and have about 10 to 15 student participants. Students are in grades 10 to 12 for the Kenya trip, and in grade 12 for the Nicaragua trip (ages 15 to 17). Both trips are optional. The Kenya trip preparations happen outside of regular school hours, and the Nicaragua trip is embedded in a grade 12 course. Students self-identified themselves as “middle class” and paid their way. Both trips are about 10 days long and are organized by travel agents and international foundations with local experience who liaison between the students and teachers’ needs and interests and local community needs. The community projects are identified and organized by the foundations and include hands on work, such as building schools (Kenya) or sustainable farms (Nicaragua). These are supplemented with opportunities to interact with locals, ongoing reflection in groups, and some local sightseeing. The relationships are developed and nurtured on a continual basis. Both projects aim to develop students’ awareness, interest, and sense of empowerment in addressing global issues. While community members and teachers receive and provide feedback to students, short term and long term evaluation of the effectiveness of the programs can be improved, which is one of the questions investigated by the researchers. Both researchers are university scholars who are “outside” of the projects: they do not participate in the planning or execution of the trips and are not affiliated with the schools in any way. The principal investigator’s research focuses on Citizenship and the second author’s work focuses on Moral Philosophy.


Students’ Individual Growth through Service Learning Curriculum

All students valued the experience of hands-on, applied learning. They felt it was a different kind of learning to that found in their classrooms. The ability to be in a different place that one could personally take in through one’s senses—to see, feel, taste, hear and smell another place for oneself—was particularly valued. This embodied learning experience opened students to new realities in a manner that was not possible through information-based learning in the closed and isolated space of the school: “it made what we read in textbooks etc. a reality” (student, interview). They felt they learned information that could not have been learned in class.

They all discussed developing new insights to people, culture, the world, and life for themselves, and they appreciated this individualized learning. They learned about environmental issues such as wastage and political issues such as corruption. They felt that they grew as people (“it’s character building” [student, interview]) and that they increased their empathy and knowledge of our world. They appreciated the good work of some people and organizations, and enlarged their efficacy to bring change (“how you can change the world”; how “help goes a long way”; how “everyone can help everyone”; and how “if you want to do something just do it and don’t worry about the bad” [students, interviews]). They expanded their critical awareness of themselves, and how their actions impact on others, as well as their feeling of community with (and for) others. They realized how relationships with people, not materialism, are essential for happiness and came to “treasure life” (student, interview). They developed a sense of agency: “I learned that I’m going to have to do more for my fellow man…it also just made me want to be better and more helpful everyday” (student, interview). Other students realized “how much [they] love to help people in need,” (student, interview) and how “the world has good in it” (student, interview). They felt happy helping others. The students thus felt that they developed humanity (connections to others) and happiness. For some, helping others fulfilled them on a spiritual level.2

Students also stated that they improved their people skills by learning how to work collaboratively with others, trusting them and accepting different world views and people “for who they are” (student, interview). They realized the challenges of community building and explored ways of achieving it through open communication that included listening to others, problem and conflict resolution, and confidence-building. They developed more positive attitudes and their confidence and sense of responsibility and self-sufficiency as young adults. Others stated that they cultivated their leadership skills and that they saw a lack of global leadership (“Someone needs to take charge and do something” [student, interview]). For some, the trip was life changing: “I learned so many lessons that changed my life” (student, interview). Some students even stated that they have changed their career and life goals as a result of the trip and found their “life passion” (student, interview).

Teachers’ Reflections on their Service Learning Pedagogy

Despite the amount of work involved, all of the teachers organized the experiential activities as they appreciated the opportunity and benefits of service work, and valued the

2 Both trips are carried out at secular schools and do not include any mention or proselytizing in any form of organized religions.


pedagogy. Some felt that the educational experience provided students with possibilities for growth through reflection. The main aim for the majority of teachers was the moral and ethical dimensions of the trips, in terms of their potential to nurture student growth as students explored the meaning of life and the value of global citizenship. A key question for one inspirational teacher was: “what does a successful life look like?” (teacher, interview).

All teachers used external travel agencies (such as Developing World Connections) and groups, such as International Children’s Care (ICC) and Comfort the Children International (CTC), to aid them in arranging details of the trips and felt that this took away some of the organizational stress. They felt confident in the abilities of these groups to plan details and appreciated their local knowledge. The teachers stated that they felt supported by the parents, many of whom did not ask many questions about the trip or appear concerned: they trusted the teachers and the school. Teachers did not express much anxiety about organizing the trips as they felt they were worthwhile and well organized, and they had confidence in their students. Teachers felt they had community support.

All teachers worked to prepare the students for the trips through holding discussions and workshops prior to the service work. They discussed with their students what they could expect in terms of culture, economic poverty, and environment, as well as what their expectations were for students. They asked the students to respect people and their varied life situations. One teacher assigned students topics about the trip to research and present to their peers during orientation meetings as well as invited guest speakers on topics such as the history, language, and culture of the area. Another teacher, who organized local community service projects, devolved organization to the students: they worked in groups to choose and plan their activities, with teacher guidance and support. These projects were encased in class lessons that explored ethics, such as the challenges of judging moral actions.

After the overseas trips, teachers helped students to make meaning out of their experiences through discussion and reflection activities in open, honest and supportive forums as well as through projects on key topics such as sustainability and ethics. Teachers wanted their students to critically reflect on their own and society’s social values and the purpose of life itself. Post-trip reflection was a key element for one teacher who felt that most of the learning occurred once the students were home again and struggled to integrate the experience into their lives. Dewey (2007) also commented on the value of such reflecting with these words: “…extending the limits of experience…to enlarge the mind…by remaking…meaning” (p. 8). That is, associated with the concepts of constructivist learning theory that developed from Dewey’s problem based model of learning and Bruner’s (1987) work, learning is understood to be concept-based. Students learn through connecting new material to the concepts they already have. The teacher can help students re-shuffle students’ concepts through the presentation of new information that does not fit comfortably with students’ current concepts. This cognitive dissonance provides spaces for changed thought, in a manner similar to Vygotsky’s (2004) theory of teacher scaffolding of student learning. In the case of the students in this study, the cognitive dissonances provided by the trip fuelled changed thought for many students.

Teachers had students apply for the trips and used sorting criteria for deciding which students they would take on the trips with them. They stated that they selected students who they felt would benefit from the experience (that is those who were perceived to be reflective, open-minded, relational, and resilient) as well as students who were reliable and responsible. They did not want to have behavioural problems overseas. As teachers felt responsibility for the students, they wanted to ensure that they could rely on the students they took. Passion and interest in service were more important than grades for all teachers. Indeed, one teacher stated


that the experience could be particularly difficult and challenging for high achieving students who were not as relational and oriented towards experiential learning.

One teacher mentioned concerns about how the selection process limited the experience to a particular kind of student and thus made an effort to expand the experience by accepting students who were of possible concern due to past behavioural or emotional issues. The teacher found that not only did the students behave during the trip, but that they also demonstrated growth and maturity and—at times—unknown talents such as artistic ability. The teacher also engaged students in group fundraising projects prior to the trip. Another teacher provided service work for all students in their regular academic classes and attempted to deal with motivational issues by finding service experiences that matched students’ interests.

During the trips, many of the teachers felt that the experiential curriculum for their students was best “taught” through the stepping back of the teacher. That is, their pedagogy was one of mediating and facilitating personal interaction between student and experience. The teacher was there as a guide and a mentor. This kind of pedagogy had the potential for magnifying the individual ethical agency of the students as their lived experiences were opened to the endless possibilities of personal meaning making through the skilful mediation and facilitation of the teachers. Teachers viewed leadership as that of relinquishment, of giving power to the students themselves, in order to provide them with opportunities to grow, to develop understanding of life, to make meaning through the “testing” of experiences, and to “find” themselves. Teachers found that the students matured when they were given this responsibility. During the trips, the teachers interwove service with some travel opportunities. They also included group discussions on issues and experiences that furthered reflection and social cohesion and respect among group members and provided journal writing opportunities for self-reflection.

The teachers felt the experience positively affected students with the “right mindsets” (teacher, interview) by helping them to develop deeper (and transformed) knowledge of life and themselves, community and civic mindedness, the ability to live with uncertainty and change (i.e. adaptability), the development of increased awareness of what is of value in life, and the development of a number of skills, such as social skills. They valued the experience for helping to break down students’ stereotypes of place (how stunning the physical place was), culture (how complex, how similar, yet different), people (how kind and warm people can be), and poverty (what does poverty mean?). Students developed open-mindedness (Hare, 1979), which is essential to cultivating citizenship.

Teachers felt the pedagogy changed students’ understanding of the world by transforming their own lived reality: school learning and life learning became integrated and meaning-making became knowledge. Teachers appreciated the changes they saw in their students, some of whom wanted to continue to do further service work. They saw their students develop new cross-cultural friendships, and they valued the realness of the experience. One stated, for example, how students had a chance to visit the family of a child with AIDS who was supported by the school. The teacher stated that to actually see and play with the child in person made the reality “hit home” for students in a manner that isn’t possible in the impersonalized, segregated walls of the school. The pedagogy engaged students by making learning personally meaningful.

Teachers also encountered challenges in delivering service learning pedagogy, some of which included school administrative structures (such as district policies or lack of support among some administrators), the significant time commitment on top of all the regular duties of teaching, managing all the organizational details (e.g., paperwork), language and cultural differences, the difficulty of developing and coordinating community connections, as well as


the trouble and frustration of having certain types of students (such as academically driven perfectionists) open themselves up to experiences that had transformative potential. Some of these teachers described the challenge of students who “failed” the experience by not opening themselves up to change and reflection. One teacher also felt challenged by the immensity of the global issues experienced and the difficulty of helping everyone.

III. Necessary Conditions for Pedagogical Success

All research participants, both teachers and students, found the experiential-based, service learning experiences to be effective and valuable in developing students’ citizenship, as theorized by Dewey.3 They stated that it transformed students’ understanding of life as well as developed empathy, or engagement, in the life situations of others. The trips thus had ethical importance. Students also developed understanding of the connections that bind us all together and the power of action to bring positive change. Generally, then, the trips were authentic examples of Deweyian experiences.

Our analysis, however, revealed that certain factors are required for such trips to be pedagogically successful and identified some areas of concern. These are addressed next.

All students stated that the teacher was crucial to the success of the experience; the teacher “was the course.” They respected and valued their teachers, who they saw as providing them with support and encouragement to grow. The students described the organizing teachers as people who modelled citizenship: they understood students’ individual personalities and strongly encouraged them to step outside of their comfort zones by giving students focused problems to solve and bringing relevant issues to students’ attention. These teachers intuitively grasped the fine but crucial line between freedom and discipline, responsibility and trust. At the same time, the teachers provided spaces for reflective exploration of lived experiences that led to deepened comprehension and new insights, and helped students to feel respected and valued as individuals. Further, the teachers prepared the students well for the trips beforehand, teaching them the history of the nation and preparing them for the conditions they would see (such as poverty) and have to cope with (such as heat). For example, the Nicaraguan trip combined a grade 12 board approved course on Global Studies with the service learning experience. This was valuable in providing learning guided by a teacher in class in combination with individualized experiential learning during the trip.

However, some areas of concern did emerge from the interviews as well. Five of these are described next, along with recommendations for addressing them. As we shall see, these shortcomings also relate to the Deweyian theory used to frame this paper. Areas of Concern

1) Who Benefits? All students who participated in the interviews stated that they were glad they took part

in the service learning as they benefited from the experience in numerous ways. One student stated it was “the best three weeks of my life” (student, interview). However, they also stated

3 This does not mean that all participants on the trips valued the experiences. The research participants were invited to take part in the interviews by the researchers, and these interviews happened after school. The students individually agreed to be interviewed. These are most likely to be the students who found the experience to be valuable. Students themselves (as well as teachers) mentioned that a few of the participants on the trips did not appear to enjoy or benefit from the trips.


that they did not feel all students would benefit from such work. They stated that some of the students complained about the trip and didn’t want to complete the physical work, that some students were too selfish or self-absorbed to learn from the trip, and that some students were isolated by their peers. Students thus felt that students had to be particular kinds of people to benefit; in particular, students were seen to need to be open-minded and interested in going. They said that no one should be forced to go.

The problem, then, is how to provide the valuable experience embedded in the trip to students who are not already open and drawn to service learning because their sense of citizenship (in the sense of feeling a sense of connection to, concern for and desire to help other people) is not as strong to begin with, or to students who are at risk for a number of different reasons. That is, how can at-risk students with behavioural issues be involved in such trips, and benefit from them, assuming the experiential learning is valuable for all learners? (The latter is an assumption to be tested in future research.) Many students stated that they became interested in the trip because of the allure of travel, the positive comments made by their peers, a desire for a new experience, curiosity, and/or their family philosophy of care for others. High school students are well known for their valuation of peer comments. Some at risk students might be encouraged to participate through peer encouragement, but this does not solve the problem of how to open them to the experience. The teacher’s influence might help, but family philosophy and conditions seem to matter critically: structural societal issues are definitely a factor. However, if individuals can be transformed, they can go on to change their social environments for the better as adults. Thus, expanding the service learning experience to more students would be beneficial to all individuals and to all society.

The Deweyian theoretical framework used in this paper could be strengthened through an increased sensitivity to the multiple characters and personalities of students in school, some of whom are not open or predisposed to learning, especially experiential learning. Dewey recognized that individuals had varied personalities and that they were influenced by their family backgrounds. His solution lay in making education relevant to these students. In this case, however, relevance may not be sufficient to engage students in the experience, as it was a voluntary one. The authors recommend that all students should be invited to participate in the trips and that certain teaching methods can be used to reach out to these students.

Possible methods of incorporating potentially disruptive students include understanding the root of the student’s behaviour and addressing it. For example, if a student exhibits depression or anger due to social exclusion, providing the student with a caring space of belonging could be potentially transformative for that student. Mentoring and including these students can teach other students to value the inclusion of all. A student with a “bad attitude” may not realize all the privileges and advantages in life they have as a “rich kid” (“he/she is spoiled”). For these students, the opportunity to see alternative realities can be life changing if the students can be helped to “see themselves” as they are seen by others and to understand how lucky they actually are in their lives. For students who act out, perhaps greater freedom and leadership is needed, as these students are acting out because they are bored or not given the opportunity to express their increasing drives to be independent. For example, the well-known British school headmaster Dr Arnold gave leadership positions (such as proctor) and responsibility to potentially problematic boys at his school along with firm guidance as to acceptable behaviours, and thus was able to help these boys to mature and develop awareness of responsibility (Hughes, 1993).

Secondly, some students may act out because they lack self esteem. People who are critical of others are often so as they are unhappy. Providing a safe and positive environment and believing in these students can address this issue. Trip guidelines can be illustrated to be in


the interest of all. They can aim at developing a common community spirit that is citizenship. Kalbach and Forester (2006) describe the successful teaching practices of a high school teacher at an alternative school. They provide similar recommendations that include: building relationships; empowering students in the Deweyian tradition that conceives the teacher’s role to be that of a guide, facilitator, or mentor; helping students develop personal connections to the material studied and feel a sense of engagement with it; and exploring meanings through critical dialogue on content in a welcoming and inclusive community of learning.

Possible methods of fostering the open-mindedness necessary for cultivating compassion and community-mindedness include: creating cognitive dissonance and allowing students to “see” themselves as others see them and to develop understanding of how “no man is an island,” as John Donne’s celebrated poetic line states, through discussions that foster reflection on the manner in which we are all dependent on each other. Cognitive change can occur through reading, speaking and writing activities that incorporate techniques such as displacement (exploring word and concept choice to uncover multiple perceptions of meaning) and critical questioning that identify connections, contradictions and tensions in different perspectives to “develop a multilayered foundation for their perspective. From this, they are able to understand how their reality may mirror, differ from, or be at odds with” those of others (Kalbach and Forester, 2006, p. 78). Other methods include cooperative learning, hands-on activities, teacher modeling and peer instruction, all of which place learning and leadership in the hands of students (Tam et. al, 2001). Needlessly to say, the service learning experience should remain one of choice: forcing students to take part will deny its value. However, if students with previous problematic histories show interest in the trip, they might be signalling a change. The teacher is then encouraged to support these students. For those students who show no interest, peer presentations at assemblies can be a starting point.

2) Access

Students had to pay thousands of dollars for the overseas trips. Many students paid by working part time jobs and getting help from their parents. Some of the students, consequently, stated that they felt access was a problem, as students who could not afford to raise the funds for the trip were not able to take part. Dewey argued for openness and inclusion of all learners in school, for it was through the processes of interaction with, discussion of, and debates over multiple points of views and perspectives that students developed their democratic spirits. The access problem can be addressed by collaborative funding activities. For example, the Kenyan trip group conducted fundraising and used the money raised to support their service work. Perhaps, fundraising could also be done to provide students from less wealthy families with the opportunities to go. Support might also be found through community sponsorship or by linking with local non profit agencies that conduct service work in the areas travelled to.

3) Long Term Behavioural Change?

While the students clearly valued the experience and developed new knowledge and

insights about life from their service learning, the question remains as to how permanent the changes made in students’ actual behaviours were. For a couple of students, the changes were definitely enduring, as the students have changed their life plans as a result of the trips. However, others seem to have gone back to their pre-trip behaviours. When one student was asked whether her behaviours with regards to environmental action had changed, her answer


was that she was certainly aware of the issues: she said, “I think about it” (student, interview). Thinking and doing can be two different things. Indeed, one could argue that knowing and not doing is more problematic than not knowing and not doing. For service learning pedagogy to be completely effective, explorations need to occur as to how it can permanently change students’ mode of being. This concern is also relevant to Dewey’s theory. Dewey argued that education could develop citizens who contributed to a continually growing democracy. He did not explain, however, how teachers could ensure that their teaching would create permanent changes in their students’ behaviours. The authors argue that the educational process should not end with the experience, but rather that continued, interactive, and thoughtful experiences should continue the process of educational growth throughout students’ lives. That is, education is not over with the end of schooling. In relation to this trip, this process can begin through post-trip discussions about long term action. Providing opportunities for continued involvement through the formation of an “alumni club” that continues community service work and critical reflective dialogue is another option. Further, mentorship is an excellent tool for continued engagement. Students who have taken part in the trip can become mentors for those planning to go on trips.

4) Perception of the Other

In all their reflections, students stated the benefits of the trip from their points of view

only. They specifically had to be asked to describe how they thought that those to whom they provided service benefited from the service, or how they believe individuals in the culture they visited viewed them as service providers. In both cases, students paused and had to think about their answers to these questions. Students would benefit, in other words, with reflective dialogue on the meaning of the service experience for the people for whom the service is provided. Further, many of the students viewed the Nicaraguan and Kenyan people to be less developed than Canadians. In other words, they maintained a Western modernist worldview of the West as most developed without giving a thought to the fact that Western colonial and post-colonial nations have been responsible for leading actions that exacerbate world issues such as environmental degradation and increased divisions of wealth. The students will thus also benefit from exploring the meaning of “development” and “Westernization” and the purpose of service for those for whom the activities were carried out (Stoecker et al., 2009). This also relates to Dewey’s theory. Dewey’s work argued for an open and inclusive democratic society in which all types of learners (both manual and intellectual) studied together in a program that weaved together and valued both programs. However, he said little of students from varied cultural backgrounds, tending to the argument that all students should study a common curriculum and so become “American citizens.” For the twenty first century, we should expand Dewey’s openness to varied learners to an openness to varied cultures where all cultural groups are treated with the equal respect and value. The process of education can include multiple, multicultural perspectives. Through exposure to these multiple cultures and the democratic processes of debate and discussion, students and society can benefit. We can also expand Dewey’s nation-based program to one that is global in scope, viewing all peoples as part of a global Democracy.


5) A Class and Ethnicity Issue All students self-identified themselves as middle class. Why did no working class

students take part? Perhaps access has a role to play, but family beliefs about service work might play a role as well. A key issue thus remains: how can service learning be expanded to include working class students? Further, students of varying ethnicities took part in the trip, but none (to our knowledge) were First Nations students. Organizers of service learning projects should consider how they can expand experience to students of varying backgrounds and classes, for respectful inclusion of all in collaborative projects is a foundational principle of Deweyian citizenship and democratic societies.

Conclusion

Student and teacher interviews demonstrate that international experiential, or service,

learning projects can nurture students’ sense of connection and care for others, important dimensions of citizenship, as theorized by Dewey. However, this was only if the learning projects embedded in the trips were carefully structured and if students were open to the experiences. The most important “lessons learned,” as stated by the majority of students, were cross-cultural awareness and acceptance of cross-cultural difference; appreciation for North America’s privileged lifestyle; and individual efficacy—these are all key components of global citizenship. However, questions remain. In particular, students self-selected themselves to participate as they were open to the experience or already valued helping others. The experience thus became a self-affirming one. How can those who are not open to such trips be invited in and given the space to experience this potentially transformative pedagogy?4 Further, and significantly, is this experiential pedagogy equally effective for all kinds of students?

Finally, how can this pedagogy bring about enduring change in students’ thoughts and actions? These are key questions that remain after this research study and will serve as the basis for future research. Recommendations to address some of these potential shortcomings were described in the final part of the paper, and revolve around the need to extend the potential benefits of this experience-based learning to a wider selection of students and to provide possibilities for change through positive modelling, care, belief in potential, the giving of leadership, and teacher guided reflection on experiences that have initiated cognitive dissonance.

4 This statement assumes that this experiential pedagogy can be valuable and potentially engaging and transforming for all students. Future research will be carried out with the aim of identifying whether this assumption is valid or not.


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Appendix One

Comparison of Findings by Country (Nicaragua (13 students); Kenya (7 students), using most commonly repeated words/phrases

1. Please describe the international service project you took part in. Consider: where you went, what you did, and for how long, plus any additional details you might want to add.

Nicaragua: making a sustainable village by building milking pads for cows or a cattle corral, digging out water troughs, helping at an orphanage, sightseeing

Kenya: building a school kitchen and garden, playing with children at an orphanage, sightseeing 2. What were your thoughts about the country you travelled to, and the trip itself, before going there? That is, how did you imagine it to be? Consider: the people, living conditions, environment and any other factors in your answer. Nicaragua: expected poverty, country to be hostile, scary, dirty and hot, unsure what to expect, nervous Kenya: thought it would be difficult to travel there (food/accommodation would be poor, hot, dry, dangerous), nervous, curious to learn about another place, not sure what to expect or whether should go 3. Did your thoughts about the country, and the service, change after completing your service project? If yes, describe how. Then, please answer why you think your thoughts did or did not change. Nicaragua: changed view of the country: friendly, happy, kind people and rich, active culture, beautiful landscape, and changed/more global view of the world, changed life goals, loved the service work, more modern/Westernized than expected Kenya: thoughts changed a little, reality was hard, lots of work, difficulty, a little more comfortable after it started, police at the hotel all the time, Westernization was apparent, got easier, great organization helping others, some people are scary/dangerous, others are very nice and helpful 4. What did you learn by taking part in this project? Nicaragua: the importance of relationships, self sufficiency, life lessons, collaboration/team and other skills, there are good people in the world, if you want to do something, just do it, about myself and other cultures/the world, growing as a person, happiness isn’t related to money, how help goes a long way and is internally satisfying, appreciate what Canada has, acceptance of others and community mindedness, how my actions affect others, about global issues


Kenya: responsibility, like helping others, some people really need help and some are trying to help, someone needs to take leadership to help others, people there are no different than us, to be active, everyone can help a little, leadership, open-mindedness, appreciation for what we have 5. Are you glad that you took part in the project? Why or why not? Nicaragua: yes, it was life changing, want to go back, learned a lot, fulfilling, loved it, biggest experience of my life, learned more than from texts, learn your own way/yourself, bonded as a group, opened my eyes (no students said no) Kenya: yes: it changes/develops you, develop leadership skills, see another part of the world, learn about the importance of action, understand others better (no students said no) 6. Do you think other students will benefit from taking part in projects like this? Why or why not? Nicaragua: yes, hands-on learning/experience-based learning is the best way, don’t force people but make accessible to all and encourage all to go, personal experience learning is better, its character building, have to be open minded and a personal choice to go, most will benefit if run by the same teacher, depends on the person (some changed forever; others not) Kenya: yes, allows you to interact with others, learning experience, everyone will change and be more open-minded and appreciate, don’t force but encourage participation, develop cultural awareness, maturity and bonding with others, everyone will benefit 7. Why did you decide to take part in the trip? Nicaragua: like helping people, friends, wanted to travel, slide show about it, thought it would be fun and different to being in school Kenya: wanted to see the reality of Kenya, friends, teacher encouraged, wanted to help others, different type of learning to that of school


Creating Space for Students' Mother Tongues in College Classrooms

Vicki Bismilla, Ed.D. VP Academic and Chief Learning Officer Centennial College

Keywords: Mother Tongue; Scaffolding; Code Switching; Multilingual; Identity; Academic Engagement; Learning Experience

ABSTRACT: This study is a qualitative action research that explored the possibility of legitimizing the use of students’ mother tongues (L1) in college classrooms as scaffolds to their acquisition of their second language, English (L2). There were three phases to this study. The focus of the research was to understand the impact of this multilingual pedagogical approach on the students’ learning experience, academic engagement and identity formation. Phase 1, was a survey of 90 English as a Second Language (ESL) students to determine their levels of understanding of our English-only curriculum delivery and student services. Phase 2, comprised of interviews with three English for Academic Purposes (EAP) students. Phase 3 was the major phase comprised of five focus group sessions with 19 EAP students. On the basis of the findings of this study, the paper argues that the creation of space for students’ mother tongues in college classrooms is an ethical imperative since their mother tongues are integral components of their identities, and all of their prior learning and life experiences are encoded in their mother tongues. Overall the findings highlighted bilingual students’ perceptions that their L1s constituted an important scaffold for their learning of English. Students’ comments also expressed their sense of the centrality of L1s to aspects of their identity.

Introduction Canadian and American colleges and universities are actively recruiting international

students. At the college participating in this study, the international student population fluctuates between 18% and 22% of the total full time enrolment. In addition, 56% of the total student population at the college are students who were born outside of Canada. English is an additional language for 42% of the total student population. Since English (L2) is not their mother tongue (L1) these students experience a range of difficulty with instructional English. However, depending on their IELTS (International English Language Testing System) and TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) scores, not all of these students receive specific instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL) or English for Academic Purposes (EAP). Only approximately 15% of the students, both local and international, are enrolled in specific classes to study ESL or EAP courses to improve English skills. Up to five years ago there was no


documented effort to accommodate the L1 in the college classrooms or to use L1 to scaffold L2 learning. These other languages are continuously heard in the college hallways, yet not integrated into classroom pedagogy, hence in essence, shut out of classrooms. Butzkamm and Caldwell (2009) in making a case for bilingual reform in Europe argue for a paradigm shift in foreign language teaching (English in continental Europe) and capture in this quote the essence of my pedagogical exploration in this multilingual college:

In many countries official guidelines create positive pressures for teachers to use the [L2] as much as possible. However, this chapter argues that the way to increase message-orientation in the [L2] is to mobilize targeted [L1] support. We can breathe more communicative life into our classrooms by giving some instructional time over to carefully crafted bilingual techniques. Teachers must be freed from the shackles of misguided restraints that have for too long been hobbling the pace of communicative language teaching and learning. (p.48)

Research Questions and Theoretical Context

My goal was to explore, as an administrator, the reaction of students to their teachers

allowing them to use their L1s for such classroom activities as research, essay preparation and same-language group concept clarification sessions in class. I was guided by Vivian Cook’s notion of a language super system (see Cook, 2003 p. 2), in our multilingual students’ minds. In discussing L1/L2 multicompetence, Cook explains:

In the area of vocabulary some people have claimed that, rather than four separate mental lexicons, the L2 user has a single lexicon where words from one language are stored alongside words from the other (Caramazza & Brones, 1980). In terms of phonology some have found that L2 users have a single merged system for producing speech, neither L1 nor L2 (Williams, 1977). Integration does not say that L2 users are unable to control what they do; they can still choose which language to use in a given context, just as a monolingual can choose which style or register to adopt in a particular situation. In this model the discussion is not about the influence of L2 on L1, but about balance between elements of a single language system. Indeed there is little point to counting ‘languages’ in a single mind – L1, L2, L3, Ln – as they form a single system. (p.7) Clearly neither of these four models can be absolutely true: total separation is impossible since both languages are in the same mind; total integration is impossible since L2 users can keep the languages apart. These possibilities represent the endpoints on the integration continuum (Cook, 2002; Francis, 1999). In between these four extreme, and probably untenable, positions of total separation and total integration, there are many different degrees and types of interconnection. (pp. 7-8)

The research sought to explore these claims as they applied to the L2 college students who were experiencing the unique multilingual pedagogical approach by two teachers who legitimized their students’ mother tongues in their classrooms.

Creating Space for Students' Mother Tongues in College Classrooms • 62

My research question was: How does a multilingual pedagogical approach that veers from the current monolingual conceptions of literacy pedagogy, impact on L2 students’ learning experience, academic engagement and identity formation?

Since the L1 is the language of thinking for many students, the research attempted to explore the extent to which the L1 can enhance comprehension of L2. Macaro (2005) has identified a continuum of perspectives on L1 use in the classroom. It ranges from the virtual position, which advocates exclusive use of the target language, to the other end of the spectrum, where students’ L1 is viewed as a cognitive tool that can facilitate L2 learning.

Relationship Between L1 and L2

The works of Cook (1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007) and Cummins (1990, 1991, 2000,

2001, 2004a, 2004b, 2007) provide the key lens upon which this study is based. Cook (2007), in arguing for the promotion of multicompetence among second language

users writes:

L2 users have different uses of second languages from monolinguals, have a different command of the language, and utilize different skills: L2 users of English in particular need to interact with different types of non-native speakers. Internally, L2 users are different types of people with different cognitive processes and different knowledge of both languages. Language teaching is creating L2 users with mental and linguistic potentials that monolinguals lack. The goals should be to help them on the one hand to function as multilingual individuals in whatever capacity they choose in the diverse situations of L2 use outside the classroom, on the other to acquire the benefits of bilingualism in cognitive ability and language awareness. (p. 237)

Cook (2003) in an earlier work argues for an end to monolingual conceptions of the bilingual learner and makes a case for using the L1 in the classroom. He recommends that schools open their doors to using L1 in the classroom, arguing that bilinguals and multilinguals differ from monolinguals insofar as their L1 and L2 competence is qualitatively different from each other and that their language awareness and language processing systems are also different from those of monolinguals. He uses the term multicompetence to refer to these differences. He suggests that the L1 and L2 are interwoven in the L2 user’s mind in vocabulary, syntax, phonology and pragmatics. Because of this interweaving, he suggests that it makes sense to encourage L1 use within the classroom and view it as a resource for learning the L2 rather than an impediment. He suggests that learning a L2 is not just adding rooms to your house by building an extension at the back; it is the rebuilding of all internal walls (2001, p. 4). The attempt to separate and isolate the L2 from the L1 is doomed to failure since the two languages are connected in many ways. Cook summarizes his key point as follows: “since the first language and other language or languages are in the same mind, they must form a language super-system at some level rather than be completely isolated systems.” (Ibid. p. 2) He maintains that they are not “like watertight compartments” (Ibid. p. 6).

According to Cummins (2004b), there is consistent research support for the language interdependence hypothesis. He suggests that in learning a L2, students will transfer aspects of linguistic and conceptual knowledge from one language to another in input (reading, listening) and


output (speaking, writing). Cummins suggests that depending on the sociolinguistic situation, five types of transfer are possible:

• Transfer of conceptual elements (e.g. understanding the concept of photosynthesis); • Transfer of metacognitive and metalinguistic strategies (e.g. graphic organizers); • Transfer of pragmatic aspects of language use (ability to use paralinguistic features such

as gestures to aid communication); • Transfer of specific linguistic elements (e.g. knowledge of the meaning of photo in

photosynthesis); • Transfer of phonological awareness—the knowledge that words are composed of

distinct sounds.

Language and Identity As an expatriate South African, Nombuso Dlamini’s (1998) research into language and

identity resonated with me. In examining the construction of identity among Zulu youth she writes: The multiple linguistic practices of individuals were hallmarks of the formation of their identities within this highly linguistically politicised region. The use of language then resulted in emergent, rather than conventional, associations with political organisations, and therefore, individuals redefined their lives through language use. As I will demonstrate in this paper, individuals were not ready to give up their ethnic identities, irrespective of whether or not they were ANC supporters. I argue that ANC Zulu youths were proud of their Zulu heritage, despite its association with Inkatha politics, and that their use of the Zulu language was in many ways in contrast to the ANC political agenda of a non-racial post-apartheid state. This paper, therefore, is an assertion of their linguistic, ethnic/cultural Zulu autonomy, and is critical of the practices by political organisations aimed at creating political and economic unity out of linguistic, ethnic/racial disparity. The practices of the youth in this paper demonstrate that Zulus in the ANC did not want to move away from their Zulu cultural/ethnic identity, and that language and other cultural material were used not to escape the label Zulu, but rather to affirm it.

The students who participated in the research in this paper also asserted the importance of language to their identities and repeatedly emphasized that using their mother tongue to bridge to English is a critical scaffold for them.

While researching the applied linguistic implications of codeswitching (moving from L1/L2) among heritage bilingual children, Potowski (2009) commented that codeswitching “began with native bilingual adults, showing that codeswitching is generally rule-governed behavior that fulfills pragmatic and social functions” (p. 89). Fuller (2009), while working with children, also arrived at the conclusion that codeswitching is used for both structuring conversation as well as constructing social identity. She writes:

Social identity is viewed in this research as something which is discursively brought into being, and as such is fluid and situational. Switching languages allows these


speakers to alternate between aspects of their identity, such as being a dutiful student of English or a part of the local (German-speaking) peer network, and also allows them to create a dual identity. In this way, they create new categories for social identity – not merely (for example) German or American, but an identity which allows them to be both at the same time. (p. 130)

This study would echo this finding among adult college students who are new learners of English and in the formative stages of forming an identity that includes being English speaking Canadian while maintaining their prior cultural and lingual identities.

