Part A
The cultural plunge is a term defined for individuals who dig deep into other cultures by living with them following their rituals and norms in turn learning about their culture. The cultural plunge is extremely important for the growth of multiculturalism and the maintenance of cultural harmony (Vaughan, 2014, p. 14). The immersion of the self in someone’s culture is a very necessary measure to be taken by a person to understand their culture and know the ways they blend in the new cultural society they are in. The cultural understanding in the society will help in the growth of multiculturalism, which is a great for the cultural growth of the society. The identity of an individual depends on the society they live in and in case of multicultural society, the self-image of the social identity becomes vague, especially among children who face a cultural clash between the environment at home and in the society (Miller & Petriwskyj, 2013, p. 36). The change and shift in the overall social environment may make an individual go through a cultural shock, which is the disorientation felt by the individual while moving from a place of one ethnic culture to another (Gomes, et al., 2014, p. 3).
In the present scenario, I relate my experience of the cultural plunge I felt while relocating from India to Australia. I felt a major cultural shift when I came to Australia and this change in the social environment around me made me question my identity a great deal. One of the major issues I faced is the cultural shift due to the changes in the language and the behavior of the people around me. I come from India and my mother tongue is not English but Bengali, so I was under confident in using the language socially. The moment I came to Australia, I was overwhelmed by the changes I saw around me in this country (Bochner, 2013, p.8). My homeland, India is a country with a completely different culture. The cars the society and everything I saw was completely new to me, which I was hesitant about accepting all at once. One of the major reasons I felt out of place was my inability to communicate among the people. My mother tongue is Bengali and I was not very adept in English, which became a major barrier when I tried to communicate with the local people. I felt discriminated on multiple occasions because of my under confidence and the lack of my ability to speak fluent English.
Part B
Even after taking a job as a childcare educator, I cannot let go of the feeling of the other, which the society constantly made me feel. I always have felt that I was being judged based on my color, inappropriate English and introvert behavior in this country (Rodriguez, 2000, p. 24). I tried to adapt but I cannot regain the confidence that I lost due to the cultural shock I faced coming from India to Australia. While taking a plunge in the Australian culture with the help of my friends who chose to help me in regaining my confidence and recuperating from the issues I face.
As a childcare educator, I often feel that I cannot deliver to my potential because of my inability to adapt in the new culture I am in. I cannot communicate to the parents of the children, as I am under confident with my language use (Walton, et al., 2014). On the other hand, I constantly feel that I face discrimination because of my color. I need to let go of this emotion to successfully adapt to the society for which I need to understand their culture. One of the major issues I face is the professionalism expected in this job. Back in India, the childcare is not dealt with so much of professionalism and there is a major issue in how the children are brought up in the two countries. The workplace ethics for example in Australia is completely different, In India , in or outside the workplace we are not supposed to address the boss by their name, but in Australia its common to do so and the same with the teacher student relationship (Robinson & Jones Diaz, 2017, p. 65