Dailey-O’Cain and Liebscher (2009) look more closely at the problem of the optimal amount of codeswitching that should be used in class and by whom – teacher and/or student? Hence, according to them, the question becomes not if the L1 should be permitted but how much and by whom. In other words—what’s the optimal use? The study looked for student perceptions of pedagogy that created a structured space for their mother tongues in their EAP classroom and focused on student use of L1 not teacher use.

Butzkamm and Caldwell (2009) comment on the optimal and targeted use of the L1 in classroom pedagogy. On bilingual teaching techniques they say:

Until we start using them, we will continue to sell our students short. Yet we are not offering them as a universal panacea, since it will always remain a challenge to survive in the heat of some classrooms. But we do think they can change both the teachers’ and students’ lives for the better. The judicious and skilful use of bilingual activities empowers the student and doubles the teacher’s repertoire of techniques. (p. 243)

In exploring academic achievement and social identity among bilingual students Wong and Grant (2007) write:

We examine the ways in which societal discourses (e.g., relating to English-only instruction, cultural and linguistic deficits, etc.) affect the ways in which bilingual students in the United States form their social identities. Specifically, socially and historically determined structures within the wider society identify minority communities as subordinate to the dominant group and position students from these communities for academic failure. The ways in which literacy is conceptualized, researched, and promoted in classrooms plays a central role in both the identity formation and academic engagement of racial and linguistic minority students. An alternative model is presented that outlines how educational professionals working with ELL [English Language Learners] and bilingual students can transform schooling and make a difference in the academic achievement of their students. (p. 682)

They contrast the monolingual meritocracy paradigm against the bilingual culturally inclusive theoretical framework and offer an instructional model that includes three essential components for successful achievement of English language learners and for transforming the inequities in the politics of schooling:

1. Human resources: ELL students, their families, and educational professionals; 2. Dialogic pedagogy; and


3. Curriculum for democratic citizenship, and economic and community development (p. 681).

Their model works well in a college setting where adult students can be full partners in

their own education process. Students can be encouraged to develop a self awareness about important cultural components of identity such as language. The dialogic pedagogy is based on mutual teacher-student respect and collaboration. Teaching for L1/L2 interdependence and transfer does not require that teachers speak the languages of their students. It does, however, require that teachers and administrators be willing to examine critically the implicit assumptions underlying curricula (Cummins 2004b). In other words, the question is what image of the student is constructed by the implicit or explicit language or literacy policy of a school or college? Potowski (2007) in examining identity investment in a dual immersion school writes:

Forming and performing social and linguistic identities is at the heart of the development and maintenance of any language. It is generally agreed that when people feel that their language and cultures are valued, they will be more likely to claim themselves speakers of the language and members of the cultural group. On the contrary, when a language is stigmatized and the cultural inheritance is ridiculed, people will be less willing to be identified with it, whether they are heritage speakers or L2 learners. (p. 198)

This Three Phase Study

An important question for me as an administrator is: “Does the tacit English-only language

policy at the college construct an image of the student as intelligent, imaginative, and linguistically talented? Or are we using a deficit mind-set about our L2 students’ inabilities, accents, un-intelligibility and second class citizenship in an English dominant society?” With the teachers and students in this study, I probed the dilemma of whether or not it is good practice to leave student mother tongues at the door of the classrooms or to bring them into the learning environment. In this article, I include summaries of the first two phases as the data shaped the third and major phase.

Phase 1

In Phase 1, I surveyed 90 ESL students. The central tool for Phase 1 was a student survey with questions that sought both quantitative and qualitative answers. In the first section, using the Likert scale, I asked college students to indicate their levels of understanding of English-only curriculum delivery and student services such as registration, enrolment, course selection, and student loans. In the next section, to probe pedagogy from the students’ perspective, I asked the students to identify some enablers and barriers to their learning experiences at the college. In the last section, to seek input from students regarding the value they placed on their mother tongues in their new adopted country, I asked about their perceptions and experiences regarding use and acknowledgement of their L1 languages both in the college classrooms as well as in outside settings. I sought to explore what second language learners could tell us about creating positive learning experiences as well as providing insights into the social construction of identity and its impact on academic engagement.


Table 1 – Ability to Understand Materials and Processes as a Percentage of the Sample Ability to understand

Material or process 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 College ads (print, brochures) 59.8 17.1 6.1 8.5 3.7 4.9 0.0

College website 57.5 16.1 8.0 6.9 4.6 4.6 2.3 Registration and fee processes 50.6 20.2 12.4 6.7 5.6 1.1 3.4

Orientation 48.1 19.0 13.9 11.4 0.0 5.1 2.5 Course selection 47.7 12.8 12.8 9.3 5.8 8.1 3.5

Note: Based on 2006 survey of college ESL students (Bismilla, 2006); n= 90; 1 =Easy to Understand; 7= Very Difficult to Understand.

The grid demonstrates the students’ levels of understanding of college services and shows

the range of understanding that the students had of the front line services that the college provides in the way of college websites, print materials, and course selection materials.

Table 2 – Ability to Understand People at College as a Percentage of the Sample Ability to understand

People 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Recruiters 35.1 31.1 10.8 12.2 2.7 4.1 4.1

Registration desk 47.6 25.0 8.3 8.3 3.6 4.8 2.4

Loans office 48.6 22.9 5.7 5.7 7.1 5.7 4.3

Orientation 38.6 26.5 13.3 10.8 1.2 6.0 3.6

Language assessment 40.2 24.4 12.2 8.5 6.1 4.9 3.7

Teachers/Instructors 37.9 33.3 13.8 3.4 3.4 4.6 3.4

Other students 36.1 21.7 14.5 10.8 7.2 4.8 4.8

Other 44.4 22.2 11.1 11.1 0.0 5.6 5.6 Note: Based on 2006 survey of college ESL students (Bismilla, 2006); n= 90; 1 =Easy to Understand; 7= Very Difficult to Understand.

The grid explores the students’ levels of understanding of people at the college and shows the range of understanding that the students had of the front line services that the college provides in the way of teachers, administrators and instructors.

When asked if they perceived their L1s to be assets or barriers, the overwhelming response was that their L1s are assets outside the college but that L1s were not permitted in class. They used their L1s outside class to clarify meanings and concepts with same-language friends. They considered their L1s to be highly valued in their communities, social circles and professional lives. Below is a sampling of student qualitative responses. The grammar, spelling and sentence


structures are quoted verbatim from the survey responses and the student sheets were numbered rather than using student names:

I don’t think my first language would be a barrier in my professional life. It

surely be an asset because it’s good to know more than one language (Bismilla, 2006, No. 83)

I think my first language will be an asset because I believe I can be a translator in my workplace (Ibid., No. 82)

It is an asset for my college education because for my future education it will be helpful (Ibid., No. 80)

My first language will be an asset in my professional life since Canada is an muti-cultural country. It helps me to know people who come from different countries (Ibid., No. 78)

I think my first language is not a barrier because I can understand better the diversity of people in this college (Ibid., No. 76)

It’s should be an asset. Because used for more than one language that means you can understand more than one culture (Ibid., No. 75)

When I graduate from college my first language would be another language to asset my professional life. Because its good to know more than one (Ibid., No. 20)

My first language is my asset because my first language could be bridge between my country and other country (Ibid., No. 13)

An asset, the more you know language the more success (Ibid., No. 9) Cummins (2001) pointed out that identities are being negotiated in the interactions between

teachers and students. In classrooms where their L1s are effectively prohibited, as in college classrooms, students may not engage in cross-language transfer. Phase 1 of this study, in addition to providing quantitative data that showed that ESL students were not understanding much of what the college was teaching and delivering, revealed that the college students I surveyed believed that the most helpful assets to their L2 learning were:

Teacher-student relationship builders such as, “The teachers need to talk more

slowly”; “Helpful teachers; approachable teachers; clear voice of teacher; nice friendly

teachers;” Student to student relationships such as, “My friends help me a lot; my same

language friends; speaking English with classmates.” (Ibid, random surveys).

Major Findings in Phase 1 The two major findings in phase 1 are summarized as: The percentages of ESL students on the Likert scale who were experiencing difficulties

understanding English services and curriculum delivery indicated that comprehension of L2 (English) was a problem.


The qualitative responses indicated that students valued their mother tongues outside of the college but that it was not allowed in the college. Phase 2

Phase 2 of this study was designed to explore this last finding further and introduced mother tongues in an EAP classroom, not only to validate them but to use mother tongues to scaffold the learning of English. In this exploratory phase my intention was to collaborate with one teacher who allowed structured use of mother tongue in the classroom in order to assess if this multilingual pedagogy would engage students more enthusiastically in class and hence enhance their learning experience. My goal was to gauge the reaction of students to the teacher allowing them to use their L1 to research and prepare for their (un-graded) essay and to write that essay in English. I interviewed three students individually. The questions I asked probed how they felt about their mother tongues being permitted into their EAP classroom; whether using their first language as a scaffold made specific tasks easier or more difficult; and whether they would recommend using first languages in Canadian classrooms. I quote directly from the student responses since the raw content of these small sample responses was critical to the continuation of this study as intended.

(Student #1):

At first I think about my first language, Bangla. Then I translate into English.

Sometimes I feel difficulty because some words are not in English. There might be a word in Bengali that does not translate into English. If I think in my first language, I can use or think more words to write anything.

I think at first and then I translate into English. …I did not have the books here (in Canada,) and Dreams is not a common

topic. Bengali poetry would have been no problem. In Bangladesh there is no culture of making notes – we read and then we write the essay. I think in Bengali and write in English. I don’t do drafts in Bengali.

I think that it is good to allow my own language only sometimes for particular reasons but not all the time, because I want to learn English.

I worked with a group of people in my language and that was O.K. The teacher allows us to get into language groups to help one another or to discuss topics. I feel comfortable and think it’s a good idea. Sometimes students are shy to speak out in class so it’s good opportunity for them to try their English in a small group of same language students. It strengthen the learning of new concepts and the understanding of specific examples given by the teacher. We support one another in our language, specially to find translation for idioms and slang commonly used in the academic environment.


(Student #2):

When I’m working by myself (at home or alone) for me is not easy to make the switch from the English mode to the Spanish mode. When I’m thinking and communicating in certain language it’s better to do it only in that medium. But in the classroom, it’s always useful to be allowed to communicate in Spanish with other Spanish speakers, because it helps us to clarify and understand instructions and concepts.

In Canada and Colombia it’s far easier to find more text and resources in English. In the field of medicine, physicians are always asking pharmaceutical companies to give them the state of the art information in the original paper that’s always in English. Most of them reject abstracts or translation to Spanish. They want the whole study. The state teaches a very poor English in the schools, so if somebody wants his or her children to learn English, he or she must pay a very expensive private bilingual school. I didn’t go to one of these schools, I learned on my own, because I wanted to sing American songs but I didn’t want to sing words without meaning.

It’s always useful to be allowed to communicate in Spanish with other Spanish speakers because it helps us to clarify and understand instructions and concepts.

We support one another in our language, specially to find translation for idioms and slang commonly used in academic environment

I think it’s very useful to allow students to use their first language to communicate, but I’m convinced that regulation is going to be necessary, otherwise, they won’t feel the necessity of the second language. What I mean is, it should happen under control, not like a pendulum, not too few, not too much.

(Student #3):

It (using mother tongue) should be easy for us to understand complex

material, but we probably lose the chance to improve English. Sometimes it is necessary (to use our mother tongue in class) but I don’t think it’s very helpful if we use it too much.

Using my first language to do research on the internet was easier because (I) read faster and easy to get to the point (on the internet).

Using my first language to make notes was easier and about the same because sometimes I don’t know the correct words in English to express ideas.

I always choose the easier way to write. If I know English I write English. If I can’t write very perfect point very quickly I’ll write my language.

My opinions about using first language in Canadian college classroom are (1) For beginner or medium students sometimes it’s necessary because their limited vocabulary (2) For advanced learners I don’t think it’s necessary.

This very small exploratory phase provided some evidence that the mother tongue was

being used by L1 students in various ways. Phase 2 of this study pointed to some significant


internal conflicts that our students are experiencing regarding their linguistic identities and, in Goldstein’s (2003) words, their “individual language choice decisions…their goals and roles in life and larger historical, economic, political and educational events” (p. 11). This small sample study was intended to ascertain from students whether introducing their mother tongues in their classrooms would enhance their learning experience, academic engagement and the construction of identity. The mother tongue was also being used to assist one another in learning new English concepts and vocabulary. The students appreciated that their mother tongues were being respected and given importance enough to be included in class as part of their thinking and writing processes. The students were being allowed to think and share in a more collaborative environment, making them feel more valued consistent with Cummins’ (2001) argument that positive teacher-student relations improve student engagement. This phase of the study also pointed out that EAP students were certainly using translation as a tool and that both languages were interacting inside their heads as they were processing what they would say and write and this is clear evidence of Cummins’ interdependence hypothesis at work.

Phase 3

The insights from Phase 1 and 2 informed Phase 3, the major phase of this study and helped frame the interview questions (Appendix A) for my 19 E.A.P. student participants from 2 classes. The 19 students who participated in the interviews represented nine different mother tongues. There were ten Chinese speaking students originally from China and Hong Kong; one Spanish speaking student originally from Mexico; one Japanese speaking student originally from Japan via Saudi Arabia; three Bengali (Bangla) speaking students originally from Bangladesh; one Korean speaking student originally from South Korea; one Arabic speaking student originally from Iraq; one Urdu speaking student originally from Pakistan; and one Urdu and Punjabi speaking student originally from Pakistan.

Phase 3 Data

The responses provided by the multilingual students in the five focus groups yielded six large clusters of key insights. The title or titles of the clusters are indicated in parentheses.

• Questions (see Appendix A) 1, 2 and 12 yielded insights into their feelings about the

mother tongue being validated in their participating classes compared to classes where mother tongues were disallowed. Comments about cultural and lingual identity, cross cultural attitudes and metacultural awareness (Reyes & Vallone, 2007) were made (Identity, engagement, feelings).

• Questions 3, 4 and 5 yielded insights into how useful students regarded their mother tongues to be in class work, assignments, and academic engagement. They also spoke to the shortage of resources in various languages in libraries and educational websites (Usefulness of mother tongue in class/college/assignments and lack of resources in mother tongue).

• Questions 6, 7 and 8 provided keys into the students’ brains and the scaffolding strategies they are using to bridge between their L1 and L2. Their mother tongues, as


described by the students, showed interdependence (Cummins, 2004) and they described the language super-system (Cook, 2003) or super highway type of busy activities that were occurring in their brains between their L1s and L2s (L1/L2 strategies for scaffolding and interdependence).

• Question 9 gave students the opportunity to give teachers some hints as to small everyday accommodations that we might make to alleviate their struggles in understanding our speech patterns (Helpful hints for teachers).

• Question 10 provided insights into the thought processes in their brains when they listen to one language as input and speak in a different language as output (Thought processes in brain – cognate/non-cognate and superhighway).

• Question 11 allowed students to reflect on the importance and value of their language in a new country (Value of mother tongue).

• Question 12 further explored issues of identity and self-esteem as perceived by students in settings where their mother tongues are not given a role in their learning process (Identity, Engagement, Feelings).

There were 5 focus groups and below is a sampling of quotes from the students and a brief

summary analysis. [Note: While maintaining the students’ grammar and sentence structures, I have removed sounds such as “Hmmm…”; “eh…” and long pauses recorded in the transcripts in order to make the excerpts more easily read.]

Group 1 Data Summary

In Group 1, comprised of Andy (Cantonese), Carol (Cantonese and Mandarin), Khalid (Urdu), Rachel (Cantonese and Mandarin), and Lois (Cantonese) the word “comfortable” was heard 17 times as they discussed their feelings about being allowed to use their mother tongues in class. They did also, however, as did some students in other focus groups, display cross cultural respect, hence some reservations about speaking their mother tongues when others may not understand and think them impolite. Their need to use the mother tongue was captured by Carol precisely when she said: “I can’t control myself to think in Chinese Mandarin language my mother language. It’s very natural I think” (Group 1, November 14, 2008, Bismilla, 2008, L62-74).

Khalid’s statement that his mother tongue allows him to understand more and “restore more in my mind,” (Ibid, L94) about difficult concepts such as theorems speaks to the necessity of mother tongue in his learning process as all his prior learning is encoded in Urdu.

The usefulness of the mother tongue to bridge the gap between a limited understanding and a fuller understanding of classroom activities was illustrated when the students described their difficulties with colloquialisms; e.g idioms like “hit the books!” They laughed about it in the focus group but when confronted with idioms by teachers in classrooms, the stress for them stems from not knowing whether that phrase is important to their learning and outcome in class. If the teacher recognizes this gap and explains the idiom the stress level is alleviated; or if other students with varying degrees of understanding can allay their fears in their mother tongues, the students can then continue with their learning.

A critical area in the college that these students identified as a place where allowing mother tongue usage would be helpful, is the counseling office. Lois explained: “When I have


some…emotional problems I can express more comfortable to the people who speak the same language with me” (Ibid., L368-370). Rachel continued: “…when I have a strong feeling that I know what what’s in my heart, but I when I try to translate it into English everything’s changed because it it’s not the exact thing what I’m going to express” (Ibid., L379-382).

In probing the kinds of strategies the students are using to discover meanings of new words and whether there are lingual and conceptual transfers from their mother tongues to English, I was given a window into their scaffolding strategies. Andy described a decoding process whereby he asks for the spelling of the word, writes it, looks at the prefix or suffix and root and attempts to figure out the meaning:

Group 1 was able to offer practical suggestions for English speakers addressing L2 learners to facilitate better understanding of the teacher’s speech. (Group 1, November 14, 2008, Bismilla, 2008, L648-654,) Lois suggested that teachers need to speak more slowly and reminded us that there is translation going on in the heads of L2 learners and if we speak too fast they cannot translate quickly enough to understand.

L: I think they may try to speak slower V: okay L: Yeah, because if they speak too fast we can’t we can’t should should I use calculate? Or can’t translate

Carol, in this interview, directly asked for mother tongue scaffolding in class when she said: “in sometimes the teacher maybe ask the other students who speak the same language to explain to you” (Ibid., L691-692).

Group 1 yielded some critical insights into the thought processes that occur inside the brains of L2 learners in the L1/L2 learning mechanism. Andy, in keeping with Cook’s (2003, 2007) description of multicompetence and the L2 learner’s mind being a super system (in my words, a super highway) in which both languages traverse at the same time, described how in his mind both languages are occurring at the same time as he is speaking to me (Ibid., L708-734):

A: I thinks the same time. I use the same time. For example, use you speak with by English to me I just translate Chinese. And understand then answer you by English. So yeah… Group: yeah A: So very fast in the bridge V: Very fast highway A: yeah yeah bridge, bridge. Carol, who teaches Chinese classes in Toronto, made a pertinent point (Ibid., L736-754)

when she said that even when Canadians are learning Chinese they need to translate into English to understand, so we must make the same allowance for Chinese speakers who are learning English.

C: Yes I think that at the same time and this situation is by the Canadian to learn Chinese. They also translate at the same time. Because I…I’m a part-time teacher.


In speaking about whether their mother tongues are valued, they mentioned that their mother tongues are valued in the class where they are permitted to use them to clarify concepts and vocabulary. However, their mother tongues are greatly respected in the Toronto community at large: “Toronto is a freedom most respect another Toronto is a multiculture society understand many kinds of language it can help you to find a job easier” (Ibid., L827 and Ibid., L856-858).

Rachel made a critical observation. She said that it is important to allow concept clarification in class in the mother tongue because if a concept is missed at the beginning or middle of the class and not allowed to be clarified, then the rest of the class may not be understood.

R: I think in class it might be valuable because maybe the teachers going to explain some main points if you can’t get it maybe the main problem is related what she’s going to explain a bit later, but if you can’t get the main point you might you might you might fail to understand what’s or what’s coming, what’s coming up. (Ibid., L890-895)

Synthesis and analysis summary of group 1 data.

This first focus group validated the space for their mother tongues that this study created in their EAP classrooms. They further brought to life Cook’s (2003, 2007) super system of language interaction that exists in their brains as they described the activities that occur in their minds as their mother tongues scaffold English (Cummins 2007a, 2007b). By revealing the emotional needs that mother tongue fulfills for them in their academic and social lives the participants opened a window into the identity aspects (Cummins 2001) of language encoded prior learning. They articulated the academic perils of disallowing their mother tongues in class by articulating that if they cannot clarify a concept quickly in class they risk losing the rest of the lesson. Of the 57 ground codes in this group’s data 18 (32%) were related to identity; 15 (26%) related to the usefulness of mother tongue and the desire to have more resources in the mother tongue; 14 (25%) referred to the value that the students place on their mother tongues socio-culturally and academically; 10 (18%) of the ground codes related to scaffolding and language interdependence between mother tongue and English (see table 3 and figure 1).


The students in group two were Shariat (Bengali), Justin 1 (Chinese), Christina (Cantonese and Mandarin), and Bruce (Cantonese). Farwa (Urdu and Punjabi), who participated in all the other activities as part of this group, was ill on the day of this interview.

On questions 3, 4 and 5 that probed the students’ perspectives on the usefulness of the mother tongue in college classrooms, assignments and research tasks, the students in group 2 offered rich data. Justin and Christina said that it is important to have same language peers to clarify assignments, share ideas and consider examples that may be useful in essays.

C: I think if we are in one group if we use the same language, sometime we have an idea for, I can’t explain that in English and if we are in the same language we


can talk with another and exchange our ideas better. And but I thinks, just I think it’s better. (Ibid., L164-184)

Christina, like the previous focus group, identified the difficulty that English idioms present.

C: Yes, I can’t explain in English, like some that’s it. Chinese idiom, Chinese have a lot of idiom, but I don’t know how to say that in English. But if we are in the same language, you can understand me, maybe you can use another ways to explain it (Ibid., L189-191).

Echoing the first group, Justin 1 pointed out that mother tongue is critical for them, as adults, to keep abreast of world events and news and build their knowledge base more quickly and efficiently than their proficiency in English allows.

J: Like our English is not that good or not, if we want to get some information like a news. Sometimes you very difficult to understand, we want to build up our knowledge or we use our mother tongue, that would be much faster. V: Okay. So to build knowledge, your… J: yeah V: mother tongue would be useful. So to discuss the news, like if something has happened in the news. J: Like if something create news, something like that. (Ibid., L238-248)

Shariat and Justin confirmed the data that I found in phase 1 of this study, that L2 students often have difficulty understanding college processes, events, important notices, and signs which if explained by a same language peer provides operational clarity for them.

S: It is actually useful if you allow us to discuss even outside the classroom, so we can clarify ourself and different issue of the college. Let’s say there are some notice signs some events going on the college, even if I don’t know if you are allow I cannot ex… somebody cannot explain me or I don’t understand from the English language, then I can ask my peer or my friend the same language, to clarify this, so then she can clarify this. (Ibid., L250-266)

Group 2 yielded several strategies that they use to unlock meanings of new vocabulary. Shariat identified colloquialisms as particularly problematic for him. He then went on to explain in detail (Ibid., L356-409) how he goes about establishing the meaning of new English words and information. He explained that he first tries to get clarification from the teacher. Then he tries to match the meaning as he understands it in English with his Bengali understanding, remembering that he used both languages in Bangladesh. He also checks the dictionary and website and then, “match with our own language for better understanding.” He writes down new words (as in a word bank) and reviews them weekly. He constantly connects the meaning back to his mother tongue which he said helps him to “remember…to keep the word.”


S: Yeah, yeah. To keep the memory. V: So Bengla helps you to keep the memory. S: Memory, yes. V: Okay.

Bruce, a Cantonese speaker, who uses the dictionary as a last resort gave some deeper insights into language transfer strategies (Ibid., L447-494). He said that he first of all tries to guess the meaning of new English words based on the sentence and context. If he still does not understand he asks a same language peer, then the teacher. If he is still unclear, only then does he go to a dictionary. When asked if he has transferred any skills from his formative learning of his mother tongue to his learning of English, Bruce responded:

Chinese and English is very different is totally different if there is a relation maybe their strategies are review, review, rebuild that is the only strategies the same as English cause when I was small I try to learn a word in Chinese, my mom will ask me to write it 10 times, 20 times, 30 times to remember the words how to write it. So I think is the only way can do it in English. (Ibid., L482-494)

Bruce’s response is an indication that strategies for learning language can be transferred from Chinese to English but any language clues or phonological elements depend on transferable elements which might be easier in cognate languages than non-cognate languages.

On the question of their feelings in classes where mother tongue is banned, this group expressed discomfort. They made two critical points. Firstly, that if a teacher does not allow the mother tongue in class for quick clarification with a peer about a concept, then the rest of the lesson is missed because that key concept was missed.

Nobody should stop us talking in our own language to get clarification if we miss one main point that I cannot understand, I cannot follow the whole class, and the whole class will be is not justify to stay in that class because I’m not following that class. The main point I have missed. So if I’m not allowed talking other than English, it’s not justified. (Ibid., L1090-1097) Secondly, these students asserted that they are adults. They have come to the college and

paid tuition fees to learn English and to learn a profession. They fully understand this. They use their mother tongue in class for emergencies related to understanding key building blocks. They pointed out that they should not be subjected to rules barring their mother tongue in class:

We are adults; we know why I’m here. If I don’t want to learn English I won’t give money and starting here right. [Chuckling from group]. And like, I’m not international student, I spend more, lots of money than them right. So I know why I come here, so I will do my best to speak more English. [The speaker, Christina is an international student, so this is a slip of her tongue, or speaking passionately, she was flustered amid her equally passionate and animated peers – she might have meant to say, “I’m not a domestic student” rather than, “I’m not international


student.”] But like sometimes, some situation you have to speak your own language. You have no choice. If you don’t speak that maybe that is just one words. If you speak at that just one word to understand the whole class will help you a lot. (Ibid., L1168-1177)


There were 72 coded comments in the group 2 transcript. 19 (26%) of the comments related to mother tongue being central to their identities; 15 (21%) of the comments related to how useful they found their mother tongues to be in class; 13 (18%) of the comments were about the value of mother tongue in their lives and 25 (35%) of the comments described specific activity occurring in their brains between their L1 and English. While group 2 continued, as did group 1, to provide comments related to identity formation, usefulness and value of mother tongue and L1/L2 scaffolding strategies, a further insight provided by the Chinese students in this group related to guarded comments about political freedom. Justin, Christina and Bruce talked about the difficulty of separating opinion or propaganda when using Chinese websites for research. The impact of political power relations on identity is a phenomenon that I experienced personally in apartheid South Africa. There was nothing that we could do about the propaganda of the racist government without risk to life. Zu Zhiyong (2007) found that Tibetan students’ identities were impacted in Chinese power dominant school settings. Power relations and propaganda were not directly referenced by the students in this group but their need to separate Chinese website opinion and fact indicated a concern. The students in this group also affirmed that while linguistically there may be similarities among Chinese speakers, there are vast cultural differences among Chinese immigrants depending on where they lived in China geographically before coming to Canada. This is a useful caution for educators to respect individual differences regardless of seeming similarities among students.


Group 3 was comprised of Asm and Shubnum (Bengali), Justin 2 (Korean), and Murphy

who indicated in both his demographic form and the interview that he speaks Chinese (he did not specify Cantonese or Mandarin). Shubnum and Asm indicated that using their mother tongue in class makes it easier for them to understand concepts by clarifying them with each other using their first language.

Murphy made the point that understanding examples in mother tongue is “very, very, very fast” (Ibid., L219) whereas English is too hard to understand. Shubnum and Asm also made the point that Justin did: English speaking friends repeat what the teacher said while same language friends are easier to understand because they go to the root of the word (Ibid., L265). Concepts like “summary,” or a point made during a lecture if quickly clarified makes it “easier to go forward” (Ibid., L257) for them.

Regarding other places in the college where being allowed to speak to someone in mother tongue would be useful, Justin explained that if someone in Student Services or in the International Student Office was there from Korea they would understand cultural situations, like in his case, the interruption of educational pathways by the requirement for military service:


Actually the kind they…office doesn’t really know, they don’t know what’s going on, like what’s my situation because all Koreans should know that, like man should go military and then that’s for how long and then, like, whatcha gotta do for that thing…why didn’t drop the courses and then they ask me all those questions, but if they were Korean there, like, just tellin them I gotta go to military and they he’ll understand everything…(Ibid., L286-294)

As in previous interviews where students explained that Counseling and Advisement Offices were not serving the needs of L2 students, Shubnum expressed the same frustration:

…when I go to Enrollment Office I want to know how I can go the way subject, they give me some advice, but I do not understand some words, some sentence and I think there if there person who speak Bengali, it was easy for me to understand. (Ibid., L319-323)

She went on to explain that even though she speaks English (a language commonly spoken in Bangladesh) she has an easier time with Bengali: “but Bengali I can express very quick and fluently” (Ibid., L337-338). This point was expressed before regarding the need in Counseling Offices to be able to express feelings.

In describing their thought processes between mother tongue and English, Asm and Shubnum used the supermarket as an example (Ibid., L744-786). When they examine a product they are thinking in mother tongue but when they reach the check-out counter they switch to English to communicate with the cashier. In class it is the opposite, they think in English in class and when they leave class and want to clarify they switch to Bengali.

Justin said that he thinks most times in Korean but he described the speedy highway, precipitous process happening in his brain. He gave a description of the process occurring in his mind where his first and second languages appear to form a language super-system (Cook, 2003) interacting quickly enough to allow him to think in Korean but carry out a conversation in English:

Like, just until a moment before I talk with some Canadian speakers, I think it in Korean and I not sure how the function goes, but I just put some words that I need to ask or that I need to know and then I just put it in the order by myself and then ask like a question or something. And in class I think it’s 50/50, yeah. I think in Korean, but when she the teacher speaks or classmates speaks, then I think it in English first and then I try to translate in Korean. If I have something to ask, if it’s a simple things like what time is it or something like that, then I don’t even need to think. But if it’s like very hard thing to ask or thing that I need to think about, then I think it in Korean first and then translate it to English and then I ask again. So it goes here (pointing to his brain). (Ibid., L789-802)

In discussing the value of their mother tongue, Asm and Shubnum spoke passionately (Ibid., L843-895) about the historical significance of their mother tongue in Bangladesh during partition:

[In] 1952 there are many who sacrificed their lives for Bengali language and we respect this person that persons respect the way they sacrificed their lives for Bengali


language and how it is world mother tongue language 21st February [mother tongue day]. (Ibid., L847-860)

A: I think is valuable every nation or country have their own mother language our mother for Bangladesh our mother language Bangoli and in nineteen hundred … S: 1952 A: Yeah, 52 S: There are many who A: There are ss… S: sacrificed their lives for Bangoli language and we respect this person that persons V: right A: respect the way they S: sacrificed their lives for Bangoli language.


There were 75 ground codes in this group and significantly, 33 (44%) of the comments related to the usefulness of mother tongue (see table 3 and figure 1 below). The students continued as in previous groups to provide insights into their mental processes involved in L1/L2 interdependence through 15 comments (20%). Seven comments (9%) related to the sociocultural value of mother tongue and 20 comments (27%) related to identity. A powerful emotional piece related to identity was provided by the Bangladeshi students. As part of colonized India, Bangladeshis experienced English as the language of their colonizers. On this issue Cummins and Davison (2007) write:

When English is taught in former colonial contexts, the language carries complex baggage related to its historical role in establishing and reinforcing patterns of power relations both between colonizer and colonized and within the colonized population. In non-colonial contexts, access to English is also associated with social stratification both with respect to who gets access and the social advantages of access. (p. 3)

Pennycock (2007) in the same volume explains that colonizers used the vernacular languages for instruction in schools in order to keep the populace docile. Education in the language of the colonizer would mean that the locals would not be willing to perform the much needed manual labour. This produced an image of English as a superior language. The educated class of Indians who already had power, learned and perfected English and some emerged as writers of English literature. Shubnum and Asm displayed a visceral reaction to this multi-tiered class system based on power and language when they spoke passionately about “mother tongue day” in Bangladesh and about the people who sacrificed their lives in the struggle for independence from the British. Both of these students talked about their passion for preserving their mother tongues for their children with a sense of pride in that identity.


Group 4 Data Summary.

This group was made up of Yoko (Japanese & Arabic), Karim (Arabic), Ana (Spanish) and Wendy (Cantonese and Mandarin). Yoko has no one in class who speaks Japanese; Arabic is her second language which is still developing. Ana has no one in class who speaks Spanish.

Karim began the discussion saying that it is comfortable (Group 4, November 28, 2008, Bismilla, 2008, L36) to be able to use mother tongue in class. Ana, even though there is no one with whom to speak Spanish in class, made the observation that grammar is different in Spanish and English so when learning English the grammar constructs are difficult (Ibid., L60). Wendy said she finds mother tongue good for “explaining something” making it easier “to get the meaning” (Ibid., L79-86). She said she finds mother tongue an easier medium to express feelings and ideas. Yoko struggled in her third language, English, to explain that she has only been learning English since May (this interview took place in November). Being the lone Japanese speaker, she said she wants to express her thoughts in Japanese but there is no peer in class. She finds that when other students speak mother tongue in class it is distracting for her and she cannot enter the conversation because of the language barrier (Ibid., L169-170). Wendy, even though she does speak mother tongue with her peers, shares Yoko’s view that other mother tongues are distracting. She said that she feels that if other students do not understand her group speaking mother tongue that, “they will feel we are talking about them” (Ibid., L201). Ana said that she feels “out of place because nobody ..can…can talk with me” (Ibid., L221-222).

Ana, the Spanish speaker, said (Ibid., L442) that she prefers to do her research in English. It is pertinent to note that Ana was a pediatrician in Mexico and North American pharmaceutical research is often predominantly written in English, as explained by a Colombian student in Phase 2 of this study who was a pharmaceutical executive in Colombia.

Wendy said that she does her research in Chinese only when there is something that she cannot find in English. She said that she uses her Chinese high school text book to figure out words she cannot understand in English (Ibid., L478-482).

Yoko explained that she researches in Japanese and translates into English, her third language, and it takes time. She further explained that she uses the English-Japanese dictionary and also her personal knowledge and her life experiences to figure out meaning.

Karim said that he uses contextual clues, general knowledge, and experience first then goes to an Arabic-English dictionary. He translates the meaning into Arabic in order to store the meaning in his mind (Ibid., L566-567). Using the Arabic-English dictionary is only a last choice for him (Ibid., L578-579).

Regarding strategies learned in mother tongue that now help students learn English, Ana explained (Ibid., L590-619) that she writes out words, makes sentences, repeats the words, tape records them and listens to them repeatedly while travelling on the bus and subway and tries to use them contextually.

Regarding the value that these students place on mother tongue Yoko maintained that retention of mother tongue is important for her as a mother and for her daughter as well as for industry in Canada and that when it is barred in class she “suffers.”

Y: If in my class there are Japanese mate, maybe I maybe I want to use Japanese sometimes. Yeah.


V: Right Y: Hmm V: So you do like to use Japanese. Y: Yeah, uh huh. V: Okay. And if they said don’t speak in Japanese how would that make you feel? Y: Yeah, suffer [chuckles]. (Ibid., L836-903) When discussing thought processes that occur in their minds between mother tongue and

English, (Ibid., L1035-1038) Yoko said that she thinks in Japanese and translates into English while Ana said that at the beginning she used to think in Spanish but now she thinks in English. Karim said that for easy words he thinks in English but for difficult words and meaning he thinks in Arabic because he said that the information is saved in his brain in Arabic. He also specifically said and emphasized that his language is part of his identity. He said that at the college his mother tongue does not have the same value because it is not used. Wendy said that when she writes she always thinks in Chinese and translates into English; but in conversational English she does not need to translate.


There were 47 ground codes in the group 4 transcript. The majority, 17 (36%) of the

ground codes in this group related to identity. 13 (28%) of the comments related to the usefulness of their mother tongues in their classrooms; only 4 (9%) of the comments related to the value of mother tongue in their social lives and 13 (28%) of the comments gave insights into the processes in their brains between their L1 and English. Yoko, the Japanese student who arrived in Canada via Saudi Arabia just a few months before the interview struggled with her third language, English. Yoko was a nurse in Japan and is unemployed in Canada. Leki (2003) wrote about the travails of a foreign trained pediatrician Yang, who was re-training in the United States to become a nurse. While Yang’s clinical knowledge was intact, expressing that knowledge in English and accurately filling out the nursing care plan forms were the aspects of her academic program that posed seemingly insurmountable difficulties for her. The literacy needs of the students were not being met in the traditional accreditation based curriculum. This is still evident in many post-secondary programs and Yoko’s journey to her desired pathway into a Canadian nursing program will be a long one. She is still struggling with English and says that she would “suffer” if her mother tongue is disallowed. The dilemma of course is that without a proper grasp of English, foreign trained clinical practitioners cannot perform life and death related health duties. The impact on the identities of all the participants in this group was evident. In addition to Yoko, there was a pediatrician, an engineer and a technologist in this group, all foreign trained and all unemployed in Canada. Hence the focus of this group was their professional identities as evidenced by the majority of the codes generated.

Group 5 Data Summary.

Xiao (Mandarin) was the final interviewee—and the only member of this “group”—and he

arrived at noon for this interview in a December snow storm even though the college had been


closed that morning because of the inclement weather. He regarded this as an important meeting. He was alone for the interview because the other times were not convenient for him and he requested this time slot.

He expressed that this particular teacher was the first to ever allow Mandarin in class and that it made him feel confident because Mandarin allows him to know exact meanings while English is still confusing. He said that while meaning may be lost in English, in Mandarin it is very clear.

The kinds of things that he said he finds useful to discuss in Mandarin with peers include cultural conversations and the differences in writing styles between Chinese and English. Explanations in Mandarin by a peer are easier to understand than explanations in English by the teacher (Ibid., L135-143). Xiao indicated that when he attended a different college in Toronto he was not allowed to use his mother tongue and that caused him to miss due dates on assignments and not be able to clarify rules and concepts (Ibid., L162-167).

Xiao does his research in Chinese because, “…in Chinese we have very clear concepts what the topic is, what the point is” (Ibid., L193-194). When he uses the Chinese internet he said that he can research more quickly:

When you in Chinese we can go there very quickly, when you, I can’t get it quick…criticize which articles is the best, which is the regular. But in English we can’t have identify which is better, which is the good one…(in Chinese) I can understand deeply. (Ibid., L200-208)

To unlock new English words he said that he uses the Chinese dictionary and then uses contextual clues to figure out the meaning. He finds English – English dictionaries give “a lot of word,” (Ibid., L237) that is, several meanings of a word, which he finds are not exact enough; in English-Chinese dictionaries he finds the “exact meaning” (Ibid., L239).

In describing his thought processes in Chinese and English, Xiao explained that to work with “deep ideas” (Ibid., L363) he needed to think in Chinese but for simpler conversations, which he has practised, he can think in English. But if difficult to understand then “I want to translate it [into] Chinese first” (Ibid., L400).

Xiao had some rich comments about the value of his mother tongue. He said that Chinese has, “a lot of history” (Ibid., L422).

[It is] concentrated. I think meaning have a code has a decoded language only a few words have a lot of…have more meaning. For example if I write one page article in Chinese, I translate in English maybe three or five pages. (Ibid., L421-428)

A comment that he made reminiscent of the work of Wade Davis (2001) and the problem of language extinction is:

…my language only is a tool of communication depend on how many people hear…if there lot of people hear then…good communication. If no people use it, you can’t. How can you for example, you have good tools, but no people to use it, how do you use it? (Ibid., L453-459)


Regarding his feelings when his mother tongue is barred, Xiao returned to his concept of deep meanings and deep understandings. He said that he can engage in deeper, meaningful conversation if allowed to use Mandarin as a scaffold, otherwise using just basic words makes his conversation more shallow (i.e. “skin deep.”)

…why some people are not, don’t allow a use in the Mandarin, why I can speak a little, because I want to get more deeply that I can only try to speak more deeply some easy word I come press clear, in some deep ideas I can’t speak well. So I cannot find word to communicate if I can speak Mandarin, I can talk a very, very deep, very exactly meanings and I because for me I have a lot of knowledge and background about any topic but while I in Chinese I can speak very deeply I talk in English, I only can talk some use some words I know I can express it sometimes it’s only the basic words and a is always a skin deeply. (Ibid., L522-541)

I heard frustration here from Xiao who was an engineer and post secondary professor in China. He went on to say that one word in English may have several meanings but one word in Mandarin has one meaning (Ibid., L546-561).


The 28 ground codes from Xiao’s interview provided insights into all four major themes

that emerged from all the focus groups. The issue of identity (nine or 32% of the comments) resonated for this professional engineer and university professor from China who was still unemployed after 3 years in Canada. But it was his passion for Mandarin that came through in his rich comments (eight or 29%) about the usefulness of his mother tongue. He made seven comments (25%) relating to the value of his mother tongue in his life. Four (14%) of his comments were about the ways in which his mother tongue scaffolds his learning of English. His differentiation between the ability to express “deep ideas” in his mother tongue compared to “skin deep” conversations in English was poignant. The critical pedagogy in his EAP classroom where he was allowed to discuss the benefits of bilingualism (Freire, 1970) contributed to his ability to look at his bilingualism through his unique comparative lens from his experience as a professor in China. Not only is his language the “carrier of his culture” (Reyes & Vallone, 2007) it is also the language of deep thought as opposed to the surface level expressions of conversational English.

This interview completed the five sets of semi-structured interviews for this phase of the study.

Tara Goldstein (2003) in Chapter 5 of her book, titled Resisting Anti-Immigrant Discourses and Linguicism, quotes well known Latina writer and poet Gloria Anzaldua and explains:

Gloria Anzaldua talks about her desire to communicate in multiple voices, to feel pride in the many languages she speaks, and to have her multilingual tongue legitimized. The journey toward pride can be a difficult one in multilingual communities where the use of particular languages or language varieties is devalued, trivialized, or vilified. (p. 83)


In our English-only colleges and other educational institutions in the Greater Toronto Area there are thousands of “Gloria Anzalduas” also experiencing the linguicism that Goldstein addresses above.

Summary of Phase 3 Results

Table 3 – Major Themes from Ground Codes Usefulness of Mother Tongue L1’s/L2 Strategies

Interview

Comments related to Identity,

Engagement, Feelings

In Class/ Assignments

Lack of Resources Total Value of

MT Scaffolding Interdependence Total

1 18 (32) 13 2 (26) 14 (25) 9 1 (18)

2 19 (26) 12 3 (21) 13 (18) 13 12 (35)

3 20 (27) 30 3 (44) 7 (9) 7 8 (20)

4 17 (36) 11 2 (28) 4 (9) 6 7 (28)

5 9 (32) 8 0 (29) 7 (25) 2 2 (14)

TOTAL 83 (30) 74 10 (30) 45 (16) 37 30 (24) Note: n= 279. MT= mother tongue. Values shown without parenthesis are expressed as counts; Values shown in parenthesis are expressed as percentages.

Figure 1 – Various Themes as Percentages


Major Themes That Emerged From Phase 3 Group Interviews

Close examination of all of the student transcripts through the coding process yielded the following major themes:

• Impact of the L1/L2 process on identity/engagement/feelings gleaned through student

comments; • Usefulness of mother tongue in the L2 learning process despite shortage of L1

resources; • Value of mother tongue to L2 students; • L1/L2 strategies used by L2 students to scaffold their learning of English.

Major Findings in Phase 3

The major findings in this phase of the study were:

1. Students articulated the value of their mother tongues to their families, their children, to business and in society.

2. Students’ feelings, identity and engagement were impacted positively through validation of their mother tongues in their EAP classrooms

3. Students clearly articulated the usefulness of their mother tongues cognitively, academically and socioculturally

4. Students provided insights into the activities occurring in their brains as mother tongue scaffolded English and they described the strategies they were using that demonstrated interdependence between L1 and L2.

The data provided by these 19 college students opened a window into their perceptions about the impact of this pedagogical practice on their learning experiences, academic engagement and identity. Students were clear that barring the mother tongue in some of their other classrooms was perceived by them as the teachers’ right but that they felt that a part of their identities was being undervalued. Their highly engaged multilingual activities in seeking meanings of vocabulary and concepts by using mother tongue dictionaries and same language peers pointed to academic engagement that represented academic survival for them at the college. We also saw specific examples of interdependence between mother tongue and English in all of the interviews (see quoted excerpts). Mother tongue and English, existing simultaneously in their brains, in their social and cultural norms and validated in their four classrooms allowed them to be valued as holistic, multilingual, multi-ethnic and multicultural beings in a microcosm of Toronto society that is their college.

Several students made reference to the “super-highway” of languages in their brains. For example, in Group 1, Carol said “I can’t control myself…” in lines 62 – 74; in Group 1, Andy referred to “very fast bridge,” in lines 715 – 722; in Group 2, Bruce referred to “exchange the idea in English” and Christina noted “when I create new ideas I think in my own language…but use English to talk about it” in lines 801 to 810 of the transcript (Bismilla, 2008). This is a concept that


Vivian Cook (2001; 2003) labeled as a “super-system” and this metaphor easily captured for the students the process occurring in their brains and they were able to relate to this imagery.

In discussing the often frenetic activity in their brains during a class, especially a program specific class in which new words and concepts are constantly arriving into their brains as input and having to be processed in the brain in their L1s and quickly translated into L2 for output, the students demonstrated Cummins’ interdependence hypothesis (2004b). In every interview the students described the transfer of conceptual and linguistic elements proposed in the interdependence hypothesis. Cummins’ (2000) claim that L1 inclusion facilitates the learner’s identity investment and positive self-image is echoed by the students I interviewed. A powerful example is found in Group 2, (Bismilla, 2008, lines 1168-77) when Christina, supported by her equally passionate peers, vehemently expressed that L2 learners pay a lot of money to come to Canada to study. They know that they are here to study English and do not need to be subjected to “English-only” rules. They indicated that there are some learning situations when “you have to speak your own language.” Also, in Group 3, Justin profoundly stated that allowing students to use mother tongue in the classroom is important to facilitate understanding because “if students cannot understand…then there’s no point of learning,” (Group 3, November 18, 2008, Bismilla, 2008, L1017). This is also a statement about academic engagement. It points to the frustration of students who continue to sit in a class where their lack of understanding of concepts presented may lead to disengagement.

Teacher Interviews

The teachers in this phase, Dara and Marg, rather than under-valuing their students’ mother tongues, regard mother tongues as relevant in scaffolding the acquisition of English and give first and additional languages a place in the learning processes in their classrooms. There is an acknowledgement that their students’ mother tongues are firmly established as key components of their adult identities and they are aware that their students are finding unofficial ways to use their mother tongues to scaffold their learning of English by forming same language support groups outside of class to clarify concepts. In the study, these teachers were providing opportunities in their classrooms for these language support groups to enrich learning experiences with the additional support and presence of themselves as teachers and advocates for this learning style. In discussions with me, the teachers were knowledgeable about research into bilingualism and that their students’ prior learning, education, and experiences are encoded in their mother tongues. Rather than closing off this integral part of their students’ social, cultural and lingual identities in their classrooms and forcing them to perform with that missing pillar, the teachers in this phase of the study chose to create a space in their classroom programs and pedagogy for their students’ mother tongues.

Moje and Luke (2009) review various ways in which identity is conceptualized in general. They document five metaphors used in identity literature. They named them (a) identity as difference; (b) identity as sense of self/subjectivity; (c) identity as mind or consciousness; (d) identity as narrative and (e) identity as position. They contend that “subtle differences in identity theories have widely different implications for how one thinks about both how literacy matters to identity and how identity matters to literacy” (p. 416). In examining the metaphor of identity as position they write:


Just as one might see evidence of the layers of varnish on a piece of wood, so we might also see the layers of identity on a person. To play out the metaphor even further, those layers can be stripped away, reapplied, nicked, scratched, or even gouged. Thus, identity as layers of positions (i.e. laminations) carries with it the histories (hence, the overlap with the concept of histories in person, or even possibly, of habitus) of past experiences. (p. 430)

By the time a student reaches college, they are adults and have accumulated many layers of “varnish,” their mother tongues being one of the rich and vibrant layers. Through their years of schooling if that layer has been stripped, nicked or scratched, evidence of that would form another layer of their identity. Power relations that subjugate any aspect of identity, “are thought to shape a person’s self (or a group’s identity) through acts that distinguish and treat the person as gendered, raced, classed, or other sort of subject” (Ibid. p. 430).

Both teachers find that allowing students to use their L1s in class helps their students to be academically engaged and on task. Time for classroom instruction is scarce (four three hour classes a week) and maximum effort and engagement is critical for progress. Both teachers find that metalinguistic awareness and the ability for their students to talk about language while learning a language is a key enabler of L1 development. The older students in their classes, more often the Internationally Trained Immigrants (ITIs), are generally more mature and professional with great sensitivity and respect for other students and the learning process. The younger students, just arrived after completing high school in their country of origin, need greater reliance on their L1s in order to survive the first few months at college. Hence, for both teachers, the issue of balance is a key consideration. Both teacher and student must understand the need for balance between L1 and L2 and the teacher must be able to appreciate the pedagogical implications of this balance; therefore, the lower the student’s functionality in English the more monolingual the English environment may need to be. As the students develop their L2, the teacher can then use intentional instructional strategies to allow the L1 to scaffold the L2.

The data from the teacher interviews and written submissions pointed out the strength of their multilingual pedagogical approach as being one that is respectful of their students’ prior learning and holistic identities and one that engages their students in academic learning. Dara spoke of her experience in a school board, with a highly punitive approach to L1 suppression that she found intolerable. They also spoke of the ways in which the first language scaffolds the second. Their own personal experiences in learning a second language were instrumental in their creating collaborative spaces in their classrooms for L1/L2 interaction. However, they also identified some gaps and tensions associated with their multilingual pedagogy that the college will need to consider in applying the pedagogy more widely. The differences between cognate and non-cognate first languages and their similarities or differences with English sometimes pose specific difficulties in the teaching of decoding skills. Fossilized errors that students bring to their learning of English are often difficult to correct. But correction is necessary as these students will need instructional level English as they proceed into professional programs of study.

The teachers also pointed out that creating a space for mother tongue too early in a college student’s English learning process would be problematic since when they first arrive, mother tongue is a crutch and they need to become acclimatized to intentionally use English in class. As they progress through Levels 1 and 2 to the third level of EAP, students become more aware of


strategies that they, with the assistance of their teachers, can use to bridge L1 and L2. The teachers indicated that it is at this Level 3 EAP stage of English proficiency that the L1/L2 bridge most effectively enhances students’ vocabulary, usage, learning experience and academic engagement. This in turn impacts their identities as valued multilingual learners of English. The teachers found the student interview transcripts helpful to adjust their own teaching strategies, for example, going forward they would ask students to keep language journals or pocket-sized vocabulary notebooks. So there is active learning and identity formation occurring for both the teachers and students in these mother tongue friendly classrooms where collaborative relationships have been forged between and among teachers and students.

Developing a Model

In order to explain my findings to the college it was necessary for me to develop a visual

model of the applications. This model (Figure 2 below) was derived from all the ground codes. In Figure 2, the major themes, distilled from the level 1 and level 2 coding processes are

shown as circles on the outside supporting the new insights into brain activity and the required action items for teachers (level 3 codes) contained inside. Starting at the top left hand outer corner and working our way anti-clockwise around the model, the student data informed us that when college students’ mother tongues are given a place in their classrooms, their prior learning, encoded in their mother tongues and their whole identities are invited by the teacher into their classrooms. “Whole students” with all their integral characteristics including language, are therefore participating in the classrooms rather than students with truncated profiles. Recognition of their feelings and identities enhances their engagement in the academic space.

Proceeding to the next cluster down, despite the lack of resources in their mother tongue in college, the L2 students thrive by helping one another in the learning processes. They find same-language peers to be of great value in quickly explaining concepts so they can keep pace with the teachers. Clarifying concepts in their mother tongues assists them to understand assignments and participate more fully in the learning processes. Moving to the next cluster, the students’ words provided a window into their multilingual profiles in the complete socio-cultural spectrum of their lives both inside and outside the college. Respect for their mother tongues validates multiple facets of who they are, allowing them to become robust contributors to their educational, personal and job-related personalities.

Finally, in the top right hand cluster, the rich processes of language scaffolding, through the numerous strategies L1 students are using in peer language groups, provide insights into the interdependence occurring inside their brains. These processes are given the dignity of acknowledgement as critical cornerstones to educational pedagogy in the classrooms of teachers who have created spaces for students’ mother tongues.

The items inside the model frame the four most important aspects for teachers to understand in order to teach the “whole” multilingual college student. On the right hand side, teachers need to understand that their students’ brains contain all of the information gathered through their lives and learning, regardless of the language in which those key experiences and learning took place. Attempting to erase those foundations or pretending that the intricate translation and scaffolding occurring inside the students’ brains are irrelevant, strips the students of important keys to their educational process.


Once the thought processes are understood we arrive back at the inside left hand side of the model that is, “what do I do as a teacher then, to accommodate my new understanding of the L2 learners’ needs and the rich skills, profiles and experiences that they bring into my classroom.” The final most central box in the middle of the model is the final third level coding pointing to the essential paradigm shift in pedagogy that needs to occur in order to create inclusive college classrooms in which the learning experience, academic engagement and identity formation of L2 students are given the same importance as they are for other students.

Figure 2 – A Model for Creating Space for Students’ Mother Tongue in College Classrooms

This model is derived from the level 1, 2 and 3 codes of the student interview transcripts and through the process of refining the codes in Table 3 and Figure 1.

Limitations of the Study

In this study there were three Phases. There were 90 students who responded to a written

survey in Phase 1, there were three students interviewed in Phase 2, and there were 19 students interviewed in focus groups in Phase 3 for a total of 112 community college students. Although the total sample size was large, only the intensive focus group interview data from the Phase 3 ground

Identity

Engagement

Feelings

Place for L1 in

classroom

L1 in assignments

Usefulness of mother

tongue

Lack of L1 resources

L1 scaffolding

L2

L1/L2interdependence

L1 / L2 strategies

Multicultural jobs, bilingual

advantages

Mother tongue

important for children

Value of mother

tongue in society

Repeat

Use gestures

Avoid/Explain Idioms

Speak slowly

Helpful hints for teachers

Thought process in

brain

Two way translations

Superhighway bridge

L1 creep into L2

Cognate / Non-cognate

languages

A Model for Creating Space for Students’ Mother Tongue in College Classrooms

Allow L1 in class to

scaffold L2 and

recognize L1/L2 inter-dependence


codes were used to create themes for application through my model. This was considered the major phase of this study. The 19 students had participated in a full semester of the multilingual pedagogy in two participating classrooms. The focus group questions and interviews were controlled and consistent in all the five groups and the sample size was large enough to generate themes across the groupings. The in-depth, semi-structured, audio recorded focus group interviews with the 19 students elicited 102 pages of transcripts which generated 279 ground codes which were sufficient for thematic saturation (for definition of saturation see p. 143, Corbin & Strauss, 2008). Guidelines for determining optimum sample size for L1/L2 research in community colleges are non-existent, but this sample was meant to be a preliminary push into this area of study, and the small group afforded the intimacy needed to garner quality information from the participants. The four major themes (identity, usefulness of mother tongue, L1/L2 scaffolding strategies and the socio-cultural value of mother tongue) that emerged were consistent in all five interviews; but if I had chosen to conduct a larger number of focus groups with a larger number of L2 students there might have been more than four major themes emerge. My application and model make evidence-based recommendations drawn directly from the student transcripts.

Conclusions

The students in this study gave us insights into the workings in their brains between their

L1 and English and thus confirmed the importance of their L1 in scaffolding their L2. Cummins’ (2004b) interdependence hypothesis and Cook’s (2001, 2003) language super-system in the L2 learner’s brain were confirmed. There were several comments from students cautioning against the overuse of mother tongue in class which is consistent with literature on bilingual education that calls for balance and a search for the optimal use of the L1 in class (see Turnbull 2001, Macaro, 2003, Turnbull & Dailey-O’Cain, 2009a, b, c). The code counts demonstrated that students in every focus group commented specifically on the centrality of their mother tongues to their identities. These college students are adults with decades of prior learning encoded in their mother tongues. At present the college is not respecting that prior learning by excluding their mother tongues from the classroom. Freire (1998) in his book Pedagogy of Freedom encourages respect for the autonomy of the student:

Another kind of knowledge necessary to educational practice…is the knowledge that speaks of respect for the autonomy of the learner, whether the learner be child, youth, or adult. As an educator, I have to constantly remind myself of this knowledge because it is connected with the affirmation of respect for myself. This principle, once again, is a question of the ethical implications of being an unfinished being. Respect for the autonomy and dignity of every person is an ethical imperative and not a favor that we may or may not concede to each other. It is precisely because we are ethical beings that we can commit what can only be called a transgression by denying our essential ethical condition. The teacher who does not respect the student’s curiosity in its diverse aesthetic, linguistic, and syntactical expressions; who uses irony to put down legitimate questioning…who is not respectfully present in the educational experience of the student, transgresses fundamental ethical principles of the human condition. (p.59)


Dara and Marg’s collaborative classrooms and inclusive pedagogy respect the whole identity of their students including their mother tongues. Recognizing a multilingual approach to pedagogy as an ethical imperative is transformative for both the teacher and the student in Freire’s paradigm. By being “respectfully present in the educational experience of the student” (Ibid.) these four teachers, according to their students, have enhanced their learning experiences and academic engagement. In order to teach the whole student they recognize that there is a place for mother tongues in college classrooms. Bringing this multilingual pedagogy to the attention of the college through this research begins to fulfill my ethical imperative as an administrator and honours the voices of the students who participated in this research and informed the outcomes.

Reyes and Vallone (2007) used identity construction as one of their arguments for four-way bilingual education and urged the removal of the “hostile conditions” (p. 6) under which bilingual programs presently flourish. They claimed that a student’s active use of four different language systems strengthens their cognitive, linguistic and metalinguistic abilities, and this impacts positively on academic engagement and achievement. As engaged educators it is important for college teachers and administrators to examine whether we are creating a hostile linguistic environment in our classrooms for our L2 students by affording English its hegemonic place to the exclusion of a balanced, structured and pedagogically informed use of mother tongue.

All of the college students interviewed for this study touched on all of Moje and Luke’s (2009) metaphors of identity. The authors named their metaphors (a) identity as difference (b) identity as sense of self/subjectivity (c) identity as mind or consciousness (d) identity as narrative and (e) identity as position. While evidence of all of these metaphors are found in the student transcripts, their metaphor of identity as position resonates poignantly as we examine the life and learning experiences of our college students in this study. Their “layers of varnish” that make up identity as described by Moje and Luke (p. 430), have been stripped away in many different ways as they journeyed from their countries of birth to Canada. We heard from students who were professional engineers, nurses, doctors and professors starting their professional lives all over again in our college. By reaffirming their lingual identities, through a carefully considered multilingual pedagogy, we as college educators have the opportunity to reapply and repair some of the scratched and damaged layers of their identity “varnish”.

The spectrum of studies that I have undertaken in my quest for a better understanding of the interdependence between L1 and L2 confirmed my belief that creating a space for mother tongue in the classroom has benefits for both student and teacher. The studies revealed visceral passions from the very young elementary student who referred to his ability to speak his mother tongue as “magical,” (Bismilla, 2005) to the angry outcry of the college student who said that she has paid a large sum of money to come to Canada to study and knows that English is important but does not need the indignity of being told not to speak her mother tongue in class for quick clarification with a peer. It was fascinating to have a window into the students’ brains that revealed the mental activity between their L1 and L2. The students taught me the folly of pedagogical approaches that look at multilingual students through deficit lenses. The quiet dignity of the student in the last interview (group 5) when he spoke of “deep learning,” reminded me that L2 students sitting before us in class carry a huge and sorrowful weight when their profound academic qualifications are negated by our regulatory bodies that do not recognize the credentials of internationally educated immigrants. The bilingual students in the study confirmed that their L1s constituted an important scaffold for their learning of English and hence enhanced their learning


experiences and academic engagement in class. Their perceptive comments also expressed their sense of the centrality of their L1s to aspects of their identity.

Areas of Further Potential Research

A potential area of further study might be to explore the differences in scaffolding and

interdependence between cognate and non-cognate L1s to English. This will require a non-randomized sample of L2 learners in groupings of mother tongues that share roots with English and those that are non-cognate.

Another potential area for further exploration would be a longitudinal tracking of the academic performance of students from mother tongue permitted English language learning classrooms to mother tongue prohibited English language learning classrooms. This will need to be a new mixed mode study involving pre and post English proficiency testing of students as well as a comparison of graduating grades of both groups of students. Impact on academic engagement and identity will need to be gauged through student interviews.


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Appendix A

Interviewer: Vicki Bismilla Focus group questions for semi-structured, audio-tape-recorded group interviews:

1. Describe how you feel about being allowed to use your mother tongue in college classrooms?

2. How do other students react when they see/hear you using your mother tongue in class? 3. If you are in your same language groups in class what sorts of discussions do you have?

In what ways are these helpful to you? Were there ways/times when this was not helpful?

4. You are being encouraged to use your mother tongue while preparing for assignments and clarifying classroom discussions. Are there other times and activities where this might be helpful?

5. When your teacher allows you to do research in your mother tongue what do you do? Is it helpful? Why or why not?

6. When you see or hear a new English word how do you try to discover its meaning? Can your mother tongue help you to figure out its meaning? How?

7. What strategies (ways) have you learned from your own mother tongues that help you to learn English? For example breaking the word up into smaller pieces or thinking about word associations.

8. Can you think of pieces of an English word that might be the same in your mother tongue that help you to figure out meanings of English words? For example in Greek or Latin “auto” or “inter” are also used in English.

9. When an English speaker speaks to you what kinds of things might they do to help you to understand better?

10. When do you think in English and when do you think in your mother tongue? How do you switch from one to the other at college or outside the college?

11. How valuable do you believe your mother tongue is to you (a) in class (b) in the college (c) in Toronto in general? Why?

12. How do you feel in other classrooms where you are not allowed to use your mother tongue in class?

OISE thesis committee:

Dr. Jim Cummins, Second Language Education, (SLE) Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning (CTL) OISE/UT. Dr. Tara Goldstein, Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning (CTL) OISE/UT Dr. John Portelli, Department of Theory and Policy Studies, (TPS) OISE/UT.


Rural Women’s Empowerment through Self-income Generating Activities: A Study on NGOs Credit Programs in Bangladesh

Islam Md. Rafiqul Doctoral Candidate, Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences Hiroshima University

Keywords: Bangladesh; Development; Entrepreneurship; Empowerment; NGO; Women

ABSTRACT: Women’s empowerment has been pointed out as an indispensable condition to reduce poverty in developing countries of the world. Also, it has been closely related to democratization of those countries, in providing women with rights and opportunities equal to those which men have enjoyed so far. Despite its significance, the issue cannot be said to be solved easily, because there are many factors that prevent its progress.

In this regard, this paper aims to consider the multi-layered actuality of the issue of rural women’s empowerment in Bangladesh, especially for economic development. For this purpose, the study deals with empowerment of rural women through self-income generating activities and the NGO credit programs in Bangladesh. The study was conducted in the central region of Bangladesh. Qualitative methods were utilized in the study. The research was tailored in such a way as to capture the influence of the NGO credit programs upon rural women’s entrepreneurship, in the review of their individual experiences. As a result the study reveals that self-income generating activities by entrepreneurship are the most important contributing factor to empowering rural women in Bangladesh.

Introduction

Although women make up half of the world population, their participation in various

activities is not the same as men’s even today. Without the participation of women in the development process, society as a whole cannot be said to develop sufficiently. Nevertheless, due to gender discrimination, women tend to be granted an inferior status in nearly every aspect of life. The discrimination that they face is greater and more in developing countries than in developed countries.

Bangladesh is a country in which women have very low social status. They are not recommended to engage in economic activities. The women have had only limited involvement in economic development issues in Bangladesh of the 21st century. Studies conducted by the World Bank demonstrate that rural women in Bangladesh have limited access to household decision making, physical and financial assets. While having a very low level of individual assets, they are heavily loaded with work, and are restricted in terms of mobility. They possess inadequate levels of skills and knowledge, thus being very vulnerable to male dominance in any social sphere (Sebstad and Cohen, 2000, p. 44).


In recent decades the topic of women’s empowerment has become acute, especially, in developing countries like Bangladesh. Women’s empowerment is of great importance, because it is the most important precondition for elimination of world poverty and enhancement of human rights (DFID, 2000, p. 8). According to Islam, “empowerment is significant for building a basis for social progress. The term empowerment is used mainly in relation to improvements in women’s condition. But it should be applied to any disadvantaged group of society” (Islam, 2010, p. 78).

The empowerment of women has gradually become a widespread concept within the discourse on development (Parpart, 2002, p. 39). It is discussed by various agencies such as the World Bank and the UN, as well as grassroots organizations (Mosedale, 2005, p. 243). However, there is no consensus definition of empowerment among researchers, therefore, the empowerment of women can mean different things in different contexts depending on who is using the concept (Mosedale, 2005, p. 244). As a result, there are many different approaches to achieving such empowerment. The process of empowerment in one direction does not lead to empowerment in all dimensions, unless it considers all aspects of life of a targeted section of people. The process of empowerment implies forming an equality-based social structure, democratization of the political system, and delegation of power so that women in Bangladesh can influence decisions about their lives.

Recently, Non Government Organization (NGO) based development initiatives have increased rapidly in developing countries including Bangladesh. Many of them purposely target poverty and women’s empowerment by introducing different development projects to establish schools, training centers, clinics, credit centers, and other organizations that are oriented towards growth and development. It is needless to say that they target disadvantaged and poor people in the society. And many of these programs specifically focus on women for financial and social reasons (Attack, 1999). In comparison to men, women have been more conservative in their investment policies, making them better clients on average. Secondly, women have established themselves as being more useful in meeting social objectives. This means that women are more likely to spend their money on their family member’s health care and education.

NGOs have been working to help poor rural women in Bangladesh. These NGOs have managed various activities including microcredit with the support of donor agencies. And this activity is strongly influencing women’s empowerment in rural areas. This research investigates to demonstrate that women have been empowered by NGO’s programs.

The Issue of Women’s Empowerment

The United Nations Population Information Network indicates that women’s

empowerment consists of five dimensions: 1) women’s sense of self-worth; 2) choices; 3) access to opportunities and resources; 4) the power to control their own lives; and 5) the ability to influence the direction of social change (POPIN, 1995). Accordingly, the issue of women’s empowerment depends upon having sufficient control over resources, personal capacity, and sense of self-confidence and self-efficacy, as well as on changing traditional ideology (Sen & Batliwala, 2000).

Fatema (1994) defines empowerment as an essential process that includes the confrontation and acquisition of psychological readiness, analytical and organizational skills. According to her explanation, empowerment possesses both an individual and a collective dimension.

Rural Women’s Empowerment through Self-income Generating Activities • 98

In addition, Mohanty (1995) identifies the following factors affecting women’s empowerment on the Indian subcontinent:

• Patriarchal value system • Social attitudes and practices • Poor level of political participation by women • Lack of legal awareness • Poor economic status

The issues relating to women’s empowerment vary from country to country. Women in

developed countries are more empowered than those in developing countries for economic reasons. In this relation, Bangladesh is a poor country, and although women constitute about 50% of the total population, their social status has continued to remain quite low, particularly in rural areas. As a result, they face adverse conditions of economic inequality and social oppression. And they are one of the most deprived groups of Bangladeshi society.

Based on Grameen Bank’s explanation, if women are able to play an active role in helping their family, fulfilling the following requirements, then the women can be considered empowered. The requirements are:

• A house with a tin roof • Beds for all the members of the family • Access to safe drinking water • Access to sanitary latrines • All school age children attending school • Sufficient warm clothes for the winter • Mosquito nets • Home vegetable garden • No food shortages even during the most difficult time of a very difficult year • Sufficient income earning opportunities for all the adult members of the family

(Grameen Bank, 2009) As the above shows, women’s empowerment in Bangladesh is linked in particular, with

women’s economic advancement and self-dependency. In this research, women’s empowerment refers to self-earning capacity, for if a woman can earn money by herself, she should be granted the following abilities:

• The ability to spend money by herself • The ability to train by herself • The ability to help family members • Freedom of choice • A sense of self-confidence and self-efficacy • The ability to create a happy and prosperous life • The ability to get involved politically


• The ability to educate her children Involvement in self-earning activities can empower rural women to enjoy their ability to

reshape their lives. If women in Bangladesh have a job or earn money by means of income-generating

activities, they can help their family members. However, finding a job or income-generating activity is not an easy task in rural areas. Many rural women have the confidence to do something, but they often do not know how to act on it, because most rural women lack the education and basic training required for many jobs. When rural women wish to do something by themselves, they face numerous problems, such as the lack of capital, resources, business ideas, knowledge about the marketing process, and cooperation from their family members and society.

It is generally recognized that the overall development of a country depends, first of all, on maximum utilization of human resources. It is also acknowledged that national development cannot be achieved without the proper conditions for women’s development, and this is true in Bangladesh as well. As the national development of the country is being hampered, the government of Bangladesh is attempting to enable women’s participation in the development process and thus promote their empowerment. However, the government of Bangladesh doesn’t have enough resources for such a large task. In order to improve the economic status of the country, it is very important for rural women in Bangladesh to manage facilities or prepare self-income-generating activities. To understand the real situation and help find a solution, certain NGOs have come to work for rural women in Bangladesh.

NGO Activities in Bangladesh

Ahmed (2001) defined nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) by citing World Bank

reports. According to these reports, NGOs are defined as “any group or institution that is independent of government and has humanitarian or cooperative, rather than commercial, objectives”. Specifically, the World Bank focuses on NGOs that work in the areas of development relief or environmental protection, or those that represent poor or vulnerable people.

The activities of NGOs in many developing countries are very helpful and advantageous. NGOs have been undertaking great tasks for humanitarian, environmental protection, and sustainable development programs. To improve the social and economic empowerment of the poor, NGOs are running many development programs around the world. Those extend over a very wide range, such as educational programs, micro-credit programs, social welfare programs, pure drinking water and sanitation programs, family planning and HIV programs, agriculture programs, human rights and advocacy programs, women empowerment programs and so forth. One Bangladeshi NGO, the Grameen Bank, has seen worldwide expansion of its program. The Bank’s objectives, organizational structure, and method of delivering microcredit to the poor have been replicated in certain Asian, African, Latin American, and European countries. (Gow, 2000; Jolis, 1996; Rady, 1999).

In 1970, Bengali region was affected by a devastating cyclone. NGOs came to Bangladesh to distribute relief materials and perform other humanitarian services for the cyclone-affected people. After the cyclone, a liberation war broke out in 1971. During that time, NGOs also provided voluntary service and medical assistance for war-ravaged victims. After the independence


of Bangladesh was achieved, NGOs started development programs because the newly formed government could not easily meet social needs on its own. According to White (1999), “there was a tremendous surge of ‘public spirit’, people wishing to do something for the fledging nation, and it was this that inspired the founders of many of the foremost NGOs today” (p. 321). NGOs then focused their activities on rehabilitation, community development, hunger protection, food for work, and infrastructure development for the war-affected country. In the post-war reconstruction period, several relief and rehabilitation programs were launched, both with and without international assistance, by freedom fighters in different parts of the country (Karim, 2002). Bangladeshi NGOs have become an international model for microcredit programmes and influenced millions of lives all over the world (Bernasek, 2003, p. 369)

NGOs in Bangladesh have evolved through four generations, guided by their function or focused activity (Korten, 1990):

First generation: NGOs put an emphasis on relief and rehabilitation work (1971-72); Second generation: the developmental efforts of NGOs aimed at community

development (1973-75) with a number of sectoral activities (e.g., agrarian reform, health, cooperatives, etc);

Third generation (also known as "sustainable systems development"): the NGOs have extended the breadth of their programs, ensuring sustainability through undertaking large-scale programs, complementing the national development systems and involving various organizations and institutions (1976 to date); and

Fourth generation: depending on the development phase of NGOs, they have attempted to realize their vision of society characterized by strong people’s movements.

As a result, NGOs activities have achieved remarkable success over the past two decades. It was not an easy job, and NGOs have struggled with a lot of barriers. The efforts of NGOs helped Bangladesh in establishing an independent nation. According to Newaz (2003), in 1990, international development organizations provided their resources through NGOs to increase the government’s delivery system to reach the poor in order to create indirect pressure on the government to attain efficiency (p. 41).

Even though government policy toward NGOs has not been specified, the NGOs are still engaging in meaningful cooperation with government to create a better nation, and they are now playing effective roles in sustainable development involving disadvantaged people in Bangladeshi societies.

Methodology

The research is based on primary data collection, supplemented with firsthand individual

observation and information. The data was collected in the Gazipur district, where the researcher visited from July to October, 2009. The survey and in-depth interviews were used for data collection. Questionnaires were used to collect primary quantitative information on the sample population. The information formed the basis of subsequent in-depth interviews with ten women selected from the larger sample group. The researcher selected five successful and five


unsuccessful women for the case study. The sample area is a region of rural Bangladesh where the researcher carried out fieldwork in September 2007. Acquaintance with the people of the region was helpful in establishing rapports with the interviewees and overall coordination of the study. The researcher was assisted by one female research assistant who had previously participated in data collection in the area concerned.

At the beginning of the fieldwork, the researcher conducted a household survey on the socio-economic status of the villagers. As the villages are quite populous, it took almost two weeks to complete the survey, even with the help of the above-mentioned research assistant. The purpose of the household survey was twofold: to collect basic information about the villages and to give the researcher an opportunity to learn about people’s perceptions of NGO activities and women’s participation.

From his residence in the Gazipur city, the researcher visited villages five days a week, spending almost a full day each visit, from morning until sunset, in the villages. The researcher would occasionally have lunch in the house of a respondent. He also tried to pay for his food but the respondents always refused the offer, insisting that they considered the researcher as a member of the family. The researcher tried to compensate by socially accepted forms, such as occasionally bringing gifts to his hosts. Also, the research assistant always accompanied the researcher to help ensure that the researcher recorded all the information gathered in the interviews accurately.

In-depth interviews were conducted to obtain detailed personal accounts of women’s entrepreneurship, development, and empowerment. The interviews were used because they constitute a flexible strategy for discovery when the purpose is to explore and describe a phenomenon at a deeper level than can be achieved by analysis of the frequency of predetermined variables (Lofland, 1971, p. 76). All the in-depth interviews except one were audio tape-recorded after obtaining the interviewees consent. The exceptional interviewee who categorically refused to be tape-recorded said that she preferred to talk while notes were taken. Her preference was respected. Tape-recording the interviews was adopted because of the desire to have more complete and accurate data than would be possible by taking notes (Lofland, 1971, p. 88-89; Maxwell, 1996, p. 89).

For research on the women’s empowerment in the sample villages, the researcher used the standard techniques of case study. The researcher recorded day-to-day observations in detail in a fieldwork diary. Besides everyday interactions, the researcher conducted unstructured and semi-structured interviews. Data from these interviews were noted in the diary along with data from the daily observations. Occasionally, with the permission of those being interviewed, the researcher audio tape-recorded the interviews and subsequently transcribed them. The researcher eschewed videotaping or photographing the study participants, because they were typically nervous about it.

Most of the individual interviews were carried out in the respondents’ own houses, but rarely in private. Most of the interviews were conducted in the form of conversations, but the researcher always made sure to cover all the key points of the study in the course of those conversations. He spent several hours in each interview in order to obtain the necessary information. Sometimes he interviewed the same woman or women several times, especially when certain aspects of the conversation were highly relevant to the study, or if he simply needed further clarification.


Observations The women with whom the researcher met in order to conduct these interviews are living

in a rural area. These rural women’s daily routines include cooking, taking care of the family members and cattle, and maintaining the household. In their daily routine, all of the women spend most of their time cooking and preparing to cook, as they must cook two or three times a day. The cooking is done on a traditional Bangladeshi stove made from soil, which was generally located outside of the house in a small courtyard or in another building. Usually, Bangladeshi food consists of rice, lentils, chicken, beef, and a variety of fruits and vegetables. Most of the women’s houses have a small pond that provides the family with fish, and most of the women are responsible for tending to several hens, ducks, goats, or a cow.

Some of the women’s houses were made of bricks, which serves as a symbol of good economic status. Others’ houses were made of wood, bamboo, and mud. The houses were small and often only contained a bed, a chair, and a table. Some of the women’s homes that the researcher visited had electricity and a TV, which often had a plastic cover to protect it from dust.

Women’s Empowerment and NGO Programs in Bangladesh

During the NGOs third generation mentioned earlier, women’s issues came to be

considered a development issue. At that time, the government had a strong willingness to invest in women’s development. Many NGOs started programs for women, such as education, training, organized groups, and credit programs in rural areas. Even today, NGOs are continuing their development agenda. Three decades ago, women in rural areas, believed that NGOs had come to Bangladesh to change their religion from Islam to Christianity, which caused a bad image of NGOs. Now they don’t have the same opinion. Some women believe that it would have been impossible for them to be empowered without NGO programs or help.

This section explains the empowerment process of ten selected rural women. Before becoming members of a local NGO, they were housewives. They had no knowledge about empowerment. They were always dependent on their husbands or male relatives. After getting involved in the NGOs programs, five women have changed their living patterns, family status and social status but another five women did not enjoy the same positive change. The study aims to analyze how NGO programs influenced their life patterns, social status, knowledge, self-confidence, adjustment capacity, thinking ability, decision-making, and engagement in earning activities.

In addition, this section interprets and narrates the life experiences of these women to see whether the NGO program really has had any impact on their life patterns with respect to their personal awareness, sense of savings, household decision-making, future planning, attitudes of the family members as well as outsiders, and so on. This is a case study, and participatory observation and in-depth interview techniques have been used to collect relevant data and information.

Case study for Woman A

Woman A is a 31-year-old married woman. She lives in a village named Marta, in the

Gazipur sub-district. Marta is located in a rural area, and it takes one and a half hours by bus and


rickshaw to travel there from district headquarters. During the rainy season, rickshaws cannot be used on the road. During that time, some people use boats instead of walking. Woman A has two children. Her son is 13 years old and her daughter is 10 years old. They are studying at a local school. Her husband is now a businessman, a wholesaler of chicken eggs. The researcher collected this information from the local NGO office. According to the local NGO, Woman A is a successful woman in the village of Marta.

After collecting some basic data about woman A, on one sunny day in August 2009, the researcher visited woman A’s house with his research assistant. The researcher first introduced himself and explained the reason for coming to her house. The researcher talked about a visit five years before to her house while working in the area. The researcher also brought some chocolate for Woman A’s children, which pleased Woman A.

Before conducting the research interview, the researcher first talked with woman A about some informal matters such as her health condition, her children’s and husband’s health, etc. The researcher also shared some memories dating back to 2004-2005 when he visited the area. Then the researcher told to woman A that, a lot of changes could be seen in the Marta village, including woman A’s house. Woman A agreed with the researcher and expressed that everything was changing very quickly. After spending some time talking informally, the researcher moved toward the interview along the study aims.

The researcher asked woman A the following questions:

Question 1: How are you and what is your present situation? Answer: Nowadays, I am very fine with the help of almighty Allah. My kids can go to school to learn. My husband is doing better in his business. Question 2: Are you doing something? Please explain your business details. Answer: Yes, I run a poultry farm that has 2,000 hens. Every day, I sell more than 1,950 eggs. If one egg is 5 Taka (Bangladesh currency), I can sell 9,750 Taka worth every day and 292,500 Taka worth every month. After accounting for all costs such as feed, labor costs, and maintenance costs, I can earn about 80,000 Taka (US$1100) per month by selling eggs. When I started my farm, I had a problem in the egg selling, but now I have no problem because my husband is also selling eggs. When my husband established himself as a wholesaler of eggs in the village, I began to receive maximum profit. Question 3: How did you involve your husband? Answer: Before he became a wholesaler of eggs, my husband had a small grocery shop in the village. My husband’s income was not good. My husband was very unhappy. I asked my husband for help with my poultry farm during that time because my farm was running well. I had a plan to expand my farm. The expansion


would have been impossible without my husband’s cooperation. My success in the farm and the NGO’s advice helped my husband become involved in this business. Question 4: How did you get involved in the start of this business? Please explain with details. Answer: It is a long story. I was born in a very poor family with five children. It was impossible for my father to feed all of us properly. My father was a poor farmer and had little land. When I was a student in grade five, I stopped my study because of our poverty. Before my marriage, I worked as a housekeeper for a businessman in the village. When I was 17, I married a poor man. At that time, my husband had a small grocery shop in the village. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law also lived with us. My husband’s income was very low and it was impossible for my husband to feed us properly. I was very disappointed because every woman dreams of a happy married life, but my situation did not change because of poverty. One year later, I was pregnant and my husband spent all of his savings on my sister-in-law’s wedding. I became too frustrated. Once, one of my neighbors came to visit my house. I told her about my situation. She advised me to do something by myself. I said that I was just a primary school graduate and had no capital and technical knowledge, and I am a woman; what could I do? She advised me to visit the local NGO office because she had heard from other women that NGOs provide money and training for hopeless rural women. Two weeks later, I met the same lady in a house and she asked me whether I visited the NGO office or not. When I gave her my negative reply, she said, “I know it is very difficult for a rural woman to do something.” She encouraged me to go with her. The next day, I went to the local NGO office with my neighbor. After listening to my critical situation, the NGO worker advised me to attend a short training course on basic poultry farming. After finishing the training, they provided me with a loan of 5000 Taka (US$70). When I returned home with 5000 Taka, my husband did not encourage me to run a small poultry farm. He thought that it would be very difficult for a woman to run a poultry farm and that NGO money has a high interest rate. Then I became a little bit frustrated. One week later, I went to the local NGO office again. The NGO workers motivated me to start poultry farming. They also introduced me to other successful poultry farmers and talked about their success. The NGO workers told me that if I needed any help, they would always be willing to assist. Knowing about the success of


other women and the cooperation from the NGO workers made me feel confident. I decided that I would do something by myself. I returned home and started poultry farming the next day. Question 5: How did you build your farm? Answer: It was almost 13 years ago that I started my poultry farm. At first, I had a lack of knowledge about farming. I started a challenging life. From time to time, I learned new ideas and techniques from NGO workshops. Sometimes, NGO workers came to my home and provided advice. After three months of hard work, I became successful. I paid back my loan with interest. At that time, I did not profit enough, but I learned a lot about poultry framing. My own confidence encouraged me to take a 2nd loan from the NGO that was four times more than the first one. I started my 2nd stage it was five times bigger than the first. I also received technical support from the NGO. After four month, I succeeded and my profits were good. Then I paid back my 2nd credit with interest. In this way, I continued my farming. One year later, my success became remarkable and my husband wanted to become involved with my poultry farming. Question 6: What is your present condition? Are you satisfied? Answer: After I married, when I came to my husband’s house, I had nothing; I was even unable to eat properly. Now I can earn, save, and spend money by myself. I have no poverty. My children can go to school and eat properly. I can provide a few jobs for other women in my farm. I am not a dependent woman because of my income activity. I am very happy with my life. I thank God for helping me. Question 7: How did you succeed? Answer: The NGO provided all kinds of support. Their training, advice, credit, and monitoring activity helps me in running a successful business.

Case study for Woman B

Woman B is a 28-year-old widow. She has an 8-year-old daughter. When her daughter was

a year old, woman B’s husband died in an automobile accident. He had been a poor bus driver. After he died, woman B returned to her father’s house with her daughter.

Woman B’s father lives in the village of Chadpur, which is 25 km from district headquarter. The transportation system of the village has not been modernized yet. B’s father is a landless farmer. Woman B does not want to be a burden to her father and she needs to think about her daughter’s future.

Once, she visited her sister-in-law, who lives in the neighboring village. Her sister-in-law runs a dairy farm in the village. Woman B learned from her sister-in-law that dairy farming is not a


difficult business and the income is good. B became inspired, but when the issue of capital arose, she became disappointed. Her sister-in-law advised her to take loan from a financial source. Woman B’s brother had told her that government banks never provide any loans without guarantees and there is a long filing process. However, Woman B had another option: taking out a loan from a local NGO. Now she is a successful woman in the village and still is a member of the local NGO.

The researcher learned all of the above information from his research assistant, who is a relative of Woman B. One cloudy morning, the researcher visited woman B’s house with his research assistant. The researcher was introduced to Woman B by the research assistant, who also explained the reason for the upcoming interview. Woman B cordially accepted us.

Question 1: How did you start your business? Answer: I was able to start business owing to NGO support. I lacked knowledge, confidence, and financing. I received a 6,000-Taka loan from the NGO and my older brother provided me with 2,000 Taka. With this money, I purchased two cows. I tried to feed them well. After four months, two calves were born and my cows started to provide milk. Question 2: How did you build your business? How about your profits? How did you market your product? Answer: I received 3 liters of milk per day from the first time of my milk selling. 20 Taka per liter is my selling price, which means that, every day, I can sell 60 Taka worth of milk. The village people come to my house to purchase milk. In this way, I learned new knowledge about dairy farming; at the same time I also attended two workshops about dairy farming provided by an NGO. Within 8 months, I repaid my loan. I requested that the NGO teach me more about dairy farming. They advised me to go the National Youth Training Center for advanced training. After finishing the training, I became confident. Then I planned to expand my dairy farm and I requested that the local NGO provide me with financial support. This time they provided me with a 15,000-Taka loan. With this money, I purchased a good-quality cow that provides me with 4 liters of milk per day. In this way, within two years my milk production increased to 20 liters per day. But I faced another problem that I could not sell 20 liters of milk from my house every day. Therefore, I went to the NGO office to discuss my milk marketing problem. An NGO worker told me that other women also face the same problem. Within a few weeks, the NGO created a cooperative organization of dairy farmers that collects milk from each of farmers’ houses and sends it to a city area for better sales. Now I don’t have any problem in selling my milk. Question 3: What is your present business condition?


Answer: Now I have 8 good-quality cattle and I receive an average of 50 liters of milk per day from my dairy farm. I also hired a worker for my dairy farm because sometimes I can’t manage all of the activity. After paying all costs, I earn 30,000 Taka per month. Question 4: Are you satisfied with your business? Answer: Yes, I am very happy to run such a business. As a rural widow, life was not so easy for me. I succeeded, because I received cooperation from everywhere, especially from the NGO. Question 5: What kind of support did you receive from the NGO? Answer: I received training, advice, motivation, mental support, marketing assistance, and financial assistance from the NGO. When I visited the NGO office, I met with other women and shared our problems experiences, and other personal matters with them. It was helpful for all woman Entrepreneurs.

Case study for Woman C

Woman C is a successful plant nursery business entrepreneur in the village of Abdulpur, which is 20 km away from the district headquarters of Gazipur. One river crosses through the village. The natural beauty of the village is excellent, but most of the people are poor. The researcher learned from the NGO office that Woman C is a successful woman. To get details about her, the researcher visited her house.

The researcher was astonished to see the beautiful garden in front of Woman C’s house during the first visit; there were lots of green plants around the house. Then the researcher interviewed Woman C in a quiet atmosphere.

Question 1: Tell me about something yourself. Answer: I am 27 years old. I have two daughters. My husband was a rickshaw driver until he began to work in my nursery garden. I am just a primary school graduate. When I was 15 years old, I got married. Question 2: How did you get involved in this business? Answer: My husband’s income was very low when I got married. Most of the time, he was sick. We were in poverty. Once my husband became very sick and a doctor advised him to have an operation. My husband sold the little land he had to fund his treatment. When my husband recovered from his illness, the doctor advised him not to do heavy work outdoors. We had four members in our family but no income-generating activity. I became very frustrated.


After learning of my critical situation, one of my friends advised me to go the local NGO office. One day, I visited the local NGO office and explained my situation. The NGO workers advised me to start a nursery business. They send me to the sub-district headquarters for basic nursery training, where I learned basic nursery methods. After coming back from training, I received a 6,000-Taka (US$80) loan from the local NGO. The next day, I started building my nursery business. Question 3: How did you build your nursery? Answer: At first, it was difficult for me to establish a nursery garden, but I always received guidance from NGO experts. I had to send my husband to the local market to sell my products. At that time, people were not aware of my nursery, so they did not come to my house to make purchases. The first six months were very difficult. I spent all day in the nursery taking care of my plants. Sometimes I became very tired of the work, but I had no choice; I needed money to live. In this way, I almost six months passed, but my income was not good enough. I visited the NGO office again. The NGO workers introduced me to another NGO, which requested that I provide them 5,000 plants for their national development program. I gladly accepted their request. After receiving this good order, I went home and started plant production with my new investment loan. Within one month, I supplied the order. They were pleased with it. Since that time, I have received lot of plant orders from various organizations every year and, over time, I built my nursery. Question 4: What is your present business condition? Answer: Now I have a big nursery that includes five hundred thousand plants. I purchased a little bit of high land, where I have planted various types of plants. Every day, more than 3 employees work in my nursery. Now I don’t have to send my husband to the local market because everybody in the village knows about my nursery. Now they come to my house to buy suitable plants. Question 5: Now, do you have connection with your local NGO? Answer: Yes, I am grateful to my local NGO. They always provide me with necessary support, and I still receive a lot of information from my local NGO office. Question 6: Are you satisfied with your business? Answer: Yes. I am satisfied by having established a nursery. It showed me a way of making a living. Once, I had nothing; now, I have everything.


Question 7: How did you succeed? Answer: My hard work, sincerity, commitment, patient, dedication, and support from my family and the NGO helped me to succeed.

Case study for Woman D

Woman D is a woman of the Marta village in the Gazipur Sador sub-district. She is 40

years old and divorced. She has two sons, one 22 years old and other 18. She started a fishing project in her pond 12 years ago. Now she is a successful businessperson in the Marta village. In August of 2009, the researcher visited Woman D’s house to ask the following questions:

Question 1: How did you start this business? Answer: 13 years ago, I was divorced by my husband. With two children, I returned to my father’s house. My father had two big ponds. Once, some NGO workers came to my house to collect data about economic indicators for me. I told them that I had no income-generating activity and that my economic condition was very bad. The NGO workers advised me that if I had strong willingness, then they could help me. After seeing my strong willingness, they invited me to join their fishery development project for poor people. I accepted their invitation and joined their program. At first, they provided us with practical training and the basic fundamentals of fisheries. In the second stage, they provided microcredit to start a fishery using my father’s pond. My older brother also helped me by providing financial and logistical support. I received a 15,000-Taka loan from the NGO and a 10,000-Taka loan from my brother. That 25,000 Taka was my initial investment. With this money, I started my fishery business. Question 2: How did you build your business? Answer: At first, I was very afraid about investing a lot of money in my business. But the NGO workers motivated me, saying that fisheries are always profitable businesses. Once a week, NGO workers visited my pond to provide necessary advice. After four months, I sold my first batch of fish and my profit was 30,000 Taka. These profits motivated me to continue the fishery project. Question 3: What is your present business situation? What was your profit last year?


Answer: I am now running my fishery project in 14 ponds in my village. I own fifty percent of them and the rest are leased. I also cultivate seasonal vegetables near the pond. In this way, I can earn extra money by selling vegetables. I want to increase my business. I hope that my sons will become involved in it with me. Last year my profit was almost 700,000 Taka. Question 4: Did you face any problems in doing such a work? Answer: When I started the fishery business, everybody in the village laughed at me. They insulted me, but the NGO workers and my family members, especially my brother, provided me with mental support. I think that, mental support is very important for a woman. Question 5: Did you get any recognition? Answer: Everyone in the village calls me the fishery lady. I enjoy their comments. Every day more than five workers work with me. I am happy that I can offer employment to other people. Now I am an independent woman; that’s why everybody, including my family, respects me. That is my recognition. Question 7: How did you succeed? Answer: It would have been impossible to succeed without the support of my family and the NGO. I think that if somebody has ability, willingness, hard work, and dedication, he or she can succeed.

Case study for Woman E

Woman E is a high school graduate who runs a successful tailoring business in the village of Koyer, in the Kaligang sub-district. Having learned of Woman E’s success from the local NGO, the researcher visited her house to conduct an interview. The researcher also observed five young women working with sewing machines in Woman E’s tailoring house.

Question 1: How did you get involved in this business? Answer: My father was a poor tailor. He had a small tailoring house in the village market. My father taught me all about tailoring in my childhood. After my father died, nobody was interested in seeing our family running my father’s business. I was interested in running the business, but, as a Muslim woman, it was impossible for me to work in the village market. At that time, I attended entrepreneurship training for rural women organized by a local NGO. It was very helpful for me in running a women’s tailoring business in my own house. At first, I did not get a good response or orders from the villagers. I


took out some loans from the local NGO to establish a woman’s tailoring business in my own house. Every week I had to go to the NGO office to make my loan payments. There I met a lot of rural women who promised to order clothes from me. Day by day I became inspired. Every week I received 2 to 3 orders from village women for dresses. My orders increased day by day. In this way, after five months I repaid my previous loan and received a new loan to expand my business. In this way, I established my business. Question 2: What is your present business condition? Answer: I am now receiving almost 50 to 60 orders every week from the villagers. Most of the customers of my tailoring business are women; they feel free to come to my house because all of the workers here are women. Question 3: How did you receive help from the NGO? Answer: When I tried to expand my tailoring business, the NGO provided me with loan support and advice. They also sent other women to my house; in this way, the NGO established customers for my tailoring business. Question 4: Did you face any problems? Answer: Yes; when I started my business, I got a negative response from the community. Everybody laughed at me because I am a woman tailor, which was not common at that time in the village. Now I am a receiving positive response from the villagers, especially from the women. Question 5: Are you satisfied with your business? Answer: Yes, I am very satisfied. Now I have my own income; I am not a dependent woman. I can help my family, relatives, and villagers. Everybody in my village respects me as an empowered woman.

Case Study of Woman F

Woman F from the village of Baria in the Gazipur Sador sub-district. She is 25 years of age and married and has two daughters, a 4-year-old and a 1-year-old. She is a housewife, and her husband runs a small tea stand in the village market. Woman F received a basic education at the local primary school. After passing the fifth grade, she discontinued her education due to the lack of family support. She is currently an unsuccessful member of the local NGO. In August of 2009, the researcher visited Woman F at her home in order to conduct an interview.

Question 1: How did you first become involved with the NGO?


Answer: Three years ago, my husband wanted to develop his tea stand business in the village market, but he had no funding source. My husband convinced me to take out a loan from the NGO. I had no other way of satisfying my husband other than to take out a loan from the NGO. Several days later, I went to the local NGO and borrowed 15,000 TK (US$220) in the form of a loan. Question 2: How did you use the money loaned to you? Answer: I gave all of the money to my husband to invest in his business. Question 3: How did your husband use that money? Do you think your husband used that money appropriately? Answer: I don’t know the details as to how my husband used this money. I only know that my husband said that he had bought certain goods with the money. Question 4: What is the current state of your husband’s business? Answer: Not so good. After the first loan, I took out another 4 loans from the NGO for my husband’s business. Unfortunately, my husband has been unable to improve his business conditions. Question 5: Have you tried to establish a business of your own? Answer: My husband has always strongly opposed the idea. He believes that women are not fit to be involved in business matters. In his opinion, women should stay at home and take care of the children and family members. Question 6: Have you ever attempted to participate in an NGO income-generating training program? Answer: My husband prevents me from doing so. I can’t do anything without my husband’s permission. If I were to do so, he would become very angry. Question 7: What is your present situation? Are there any problems in your family? Answer: I know that some people change their economic situation with the help of an NGO loan; however, we did not. My economic situation did not change at all after taking out the loan. I have no control over the loan. I always face difficulties related to repaying the loan. Sometimes, my husband does not take responsibility for paying off the debt.


Case Study of Woman G

Woman G comes from the village of Rewla in the Gazipur sub-district. She received her education at an Islamic school. She is married and has three children. One of her sons is studying at the local Islamic school. Her husband also works in local Islamic school as an office assistant. Woman G has been involved with the NGO credit program for the past two years. In order to learn more about the details of this involvement, the researcher visited her house with his female research assistance in September 2009.

Question 1: How did you first become involved with the NGO? Answer: Two years ago, my husband was hoping to repair our house, but we did not have enough money to do so. Our economic situation was not very good because my husband’s income from his job was small. During this time, a female NGO worker visited my house and encouraged my husband to obtain a loan from the NGO. After receiving my husband’s permission, I took out a loan of 25,000 TK (US $360). Question 2: How did you use the money loaned to you? Answer: I gave my husband all of the money. He used most of the money to repair our house and some of the money for his medical costs. Question 3: What is your present economic situation? Answer: It is the same as before taking out the loan. We did not use the loan for a productive purpose. Now, I face the difficulty of repaying the loan. The NGO’s interest rate is very high, making it difficult for me to make the payments at the appropriate time. Sometimes I have to save money from daily food expenses. My husband is eager for me to take out more loans, but he has not taken any responsibility for repaying the loan. I do not want to take out another loan from the NGO. It would just cause me problems because I would have no control over the loan. Question 4: Have you tried to establish a business of your own? Answer: As a rural woman, I cannot go against my husband’s wishes. Several times, the NGO has invited me to participate in income-generating training, but my husband was opposed the idea.

Case Study of Woman H

Woman H is a 33-year-old married woman with four children. She lives in a village named

Khatia in the Gazipur sub-district. Her husband is a fisherman. She never went to school, but she


knows how to perform basic calculations. Her older daughter stopped going to school at the age of 10 and is now working in the house of a rich man as a servant. Woman H lives in a bamboo house for maids. The researcher went to woman H’s house in order to conduct an interview in September 2009.

Question 1: How did you first become involved with the NGO program? Answer: NGO workers visited our house to encourage me to take out a loan. They advised me to do something productive with this loan. I planned to start a small goat business. When I discussed this idea with my husband, he told me that he needed the money to purchase a fishing net. I could not start my goat business and gave all of the money to my husband instead. I took out a loan from the NGO three times in this way and gave my husband all of the money each time. Question 2: Did you succeed after taking out the loan? Answer: No. I was not the one who used the money. Each time, my husband wastes the money. My husband is not a clever man, so he did not successfully utilize the money. Question 3: What effect did taking out the loan have? Answer: Each time I took out a loan from the NGO, my husband abused the money. He spent most of the money purchasing goods and food items. I have faced great difficulties in repaying the loan. I did not receive much support from my husband in the repayments. He did not take any responsibility for repaying the loan. Twice, I sold my jewelry in order to repay the loan. Before the repayment due date, I needed to visit many different places in order to collect funds for the payment or to sell household items. The NGO workers were not happy because I never returned the money that I owned for the loan on time. I always felt ashamed when the NGO workers would come to my house to collect the money that I owed. Question 4: Are you planning to take out another loan? Answer: No, another loan would not be helpful to me. In the first few days it would allow us to eat good food, but after that, our situation would return to what it was before. Question 5: Have you ever tried to establish a business on your own? Answer: NGO workers have advised me to participate in income-generating training, but my husband would not permit me to do so.


Case Study of Woman I

Woman I is a primary school graduate from the village of Punshoi in the Kaligonge sub- district. Woman I is 43 years old and married. Having learned about her unsuccessful case from the local NGO, the researcher visited her house in order to conduct an interview.

Question 1: How did you first get involved with the NGO program? Answer: My husband has a small restaurant at the market. Seven years ago, he needed money to expand his business. My husband convinced me to take out a loan from the local NGO. I went to the local NGO in order to take out a loan of 45,000 Taka (US$65). NGO officials were not interested in giving me that amount. Finally, I received the loan after obtaining a recommendation from one of my relatives, who was the leader of a political party. Question 2: What did you do with the money from the loan? Answer: I gave all of the money to my husband. He used it all to expand his business. Question 3: What is your current economic situation? Answer: Not good. My husband was unsuccessful at developing his restaurant business. After suffering a huge loss, he closed his business. He is now working as a day laborer. Our situation is worse than it was before. We have already sold some property in order to repay the loan. We took out loans from the NGO several times, but we always faced tremendous difficulty in repaying the loan. Most of the time, we spend the money from the loan to buy daily necessities. Question 4: What is currently your main problem? Answer: My main problem is economic. My husband’s income is not enough to meet our daily needs. I took out a loan from the NGO five times, but I had problems in repaying the loan each time. Once, I sold the jewelry that I received from my father as a dowry when I got married. Question 5: Did you ever discuss your problems with NGO officials? Answer: Yes, they advised me to participate in a fisheries training program, but I did not get my father-in-law and husband’s permission. Question 6: Can you go outside without your husband’s permission?


Answer: Before the due date of the loan, I needed to go to other houses in order to sell various things. My husband allowed me to do that because I needed to collect the funds to repay the loan.

Case Study of Woman J

Woman J is a 23-year-old married woman. She has a 1-year-old daughter. Her husband is

unemployed and has no source of income. Woman J is staying at her father-in-law’s house. One sunny day in September 2009, the researcher visited Woman J’s home in order to gain insight into her NGO involvement.

Question 1: How did you first get involved with the NGO? Answer: NGO workers visited my house and encouraged me to take out a loan. A year ago, I borrowed 30,000 Taka (US $440) in order to start a poultry farm. Question 2: How did you start your business? Answer: After taking out the loan from the NGO, I also managed to obtain an additional 20,000 Taka (US$300) from my father. Other people told me that a poultry farm was a good income-generating business. At first, my husband and family members did not support me. They discouraged me, telling me that it was difficult to establish a poultry farm. After collecting the funds, they took on a more positive attitude towards my business. Question 3: Did you face any difficulties after starting your farm? Answer: Before starting my farm, I thought that a poultry farm was an easy business, and I was confident of my success. After starting my business, I faced a lot of challenges. I had no basic knowledge about poultry farming. Then, NGO workers advised me to participate in poultry farm training, but I did not get my husband and father-in-law’s permission to do so. I tried to survive, but I did not succeed in my business. Question 4: Did you face any difficulties in repaying the loan? Answer: Yes, I faced difficulties in repaying the loan, particularly as the NGO interest rate is very high. I did not get any support from my husband in paying back the loan. Question 5: Can you go outside without your husband or guardian’s permission?


Answer: Before the loan due date, I needed to go to other houses in order to sell different goods. My husband and father-in-law allowed me to do that because I needed to collect the money needed to repay the loan. Question 6: What is your advice to other women about taking out a loan from the NGO? Answer: I think the NGO’s interest rate is very high for rural women. It is very important to utilize the loan in some sort of income-generating activity. And, since most of the rural women do not have basic business knowledge, they should participate in a training program in order to develop their knowledge.

Analysis: Reasons for Getting Involved in the NGO Loans Program

Five of the successful women interviewed reported that they decided to become members

of the NGO after they heard about it from relatives, neighbors, or friends. They also indicated that they took out an NGO loan, understanding that other successful women benefitted from the NGO loan. They took out NGO loans because they were living in extreme poverty and had no other option for collecting funds for income-generating activities. The women who were most successful explained that they had joined the NGO program not only to obtain the loans but also out of a strong desire to establish something new. These desires are often not the end in themselves, but a means of achieving something else (Maslow, 1954).

On the other hand, two unsuccessful women who were interviewed got involved in the NGO credit program because their husbands convinced them to do so, and they ended up spending the money on their husbands’ businesses. Hashemi, Schuler, and Riley (1996) also point out that it is common for women to take out loans from NGOs and then to invest the money in their husband’s business rather than in their own (Hashemi et al., 1996). However, only the minority of the women in this study took out loans for their husbands’ businesses.

Three unsuccessful women said that they got involved in the NGO loan program because NGO field workers visited their home and encouraged them to do so. Furthermore, the field workers had told them that borrowing the money from the NGO would make them rich and no longer poor. But two of the women who were motivated by NGO workers spent most of their loans on family expenditures that were controlled by their husbands. Individuals’ desires are often realistic, and the women joined the NGO program with dreams that were possible to attain, thus focusing on satisfying their physiological needs rather than starting an income-generating business (Maslow, 1954).

Most of the women took out more than one loan, but only successful women had control over their loans and used the loans for self income-generating or productive purposes. Two unsuccessful women described their vision of becoming involved in an income-generating activity, but their husbands used the money for other purposes. Most of the women had unrealistic desires of starting a business while they still found themselves in a situation in which they needed to focus on satisfying their physiological needs and did not have the knowledge required to start a business (Maslow, 1954).


In this study, women who are independent and not controlled by their husband or family guardians are more likely to be more successful.

Knowledge

Prior to getting involved in the NGO program, all of the successful women had no

knowledge about income-generating activities. In the process of participating in the NGO program, they increased their knowledge, abilities, and confidence. Through the knowledge that they gained, the women also acquired information that may stimulate other desires that they may be able to fulfill, leading to an increased potential of making choices. Kabeer (2002) claims that in order for a woman to feel empowered, she must undergo a process in which she transit away from feeling disempowered. This statement is true in the case of the five successful women interviewed; when they first began their businesses, they had nothing, but they changed their lives within a short period of time.

In the case of the unsuccessful women, the majority did not believe themselves to have gained any knowledge. They reported that they did not participate in any of the training programs offered by the NGO and simply took out a loan from the NGO. They did not think independently but were instead dependent on their husband’s knowledge or opinions, even though their educational background was the same as that of the successful women.

The difference between the successful and unsuccessful women lies in whether or not their physiological needs are being met. While the successful women took out loans in order to establish some sort of income-generating activity, the unsuccessful women took out loans in order to satisfy their physiological needs. Dependency is another factor related to failure. The successful women never depended on their family members and made their own decision to participate in the training program. Meanwhile, the unsuccessful women were entirely dependent upon their husbands and failed to participate in any of the training programs. Only two women said that the NGO educated them about ways in which to improve their health conditions.

The outcome of a study conducted by Pitt, Khandker, and Cartwright (2006), entitled “Empowering Women with Microfinance: Evidence from Bangladesh,” indicates that women who take out a loan from an NGO have more freedom to move around outside of the home. This statement proved to be true for the successful women, while the movements of the unsuccessful women were highly restricted by their husbands and family members.

Studying these rural women in Bangladesh reveals that attending training programs or workshops is indispensable in the improvement of women’s knowledge.

Repayment

Only two successful women said that they were able to increase their income and did not

have any problem in repaying the loan at all. In contrast, the majority of the women answered that they had problems repaying the loan, including two successful women. Most of the unsuccessful women did not spend the loan on an income- generating business, a factor that became a problem when it was time to pay the loan back. In order to be able to repay the loan, these women had to resort to selling their jewelry, household items, and cattle. This phenomenon appears to be a vicious circle, as the women took out the loan in order to satisfy their physiological needs, but


when they had difficulties repaying the loan, they had to sell eggs, milk, or chicken, which would otherwise have served them as a source of nutrition for themselves and their children, in other words, as a means of satisfying their physiological needs (Maslow, 1954).

Hashemi et al. (1996) maintained that the small amount of money that the microfinance loan offers women may, in difficult situations, such as during natural disasters and times of illness, prevent the family from having to sell their property or household items. However, the respondents interviewed in this study indicated that if the loan is not spent on some sort of income-generating activity, they are very likely to face difficulties in repaying the loan.

According to Kabeer (2002), the institutions that distribute resources, and consequently, access to these resources, are governed by rules, practices, and norms. For example, resources can be offered with dignity and respect or can be presented with certain conditions attached. A woman takes out a loan in accordance with certain conditions, for example, concerning repayment. The respondents report that if they are unable to repay the loan, field workers from the NGO may come to take their cattle or household belongings, or may even resort to using physical and mental violence (Kabeer, 2002).

The analysis of the responses indicates that the NGO repayment strategy is a burden for women who take out loans. This burden is most likely related to the fact that the NGO charges high interest rates on the loans.

The Husband’s Opinions from the Respondent’s Point of View

Most of the women interviewed here reported that their husbands were in favor of

obtaining the loans but became angry when it was time to repay the loans. Maslow (1956) indicates that when a person seeks to satisfy a need, other needs often become dormant (Maslow, 1954). Thus, it seems likely that the husbands are thinking of what the money from the loan can do to fulfill urgent needs and fail to consider the consequences of taking out the loan (Maslow, 1954). Most of the unsuccessful women mentioned that the husband encouraged the woman to take out the loan from the NGO. Pitt et al. (2006) explained that more than half of the men that participated in the study believed that they were more intelligent than their wives and that half of the women thought that their husband was the head of the family. Furthermore, Pitt et al. (2006) state that 34 percent of the women in their study claimed that the woman’s given role was to be lower than the man. Even if the man took the initiative in obtaining the loan, the woman was the one to end up in debt.

In this study, all of the women’s husbands or their family guardians were interested in obtaining the loan, but only successful women’s husbands or guardians allowed them to join any of the NGO’s income-generating training programs.

From this observation, attending income-generating training before taking out a loan is thought to be of great importance.

Changes in Living Standards and Respect from Others

Only the successful women respondents mentioned that their quality of life had improved.

They also reported that they can now send their children to school, leave the house, eat properly, and have a good relationship with their family members, including their husbands. Still, all five of


the successful women are now satisfied with their lives and are respected by their family members, as well as by local people. According to these successful women, their quality of life had changed since their voices had become stronger, in the sense that they were able to speak with influential people, could advocate for issues that were important to them, and could move more freely outside of their homes.

Most of the examples did not involve incoming-generating businesses, but instead involved a means by which to satisfy their physiological needs (Maslow, 1954). The answers to the questions in the interview indicate that most of the women did not improve their quality of life, as they did not spend the money on income-generating businesses, for which the NGO actually granted the loan.

The unsuccessful women pointed out that they now found themselves in a difficult situation due to the debt that they had accumulated. For example, two women said that they were currently in a worse condition than they were in prior to taking out the loan, since they had to resort to selling their jewelry or other valuable goods in their homes to be able to repay the loan, rather than satisfying their family’s physiological needs, such as for food (Maslow, 1954). Two unsuccessful women reported that prior to taking out the loan, they had had a good relationship with their husband, whereas now, they tend to quarrel with their husband about the repayment almost every day. Three of the women in the interview claimed that they were not allowed to move about freely before taking out the loan; but after obtaining the loan, they were able to freely leave the house. In this regard, one woman clarified the reason for this change, indicating that she needed to go to different places before the loan due date in order to collect funds or sell goods so as to repay the loan. Most of the unsuccessful women claimed to be in the same condition as before taking out the loan from the NGO, aside from the increased freedom of movement.

This analysis demonstrates that after taking out the loan, all of the women have increased their freedom of movement, but only successful women improved their standard of living and social recognition.

Conclusions

This study discussed the empowerment process of ten rural women and their involvement

with NGOs credit program. Interviewees for the study are quite similar and these ten cases are sufficient to express different aspects of their development with regard to their empowerment. Most of the women joined the NGO in order to take out loans to satisfy their physiological needs and improve their standard of living. Although they were happy to obtain the loan, they felt a great deal of pressure and stress in the repayment of loan. Only a few successful women who utilized the loan for the purpose of establishing income-generating activities did not feel such pressure. Those women who established income- generating businesses felt as though they had developed an improved standard of living. The women that ended up with debt indicated that they were not motivated or allowed to attend any income-generating training, but they did report having developed increased freedom of movement. Clearly, it would be desirable if the NGOs were able to offer income-generating training to all participants, based on the participants’ needs.

Significant changes have occurred for the first five cases in the lifestyles of these socially oppressed and mentally dispersed women within the time span of about one decade. Presently, there are marked changes in their outlook towards life, in matters relating to family violence, their


decision-making power, sexual division of labor, and their vision for the future. They are now more confident in dealing with and even in talking to male individuals, and their daughters are learning to face the world more bravely.

The opportunities to take out a loan from the NGO could certainly empower women. However, since all of the women lack income-generating knowledge and most of them must focus on satisfying their physiological needs, the conditions in which they find themselves are not optimal for success in terms of developing a higher standard of living. In contrast, those women who joined the NGO’s income-generating training program can be more successful.

Acknowledgement

I would like to express my sincere thanks to my supervisor, Dr. Shintaro Yoshimura,

Professor at Hiroshima University for his appropriate suggestions and excellent editing of this article.


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Citizenship Learning, Participatory Democracy and Micro-Financing: The Case of Grameen Bank’s Peer-Lending System in Bangladesh.

Kazi Abdur Rouf, Ph.D. Graduate, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

Keywords: Participatory Democracy, Representative Democracy, Participatory Budget, Grameen Bank, Citizenship Learning, Micro-Financing & Citizenship Education

ABSTRACT: This paper is about how Grameen Bank (GB) women borrowers engage in participatory democracy through attendance and discussion at their weekly centre meetings, proposing and approving loans, forming groups, selecting group chairs, and centre chiefs of Grameen Bank. Its collateral free group based micro-financing constitutes a fundamental process of democracy and is a vital source of citizenship and democratic education. These processes and skills facilitate power-sharing and improve one’s sense of political efficacy, democratic engagement and increase an individual’s sense of commonality. Moreover, the Grameen Bank Sixteen Decisions’ campaigns provide citizenship learning to rural marginalized people. GB these activities generate women’s leadership development opportunities in the community.

Acronyms: ASA: Association of Social Advancement; BRAC: Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee; EPG: Empowered Participatory Governance; GB: Grameen Bank; MFIs: Micro-finance Institutions; NGOs: Non-Governmental Organizations; PB: participatory budget; SEWA: Self-help Women Association; UK: United Kingdom.

Introduction

The beneficiaries of the Grameen Bank (GB) Bangladesh are the marginalized people

in Bangladesh. Its collateral-free group-based micro-financing constitutes a fundamental process of democracy and a vital source of citizenship and democratic education. Although it has no direct formal citizenship education program, Grameen Bank’s women borrowers engage in participatory democracy through attendance and discussion in their weekly centre meetings, proposing and approving loans among GB borrowers, forming groups, selecting group chairs, centre chiefs, electing zonal representatives and Board of Directors of Grameen Bank. This participatory and deliberative democracy and citizenship education are very important to them because these skills facilitate to improve their sense of political efficacy, democratic engagement and increase an individual’s sense of commonality among these marginalized women. Through these strategies and processes, GB borrowers’ social and political capital development has been facilitated. They are aware of various issues that affect them like equality rights, dowry, teenage marriage, women’s education, women’s health development and local infrastructure development. GB, through its group-based micro-financing system, and its “Sixteen Decisions” (a combination of socio-economic civic messages) pays attention to the development of an active and engaged citizenship of the marginalized people in Bangladesh.


Chart 1 – Grameen Bank Sixteen Decisions

1. We shall follow and advance the four principles of Grameen Bank --- Discipline, Unity, Courage and Hard work – in all walks of our lives.

2. Prosperity we shall bring to our families.

3. We shall not live in dilapidated houses. We shall repair our houses and work towards constructing new houses at the earliest.

4. We shall grow vegetables all the year round. We shall eat plenty of them and sell the surplus.

5. During the plantation seasons, we shall plant as many seedlings as possible.

6. We shall plan to keep our families small. We shall minimize our expenditures. We shall look after our health.

7. We shall educate our children and ensure that they can earn to pay for their education.

8. We shall always keep our children and the environment clean.

9. We shall build and use pit-latrines.

10. We shall drink water from tube wells. If it is not available, we shall boil water or use alum.

11. We shall not take any dowry at our sons' weddings; neither shall we give any dowry at our daughters’ weddings. We shall keep our centre free from the curse of dowry. We shall not practice child marriage.

12. We shall not inflict any injustice on anyone; neither shall we allow anyone to do so.

13. We shall collectively undertake bigger investments for higher incomes.

14. We shall always be ready to help each other. If anyone is in difficulty, we shall all help him or her.

15. If we come to know of any breach of discipline in any centre, we shall all go there and help restore discipline.

16. We shall take part in all social activities collectively.

Citizenship Learning, Participatory Democracy and Micro-Financing • 126

Grameen Bank (GB) Participatory and Citizenship Education

Despite the fact that Grameen Bank does not directly provide citizenship learning to its clients, the skills, knowledge, practice, confidence and empowerment gained through participating with GB constitutes a fundamental process of democracy and a vital source of citizenship and democratic education. GB’s group lending allows its centre’s borrowers to jointly review loan proposals and follow the sixteen slogans (see Chart -1) operational strategies that are based upon basic cooperative principles and democratic leadership development. Group chairs and the centre chief are selected from amongst the borrowers, by rotation annually, to ensure that everyone has an equal chance in leading GB groups and centres. These borrowers are unable to transfer their Grameen knowledge, skills, practice and leadership attributes to civic leadership and engagement within a democratic, participatory community decision-making process. The ability to convert this knowledge base will allow for fair and equitable citizenship identity, status and civic virtues. The GB borrowers are able to share their voices in the community decision making processes and get involved in participatory democracy and deliberative democratic process (Goetz & Gupta, 1996; Mynoux, 2009; Kaufman in Fung & Wright, 2003; Rahman, 1999; Isserles, 2003; Umar, 2004; Mahmud, 2004; Schugurensky, 2000).

Participatory democracy, deliberative democracy and citizenship education are very important because these skills facilitate equal power and improve one’s sense of political efficacy, democratic engagement and increase an individual’s sense of commonality (Fung & Wright, 2003; Marin, 2006; Pipper and Bettina, 2008; Smith, 2005; Gaventa, 2006). Without this socio-civic, political and cultural capital development, the sustainable development of lower-income people is volatile and they will then be deprived of public resources (Quardir, 2007; Hickey and Mohan, 2005; Schugurensky, 2003). GB is well-known for its borrowers’ poverty-alleviation economic outcomes (Ditch and Harper, 2007; Khandaker, 1996; Mahmud, 2004; Mynoux, 2007). Micro-borrowers are better economic actors than civic actors/activists in Bangladesh (Karim, 2001; Isserles, 2003; Matin, Sulaiman & Saleque, 2007; Selinger, 2008; Umar, 2004). However, the study by Rouf (2011) finds that GB women micro-borrowers community leadership development has also increased.

Below, the first part of this paper discusses theoretical underpinnings and methodologies, concepts of participatory democracy and its various participatory budgets, their importance, different types of citizenship learning, citizenship education and their benefits to civic culture, political capital and political efficacy development among people. The second part of the paper will discuss GB’s democratic loan proposal system, group chair and centre chief election processes and GB’s sixteen slogans and their impact on clients’ empowerment in developing their social capital and political capital in their lives. This part will also allow me to explore the role of GB in civic education and compare and contrast participatory budgeting with GB’s loan proposal and disbursement system. The third section of the paper covers GB borrowers’ attendance at weekly centre meetings and the possibilities of citizenship learning and public space development, civic cultural development and addressing various issues such as elite corruption, injustice within society, the sharing of community resources, women’s equity rights development, political capital development in Bangladesh, the challenges of micro-finance institutions as it relates to civic education and political and citizenship learning for their clients. Lastly the paper draws its way forward and concludes.


The Importance of Citizenry Skills

Transparency International Bangladesh, during several years (1993, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007) declared Bangladesh as one of the top ten most corrupt countries in the world. Corrupt politicians, local elites and governmental officials have been misusing public resources, laundering state resources, taking bribes and misusing power for their own interests for a very long time. They avoid the public’s interest and are unjust to people (Ahmad, 2002; Isserles, 2003; Hashemi, Schuler & Riley, 1996; Goetz & Gupta, 1996; Khan, 2003; Morduch, 1999; Quardir, 2003; Sawyer, 2005; Zafarullah, Siddiquee & Alam, 2001). Corruption has been systematically internalized in almost all spheres of the public sector and to effectively bring about change, protests and involvement in policy making process against corruption are crucial and necessary in Bangladesh. (Khan, 2003). Politics is not separable from daily life (Bently, 2005). The participatory budgeting programs are innovative policy making processes, which give citizens the opportunity to be directly involved in making policy decisions (Wamper, 2000). Moreover, public participation in public resource allocation, local planning, union council and municipal budget meetings, and other socio-political and economic discourses/debate are essential because local governmental institutions are not active in serving the poor for the public’s common good in Bangladesh (Fernando, 1997; Quardir, 2003; Umar, 2004; Khan, 2003; Murdoch, 1999; White, 1999).

Neither governmental agencies nor non-government agencies are directly involved or committed to mobilizing local people and municipal dwellers to participate in local council budget review meetings (Ahamed, 1997; Khan, 2003; Rahman, 2006). People have low confidence in local representatives and political institutions too. This democratic deficit (Gaventa, 2006; Schugurensky, 2003; Luckham et al, 2008) creates political crisis/chaos in Bangladesh. However, there is an urgent need to create political will and to learn political efficacy. This will endow the political process with networking opportunities and participation in politics by ordinary citizen or by community initiatives. Poor people have not benefitted from local resources and power and have been excluded from getting involved in local government for decades. GB borrowers are increasing their participation in formal leadership roles in the local councils. For example, 98% of GB women borrower participants are engaging in community organizations and 94% do not face problems with this engagement (Rouf, 2011). In the 2009 UpZilla (Municipal Sub-district) Election, out of 481 seats, 114 Female Chairs (25% of the total) were elected from the GB women borrowers and their families. In addition, the number of women borrowers serving as councilors increased from 1,572 in 1997 to 1,950 in 2003; these results indicate that the number of women borrowers acting in formal leadership roles is increasing (Grameen Bank, 2009)

Even though NGOs/MFIs have had some success in poverty-alleviation programs, they have failed to act in the governance of corruption (Umar, 2004; Khan, 2003; Ahamed, 2004; Yunus, 2007; Zafrullah & Siddique, 2001; Transparency International, 2008). Economic programs such as those based in microcredit alone are not enough to empower poor people and sustain their development (Isserles, 2003; Mayoux, 2009; Karim, 2005; Mahmud, 2004). Citizenship education is essential to develop citizens’ social and political capital development and to share community resources (Fukuyama, 2001; Gaventa, 2006; Merrifield, 2001; Schugurensky, 2003; Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). MFIs/NGOs have been working closely with grassroots community members for years. They have a large organizational setup, and are well-positioned to mobilize citizens, educate people on citizenship learning and facilitate participatory democracy in Bangladesh for public common good and justice.


Theoretical Underpinnings and Methodology

Here the paper talks about democracy, participatory approaches and participatory democracy – what it is, how it functions, and how it can make a difference. The researcher’s literature review assists in the understanding of the concepts of participatory democracy, representative democracy, participatory budgets and their implications in the context of Bangladesh. Moreover, in this paper, the researcher uses his personal experiences working with Grameen Bank. In addition, he uses secondary data from Grameen Bank Bangladesh and scholarly materials.

Democracy

Democracy is a socio-economic and civic sustainable development process within

society where all people have citizenship rights, such as the freedom to express their opinions about: the budget, public resources and policies which may prevent the power of the governments’ constituents from being fully realized. However, this democracy can only remain active through citizen participation in civic affairs by a widespread sense of civic responsibility. In a democratic society, people have the opportunity to speak out and make choices in society. However, through the participatory democratic process, marginalized people get scope to empower themselves economically, socially and politically. However representative democracy, liberal democracy, (Merrifield, 2001) and thin democracy (Gaventa, 2006) institutions are limited in their ability to address the challenges of just and equitable development (Fung & Wright, 2003).

Representative Democracy

This is characterized by the election of policy makers, but direct democracy is finding

new expression in participation for governance work. On the other hand, in representational democracy, the public bestows their attorney as their electoral representative for their wellbeing. Parliament is an extension of the deliberative networks and a process of political debate and exchange, which in practice is totally different in Bangladesh. Lappe (2009) comments that public life in Bangladesh is ugly and alienating. Citizens become political objects and become inactive, which deters their public participation in communal activities and inclusion in the decision-making process. Therefore, (Fung and Wright, 2003; Gaventa, 2006; and Schugurensky, 2004) worry about the ugly democracy and democratic deficits mechanism for political representation because of its ineffectiveness in accomplishing the central ideals of democratic politics: facilitating active political involvement of citizenry, forging political consensus through dialogue, devising and implementing public policies that ground a productive economy and healthy society and, in more radical egalitarian versions of the democratic ideal, assuring that all citizens benefit from the nation’s wealth.

Participatory Democracy

This concept is different from representative democracy (Mansbridge, 1995;

Schugurensky, 2000; Fung and Wright, 2003; Smith, 2005; Gaventa, 2006; Martin, 2006; Kahne, Westheimer and Rogers, 2004; Baker and Silvey, 2008; Piper and von Lieres, 2008).


For example, Schugurensky (2003) comments that participatory democracy is not token consultations, disempowered people and control over power; rather it is an inclusive process of deliberation that leads to real and substantive decisions. The researcher thinks that it is shared decision-making and governance between government, civil society and people that create transparency in public resource governance. For example, participatory democracy exists in Porto Alegre, Brazil and Montevideo, and Uruguay through the participatory budget system. This makes governance transparent, efficient and creates spaces for civic learning and redistribution of political capital in Porto Alegre and many other places. However, representative democratic process supports a neo-liberal agenda, creates inequalities, corruption and prevents benefit of democracy to many people. Therefore, the role of citizens in representative democracy is somewhat passive.

Contrarily, participatory democratic activities like participatory budgeting and empowered participatory governances (EPG) and the community renewal program UK are necessary in communities because as Fung and Wright (2003) asserted, representative democracy is unable to accomplish the idea of facilitating active political involvement of the citizenry. Although the participatory democracy concept is new, it is very popular in different countries like participatory budget in Porto Alegre and the neighborhood governance councils in Chicago for school improvement plans. Hence many contemporary political thinkers prefer participatory democracy for community development. Gaventa (2006) states that the participatory democratic approach can be useful for removing democratic deficit and providing good governance of local agencies/associations/NGOs.

The concept of participatory government is referred to by a variety of names by different scholars: Empowered Participatory Governance (EPG) and deliberative democratic governance (Fung and Wright, 2003); beyond the ballot (Smith, 2005); neighborhood democracy (Leighninger, 2008); deepening democracy (Gaventa, 2006; Fung and Wright, 2003), direct democracy (Merrifield, 2001); everyday democracy (Bentley 2005). All of these thinkers prefer participatory democracy working side by side with representative democracy. The inclusion of both is necessary, because democratic representative political elites and state agencies use representative democracy for their own purposes, where a majority of people’s interests are excluded. Participatory budget innovation in Porto Alegre creates an opportunity for ordinary people to participate in public budget debate. It is a tool for inclusion of disadvantaged people in the deliberative decision making process. It is also used in GB group chairs and centre chiefs election process, loan proposals and approval systems. GB centre members are collectively involved in loan proposals and approval processes. (Please see chart-2). These are processes that enhance participatory democracy. As a result deliberative democracy and living democracy increases among marginalized people with the consequent decline in representative democracy and democratic deficit in Bangladesh.

Participatory democracy is necessary in Bangladesh because as Aristotle said democracy based on elections is more aristocratic than democratic. In representative democracy, politicians tend to forget their electoral promises once they are in office and become involved in corruption scandals. Arrogance and betrayal of electoral promises are serious problems. The elected representatives find their legitimacy seriously eroded. Most educational systems pay little attention to the development of an active, critical and engaged citizenship. Schools do not promote citizenship; rather stress is on profit as motive for business leadership and followership (Yunus, 2008). However, citizens’ socio-political culture promotes social economy and makes people active citizens, which can revive the democratic deficits in the society.


Participatory Budgeting (PB)

Participatory budgeting meetings in the community by community members can match local needs to actual public expenditures and can enhance their civic empowerment in the communities that are reflected in the “Beyond Election” film and Fung and Wright, (2003) and Smith (2005). Daniel Schugurensky (2004) comments that participatory budget is a tool for democratizing democracy. Many other political scholars like Kaufman, (2003), Baker & Silvey, (2008); Piper and Lieres, (2008), Smith, (2005) have researched participatory budgeting and found that it manages to combine popular engagement at the municipal council level for infrastructure development and the monitoring of the city budget. Corruption has decreased in areas where it has been instituted. For example, in India, local government budgets doubled to approximately two million rupees per Panchayet (Fung and Wright, 2003). Similarly Grameen Bank Bangladesh’s loan approval system follows participatory development approach that guarantees that poor people will have equal access to credit in the bank. GB’s participatory loan approval democratic process abolishes bribery and injustice in approving loans from the bank. It is one of the fastest growing programs in Bangladesh.

By March 2009, the dollar amount of GB cumulative loans disbursed since inception was $7, 777 million; cumulative loans repaid were $6,910 million. The total number of members was 7,751,119 (female 7,512,682, male 238,437). There were a total of 141, 773 centres (associations) in Bangladesh. GB expanded its credit operations in 83,967 villages though its 2,545 branches by 18,000 staff members. (GB Monthly Report March, 2009). GB, with its extensive peer lending operations can also influence the clients’ community space development. The relationship with the poor allows the GB to inaugurate itself as the friend of the poor. Other Bangladeshi MFIs follow GB credit policy. However, none of the MFIs provide basic citizenship education to the poor people. Hence many studies challenge GB’s economic micro financing sustainable development. Many articles have been written on GB. However, all of them comment and analyze its seductive economic performance and contribution to poverty alleviation in Bangladesh (Goetz & Sen, 1997; Rahman, 1999; Issrerles, 2003). GB follows a democratic process for electing group chairs and centre chiefs by rotation annually that gives all members an opportunity to develop their leadership qualities in their community life.

Group Chair and Centre Chief Democratic Election Process

Grameen Bank’s group chairperson and centre chief election process, loan proposal and

approval system follow participatory democratic systems. For example, each year, group chair and centre chiefs change to ensure that everyone has an equal chance to lead the groups and centres by rotation to develop their leadership in the community. The centres (associations) take responsibility in motivating their members by creating a sense of discipline and spirit of cooperation among themselves. Centres are also responsible for bringing about change in social and economic conditions (Bidimala 1978, p. 12).

For example, five poor neighbors form a group. Group members select their own group chair and group secretary from amongst themselves. Six groups (30 members) make a centre. Centre chiefs are elected from group chairs by the six group chairs and group secretaries. The first round is where elected centre chiefs, chairs and secretaries lead groups and the centre for one year. The following year a new centre chief and group chairs are elected.. They are co-signers of the groups’ accounts, centre’s accounts and emergency accounts. They review and recommend loan proposals for the members. Every year, group chairs, group secretaries and


centre chiefs change democratically. It is a participatory democratic selection process where group members select their centre chiefs, chairs, and secretaries. This participatory, social networking democracy process mobilizes the rural poor at the grassroots micro level to develop their social capital. (Amin, Becker and Bayes, 1998; Mayoux, 2009; Mahmud, 2004; Kapor, 2002; Parpart, Shirin and Kathlen (2002) and Hickey & Mohan, 2005).

Under this process all members of the centre gain a chance to be centre chief, group chair, and group secretary by rotation. This practice helps develop borrowers’ decision-making power in the family and publicly. These activities provide women with leadership development opportunities in the community. It also develops their public space interactions in the community. Hence GB’s Consultative Loan Proposal, Leadership Development and Sixteen Slogans are several strategies that promote citizenship learning and participatory democracy. The consultative loan proposal and approval mechanism; selection of group chairs and centre chiefs, board of directors, loan collection installments from borrower locations; GB sixteen slogans; built-in GB peer lending program are also processes and strategies that promote informal citizenship learning participatory development and democratic process among GB women borrowers. However, the problem is these clients are unable transfer their social capital skills to outside orbit community public sphere and to get close to power.

The Board of Directors of Grameen Bank is comprised of 13 members, nine of whom are elected by the borrowers. The Board is responsible for bank policies and decisions. This is one aspect of clients’ participation from the grass roots to the top levels of policy making. Again it is another process to help the women develop leadership skills (Fuglesang & Chandler, 1995). However, Aminur Rahaman’s (1999) findings indicate that there are still some hidden transcripts in GB like women are vulnerable and become victims of male violence and are trapped by the system.

Compare and Contrast Participatory Budget (PB) System with GB Loan Proposal and Disbursement System

Participatory budget has evolved over the years into a two-tiered structure where

citizens can participate as individuals and as representatives of various parts of civil society in Porto Alegre. PB, in that city, drew the poor into the decision-making process and addressed the needs of the urban poor. Local workers were hired to help organize the process. There is a positive relationship between participatory budgeting and city financing. (Orleans Citizen Participation Project, 2009). Fung and Wright (2003) found that Porto Alegre city’s revenues increased after the introduction of PB. Several micro-finance institutions (MFIs) have also been following participatory loan approval process in their credit disbursement since 1980. However, their goal is the extension of credit instead of the provision of citizenship education to the people in the community (Hashemi, Schuler and Riley, 1996; Holcombe, 1995; Goetz & Gupta, 1996; Umar, 2004; Rahman, 2006).

GB’s loan proposal and approval process and election of group chairs and centre chiefs constitutes a fundamental process of democracy. It is an example of a democratic financial transaction because the two most needy group members, other than group chair and group secretary, first propose loans for their businesses. The respective group members sit together and review their proposed loans at weekly centre meetings where all members, all group chairs, group secretaries, and centre chiefs and the bank representative are present. All members review loan proposals and the loan seekers’ performance, attendance at weekly meetings and loan utilizations. With consensus, all centre members and bank representatives recommend the


agreed loan amount to the bank at centre meetings. Then the bank approves the loans. After two weeks, a second round takes place with two other members of the same group who propose loans for their businesses. The same democratic procedure follows for the second round of loan proposals and approvals. Group chair receives loans in the last instance. This is a democratic loan approval system that develops borrowers as economic actors because of the dense provision of a credit program against civic activities. Women borrowers are busy utilizing loans, repaying in weekly installments in addition to their domestic chores. This process makes women economic performers and credit-worthy instead civic actors in the society. The large provision of credit programs of NGOs deters their social mobilization programs. However, GB borrowers’ credit and non-credit activities together can generate women’s development as it relates to democratic behavior that they can use in other socio-civic-political contexts. Unfortunately, their civic engagement and political efficacy is not as strong as economism.

GB’s loan proposal system is an example of participatory and deliberative democracy. This loan approval system can compare with the participatory budget system of Porto Alegre where community members review together their municipal council budgets and discuss other different community issues such as street pavement issues, drainage and sewerage issues, etc. However, GB borrowers are unable to transfer and use their practiced participatory loan proposal skills, leadership development knowledge, skills and attitudes in other economic, social, political and cultural resource issues like local council budgets, local infrastructure planning, sharing and community distribution of resources, neighborhoods irrigation issues, health issues, community forestation and community school issues. Here GB borrowers confine their participatory loan proposal practiced skills for simply that of GB loan transactions. However, GB provides an opportunity for women to develop their democratic leadership and have a say in the operation of their communities through GB’s group chairperson, and centre chief selection annually.

Chart 2 – Compare and Contrast Participatory Budget VS. GB Consultative Loan Approval

GB Consultative Loan Proposal and Approval Participatory Budget

1

GB’s consultative loan process proposes and approves loans at GB’s weekly centre meetings by poor women borrowers. Only unisex members attend the meetings, develop social networks only among borrowers. The loan proposal is a deliberative democratic process, but unfortunately borrowers are unable to transfer these skills to other community issues/spheres.

Different classes, sexes, ages of the Porto Alegre city dwellers meet annually to discuss municipality budget, policies and review the achievements of the discussions. City budget review is open to all. Develop social networks in the community and closeness to power elites which are helpful to deliberative democracy.

2

First round of loans to group chairs and centre chiefs. They receive loans after general members receive loans. It is an intensive leadership development program among lower-income people. However, no empowerment or civic competence is developed among borrowers.

PB participants get citizenship learning education, exposed to various community issues, community public resources that empower them to be civic virtues. It is a process for healthy democracy. Here everyone is free to talk within the guidelines about developing people’s voices and choices and developing civic competence

3

Loan proposed, reviewed and decisions made jointly by members and GB field staff. No elites or government officials involved in this process. Provide credit literacy basics, but no citizenship learning, active citizenship learning or transferable learning to other public spheres issues

Civilians express their community needs, pass opinions on to council resource allocations, but they are not the final decision makers. However, Porto Alegre's PB innovation is an example of citizen volunteerism for community good, which is absent in Bangladesh.


Porto Alegre’s PB learning that is transferable citizenship learning to other public spheres of the community

4 Attendance at weekly centre meetings regularly and maintenance of good loan repayment track is necessary to be a good borrower

Attendance in the PB budget review meetings is voluntary, but participating is encouraged.

5

The GB weekly centre meeting is a place for loan proposals, loan installments to be discussed. As well as loan delinquencies, insurance and savings to be discussed. No public budgets and public resource sharing, and no review of community public planning, local council policies or other public issues

Council’s PB review gathering is not only to review budget, but also to discuss various community issues, and plans like issues on community street pavement, community clinics, schools, sewerages and livestock and land disputes issues. This democratic approach puts more pressure on City Hall, neighborhood groups and other organizations to follow up on the commitments they make.

6 Borrowers are continuously discussing and sharing their business issues, personal issues, but not community/public issues

Civilians meet at town halls when municipal councilors/staff can hold meetings. Here collective interest is preferred and used to develop political efficacy and political capital development among neighborhoods.

7 Elites have no power in terms of dominance / hierarchy.

Discuss misuse of power, councilor corruptions, if any by city elites. It is a process for good governance of public resources for public common good.

8 Consultative loan approval process keeps borrowers credit-worthy and active creditors.

PB is a process of civic enlightenment and effective engagement in PD which should result in inclusive democracy, allows people to become active citizens, and non-formal and informal citizenship learning

9 Microfinance institutions MFIs / NGOs are service delivery organizations that do not become involved in citizenship learning education. Government are coercive when it relates to NGOs citizenry skills development activities

It is a process of political socialization to develop political culture in public sphere. Porto Alegre municipality, TCHC, Panchayet India all promote citizenry skills development education, discussions. NGOs are mobilizing people to attend the PB meetings.

Although GB loan approval process follows participatory development approach, its

operational procedures are designed for bank’s own interest. Hence the bank borrowers are unable to transfer this knowledge, skills, practice to other community context and contents. It is because GB and other MFIs focus their training on credit basics instead citizenship education to their clients. The credit basics training to clients make borrowers credit worthy instead of active citizens in the community. Hence Merrifield (2001) and Schugurensky (2003), place emphasis on citizenship learning that focuses on identity, legal status (born or acquired) accompanied with various rights and responsibilities to make caring citizens and active citizens in the community. With Benn (2000), the emphasis is on people’s citizenship abilities to negotiate and cooperate with others, deal with difference and conflict, listen constructively to others and obtain information from libraries, the Web, and public meetings. The whole process helps the people to understand how local government works and how national government works. These are the attributes of active citizenship. Important citizenship attributes are knowledge of one’s rights and attitudes for rights. (Benn, 2000; Merrifield, 2001; Schugurensky, 2003). Citizenship learning and participatory democracy learning includes association, communication and collaboration teaching. Through this process, marginalized micro-borrowers resolve conflicts collectively in their neighborhoods (Rouf, 2011).

Schugurensky (2000) remarks that citizenship learning facilitates citizens in political enlightenment and engagement, which focuses on knowledge of the political structure and deliberative skills because it has three areas: knowledge, abilities and dispositions. This


citizenship learning develops citizens’ critical consciousness that is essential for full citizenship (Gaventa, 1999). Participatory democracy and citizenship learning are both political enlightenment and engagement process. However, micro-loan borrowers citizenship critical consciousness did not developed because GB and other MFIs are not directly involved in citizenship education to develop borrowers democratic space in the society. Hence borrowers’ voices, choices and critical consciousness remain mute. However, Merrifield (2001) asserts that citizenship learning through doing seems to be a key route to active citizenship, although there is little hard evidence of this. If everyone participates in political life, they learn better participation and everyone benefits. Schugurensky (2004) comments that a good process of participatory democracy with appropriate enabling structures for participation improves citizens’ enlightenment and encourages their engagement.

Smith (2005) studied 57 types of diverse democratic innovations from the world that are related to citizen participation in the political decision-making process. His six broad categories of democratic innovations are electoral innovations; consultative innovations; deliberative innovations; co-governance innovations; direct democracy innovations and e-democracy. Moreover, Fung and Wright (2003) mention that four types of deepening democracy initiatives such as neighborhood governance councils in Chicago; habitat conservation planning; participatory budget in Porto Algere Brazil, and Panchayat reform in West Bengal can aspire to deepen the ways in which ordinary people can effectively participate in and influence policies which directly affect their lives. This discussion-based democracy, ‘Empowered Participatory Governance’ (EPG) deliberative democratic processes achieve effective schools, safe neighborhoods, protection for endangered species and sensible urban budget allocations more effectively than alternative institutional arrangements. (Fung and Wright, 2003) Such diverse kinds of two-way information flow and democratic innovations can be initiated by Bangladesh state agencies in collaboration with NGOs for the good governance of public projects.

However the problem is party politicians, local elites and municipal councilors do not include NGOs and the general public in public decision making teams to improve school programs, pavement construction, public infrastructure development, and neighborhoods’ security in Bangladesh. Microfinance agencies and NGOs like City Savers, ASA, BRAC, Desh Foundation, and Annesha provide microcredit to the disadvantaged people in the slums of Dhaka City while charging high interest. Sadly, these MFIs, municipality extension workers, and councilors are not involved to empower slum dwellers or provide citizenship education/ citizenship learning. Port Alegre solved its city’s social and economic problems through participatory budget debate. Citizens’ participation in the PB creates citizenship awareness and empowers them and develops their social and political capital and political efficacy. The outcomes of PB reduce corruption and increase infrastructure development in low-income neighborhoods. It also increases public voices choices and bargaining power of the people.

The participatory budgeting system creates a revolutionary citizenship development process that allows citizens to be active, vocal and negotiators in Porto Alegre. Bangladesh can learn from Porto Alegre PB public debates. Its municipal employees, councilors, NGOs can organize public to discuss city budgets and consolidate all opinions and then make consensus decisions on sewerage, pavement, public sanitation, clinics, schools, development of childcare centres and garbage management. Public activism and strong voices with active participation are needed. NGOs can mobilize the public to gather in town halls meetings that provide them with civic education on deepening democracy and living democracy where the values of inclusion of marginalized people for fairness and mutual accountability of the agencies are


priorities (Lapp, 2009). Here, the power of money cannot influence political decisions. Yet the problem is if these EPGs cannot produce many outcomes, then they are not very attractive reform projects for the public (Fung and Wright 2003).

Empowerment of Women and Communities

Empowerment adjusts power relations so that they are in favor of those who have

exercised little power over their own lives and give them freedom of voice, choice, equality and justice through dialogue in their familial life and communal life (Martin, 2006). Baker and Silvey (2008) assert it is both a process and an outcome of a development project. However, Mayoux (2009) challenges the MFIs assumptions about the automatic benefits of microfinance for female empowerment because MFIs and their borrowers are unable to take risks to challenge the existing exploitative power structure in the community. Hence borrowers are unable to explore alternatives, learn political literacy, connect and engage with community political diversity and to make local council elites accountable to good governance. It is because MFIs are not directly involved in educating borrowers in citizenship learning, civic and political education. Although in many countries, different micro-financial institutions like SEWA India, PROSHIKA, BRAC, Nijara Kori Bangladesh, and PROMojero Bolivia and Grameen America follow the GB peer lending model; these MFIs have few strategies to facilitate networking among borrowers for their political capital development (Isserles, 2003; Mayoux, 2009; Murdoch, 1999). Despite the advances made in Grameen Bank’s peer-lending system, further involvement in social and civic capital is needed in order to contribute to borrowers’ citizenship learning for their sustainable development in Bangladesh.

The Grass Root Management Training (GMT) in India providing training to micro entrepreneurs had an impact on women’s involvement in the community. They became active citizens by learning through doing (Merrifield, 2001). The Antagonish movement in Canada is able to make people to be public participants through co-ops and credit unions (Schugurensky, 2005). MFIs all together are serving 31 million poor rural women in Bangladesh (Alamgir, 2009). As the GB and other micro finance institutions (MFIs) are close to the grassroots and are serving mostly the rural people with lowest status in Bangladeshi society, there is a scope for MFIs to provide non-formal citizenship learning basics to their borrowers. There is a huge potential to discuss civic basics, adult education basics, democracy basics, public health basics, environmental basics, and credit literacy basics in the weekly centre meetings, although the GB and other MFIs are not directly involved in adult civic education. Even governments do not support and promote citizenship education through NGOs.

However, Hugo Chavez supports the participatory democracy where marginalized working poor participate in the community council meetings and decide resource sharing collectively. The same is found in the Zapatista movement in Mexico. The minimalist micro-credit approach cannot ensure micro-borrowers socio-economic political automatic holistic development. Without citizenship learning, dominance of free peoples’ human rights, social and civic rights knowledge is absent. Citizens’ participation cannot be ensured by electoral innovations, rather, multifaceted innovations like consultation, deliberation, and co-governance can influence free equitable community well-being for all.


Participatory Approaches: PRA Hickey and Mohan (2004) and Kapor (2001) talk about the NGOs participatory

development approach. In the words of Hickey and Mohan (2004), although NGOs and participatory development is a new discovery, they prefer service delivery technical projects. However, the participatory development approach emphasizes the active participation of people in designing, planning and managing community development issues and people’s basic rights issues and promotes citizenship development and participatory democracy (Schugurensky, 2000). Moreover, according to Sen (1999), it is a process of developing individual capabilities through gaining education and skills in order to empower individuals to fight for a better life, the goals of good governance, democracy and economic liberalization. However, the problem is although GB and all other MFIs are working closely with local marginalized people and following a community participation approach,, the primary objective of most of these groups is financial efficiency rather than promoting group solidarity and mentoring citizenship learning in Bangladesh.

Citizenship learning

Grameen Bank had no direct formal basic citizenry education among borrowers for

their civic capital development (Wall Street Journal, November 2001). However, borrowers’ understanding and role in groups and centres, through social networks, can resolve problems and barriers in federating people towards local representative councils and lead the community to improve their ability in community economic development. Although GB’s micro-lending program claims that it is not a pure economic program rather a social business that promotes marginalized peoples’ total development. However the question is does GB’s micro-credit (MC) program evenly emphasize the promotion of borrowers’ economic, social (education) and civic development? If yes, what are the programs, policies, strategies, and tools that GB has initiated and implemented that promotes the microcredit integrated approach.

As social networks have a powerful and effective influence on the exchange of ideas for political socialization, civic development, and on influencing individual behavior towards collectivism and solidarity among group actors; hence GB can organize and facilitate this process in different open house discussion meetings. The participatory social networking democratic process mobilizes the rural poor at the grassroots micro-level to develop their social capital (Goetz & Sen, 1996; Amin, Becker & Bayes, 1998; Mayoux, 2002; Mahmud, 2004; Kapor, 2002; Parpart, Shirin, and Kathlen (2002)., Hickey & Mohan, 2004). GB borrowers are gradually moving to make their space in all local councils and regional councils and participate in the public decision-making processes. For example, in the 1996 local election, 1230 clients of GB participated and won in the local council election of their own initiative; however, this figure is very nominal compare to the GB economic site (Grameen Bank Annual Report 1997, 2009).

However, the single-minded profit-oriented micro-credit minimalist approach cannot facilitate borrowers’ social and political capital development far; what is needed is a multi-faceted integrated micro-credit approach for poor people to network among MFIs with client collaboration in Bangladesh. GB as a group based collateral-free integrated micro-credit program operates in Bangladesh. Such integrated programs are essential in Bangladesh because social networks encourage friendships, cooperation; create collectivity and solidarity among


people, and lobby for power sharing arrangements (Portes, 1998; Putnam, 2000; Fukuyama, 2001).

According to the Grameen Bank Annual Report of 2005, 58% of the families of Grameen borrowers have crossed the poverty line. The remaining families are moving towards the poverty line. However if we compare Grameen borrowers electoral success with their economic achievement, we can draw an assumption that the social and political empowerment process has started among credit recipients; however, political achievement is not as strong as its economic achievement. Quardir (2003) identified the reason as being that micro finance institutions see and work with single elements of the segment of the problem. Professor Badruddin Umar (2002) stated that NGOs preach a kind of economism instead of a political progressive consciousness. Their goal is the extension of credit instead of socio-political development. In this way political outlook is hijacked. Why are GB and other NGOS not directly involved in political education? As the government regulates NGOs and citizenship learning in Bangladesh, these institutions think it would be risky and an extra burden for them to encourage borrowers to encourage networking among them and mobilize them for citizenship education (Khan, 2003).

Rahman (2006) comments that NGOs activities can help consolidate the political rights of citizens, and ensure responsive government in Bangladesh. However, NGOS have shifted away from its initial focus on promoting political mobilization to the apolitical delivery of basic services. They have become providers of goods to poor consumers rather than facilitators of collective action and empowerment. However, in 1997, Proshika and Nijera KORI formed an institutional alliance which sponsored 44,138 women candidates for 12,894 Union Council seats and 12,822 of these positions were captured (Karim, 2001). This huge win is one illustration of the triumph of bottom people in the rural power structure. Still these figures are comparatively a very low ratio to the number of poor people. This affects and results in negative consequences for the poor.

In the future, a significant amount of representation can come from bottom people, if MFIs can organize and use social networking to become successful in representing local councils. Proshika and Nijera Kori Bangladesh have taken an active role in promoting a politics of the poor in 1997. However, government closed PROSHIKA and Nijera Kori activities because of their involvement in politics. NGO Affairs Bureau (NGOAB) is monitoring and regulating NGOs. However, the massive provision of credit program of NGOs mutes their social mobilization program. Therefore it is necessary NGOs rethink the inclusion of political activism agenda in their arena. Currently, the BRAC TUP program is engaged in social mobilization and advocacy programs. However it is engaged in this work on a small scale.

Citizenship learning can provide people with knowledge to achieve three citizenship rights: civil rights, social rights and political rights (Marshall, 1964; Chari-Wagh, 2009). It teaches different types of citizenships: responsible citizens, participatory citizens and critical citizens (Schugurensky 2005). Civic education enhances people’s democratic knowledge, skills, practice, close to power and resources. Through participation in the groups, GB women can gain and transfer a number of vitally important democratic skills and citizenship knowledge (Schneider, 1999). They can collectively organize themselves through Grameen centres and can be pro-active as it relates to petitions, protests against corruption and other social problem-solving activities. Through organizing, networking and participating, community debate forums they can criticize issues, events, municipal policies and budget allocation etc. The whole participation process enhances public speaking skills. Moreover GB borrowers can develop


their civic cultural development and political efficacy in the community; in addition to their understanding of micro business.

Borrowers’ leadership practice through group chairperson and centre chief rotation system, from the discussion, it is clear that while GB does not explicitly get involved in public affairs. However, GB 12th, 13th, 14th and 16th slogans are messages to promote civic culture in the neighborhood. These slogans are a consciousness-raising program that clients have to follow. For example, the 12th slogan is ‘we shall not inflict any injustice on anyone; neither shall we allow anyone to do so.’ This is one kind of citizen rights awareness creation; and civic activities that promote a rights-based approach. However, GB itself is not directly involved in challenging, nor advocating and protesting against existing power structures and for good governance on behalf of its clients. However, MFIs/NGOs can directly include this citizenship learning and civic culture development agenda in their organizations with governmental support.

Weekly Centre Meetings and Scope of Citizenship Learning

The Grameen Bank’s group formation system helps women to work collectively with

their neighborhoods and to interact freely amongst each other. Here, the GB is bringing women together on a weekly basis not only to pay their loans, but also to share experiences, support one another’s businesses, to keep their families healthy, to mitigate neighborhoods conflicts by themselves and encourage borrowers to engage in different community activities like involvement in school committees, pavement committees, village development meetings, irrigation committees, and village development committees etc. However, the GB does not have a citizenship learning program and a civic action program for borrowers to link them with multidimensional community issues and activities for their common good. GB does not even have a strategy for linking borrowers with local community councils or other lobby groups. Therefore, many scholars are not in agreement with the assertion that GB provides sustainable development to its clients, because GB’s loan service delivery-oriented clientalistic program has been unable to empower the poor to transfer and use their democratic practices to develop their citizenry skills along with their economic capital development, which is necessary for their sustainable development in the neo-liberal capitalist society (Hashemi, Schuler & Riley, 1996; Goetz & Gupta, 1996; Isserles, 2003; Murdoch, 1999; Umar, 2004; Quardir, 2003).

The Mahila Sarvangeen Utkarsh Mandal (MASUM) in Maharastra, India and the Self-employment Women Association (SEWA) in India included gendered citizenship rights education at the grass roots level with emphasis on both ‘individual rights’ and ‘group rights’ although its scale is very small. The MASUM microcredit programs create an image of women as ideal, dutiful, hardworking, resourceful, responsible and efficient at the familial and community level (Chari-Wagh, 2009). However, Fernando (1997) challenges Bangladeshi MFIs/NGOs and described them as micro-credit services providers’ instead of civic educators. They are a community economic development agency that does not provide citizenship education or advocacy skills to develop the skills of women to enter the public spaces or the society or empower poor women in the community.

The GB realizes its minimalist micro credit approach was unable to contribute to borrowers’ holistic socio-civic and economic development. Therefore it designed 16 slogans in 1984 that the field employees have borrowers follow and apply to their familial and community life. However, recently the GB has focused on covering its costs from its own investment income (financial sustainability). To achieve this new GB commercialization strategy, GB field


staffers are heavily engaged with more loan investments. Along with the GB, this neoliberal agenda has swept other MFIs integrated approach to consciousness raising and civic education. Now the weekly centre meetings are a place for loan transactions instead of a socio-civic-economic information-sharing centre. Borrowers become economic actors’ instead of civic actors in the society. Borrowers’ automatic civic empowerment along with their economic emancipation failed. Hence the GB borrowers’ democratic and innovative election process, products, and ‘the scale and transferability’ (Smith 2005) still is in question along with the NGOs/MFIs contribution to Bangladesh’s political system development. The Grameen borrowers’ and other MFIs democratic innovation practices can be transferred and applied to a public deliberative decision-making process if the citizenship learning agenda is included in their training program and the government supports it. Here the question is who is going to pay for the citizenship learning training costs to the MFIs because the MFIs are run by their own income. Government or donors may fund and support the MFIs and request that the MFIs include citizenship learning basics in their operation.

Conclusion

Citizenship education and community development go hand in hand (Merrifield 2001).

Therefore, to make healthy communities, to develop human capacities and meet the poor’s deep need to connect MFIs borrowers with others, to express their values, is the essence of living a good life (Lappe, 2009). GB group-based micro credit and its Sixteen Decisions campaigns mobilize marginalized people to develop their participatory democratic behaviors among GB micro-borrowers. Similar programs that drive political mobilization activities among people need to work closely with the country’s emerging NGOs in order to push forward to develop new relationships, connections between civil society (NGOs) and marginalized people in Bangladesh. It is necessary because the country faces serious challenges in democratic participation by the disadvantaged people and policy formulation for the working poor.

Hence the author agrees with Merrifield (2001) and Tom Bently (2005) that four types of desired civic education are important in Bangladesh. The types of desired civic education include empowering/awakening people to become subjects of their own, ability to participate actively in public debates and mentor democratic culture among citizens. These types of civic education can be incorporated into MFIs/NGO programs supported by government. GB micro-borrowers democratic leadership development skills could be accelerated if it can include civic popular education to awaken people to become subjects of their own development and empower them. Inclusion of citizenship learning with MFIs participatory development approach can empower people to become active citizens and actively participate in civic activities and political debate/discourse in the society. Bangladesh can learn from PRIA Education India and Panchayet India (Ghatak and Ghatak, 2002), who provide deliberative democracy and participatory democratic knowledge to people through its ‘citizenship learning’ training program. Moreover, these democratic institutions are revitalizing local councils, and democratic dividends to public strengthen democracy from bellow- for community common wellbeing.


Biographical information on the Researcher

The researcher Dr. Kazi Abdur Rouf completed his PhD degree from the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto in 2011. Currently he is researching on the “Grameen Bank Women Borrowers Private Space and Public Space Development in Patriarchal Bangladesh” under Professor Jack Quarter, the Founder of the Social Economic Centre, University of Toronto. Rouf has worked in several micro-credit programs, Small and Medium Enterprise development (SME); and in women’s development organizations, community schooling, community forestry, environmental development, social economy organizations, community based cooperatives, micro-finance institutions (MFIs) evaluation and organizational capacity building of social businesses in different countries like Grameen Bank Bangladesh, UNDP Namibia, UNDP Lesotho, UNHCR Afghanistan, Pakistan, Philippines, India, USA and in Canada. Rouf has working experience in health and nutrition education, agricultural management, community development and social business project management.

Email: [email protected]


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Developing Signature Learning Experiences: A Case Study of an Institution’s Transformative Journey towards Global Citizenship and Equity

Eva Aboagye, Ph.D. Senior Researcher, Institute for Global Citizenship & Equity Centennial College

Keywords: Global Citizenship; Equity; Signature Learning Experience; Social Justice Education

ABSTRACT: Signature Learning Experiences are unique learning experiences created by institutions to differentiate their graduates for employers. This study is a historical account of an institution’s commitment to global citizenship and equity. In this case study, the institution uses diversity and the principles of global citizenship and equity to create a signature learning experience for students. The paper begins with a description of the context for change and looks at the changes that were implemented including a general education course; the embedding of global citizenship competencies in the whole institution; the implementation of a portfolio for students and the introduction of global citizenship and equity learning experiences abroad.

1. Introduction Centennial College, a large community college located in a suburb of Toronto, has a

very diverse student population, a strong commitment to social justice and a history of involvement in the community in which it is located. In 2004, a new President assumed the leadership of the College who was equally committed to social justice, and had a passion for making a difference in the community. The President, Ann Buller, embarked on a process to begin to harness the college’s strength in diversity and social justice to create a Signature Learning Experience for students and to create structures for a learning - centered institution. The article looks at the process the College adopted in developing the course, and creating a college environment that placed the commitment to global citizenship and equity as central to the college. The article is based mainly on the review of reports and documents related to the course, and the institutional changes that were implemented.

2. The Environment for Change The Student Population

The student population at Centennial College is very diverse. The student population

has about an equal number of males and females with females making up a slightly higher proportion. More than a third of the students come from backgrounds with a first language that is neither English nor French. The rich diversity of cultures at the College makes the learning experience a truly special one. About a quarter of the student population describe themselves as Canadian, while a fifth describe themselves as South Asian and a similar proportion as Chinese.


A tenth of the population describe themselves as Caribbean. Also present at the College are students from countries on all of the continents including Latin and South America, Middle East, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, South East Asia, Eastern Europe and Asia. In addition approximately three quarters of the student body are mature students with responsibilities and for some of them, they may be returning to school after a long time off from school (Aboagye, 2009).

The Community

The community in which Centennial exist has areas with high proportions of low

income and high immigrant population. The City of Toronto has identified within its boundaries, 13 Priority Areas. These are areas the city considers to have higher social risk factors and therefore in need of support from the city. The community within which the College exists has three of these Priority Areas. They are Kingston-Galloway, Malvern and Scarborough Village. These neighbourhoods are generally experiencing a population loss; have a higher than average number of at-risk populations: visible minorities, recent immigrants and lone-parent families. The families in the Priority Areas have incomes that are generally below the city average. In addition, unemployment rates for the population aged 15 years and up are higher than the city average and youth unemployment is very high (City of Toronto, 2006).

3. New Leadership and Commitment to Change

A new President was appointed at the College in 2004. The President had been a past

employee of the institution who came back with a renewed commitment to diversity and equity and had been given a mandate to leverage diversity as a strength of the institution. The President created a leadership team that was committed to creating a learning environment that was inclusive and committed to social justice. The whole process began with the creation of a diversity statement by the Board of Governors. The statement reads:

Centennial College and its Board of Governors value and embrace diversity, equity and inclusion as fundamental to our mission to educate students for career success within a context of global citizenship and social justice. We recognize that historical and persistent inequities and barriers to equitable participation exist and are well documented in society and within the college. We believe individual and systemic biases contribute to the marginalization of designated groups. These biases include race, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, ancestry, nationality, place of origin, colour, ethnicity, culture, linguistic origin, citizenship, creed (religion, faith), marital status, socio-economic class, family status, receipt of public assistance or record of offence. We acknowledge that resolving First Nations sovereignty issues is fundamental to pursuing equity and social justice within Canada. We acknowledge the richness and diversity of the community we serve. As our community has evolved, and our staff and student population have changed, we have implemented policies and practices to address issues of inclusion. In moving forward, we will build on this work to embed commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in every aspect of what we do. (Centennial College)

Developing Signature Learning Experiences • 150

The statement of diversity was a strong policy signal that the College valued and embraced diversity.

The President set out to create a set of commitments that would guide decisions at the College.

The set of commitments included re-affirming the institution’s mission and revising the College’s vision statement. The exercise for revising the vision statement involved having an external consultant lead a group of over 50 college employees (including faculty, students, administrative and support staff) in a visioning exercise. The commitments also included a revision of the academic framework as well as the creation of a strategic plan. The chart shows how all the various aspects of the College’s commitment were linked together.

One of the key initiatives the President supported which combines the College’s commitment to equity and social justice and also links the institution to its immediate community, was the creation of a summer program for at-risk students called “Helping Youth Pursue Education (HYPE). The program is for local youth aged 13 to 29 years old who are out of school and provides a free summer program for youth and helps them transition back to the education system. This is a six week course that introduces participants to many programs at the college.

4. The Structures and Guiding Principles for Change – The Learning Centered College

One of the main commitments of the President was a plan to transform the college into

a learning centered institution. She started by creating a taskforce to work on specific parts of the learning centered institution. She also began a college-wide discussion about making the college “a truly learning-centered college; one that competes effectively in the new post-secondary education environment by putting students first in everything we do. [….] we could do this by drawing on our long-standing strengths, and by building new capabilities that would make us a leader in Canada and the world” (Centennial College, PTFL, 2005).

The concept of the Learning Centered College was developed by Terry O’Banion (O’Banion, 1997) who identified some key principles that he felt were the foundations for a learning centered college. These were that the learning college creates substantive change in individual learners; engages learners as full partners in the learning process, with learners assuming primary responsibility for their own choices; creates and offers as many options for learning as possible; assists learners to form and participate in collaborative learning activities; defines the roles of learning facilitators by the needs of the learners; and its facilitators succeed only when improved and expanded learning can be documented for its learners (p. 47).

For the College, the process of becoming a learning centered institution involved adopting these key principles at the college. As a learning centered institution, the college committed to a set of principles that included: to create change in individual learners; assist learners in collaborative learning activities; define the role of leaders and learning facilitators by the needs of learners; document improved and expanded learning; create accountability for learning throughout the organization; and entrench diversity and human rights principles and competencies. The process started with the revision of the Colleges academic framework and


re-affirmation of the key principles in the academic framework. These principles were commitment to student success; commitment to access; pursue excellence; be inclusive; integrate technology; promote communities of learning and encourage partnerships.

The structures that were created included first and foremost the creation of the position of a Chief Learning Officer and Vice President Academic to oversee the move into a learning centered institution. Then the Centre for Organizational Learning and Teaching was set up to provide professional development opportunities for faculty and staff. Finally, the Human Rights Office became the Office of Equity which has since been turned into the Institute for Global Citizenship and Equity.

The President’s Taskforce had three sub-groups: the Taskforce on Learning for All; the Taskforce on Centennial Performance Indicators; and the Taskforce on Signature Learning Experience. The work of these three groups would form the backbone for a Learning Centered College.

The Signature Learning Experience

The President introduced the idea of creating a Signature Learning Experience for

students and one of the sub-groups of the Taskforce was assigned the task of working out the details linked to the college’s commitment to human rights and diversity. This was designed as a special experience that will be unique to the College and set the students apart from other students.

Signature Learning Experiences are normally developed by institutions to provide students with additional learning outside their core program areas. Shulman (2005) who has studied signature pedagogies in professional education for a while, talked about the characteristics of signature pedagogies. According to him, these characteristics are pedagogies of uncertainty, pedagogies of engagement and pedagogies of formation. They are pedagogies of uncertainty because the process relies on the response of students to each other and to the instructor and neither the instructor nor the student knows exactly what is going to happen. They are pedagogies of engagement because they work best when the students are actively participating in the learning and they are pedagogies of formation because they teach students habits of mind and of heart. They can build identity and character, dispositions and values.

A number of institutions have approached creating Signature Learning Experiences in different ways. Kentucky Wesleyan College, for example, has a number of Signature Learning Experiences (Kentucky Wesleyan College, 2011) embedded in their programs. Faculty of the college in a number of the departments have created “Signature Learning Experiences that allow students to explore the world around them outside the classroom.” They are “designed to help students think critically, appreciate diversity and live successfully in a complex rapidly changing world.” Northeastern University has developed signature co-op placements and experiential learning opportunities all around the world for its students. At Philadelphia University, the approach was to “create a Centre for Signature Learning that will promote, facilitate, and document the development of curriculum that is active, collaborative, real world and infused with liberal arts. [….] The Center will serve as a nexus for continuous faculty development, pedagogical experimentation, and research in the area of active integrative learning. The Center will facilitate the development, refinement, and dissemination of a distinguishing pedagogy for the University” (Philadelphia University, 2011). The focus at Philadelphia was to create what they termed as engaged learning – that is learning that is built on doing things and through other experiences that allows the student to apply their learning to real-world problems collaborating with others and developing lifelong learning skills. The goals also included the following:


• All academic programs will include and document components of experiential learning, which may include studio, labs, research, study abroad, fieldwork, short courses, internships, preceptorships and clinical rotations, and co-curricular programs with Student Life.

• Globalize the campus and curriculum through enhanced use of study abroad, short courses, study tours, inter-session experiences, faculty exchange, international/intercultural campus events, global course content and recruitment of international students.

At Spelman College, the approach is to transform the student and faculty experience by

developing an integrated learning plan that connects curricular and co-curricular experiences. The program called “My Integrated Learning Experience” or Spelman MILE aims to deliver “a more holistic education by integrating a rigorous curriculum with both applied and service learning, teamwork and leadership development, and diversity and global learning”. The Spelman MILE according to the College “will be a distinct signature program, characterized by an integrated learning experience for every student”. Spelman hopes to provide the following to their students (Spelman University, 2011):

• Global engagement, including at least one meaningful international travel

experience • Opportunities for undergraduate research and career related internships • Alumnae connections to strengthen our sisterly bonds early on • Leadership development focused on individual potential and best practices • Service Learning that pairs hands-on community engagement and coursework

Another institution that is hoping to create a signature learning experience for its

students is Camosun College in Canada which in 2010 introduced a Signature Learning Experience for its students (Camosun, 2010).

The Signature Learning Experience at Centennial College is unique in Canada because of its focus on diversity and social justice. It was expected to have three main components – “a required general education course that explores the nature of diversity and discrimination in our society and that allows each student to start developing basic diversity competency. The second element will be the integration of inclusive learning practices and cultural knowledge into all program areas. Eventually we will add a portfolio education element that will allow each student to demonstrate their diversity competencies in tangible ways that help them achieve their career goals” (Centennial, 2005).

The Taskforce hired two consultants to assist with their work. The consultants both had extensive background in postsecondary institutions and rich experiences in working on diversity issues. The two consultants reviewed literature on diversity and identified both the business case and the social case for creating a Signature Learning Experience based on diversity. The business case was based mainly on the identified needs of employers and what employers had articulated as important in the graduates they hire. The social justice case was based on literature that showed that curriculum was mainly Eurocentric and male-centric and there was a need to introduce other voices into the curriculum (Zine and Kersley, 2005).

The consultants conducted 10 focus groups with faculty, staff, employers and community organizations involving a total of 150 people. The conclusions from the focus groups were that:


• Students recognized the merits of the Signature Learning Experience and saw its ability to make them more marketable to employers and to improve their sense of belonging to the College.

• Employers and community groups talked about their need for workforces with diversity competencies as they struggle to deal with diverse workplaces, customers and partners.

• The majority of faculty and staff was supportive of the Signature Learning Experience and raised many important questions related to the pace and process of implementation. (Centennial College, 2005)

In order to proceed with the implementation of the Signature Learning Experience and in line with the movement towards a learning-centered college, it was important for faculty and staff as well to embrace the concepts that were being put forward. Following the work of the consultants, a faculty member was assigned the responsibility to research the kinds of competencies that faculty and staff would need for the College to begin to embark on a Signature Learning Experience based on diversity. His research looked at different organizational models for achieving equity (Singh, 2005). The models included:

• The status–quo organizations that implement only a limited number of equity

initiatives mostly in response to legislation. (As he put it, the question for these organizations was “Is this necessary?”)

• The valuing–diversity organizations where differences are acknowledged and attempts are made to initiate equity initiatives. (The question for these organizations is whether it is “Important for the bottom line”)

• The transformative organizations – these organizations recognize that all political/philosophical approaches must be considered in the context of a human rights framework (p. 9). (These organizations embrace equity and inclusion for all social groups)

The recommendation from the document was to follow the transformative model. Describing the model in her report the President states that, “The transformative model described in the document goes beyond valuing differences to seeking to actively eliminate injustice and inequity in the whole organization and developing new competencies to reflect our diversity” (Centennial College, 2005) This was the direction that the College decided to embark on in this project.

The research made recommendations for the principles and practices to be used for the transformation of the curriculum. Some of the key areas of learning recommended for students were: critical historical context of Canada’s peoples; analysis of the structures that perpetuate and maintain inequality; theories of difference; developing social responsibility; and professional preparation. The research also looked at competencies for faculty and staff. In her final report on the work of the President’s Taskforce on Learning (Centennial College, 2006), the President summed it up by writing: “We want to create a distinctive and inclusive learning environment that will enable students to integrate and apply knowledge, skills and attitudes to value diversity, promote social justice and become socially responsible in both local and global communities.”

5. Curriculum Change and Renewal

The work on the curriculum diversity framework set the context for the transformation

of the college curriculum. The College was set on a path of providing students with an


education that would be transformative and would also be based on social justice and equity principles.

The College has an internal process for curriculum renewal where program faculty once every couple of years solicit input from Industry representatives on their Program Advisory Committees and other stakeholders and also conduct research in order to make changes and renew their programs. These changes were mainly changes in content and occasionally involved changes in pedagogical approaches. The journey that Centennial embarked on was one that involved a complete overhaul of existing pedagogical approaches and put the issue of diversity and inclusion in the classroom and in the curriculum at the centre of everything.

There are five essential components for social justice education according to Hackman (2005). A social justice education should provide the student with the following tools: First, content mastery which consists of the student getting factual information; contextualization and also the content of the information being analyzed on a macro and micro level. The second essential element is critical thinking and the analysis of oppression. The third is for the student to be given tools for action and social change, and fourth is tools for personal reflection and the fifth essential tool is for the student to have tools for the awareness of multicultural group dynamics. The changes that took place in the curriculum at the College allowed programs to incorporate some of these skills and tools.

The President’s Taskforce on Learning – Signature Learning Experience, the work of the consultants and the curriculum framework enabled the transformation of the college’s curriculum. Radical curriculum change in a postsecondary institution is always a source of great tension and debate.

In her article on “Leadership for Social Justice and Equity”, Kathleen Brown (2004) looks at a process for developing academic leaders who are “committed to social justice and equity” (p. 77). She identifies three pedagogical strategies that can be used to educate people in social justice and equity. They are critical reflection; rational discourse; and policy praxis. She writes that “A critical stance frames this discussion by outlining clearly the need for professors to retool their teaching and courses to address issues of power and privilege” (p. 78). She proposes a model that “promotes awareness through critical reflection, acknowledgement through rational discourse, and action through policy praxis” (p. 78).

The question of how students are educated continues to be of interest to academics. How we prepare students for the world should be of concern to all academics and the College was actively engaged in this dialogue. Merryfield, Tin –Yau Lo, Cho Po and Kasai (2008) looked at the whole idea of developing worldmindedness in students and they ask the following questions which are central to the debate on how students should be educated:

Are today’s students being prepared to understand and become engaged as worldminded citizens? Will they take off the blinders of ethnocentricism or ignorance and see the entire world? Will they learn from other cultures and care about the rest of the planet? (p. 7)

The process of change that the College embarked on was a clear commitment to educate students to be global citizens, to take off the blinders, learn from other cultures and to care about the rest of the planet.

6. The Process for Curriculum Innovation

At the end of the work of the Taskforce, the final recommendations were made for the

College to adopt a Signature Learning Experience for students that will be unique to the College. The Taskforce reported that:


A Signature Learning Experience (SLE), in simple terms, is like a promise made to students: that they will learn something unique and valuable that they can’t get at any other institution. The Centennial College SLE revolves around preparing students to work in the world, and the world to work in Canada, through a focus on social diversity in a global context. […] Our SLE will provide Centennial students with a more inclusive experience while they are here, and a strong foundation in skills that allow them to thrive in diverse environments once in the workforce. This will be realized through 3 main SLE components:

• A required general education course that explores the nature of diversity and discrimination in our society and that starts to build basic diversity competencies in each student.

• The integration of inclusive learning practices and cultural knowledge into all program areas.

• A portfolio education element that will allow each student to demonstrate their diversity competencies in tangible ways that help them achieve their career goals.

After the work of the Taskforce was done and their recommendations submitted to the President, a Working Group was struck to work out the details for a course on global citizenship and equity. The Working Group was made up of faculty representatives from each of the eight schools. The Group engaged in their own learning activity to understand social justice and diversity issues up-close as part of the process. The Group also created a textbook to go with the course. Throughout the development process the Group met weekly to develop the course content. This was a difficult task of bringing many perspectives to focus on the issue of global citizenship. This was groundbreaking work. As Gaudelli (2009) points out in his article, “A variety of factors may explain why global citizenship curriculum making remains largely untouched in the space of schools and in the hands of teachers and students, namely due to a lack of consistency, lack of curriculum history, and lack of epistemological clarity” (p. 77). 7. The Signature Learning Experience (SLE) for Students The Course

The main component of the SLE is the course that was developed. The course itself provides a framework for exploring five core concepts: Personal Identity and Values; Inequality and Equity; Social Analysis; Social Action and Reflective Practice. Through the course the understanding of historical and theoretical concepts is developed as well as critical thinking and analytical skills. A Program Advisory Committee made up of internal and external members was also created to provide advice and input on the new course. The working group created a course on global citizenship and equity with learning outcomes and expectations.

Once the course was developed, the Coordinator of the Working Group conducted staff consultations on the placement of the global citizenship course. The consultation consisted of 17 meetings or consultation sessions with staff, administrators and students. The consultations were to:

• Provide a forum to address concerns regarding the placement of General

Education Signature Learning Experience; which General Education course would


be replaced; who would teach the course; the impact on English and General Education; Professional Development implications for courses and programs; and the impact of the diffusion of diversity learning outcomes into their programs and courses.

• Develop a transparent decision making process based on data that considers factors such as employment stability, pedagogy, faculty concerns, and academic managers concerns regarding planning and implementation.

The SLE general education course was introduced in 2006 and was called General

Education 500: Signature Learning Experience. The decision was made to place the course in either the second or third semester. The course was described as:

This course provides the opportunity to develop the skills required to work and live in a diverse world. It represents a foundational, unique and critical look at the roots and impact of inequality and discrimination related to issues of social justice, the environment, technology and energy. Learners explore personal and social responsibility in their communities, personal lives and in global and local work environments. Critical analysis of ideas and the examination of values and identities will assist learners to develop communication, advocacy and conflict resolution skills. (Centennial College, 2010)

The SLE Working Group developed a textbook called Global Citizenship from Social Analysis to Social Action. The course was piloted in Fall 2006, Winter 2007 and Summer 2007. Professional development activities were organized for faculty who were assigned to teach the course.

There are four components of the SLE:

1. GNED 500 – a required general education course entitled “Global Citizenship: from Social Analysis to Social Action”.

2. Portfolio Learning – the use of portfolios by our students to document their learning development as global citizens throughout their program of study.

3. Professional Development and Learning for All College Staff – to teach GNED 500, to support portfolio learning or to support the SLE through integration of equitable and inclusive practices in curriculum.

4. Embedding of Equity and Global Citizenship competencies across the college – to develop in each student and staff member the competencies for learning, teaching and working that value diversity and difference, and embrace and promote equity and inclusion.

The Portfolio Another aspect of the course was the development of portfolios for students. The

portfolio process captures the Reflective practice element of social justice education. Portfolios as a means of demonstrating learning and as an assessment tool have been

used in several postsecondary institutions. Jon Muella (2011) defines portfolios as “a collection of a student's work specifically selected to tell a particular story about the student”. He indicates that portfolios can be used to highlight a student’s progress; to showcase a student’s work or as a cumulative evaluation of a student’s work. Below is his description of the different types of portfolios:


1. Growth Portfolios

a. to show growth or change over time b. to help develop process skills such as self-evaluation and goal-

setting c. to identify strengths and weaknesses d. to track the development of one or more products/performances

2. Showcase Portfolios

a. to showcase end-of-year/semester accomplishments b. to prepare a sample of best work for employment or college

admission c. to showcase student perceptions of favorite, best or most important

work d. to communicate a student's current aptitudes to future teachers

3. Evaluation Portfolios

a. to document achievement for grading purposes b. to document progress towards standards c. to place students appropriately

The College chose to go with a growth portfolio that documents the growth of students

over the period that they are at the College. It also has an evaluative component. The Working Group in their implementation plan noted that “The model for portfolio integration can be summarized as a Transformative Education model that focuses on three components; Framework; Process; and Portfolio” (Centennial College, 2008). The framework used to guide students in the selection of artifacts was the Essential Employability Skills established by the Provincial Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities. The artifacts were then connected with global citizenship and equity principles.

The purpose of the portfolio learning at the College was to provide a mechanism for showing student learning related to global citizenship and equity competencies. The evidence of their learning is seen in the global citizenship and equity portfolio. This was intended to be the defining characteristic of the SLE and it was expected that students will be able to develop themselves and be able to reflect this in their portfolios and be able to convince employers that they are uniquely prepared to enter their careers with an understanding of the critical issues that face the world of work and society in general.

The framework for the portfolio therefore focuses on the transformation of the individual student as the final product and strives for the development of the ability to engage in critical thinking and reflection resulting in the empowerment of the student as an individual and a student.

The Working Group described the focus of the portfolio as being on the learning process that prepares students for employment and empowers them to act for the greater good of society. It is expected that students would continue to build their portfolios throughout their time at the College. The initial development of their portfolio happens in the first semester and continues throughout their program, and involvement in college and community life. Program courses provide the experiences and artifacts that could be the basis of a career portfolio, as well as a personal and growth portfolio. Portfolios need to reflect the individual students, their courses and their career path. The format and the medium of the portfolios are as diverse as the students.


Portfolio advisors or coaches were introduced to assist students in putting together their portfolios. A key part of the development of the portfolios was for students to reflect on their learning and to share these reflections.

Building Reflective and Critical Thinkers

Through the course, students gained an understanding of historical and theoretical

concepts as well as developing critical and analytical skills. Reflection is seen as an important part of the development of the student. In her article on defining reflective thinking, Rodgers (2002), examines the theory of Reflective Thinking as developed by John Dewey. She identifies four main criteria for reflection. These include:

• Reflection is a meaning–making process that moves a learner from one

experience into the next with deeper understanding of its relationships with and connections to other experiences and ideas. It is the thread that makes continuity of learning possible, and ensures the progress of the individual and, ultimately society. It is a means to essentially moral ends.

• Reflection is a systematic, rigorous, disciplined way of thinking, with its roots in scientific inquiry.

• Reflection needs to happen in community, in interaction with others. • Reflection requires attitudes that value the personal and intellectual growth

of oneself and of others. (p.845)

The reflective piece in the course was to allow students to think about the things they had learnt and experienced in life. The course provided students with a framework for exploring five core concepts: Personal identity and values; Inequality and Equity; Social analysis; Social action; and Reflective practice. After the pilot project some of the students were able to present some of their work at various college events. The presentations documented some of transformative learning that was taking place in the classroom. Below are excerpts of comments by some of the students on their learning experience:

“The class opened me up to a lot of concepts, some of which I keep in mind even now, and probably will for the rest of my life. By the end of the class, I was sorry to see it end – it was such an amazing experience and I will never forget it.” Anita Bouchard, Student 2008 (Centennial College, 2008) “After being exposed to the range of topics that GNED 500 offers, my thirst for knowledge has substantially increased. The SLE has helped me to tie in politics, history, social justice and debate at a level I can appreciate and understand.” Imran Hasan, Student 2007 (Centennial College, 2008)

Professional Development Another sub-group of the President’s Taskforce on Learning worked on “Learning for

All”. The Taskforce on Learning for All created a set of leadership competencies for the College. It was felt that “If we are to be a learning-centered college then we must give all employees better access to their own learning opportunities and more encouragement to assume formal and informal leadership roles” (Centennial College, 2005). The College as a result created the Centre for Organizational Learning and Teaching that conducted professional development activities for faculty and staff. In addition, the Global Citizenship course was made available to faculty and staff.


Embedding Global Citizenship Competencies The fourth component of the SLE was infusing global citizenship and equity into

school curriculum recognizing the differences in programs and student profiles. (Centennial College, 2006) The College’s Centre for Organizational Learning and Teaching worked with the SLE Working Group to develop a program in which learning goals and outcomes were mapped for each school, and they created tools to be used to modify and evolve curriculum. Every program at the college undergoes a comprehensive program review every five years and as part of the process, the centre works with the program faculty to ensure that global citizenship and equity competencies are embedded in the program learning outcomes.

8. Extension of the Global Citizenship and Equity Initiative Engaging the College Community

The commitment to global citizenship and equity was further extended into the college

community with the creation in 2009, of the Institute for Global Citizenship and Equity. The Institute put together a number of initiatives to engage students, staff and faculty. The initiatives included a number of publications; conferences; workshops; a discussion forum and a social action fund to support social action projects. The publications include a magazine and an online journal.

Publications

The magazine, Global Citizen Digest is mainly for internal community members and allows faculty, staff and students to explore ideas on global citizenship and equity and share some of their thoughts as well as practices. It has explored some of the key definitions like who is a global citizen; anti-racist perspective; critical democratic perspective; deficit mentality; equity; human rights; inclusion and pedagogy. It has also allowed people to share their global citizenship and equity experiences abroad. There is also an online academic journal, Journal of Global Citizenship and Equity Education that allows people to publish academic articles on global citizenship and equity education.

Philosopher’s Café

A discussion forum called The Philosopher’s Café was also introduced. The

Philosopher’s Café is a space created where philosophical open-ended issues and topics receive attention. The purpose of the café is to help transform the world one conversation at a time. Most of the topics relate to our place in the world as global citizens. The discussions rely on the tools of social analysis to explore a multiplicity of perspectives. The Café is also a place where everyone is encouraged to speak and/or weigh in on issues that affect all of us.

The concept of Philosopher’s Café as a means of engaging groups of people in dialogue has been used by other postsecondary institutions. Simon Fraser University in Canada has since 1998, organized Philosopher’s Cafés to engage the Vancouver community in dialogue. The program is organized by the Continuing Studies program at the university and has held cafés in a number places including at cafés, bistros, parks, beaches, community centres, libraries, festivals and schools. These sessions are free and open to the public. Concordia University is another Canadian institution that runs a similar program from its Continuing Education program. It is called “University of the Streets Café” organized by the Institute of Management


and Community Development. Fashioned after the Simon Fraser model, it has organized cafés in bookstores, shopping malls, community centres and parks.

The discussions at the Café are facilitated on the basis of the Socratic Method. A discussion with the Socratic Method works on the assumption that we all have different philosophies, and that there is no universal agreement on even the basic concepts in life. The Café allows us to hear each other’s perspective. Some of the topics that have been covered in the Café include: Inclusion, Genocides, Human rights, Personal and social responsibility, International development, Religion and politics, Service Learning/International Community Development, Youth Engagement, Ethnicity, Developing a global mindset, Critical Pedagogy and Transformative Learning

Conferences and Workshops

Another important avenue for engaging the College community is through conferences

and workshops. The Institute hosts an annual equity conference that brings people together to engage and dialogue on issues of global citizenship and equity. These have included an Aboriginal symposium in 2009 and an international conference in early 2011 that attracted presenters from all over the world.

Social Action Fund

The Institute also provides funding for staff and students to engage in social action

projects that helps both the college community and the community around the College. “The Institute’s Social Action Fund is an opportunity for faculty and their students to become engaged in social justice initiatives, inclusion activities, and to enrich the campus climate at the College…Grants of up to $700 are awarded to successful candidates wishing to sponsor events, speakers, outreach activities, social networks, or to host a variety of discussion groups. The fund has supported events such as Can-tastic, a one day fundraiser and food drive aimed at increasing awareness of the needs of food banks” (Sampson, 2011).

Global Citizenship and Equity Learning Experiences

The College in 2010 decided to add onto the SLE for students by introducing

international opportunities for students, faculty and staff. The program was called Global Citizenship and Equity Learning Experience. The experience was intended to demonstrate the College’s commitment to student participation in global experiences, through internationalization of the student and staff body. Spearheaded by a committee, this group identified partners in developing countries and then identified students from each school who were then offered the opportunity to travel, work and have a global experience. In a manual on the program, the committee indicated that the College’s responsibility included building “better pathways for students to pursue international academic and professional experiences as part of their education with flexible curriculum and international standards for transfer of credit” (Centennial College, 2009). In keeping with the College’s philosophy of a distinctive learning experience, the global citizenship and equity learning experiences abroad was intended to provide applied global learning experiences, enhance academic classroom theory and skills to prepare students to participate and contribute effectively at the international level.

The projects that students have been involved in have included trips to the Dominican Republic and to Peru. On the first trip in 2010 to the Dominican Republic, each student led multiple workshops in their subject area of study. The group also engaged in activities that allowed the students to better understand the culture and history of Dominican Republic. They


visited projects by Non-Governmental Organizations that aim at assisting marginalized groups in the country. The second trip in 2011 also involved students conducting workshops as well as engaging in eco-tourism, helping paint a Teen Pregnancy and Health clinic. There were two groups involved – one group went to Peru and the other group went to the Dominican Republic. In their description of the trip, Jacobs, Hahn and Larabee (2011) write that:

During the two-week trip, students will provide post-operative care, patient assessments, participate in patient and family health teaching, and visit rural communities as part of a mobile health clinic. They will also provide educational workshops that are both related to their program of study at the college and are designed to meet educational and sustainable needs identified by Dominican communities. Students will also visit a public and private hospital to see the differences within these institutions and are enrolled in Spanish lessons prior and during their trip. Lastly, students will participate in local construction assistance projects along side Dominican community members, who have active roles in promoting and supporting education acquisition for their children. (p. 39)

The participating students have reflected on their experiences and shared them. A few of the reflections are shown below:

Our Workshops were based directly on our programs of student at Centennial—and we now know that we can help others using our unique knowledge, no matter what field we decided to become experts in. The experience was not only life changing, it was the best experience of my 21 year-long life (Aleks Nesterins). During this trip, I really began to understand what sustainable development entails. Often we hear the term in classrooms and in the news, but having had the opportunity to visit the DR reinforced the value and benefits of creating sustainable partnerships. It’s great when people can go down there and provide help to people living is less-fortunate conditions , but what happens when those people leave? There must be a sustainable way for us to help the Dominicans (and others around the world) in such a way that allows them to effectively learn to help themselves (Eunice Leung).

9. Conclusion The journey for the College to create a Signature Learning Experience for students and

a Learning-centered College involved multiple stakeholders and the coming together of staff and faculty to dialogue and engage in discussion on social justice issues. It was groundbreaking work and continues to be unique in the college system in Ontario. The process involved extensive consultation of stakeholders and has been very successful in creating a unique experience for students. The College has also taken a leadership role in the area of global citizenship and equity with an academic journal which will play a key role in defining the field.


References

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http://camosun.ca/about/education-plan/_documents/education-plan-approved.pdf Centennial College. (2005). Becoming the Learning–Centered College: An Update on the

President’s Task Force on Learning. Centennial College, (2006). Becoming the Learning-Centered College: Final Report on the

president’s Taskforce on Learning. Centennial College. (2008). The Signature Learning Experience at Centennial College: An

Implementation Plan. Centennial College. (2008). Signature Learning Experience: Global Citizenship, Social Justice

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Experiences Abroad: Internationalizing Centennial College Signature Learning Experience.

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Action. City of Toronto. (2006). Census Update on Social Risk Factors in the City’s 13 Priority Areas. Gaudelli, W. (2009). Heuristics of Global Citizenship Discourses towards Curriculum

Enhancement. Journal of Curriculum Theorizing, 25(1), 68-85 Hackman, H. W.(2005). Five Essential Components for Social Justice Education. Equity and

Excellence in Education, 38, 103-109 Jacobs, S., Hahn, E., Larabee, R. (2011). Global Learning and Equity Learning Expedition,

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at http://www.kwc.edu/page.php?page=383 Merryfield, M., Tin –Yau Lo, J., Cho Po, S., and Kasai, M. (2008). Worldmindedness: Taking

off the blinders. Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, 2(1), 6-20. Available at http://www.joci.ecu.edu/index.php/JoCI/issue/view/2

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on Education/ Oryx Press Series in Higher Education. Philadelphia University. Strategic Plan 2010 – 2013 cited July 5th, 2011. Available at

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http://www.spelman.edu/strategicplanning/students.shtml Zine, J. and Kersley, P. (2005). Signature Learning Experience Consultation Report. Submitted

to Centennial College. Toronto

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http://www.spelman.edu/strategicplanning/students.shtml


Remixing the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT)

Brenna Quigley Ph.D. Candidate, Faculty of Education University of Ottawa

Keywords: Critical Literacies; Social Justice; Youth Engagement; Literacy Testing; Standardized Testing; OSSLT

ABSTRACT: The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) is a high-stakes, standardized literacy test that high school students in Ontario must pass before graduating with a high school diploma. However, each year, approximately 35,000 students do not pass the OSSLT, jeopardizing their chances to graduate. Critical literacies encourage readers to act upon what they are reading by responding to, evaluating, and/or rewriting what they are reading. Throughout this paper, I will be applying these theories by proposing an unsettling, a deterritorialization, and a potential hybridization, or remixing of the OSSLT to better meet the needs of the diverse group of students writing the test. Such a remix could also create a generative and open space for reflection and reconsideration of what we are trying to achieve with this literacy test. This paper focuses on issues of equity and social justice in the context of standardized assessments, specifically the OSSLT, because this literacy test has the potential to significantly impact the lives of youth in Ontario.

The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) is a high-stakes, standardized literacy test that high school students in Ontario must pass before graduating with a high school diploma. Each year, approximately 35,000 students do not pass the OSSLT, jeopardizing their chances to graduate (EQAO, 2009c, 2010b). Since, as Kane (2006) writes, “In education, as in medicine, there is an obligation to avoid doing harm if it can be avoided” (p. 56), how can we bring an end to this disastrous trend of having 30,000+ students failing this mandatory literacy test? Scholars and educators have already raised concerns over the potential harms that are associated with this standardized testing practice. For example, test preparation frequently infiltrates classroom instruction narrowing the curriculum (Brand, 2010; Luce-Kapler & Klinger, 2005), tests are improperly constructed and inadequately represent the literacies that youth are engaging with everyday (Lotherington, 2004), there are issues of language and cultural bias (Cheng, Fox, & Zheng, 2007; Cheng, Klinger, & Zheng, 2007; Fox & Cheng, 2007), results are acontextualized and can easily be misused, and financing the whole process, including future remediation and programming aimed at raising test scores, is costly (Hammond, 2010). Critical literacies encourage readers to act upon what they are reading by responding to, evaluating, and/or rewriting what they are reading. Throughout this paper, I will be applying these theories by proposing an unsettling, a deterritorialization, and a potential hybridization, or remixing of the OSSLT to better meet the needs of the diverse group of students writing the test while reducing the harm caused by the OSSLT. Such a remix could potentially create a generative and open space for reflection and reconsideration of what we are trying to achieve with this literacy test. This paper focuses on issues of equity and social justice


in the context of standardized assessments, specifically the OSSLT, because this literacy test has the potential to significantly impact the lives of youth in Ontario.

About the OSSLT

The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) is a high-stakes, standardized

literacy test. As an accountability agent, the OSSLT is intended to inform the public about the rates of students’ achievement, and to monitor the productivity and effectiveness of literacy education. As stated by EQAO (2010a):

The publicly funded education system is accountable to the public. It has a responsibility to demonstrate the achievement of its students and meet the legitimate information needs of parents, guardians and the Ontario public with regard to education outcomes. Ontario’s provincial testing program, which measures the achievement of every student across the province in key grades, was created in part because parents called for an independent gauge of how their children are achieving in relation to a provincial standard. (p. 1)

The purpose of the OSSLT is to determine whether or not students have acquired an established level of proficiency in literacy before graduating from an Ontario high school. The test is high-stakes, because in order to obtain a high school diploma in Ontario, students must pass this test, which is administered once a year. Students are given two chances to write the OSSLT, beginning in Grade 10, before they are required to successfully complete the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course (OSSLC) as an equivalent requirement. The final opportunity students have for satisfying this literacy requirement is through “portfolio adjudication” (Kozlow, 2010, p. 1). The purpose of administering the test for the first time in Grade 10 is to monitor and provide further assistance to students who are not achieving the desired results at an early enough stage to be able to intervene.

The OSSLT assesses students’ reading comprehension and writing skills. It “measures whether or not students have acquired the basic cross-curricular literacy (reading and writing) skills expected by the end of Grade 9, as described in The Ontario Curriculum for all subject areas” (EQAO, 2010f, p. 95). The OSSLT values a student’s ability to ‘understand ideas and information that is both explicitly and implicitly stated’ in a variety of texts (EQAO, 2010g, p. 3). The test also claims to value a student’s ability to be able to make connections “between information and ideas in a reading selection and personal knowledge and experience” (p. 3). In addition to these three reading comprehension skills, the OSSLT values “developing a main idea with sufficient supporting details, organizing information and ideas in a coherent manner, and using conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) in a manner that does not distract from clear communication” (p. 13). In order to measure these literacy skills, the test includes five reading sections with the following types of texts: an informational paragraph, a news report, a dialogue, a real-life narrative, and a graphic text (p. 2). On the 2010 OSSLT, in response to these texts, students were required to complete thirty-one multiple choice questions and four short open-response questions (six lines each). The OSSLT also includes the following writing tasks: a one page news report, a two page opinion piece, two short writing tasks (six lines each), and eight multiple choice questions (EQAO, 2010d, 2010e). Students have two and a half hours to complete the test (EQAO, 2010g, p. 2).

Remixing the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) • 166

The Problem with the OSSLT: What literacies are we assessing, how, and why?

The Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO), which is responsible for the

OSSLT, claims to be attentive to the “skills that young people need to develop [. . .] in order to participate effectively and successfully in the world and workplace of the 21st century” (EQAO, 2010f, p. 95). These skills are characterized by EQAO as “employability skills, essential skills or basic literacy skills” (p. 95). Even though the OSSLT claims to align with 21st century workplace, it falls short in its simplification of literacy skills in comparison to current research in the field of literacy education, which does recognize the changing “communicational landscape of the 21st century” (Jewitt, 2008, p. 241). According to Chun (2009), “Because meaning making has become increasingly multimodal, our definition of literacy needs to encompass not only the textual, but also the visual, the spatial, and the aural” (p. 145). As Slomp (2005) remarks, “Though one would expect a clear alignment between what is valued in the educational community as a whole and what is valued by a government mandated test, this desired alignment is not always realized” (p. 142). Experts in the field of literacy would agree that the test does not accurately reflect a complex enough understanding of literacy because the OSSLT does not assert a global understanding of literacy. Many literacies are either undervalued or excluded from EQAO’s conception of literacy.

Both the content and the form of the OSSLTs from the past three years highlight evidence of a limited conception of literacy education and evaluation. The OSSLT is intended to address curricular expectations of literacy across all subjects areas up until the end of Grade 9 and the test has addressed a range of topics over the past three years, including texts that relate to history, geography, chemistry, environmental science, architecture and graphic design, tourism and attractions, technology, and engineering. To be more specific, the OSSLT has presented texts that are about dinosaurs and archaeology (EQAO, 2008a, p. 2), solar heat and green roofs (p. 9), the invention of a long-distance pen (EQAO, 2008b, p. 6), the chemistry behind ice cream (p. 14), the origin of pasta noodles (EQAO, 2009a, p. 2), the Museum of Civilization (p. 9), the endangered white Kermode or spirit bear (EQAO, 2009b, p. 6), eco-friendly fish farms (p. 13), tourism and a ritual in Rome (EQAO, 2010d, p. 2), the railway car classrooms in Northern Ontario (p. 9), and design plans for a sports stadium (EQAO, 2010e, p. 14). However, despite the range of texts, the OSSLT presents a limited understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of literacy skills. While exposing students to a range of texts seems promising, the questions that go with these texts do not extend beyond basic literacy skills that could be paired with any texts, regardless of the content of the texts. The skills required to answer the questions do not reflect any specialized literacy skills that interact with these disciplines in unique ways. For instance, the OSSLT questions are not designed to measure scientific knowledge, or to engage literacies that deal with research, statistics, chemical formulas, or physics equations. Students are not required to design any proposals, create any graphics, assess the credibility of sources, suggest alternative sources of information, or implement any of their learning in practice, nor are they expected to transfer their learning amongst a variety of contexts. Instead, the sets of questions presented on the OSSLT tests are designed to collect specific pieces of information, such as a student’s ability to demonstrate an understanding of explicitly and implicitly stated ideas, to be able to dissect texts, including the vocabulary, the conventions, and the text features, in order to support and/or develop statements about the texts. Although these selected skills are applicable to decoding and writing texts of different genres in a structural sense, the ability to critically interact with the


information presented in these texts and respond would require specialized knowledge and a range of literacy skills which are hardly being acknowledged. Moreover, although many of the texts are accompanied by images, students are not asked any questions about these images, with the exception of the graphic text which does target visual literacy skills. Even if the test does attempt at the very least to incorporate a range of content areas, the ways in which students are preparing for the OSSLT in various courses reveals that many teachers and students believe that the literacy skills addressed on the OSSLT belong in the English classroom (Luce-Kapler & Klinger, 2005). These individuals are not making the interdisciplinary connections.

In addition to problems with the content of the text and the relationship between the texts and the questions, Volante (2007) has also pointed out that the format of the test is restricting what can be tested. He criticizes EQAO assessments’ “inability to assess many performance-based skills such as speaking clearly, designing a class project, or working effectively in a group” (p. 10). In an effort to render the marking experience more time-efficient and consistent, multiple choice questions and short six line answers are being used to assess reading comprehension. Students’ ability to demonstrate a comprehensive account of their experience reading a text is severely restricted, not only by the available space on the page, but also by the assessment criteria which are only interested in evidence that parts of the text can be explicitly tied into a student’s response. As long as ideas are coherent and supported, the content being communicated is valueless. As a result, students can employ test-taking skills to answer many of the test questions. In many cases, students do not even have to read the entire texts since they simply must locate a word or expression and decide upon an appropriate synonym or intended meaning. In other cases, the chronological placement of a detail in the text is requested. For the writing tasks on the OSSLT, students are expected to produce polished first draft writing (Slomp, 2005). The OSSLT is a timed test, and students have limited space and no resources to consult, in order to help enhance their writing. Any draft or process work that is recorded in the space for ‘rough notes,’ is not marked. Thus, process knowledge and the ability to work through a writing process is highly undervalued. Because the markers are looking for general criteria and text features, they are unable to interact with unique literacies. The OSSLT is asserting a one-size-fits-all model of literacy that must be easily identified and quantified through degrees of achievement in terms of students’ commitment to the expectations of the form. It would be more challenging and time-consuming for the markers to evaluate multimodal texts that do not all conform to the same expectations of what makes a text effective. Perhaps more students would have a chance at success if their literacy skills were valued, and if they had choices about how they believe they can communicate most effectively.

The OSSLT is targeting a specific set of three reading comprehension skills and three writing skills that by no means encapsulate what is demanded of youth today who are facing ever-changing technologies, media bombardment, and a range of learning and employment opportunities that can only partially be predicted. If the purpose of the OSSLT is to prepare students for the world after high school, as noted by its emphasis on basic or functional literacies, and employability skills, the test is far too narrow. Luce-Kapler & Klinger (2005) have also concluded that the OSSLT “has conceived [of] literacy narrowly” (p. 169). Standardized tests and ‘prescriptive’ instruction “restrict the notion of literacy to decoding texts and symbols” (Nelson, 2010, p. 98). However, “as the linguist James Paul Gee argues, literacy involves more than merely possessing the skills associated with decoding text” (Nelsen, 2010, p. 98).

Since a high-stakes test asserts quite a bit of authority over defining what are the essential literacy skills youth require, it is troubling that students are being evaluated through the means of a standardized test which itself restricts how literacies can be conceptualized. I


agree with Nelsen (2010) who points out that “standardized exams are literary practices, powerful ones that regulate and promote certain types of literacy, and through their juridical functioning, they promote certain types of students” (p. 104). As Williams (2005) asks, “What effect does the unrelenting emphasis on standardized literacy testing have on students’ perception of the purposes and possibilities of literacy? By extension, what effect does such testing have on their perception of the possibilities for themselves as readers and writers?” (p. 153). EQAO values specific literacies, and they are impacting the education system by making the OSSLT a high-stakes test. They are determining the benchmark and establishing the criteria by which students are deemed competent as literate beings. Having the skills to conduct research or to be critical of both ‘the word and the world’ (Freire, 1970/2010; Freire & Macedo, 1987/2004), is not included in their literacy construct, which can potentially limit students’ opportunities and access to knowledge if they do not develop, or come to value, these skills elsewhere. Yoon’s (2001) discussion of his experiences with censorship as a college student in an ‘underground reading club’ in South Korea arguably parallels the structure being imposed by the OSSLT. Yoon (2001) explains, “I came to accept the fact that my knowledge of the world and myself, stored piece by piece, was implanted in my mind by a privileged few with greater social capital and political power in order to maintain a status quo that favored them” (p. 291). According to Williams (2005), “standardized testing works [. . .] from a set of cultural conceptions about literacy that are neither objective nor static. Students whose race or social class is not part of the dominant culture often face more complex challenges in meeting the standards of that dominant culture” (p. 152). Joel Westheimer (as cited in Brand, 2010) argues that:

large-scale testing [. . .] foster[s] an education system where creativity and critical thinking are devalued and students are rewarded for not questioning authority. While this may be appropriate for totalitarian states where there is “one true story, not open to question,” it is a threat to democracy and democratic values, which depend on a citizenry that analyzes, questions, and debates to shape public policy and the political agenda. He calls the system that emphasizes standardized testing one that ensures “no child is left thinking.” (p. 8)

Discussing “the violence of high-stakes standardized testing” (Janesick, 2007, p. 239), Janesick (2007) has also criticized “politicians who act like bullies” (p. 240). Is the OSSLT having any positive impact on students, or is it limiting their learning experiences, funneling their skills, and restricting their ability to question the texts they read in any environment, whether it be a test or not? Yoon (2001) argues, “My knowledge was designed to stop me from changing the world” (p. 291). Is the OSSLT limiting students’ capacity to be critical?

In her deconstruction and deterritorialization of language practices, Waterhouse (2008) explains the effects language, once internalized, can have upon us. She writes, “If we return to the question of language monsters with a poststructural lens we see that language is up to something [. . . .] It is not innocent. Language itself can inscribe and produce particular bodies (Gunew, 2004)” (Waterhouse, 2008, p. 5). This same poststructuralist argument can be applied to the OSSLT. The OSSLT is a test that “is not innocent,” to use the words of Waterhouse (p. 5). The OSSLT is trying to “inscribe and produce particular bodies” (p. 5) that are in accordance with the prescribed standards of what it means to have a sufficient level of literacy skills and for what purpose. Explaining the effects of the internalization of language, Waterhouse (2008) continues:


Language monsters gobble up bodies too! Nabokov evocatively describes the violent linguistic deterritorializations he suffered in-between languages: “My complete switch from Russian prose to English prose was exceedingly painful—like learning to handle things after losing seven or eight fingers in an explosion” (as cited in Ch’ien, 2004, 68). (Waterhouse, 2008, p. 5)

Waterhouse’s (2008) examples of still thinking to say ‘Aiya!’ before ‘Ouch!’ or ‘Xie xie!’ before ‘Merci!’ in a French class (pp. 4-5) also demonstrate the challenge of having to deny one’s own literacy or language practices. These skills are a part of who we are; they are a part of our ways of thinking and being. So, what is the OSSLT doing to students? I think it is putting students in a box by making them read and write in specific ways. It is perhaps, to use Nabokov’s analogy, cutting off parts of the body, whether it be the mind, the eye, the hand, the tongue, the spine, or the feet. Thus, as Yoon (2001) would ask, are we going to be ‘activists or bystanders’ (p. 292)? What can we do to stop the potentially debilitating effects of the OSSLT? Let’s take a critical look at the OSSLT and ask ourselves what effect this test is having upon students. Let’s not let the OSSLT dismember us any longer.

If the OSSLT is trying to keep teachers accountable, this test is further funnelling the education that students can receive in the classroom. Literacy education is being directed towards a target that does not align with the literacy demands of today, let alone how we can imagine tomorrow will be. If standardized testing practices came about as a way of informing the public about education and what, or whether, children and youth are achieving or not, as suggested by Hoffman et al. (2003), “it is now up to [educators] to demonstrate ways that they can fulfill their responsibility to the public without compromising the quality of teaching and schooling” (p. 628). We need a new way, a new marker, a new source of information that can replace the results that are obtained and disseminated from standardized tests, including the OSSLT. Sam Hammond (2010), President of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO), argues:

Originally conceived as a way to ensure accountability in the system and ostensibly improve education, EQAO tests are in fact an obstacle to quality education. EQAO tests are based on a very narrow definition of accountability: student achievement on one day on one written test. Today this narrow and limited assessment is used to rank individual schools, students, and ultimately teachers. (p. 4)

After polling ETFO members for their opinions on province-wide testing, Hammond (2010) reports, “Overwhelmingly you told us that it’s time for the government to take action and eliminate or at least modify the EQAO and the testing it administers” (p. 4).

Creating Opportunities for Change: Remixing the Test

With these potential, and in many cases documented, risks in mind about the negative

consequences of standardized testing, I think it is only ethical that we revisit the purpose of such a test, the method in which it is constructed, and how it could be otherwise, in order to better serve both teachers and students. I think it is highly troublesome that each year approximately 35,000 students are failing this high-stakes literacy test in Ontario. How changes come about in education is an intriguing process though. Hoffman et al. (2003) believe that the “spread of educational innovations often reflects a kind of ‘snowball’ effect. They start slowly but gain momentum after the initial wave of ‘risk takers’ and ‘early adopters’ have broken into


new territory. These innovators become the models for others to follow” (p. 622). People, generally, are afraid of change and they are often hesitant to take risks. To encourage educators to become stronger leaders and advocates for student learning, the education system itself needs to be reconceptualized to be understood as something that is flexible, malleable, experimental, experiential, and open to change through learning and improvement. Simply admitting that a critical re-examination of this testing practice is required would be a huge step for the accountability offices. As Janesick (2007) says, “to paraphrase the words of the great philosopher-teacher Lao Tzu, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” (p. 247). Thus, I am proposing that an unsettling, a deterritorialization, and a potential hybridization, or remixing of the OSSLT is needed to create a generative and open space for reflection and reconsideration of what we are trying to achieve with this literacy test. Remixing “means to take cultural artifacts and combine and manipulate them into new kinds of creative blends” (Knobel & Lankshear, 2008, p. 22). In this case, the OSSLT is our ‘cultural artifact’ that we will manipulate and transform in conjunction with other pedagogical practices and new innovations to create a sort of hybrid, or OSSLT version 2.0. Knobel & Lankshear (2008) cite Lessig (2005) to explain that “culture as a whole can be construed as remix. Whenever we comment on [. . .] a film or a book and discuss it with others, we take the original author’s creativity and remix it in our own lives, using it to extend our own ideas or to produce an evaluation” (Knobel & Lankshear, 2008, p. 22). These commentaries, criticisms, and/or retellings are all examples of remixes. According to Gee (2007) (as cited in Knobel & Lankshear, 2008, pp. 29-30), “humans feel ‘expanded and empowered when they can manipulate powerful tools in intricate ways that extend their area of effectiveness.’” So, I propose that we ‘extend’ the OSSLT’s ‘effectiveness’ by remixing it.

I am interested in how the OSSLT, as a text, can be rewritten, redesigned, recreated, and reconceptualized as a space where youth can position their own thoughts and views on literacy, education, testing, and student assessments. Critical literacies argue that such a project is possible, and that individuals have the capacity to enact positive social change by critically deconstructing and reconstructing their worlds. Critical literacies encourage readers to act upon what they are reading by responding to, evaluating, and/or rewriting what they are reading. As Franzak (2006) observes, “Educators committed to social change and equitable social arrangements are drawn to critical literacy for its transformative potential” (p. 220). Beginning the transformative process through remixing has the potential to offer up a number of possibilities. Settling on a product immediately is neither desirable nor is it responsible at the moment and the redesign of the OSSLT is not a task for an individual. Instead, I am arguing that such a remixing of the OSSLT is required, and I would suggest that all stakeholders, including students, be involved in this process. Nevertheless, in order to illustrate how this process can begin unravelling, I will offer a few suggestions that respond to significant flaws with both the form and content of the OSSLT.

Remix, Part 1: Remove something from the test

What changes and transformations must occur for the OSSLT to become a more

equitable and productive learning experience for students? I suggest that we begin by eliminating the elements of standardization. When writing the OSSLT, students are all reading the same texts, answering the same questions, and being marked according to a set of rubrics which address specific criteria, such as “providing accurate, specific and relevant ideas and information from the reading selection” and a “clear explanation” that “indicates considerable reading comprehension” (EQAO, 2010c, p. 2). In other cases, students are evaluated based on


their use of conventions, their organization of texts, the ‘progression of their ideas,’ and/or their development of “a clear and consistent opinion” (p. 29) supported with details. These criteria are generalized to cover all pieces of writing of a specific form. Even when students are given the chance to respond to open-response questions, the markers are not looking for creativity, ingenuity, or innovation of any sort. Students are simply expected to demonstrate that they can follow instructions and that they are aware of this standard form of writing. There is no engagement with students’ ideas or personal experiences with which students are expected to make connections, as noted in the framework of the six target skills, three for reading and three for writing. For the markers, there is a static, singular correct answer that addresses the criteria explicitly. Anything that deviates from this is either seen as an error or at the very least dismissed as not being of value. For instance, students are warned that they are to fill in no more than the six lines provided for the short answer questions. The unwritten rule which students with effective test-taking skills would know is that if you are given six lines, your response should probably have sufficient detail and/or elaboration to consume all six lines.

In addition to the one-size-fits-all criteria and rubrics, from a postmodernist perspective, one of the greatest troubles I have with the reading comprehension portion of the OSSLT is that there are multiple choice questions being used as an indication of a students’ ability to understand a text. As Lankshear & Knobel (2000) explain, “In postmodernist times, text production and consumption can no longer be represented as enterprises concerned with promoting incontrovertible truths or with asserting and sustaining singular, fixed realities” (p. 1). I agree with Davis (2004) that we “live in a world of partial knowledge, local narratives, situated truths, and shifting selves” (p. 109). All knowledge can be “contested” and “questioned” (Merriam, 2002, p. 374). The emergence of one dominate view is not the postmodernist’s goal. For postmodernists, the focus is on “complexity, a myriad of meanings, rather than one meaning, however profound” (Coles & Hall, 2001, p. 113). In such an epistemological framework, there is a “rejection of unity, homogeneity, totality, and closure” (p. 114). Instead, “provisionality, uncertainty, and the floating of meaning, are understood as phenomena to be celebrated” (p. 113). In other words, “Postmodernists celebrate diversity among people, ideas, and institutions” (Merriam, 2002, p. 375). However, the OSSLT, as a standardized test, is an example of how “learners are required to respond with ‘correct’ responses to classroom texts, whose forms and meanings remain fixed, unyielding to new inflections or resonances” (Wallace, 2006, p. 75). There is little to no room on the OSSLT for creativity or originality of thought, as evidenced, for instance, by the use of multiple choice questions. Students are simply required to demonstrate that they can decode the words on the page. I believe that this level of expectation has been set merely because of what can be assessed on a large-scale and this does nothing to improve students’ learning or interest in reading.

When writing a standardized test, students sit in desks, which are lined up in individual rows. Students must use specific writing utensils, write within the space provided, and complete the work in silence and in the allotted time period. This environment shares no similarities with the classroom space described by Tierney, Bond, & Bresler (2006). Reporting on a group of high school students’ engagement with multiple literacies, Tierney, Bond, & Bresler (2006) explain how their classroom space “assumed the feel of a studio and think-tank” (p. 362). Students were able to “pursue multiple lines of thought” and their work was “multilayered and generative” (p. 362). These students were working collaboratively. When writing a standardized test, such as the OSSLT, ‘pursuing multiple lines of thought’ makes a student look indecisive or incoherent. When the OSSLT reports are released, a few comments from the markers are provided to ‘help’ students and teachers improve. In the 2008-2009


report, one of the comments said, “Many students try to support both sides of the issue. If they do not have the writing skills to carry this off, they give the impression that their opinion is unclear or inconsistent. I would encourage these students to take a stand—yes or no—and support that opinion.—R.W” (EQAO, 2009d, p. 2). Rather than provide advice about how to write more effectively, students are being encouraged to modify and limit their thoughts and arguments for the sake of writing the test. Acknowledging that there may be multiple perspectives that are valid, albeit in opposition, is seen as a weakness in some cases.

Keeping all of these factors in mind, I think the ‘standardized’ elements of the OSSLT definitely need to be changed. I really appreciate Gaylie’s (2008) excitement over how students can surprise a teacher. In her discussion about students’ experiences with ecoliteracy and poetry in a “low-ranked” inner city elementary school in British Columbia, Gaylie (2008) explains, “It was typical for the students to defy expectations, challenge all assignments, in order to make it their own. These students would never try to write a poem ‘correctly’ to please the teacher, or myself, or anyone else [. . . .] The students constantly surprised me with their creative interpretations of activities. I had never, until that day, thought of an urban puddle as a ‘body of water’” (p. 6). The experience of surprise cannot be achieved through a multiple choice test.

Remix, Part 2: Change something within the test

Another issue is the selection of texts and topics of study that are being used on the OSSLT. The literacy test does not allow students to choose their own reading selections. Habib (2008) tells us that “most English teachers will recognize that necessary books are those which students tell us they want to read. Necessary books, valuable to study in school, are those which engage the students with what is happening in the world around them” (p. 41). The context in which students learn is very important and being able to relate what they do at school, in the classroom, or on a test to their own interests and experiences will enhance their learning experiences. The OSSLT does recognize this, since one of their target expectations is for students to make connections. However, they do not give students the opportunity to make those connections in the reading comprehension portions of the test, nor do they assess any connections that are made, since it is the specific references to the text selections provided that are looked for when assessing students’ responses.

The 2010 OSSLT included texts about a romantic ritual of hanging padlocks on a lamppost on a bridge in Rome, which was inspired by two books and their movie adaptations and has since been recreated in a music video (EQAO, 2010d, p. 2), an informational text about the history of Northern Ontario’s “school on the rails” (p. 9), a narrative about being stranded overnight at a diner south of Collingwood, Ontario to wait out a snowstorm because road conditions were too treacherous to travel (EQAO, 2010e, pp. 6-7), a dialogue between two students stopping to pick up a newspaper for a civics assignment and not being allowed to wear their backpacks through the store (p. 10), a graphic design proposal for a sports arena to be submitted to city council (p. 14). These texts could produce interesting discussions if students were able to reflect on specific parts of the texts that were of interest to them personally. However, the questions that accompany these texts are very specific. For example, for the first text about the padlocks, the five multiple choice questions require students to identify who/what the name ‘Milvio’ referred to in the text, what the ‘golden padlock’ prize recognizes, “which event occurred first in the development of the ritual,” what the description ‘off the beaten track’ means, and “which word is closest in meaning to ‘rite’ as used in paragraph 5” (EQAO, 2010d, p. 3). The short open-response question asks: “Should city officials in Rome be


worried or pleased about the fad of putting locks on the lamppost?” (p. 4). This criteria for a correct response, as noted in the released rubric used to assess students’ answers, looks for a response that “indicates considerable reading comprehension,” and a response that “provides accurate, specific and relevant ideas and information from the reading selection” (EQAO, 2010c, p. 2). Even though the instructions following the question state, “Explain your answer using details from the selection and your own ideas” (EQAO, 2010d, p. 4), markers are only looking for evidence that the student can refer back to the text itself: “The response uses specific and relevant support from the reading selection to explain clearly whether Roman officials should be worried or pleased” (EQAO, 2010c, p. 2).

The writing tasks on the 2010 OSSLT were perhaps more aligned with students’ everyday lives. For the two page opinion piece, students were asked: “Are cellphones necessary in teenagers’ lives?” and, for a short writing tasks of six lines, students were asked “What would be the ideal job for you?” (EQAO, 2010e, p. 6). Students were also asked to write a one page news report based on a photo of three youth washing a car in a driveway and a headline that reads, “Car wash a success” (EQAO, 2010d, p. 7). The criteria upon which students’ responses are being assessed do not engage with students’ ideas though, as previously noted. Thus, even when a topic is presented on the test with which students may be able to connect or respond to critically, this is not what is being valued or recognized as a beneficial reflective learning experience. It is the format and genre of the response that matters to EQAO. In their discussion of standardized tests, Joseph & Paul (2005) argue that “Children are being forced to read texts which have been bleached of all colour of life” (p. v). They continue, “children are being suffocated and smothered by the emptiness of the timeless present of standardized tests and standardized prose” (p. vii). The OSSLT is an example of “standardized lifelessness” (p. v). Reflecting upon her own schooling experiences, Gaylie (2008) offers a great example of how context and personal interests or experiences are often overlooked when concerned only with the ‘test.’ When looking at a photograph “of a rain-swept field with the caption ‘Precipitation,’” Gaylie (2008) recalls asking the classroom teacher where this was set (p. 2). The teacher “said the place was not important, that only the word would be on the test” (p. 2). Gaylie (2008) also offers a stark comparison between what she observed walking on her way to a school and what she observed in the classroom: “a red bench, a blue swing, a green fence; I found little going on inside the classroom that had to do with what went on outside; we faced the blackboard, set apart from one another, seated in rows. Classroom language was abstract, the language of discipline, testing, order and rules” (pp. 1-2). Not only is the description of the classroom devoid of colour, it is also regulated, as a test would be, whereas the outside world is more random, and what caught Gaylie’s eye is probably indicative of her own interests, since she could have described many other things.

Remix, Part 3: Add something to the test

I would like to see a literacy test that truly values critical literacies. When I think about

literacy, I think about critical literacies. When I read, I want to hear multiple voices and multiple perspectives. I want to question the author and the text. I want to explore, examine, analyze, inquire, reject, challenge, evaluate, and scrutinize what I am reading. I want to be challenged and I want to learn something. For me, literacy is about more than just being able to decode the words on the page. As Shor (1999) explains, “Critical literacy involves questioning received knowledge and immediate experience with the goal of challenging inequality and developing activist citizenry” (p. 141). Thus, critical literacies encourage readers to question what they read, to consider how what they read relates to issues of social justice, and to take


action. Where are these skills assessed on the OSSLT? As Williams (2005) notes, “In the drive to assess and quantify, what is forgotten is why we want students to read and write in the first place” (p. 154). If you try to assess my ‘literacy’ skills, I want these skills to be acknowledged. This is where I think the OSSLT falls short.

Williams (2005) argues that “the increasing pressure of standardized testing disconnects literacy education from human concerns. Students face writing prompts and reading tests that have no connection to their lives, communities, or interests” (p. 154). According to Williams (2005), “rigid questions and answers remove the importance of context from literacy practices and allow for no independent meaning making from students” (p. 154). Even if students expand their answers in response to the text prompts, to include, for instance, critical comments about the intertextuality that permeates culture as evidenced through the two books, their film adaptations, the music video, and the contest that surrounds the padlock ritual, reflections upon why the students are not allowed to wear their backpacks through the store and the social implications and repercussions of this rule, the significance of buying a (single) newspaper to read for a civics assignment, or the environmental impacts of car washes and sports stadiums, just to name a few issues that remain unexplored on the OSSLT, that is not what is being assessed or valued on the test. When students do choose to critically discuss social issues, as noted in some of the anchor papers and sample responses, these comments are being classified as ‘supporting details’ and there is no interaction on the part of the markers with any of the ideas. Instead, the amount of details provided, the connections between the parts of the news report, and the organization of the text are being assessed (EQAO, 2010c, p. 13). Critical literacies require us to respect students’ differing experiences and unique lines of inquiry. In order to be able to assess students’ critical literacies skills, we must first acknowledge the significance of the social contexts in which students read, learn, and are assessed. How can these social contexts be valued by a standardized test that follows a one-size-fits-all approach to literacy education and testing. As Janesick (2007) writes, “teachers and learners together demonstrate on a regular basis that one size fits few, and there are multiple ways of knowing our world” (p. 243). Thus, the design of the test, as previously suggested, must change.

In an article on critical literacies and the use of multiple perspective texts, Clarke & Whitney (2009) describe a lizard activity, which highlights the importance of context when reading. This activity is also a great way of thinking about the context in which a student learns and how this can impact the results of an assessment. Clarke & Whitney (2009) explain:

Taking a picture of something recognizable and breaking it down into unrecognizable pieces can [. . .] emphasize how important it is to see things from different sides. For example, one teacher took a picture of a lizard and cut it into pieces. Then she gave each student a piece and had them create a picture from that small part. For example, one student turned the head into a ghost, while another turned the tail into a Viking ship. The students were captivated when she took each individual piece and showed them the complete lizard. (p. 533)

This lizard activity demonstrates the productive space that exists between postmodernist and poststructuralist frameworks. In deconstructing the image and trying to understand how each piece of the lizard fits within the whole and how each picture came about for each student, we are welcoming multiple voices, multiple perspectives, and highlighting the significance of context, in terms of both the lizard as a whole (or if it were a book, one incident or chapter in relation to the whole) and the drawings produced in relation to each of the students and their unique interests and experiences. This is important because these interests and experiences


inform how the students likely came about the decisions they made, whether it be to draw a ghost or a ship, for instance.

Building upon James Paul Gee’s arguments, Nelsen (2010) argues that “when schools restrict the ranges of textual explorations to pre-packaged materials and instructional strategies limited to test-related tasks like worksheet completion and textual decoding, students are denied opportunities to explore the complex ways that texts inhabit their daily lives” (p. 98). Does the OSSLT respect the significance of the unique social contexts in which students learn, read, live? According to Nelsen (2010), “we should be careful to analyze how our classrooms match or vary from our students’ home cultures and how their ‘identity kits’ match or differ from the ones that schools implicitly and explicitly value” (p. 99). With the OSSLT, we are telling students how to learn and what to learn, and it may not be the best, or single, way to learn.

Deterritorializations, Uncertainties, & Generative Spaces

I understand that the move to transform/eliminate the standardized elements of the

OSSLT seems drastic, as does inserting elements of student choice, self-selected readings, and customized tasks that meet individual students’ interests. However, these are just a few possible changes to illustrate how we can begin to conceptualize a remixing of the OSSLT. Another related element of the test that I would propose be removed from the OSSLT is the fact that it is a timed test written in 2.5 hours on one day of the year (EQAO, 2010g, p. 2). To respond to students’ varied skills sets and the growing awareness about the significance of multiliteracies, I would also consider adding elements of multimodality that extend beyond print-based literacies. Imagine splicing the OSSLT with students’ experiences with YouTube, film production and editing, Facebook, texting, Google searching, collaboration with peers, reading graphic novels, and a range of other literacy experiences that are currently undervalued, including those that extend into a range of content domains, such as physical literacies through sports or performance arts. Remixing the OSSLT is about targeting elements of the test that can undergo a process of transformation. The goal is to begin constructing aspects of a new product, such as a literacy assessment experience that can be completed by students gradually, with ongoing feedback and access to resources, and that incorporates critical literacies, multiliteracies, multimodal literacies, etc. In addition to the form and content of the test, it would also potentially benefit each student were they to receive personalized feedback with the intent of improving their learning. These changes are not easy to conceptualize, nor are they simple modifications.

Remixing the OSSLT is a complex proposition, but one that can result in much needed change. Reflecting upon introducing radical change texts in a classroom, Luce-Kapler (2007) explains that “what was immediately obvious [to her] was the tension that occurs whenever one introduces something that challenges reading and writing practices that have longstanding traditions” (p. 219). While the ‘tensions’ are not necessarily a bad thing, being able to maneuver amongst these tensions is important. According to Williams & Tanaka (2007), “Cwelelep [means] the discomfort and value of being in a place of dissonance, uncertainty, and anticipation” (p. 6). Sometimes an unsettling is all we need to prompt a re-examination of what is going on, such that we can learn something new. This is why I am proposing that we ‘deterritorialize’ the OSSLT, move to unstable grounds, and enter a “third space” like that imagined by Homi Bhabha where “discourses can weave together and create an alternative discourse of change” (Williams and Tanaka, 2007, p. 1). In asking that we explore a possible


pedagogical third space, I am also asking that we experiment with “rhizomatic thinking that opens up to a manifold of possibilities” (Waterhouse, 2008, p. 2).

Lankshear & Knobel’s (2000) discussion about building scenarios parallels the creation of generative spaces where multiple possibilities are welcomed. According to Lankshear & Knobel (2000), “Scenario planning is very much about challenging the kinds of mindsets that underwrite certainty and assuredness. It is about ‘reperceiving the world’ and promoting more open, flexible, proactive stances toward the future” (p. 2). Scenarios include “alternative paths” (p. 1). Perhaps this remixing of the OSSLT is an opportunity to start ‘scenario planning’ about how the OSSLT could be changed, or about how we could better serve our youth through alternative assessments that do not undervalue the importance of a great, complex, and dynamic education, since “building scenarios is a way of asking important ‘what if’ questions: a means of helping groups of people change the way they think about a problem” (p. 2). The OSSLT is our problem, so ‘what if’ it were remixed and transformed? ‘What if’ it disappeared entirely? This is an opportunity for “what Murray (1997) called ‘kaleidoscopic’ thinking” (Luce-Kapler, 2007, pp. 214-215). Fragmentation, juxtapositions, multi-layering, and a general complexity are needed to tackle the OSSLT.

Reflecting on what can emerge from such a space, I cannot help but ask myself the same questions Van de Kleut (2009) asked herself when she questioned the level of change that could transpire in her classroom when she “stepped out of the way” and encouraged her students to choose “their own books” and work on tasks that are less structured (pp. 2-3). Van de Kleut (2009) wondered, “Was I still in the way, in ways I myself could not see? [. . .] Or were there other things in the way that prevented them from taking to the open road?” (p. 3). Is my idea of remixing the OSSLT enough? What might transpire if a group of high school students were to critically discuss their experiences with the OSSLT? I really like Waterhouse’s (2008) contemplation about the impact her writing could have. She wonders, “What it will do for the reader I cannot know. Will it de/stabilize, de/territorialize? Will it be a transformative experience? Possibly. But be mindful when embarking on a nomadic journey” (p. 2). According to Deleuze and Guattari (1987) (as cited in Waterhouse, 2008, p. 2), “Voyaging smoothly is a becoming, and a difficult, uncertain becoming at that.” I’m not sure what my remixing will offer. Perhaps it will ‘de/stabilize’? Either way, the remixing process is like a ‘journey,’ and a sort of ‘becoming.’ Therefore, like Gough (2008), I too propose a momentary ‘pause,’ a sort of ‘inconclusion,’ as a way of welcoming other voices and other stories to create a conversation about the OSSLT. Perhaps a ‘divergence’ of opinions and perspectives could somehow offer up enough uncertainty to destabilize the OSSLT.

I am not sure what remixing the OSSLT will lead to, or what the new ‘product’ could look like. I am not offering an outline of the next literacy test, nor am I proposing specific questions or any prescribed template that I think is the ideal replacement. Instead, I am proposing that we shift things around, that we unsettle the ground, and that we start to explore possible hybrids by remixing the OSSLT. “Rhizomatic journeys on smooth spaces privilege the lines in-between, not the points. The transformative processes of movement and nomadic wandering are what interest us here, not endpoints. ‘Arrival at a final destination is always postponed’ (Bayne, 2004, p. 306)” (Waterhouse, 2008, p. 2). This is why I will not be offering a final OSSLT ready to go. That would be an endpoint and I am not at that ‘point,’ nor do I want to be. Like the texts and spaces the children Pahl (2002) observed occupied, we too need to sit “on the cusp of ‘mess’ and ‘tidiness’” (p. 146).

I am always suspicious when new technologies are released. For instance, Apple released the iPod and it was a huge hit, and then the 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB came out. There is also the iPod nano, the iPod mini, and the list goes on. I am always hesitant to ‘buy’ into the


hype knowing that this cannot actually be the be-it-end-all solution to media entertainment. What I realize though is that I am observing the ‘play,’ the ongoing exploration of what can be created as Apple continues to experiment with technologies. There is no endpoint. There is no final product. It is a process, a learning adventure. Why is it that the computer technology industries are so liberal with their experimentation? They release a product and then continue to make improvements or changes preparing for the next release. We see it everywhere on the internet with social networking sites too. Can we not model this type of experimentation with assessments? My curiosity is always piqued when I know that changes and transformations are truly anticipated with excitement, much like awaiting the next release by Apple.

In a discussion of new media and Web 2.0 technologies, Hoechsmann (2008) states: “We are still in relatively unchartered waters” (p. 61). When can we start saying the same thing, with confidence, about assessments? We should want to work with “multiple cartographers” and revel in the chance to see “how youth are articulating themselves in the liminal spaces between and around texts” (p. 61). Talking about technologies, Hoechsmann (2008) begins, “As we move away from the old monolithic one-way flow of mass media to the new ‘interactive’ environment of Web 2.0 platforms such as social networking sites MySpace and YouTube and knowledge sharing sites such as Wikipedia, there has clearly been a shift in the conditions in which having a voice in the public sphere is even possible” (p. 60). Now, imagine Hoechsmann was just talking about assessments. How exciting, uplifting, and refreshing would that be? This online space is “an environment where the activity of learning to play and playing to learn is supplemented by the use of cheat sheets, queries to peers, and consulting resources offered by Web 2.0 sites as well as the Web at large. Rather than a predetermined, standardized curriculum, just in time pedagogy on the Web is learning on demand, user-centred, task-driven, and immediately applicable” (Hoechsmann, 2008, p. 63). Hoechsmann (2008) argues, “It is no longer possible for education systems around the world to continue to proceed without responding to the revolution in communication taking place in the culture at large” (p. 68). The Web may be a specific culture of its own, but it does show us that the OSSLT is sitting inside of a very small bubble of its own, which is detached from this other literacy context that many youth in Ontario are experiencing in countless different ways.

Remixing the OSSLT offers a space for play and this might be a space in which we can all learn. Why not try it out? According to Nelsen (2010), “a playful approach to schooling views school policies and curricular ‘rules’ as serving the larger aim of academic inquiry, and as such, remain flexible and revisable” (p. 102). Maria Lugones (2003) (as cited in Nelsen, 2010, p. 102) “describes playfulness as entailing ‘openness to surprise.’” Surprise me! What does your remix of the OSSLT look like? What do you think a collective and collaborative remix of the OSSLT would look like? Play offers us “rich potential for critical exploration,” and as such, this playfulness is “not passive” (Nelsen, 2010, p. 107, 102). I think Luce-Kapler (2007) would agree that such an opportunity to remix the OSSLT may lead “to learning that we could not have anticipated” (p. 222). It is important to remember that this “cohort [. . .] is in tune and largely at ease with the dizzy pace of change” (Lankshear & Knobel, 2000, p. 8). So, let’s (drastically) change the way students experience the OSSLT. Perhaps next year’s newspaper headline will read: On March 29th, 2012, high school students were not taking the OSSLT, they were redesigning it! This would be a great example of youth’s critical engagement with their education and with literacies.


Ongoing Explorations Although I have ideas of how the test can change, shift, be deterritorialized, and

remixed, I think it is important and valuable to learn from the youth who are potentially being impacted by this test in numerous ways. Encouraging youth to speak out about issues that affect them, such as this high-stakes standardized literacy test, is one step towards promoting social action. My doctoral research project, which builds upon this discussion about the OSSLT and critical literacies, will work within a framework of equity and social justice by encouraging a range of voices to be heard and many experiences to be shared. Thus, I am resting in this messy space with no definite solutions, leaving this proposition incomplete at the moment, but noting the urgency for attention to this problem, and suggesting a methodology that begins with remixing. This proposition to remix the OSSLT is intended to open up a generative space, and to reveal the opportunities for change within a standardized system.


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Book Review: African American Families by Angela J. Hattery & Earl Smith

C. Annette Wilson, Ed.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Childhood and Exceptional Student Education Armstrong Atlantic State University

Keywords: African American Families; Society; Poverty; Violence

The reading of the African American Families by Hattery and Smith is a host of actual events, occasions and mandated causes, delivered in the recording style of the African American Families book outline and chapter repeated referrals. Hattery and Smith (2007) in chapter one (1) produce the questions of social class as described by the “. . . field of sociology has had a traditional focus on the problems that face humanity: poverty, inequality, access to health care, education, poor housing, and of course the social institution of the family” (p.4). From the slave cabins in a west coast state to the front door of the United States, family members have participated in the growing development of the country and participated in controlled and self-induced sociological traditions. African Americans have actively planted and harvested food for the survival of their owners to participating in the printing of money for the elite.

The participation of the African American family parallels the known strand written avenues as floor scrubbers, housekeepers, birthing babies at home and/or the non-sterile or equipped basements of hospitals and back room doctors’ offices. The outline of African American Families notes concrete categories for further research and topical conversations. The authors explored the “. . . realities of African American families in the contemporary United States based on the analyses of empirical data that come from a variety of sources, including the U.S. Census, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention” (Hattery & Smith, 2007, p. 33).

The approach for a course experience would have formulated topics already generated from the written study specifically noted through the strength of the chapter titles Hattery and Smith (2007) designed to organize the book:

• African American Civil Society: Issues, Approaches, Demography, and Theory; • Family Formation, Marriage Rates, and Cohabitation; • Childbearing and Childrearing Patterns; • Intimate Partner Violence; • HIV and Other Social and Health Issues; • Access to Opportunity: Educational Attainment and Occupational Segregation; • Welfare and Wealth; • African American Males and the Incarceration Problem: Not Just confined to

Prison; • Solutions to a Long-Standing Problem: Race, Class, and Patriarchy in the 21st

Century.

Book Review: African American Families by Angela J. Hattery & Earl Smith • 184

Hattery and Smith’s (2007) African American Families book outlined a cadre of events that for several historical noted and data driven components, can state a truth of participation or experience and even moments of ordered feats associated with an event. The authors provided definitions of family, race and ethnicity, and race as a social construct. Moreover, the opportunity to discuss such topics as industry segregation, occupational segregation, education and human capital, occupational legacy, incarceration, and an examination of welfare and wealth are consistently part of the data conversation.

When Hattery and Smith (2007) discuss the African American Families, it goes beyond the pedestrian conversations of well-known topics as Brown v. Board of Education constantly covered in historical recall. Their discussion has concentrated on income versus wealth; income and income disparities; wealth and wealth disparities; wealth disparities and access to the American dream; housing; housing discrimination; housing segregation; stereotypes about welfare and poverty; and welfare reform and family values.

Hattery and Smith work at Wake Forest. The Winston Salem sample studied the closing of the tobacco companies and the building of penal facilities and the integration of the schools. Data set document not only the times of the consent decrees of the federal government to better serve the minority representation in the North Carolina university system but the massive changing of representation when the historically black colleges were changed from teacher colleges to universities, to the redistricting lines drawn for voting, and the affirmative action laws to integrate, give a fair chance, bring minorities to historically white institutions or as the federal definition of affirmation action might be recited or whichever reason swells up in conversation.

The most invigorating organization of this book is that each paragraph could become a dissertation, book, or set of writings about a past era of federal mandates, community groupings, generational poverty, lack of access to education, and lack of representation at the decision making tables. Commerce, education, and transporting up into job promotions and decision making at the corporate, governmental, health, education levels running like trains on two different tracks heading for the same station. Dichotomies, paradigms, and dilemmas frame the triangulated research data collection chosen by the authors. The methodology and scientific research explored focused on the findings related to young African American men and incarceration; the loss in the African American community regarding economic costs and the consequences of community and human capital. Hattery and Smith (2007) extend in each chapter the call to:

Honestly examine the privileges that accrue . . . through a system of racial oppression. Although the amount and type of privilege that accrues is also shaped by gender and social class, nevertheless, whites have benefited, both individually and as a class of people, by the system of racial domination that is so deeply embedded in American society. (p. 314)

The method of analytical techniques used to produce the book allowed comparisons and correlation of themes “. . .with independent variables such as gender, social class, age, region for the country, employment status, educational attainment, marital status, parental status, and so forth” (p. 320).


References Hattery, A.J. & Smith, E. (2007). African American Families. Los Angeles: Sage

Publication. ISBN 978-1-4129-2466-5.

Note from the Editors - Sfu

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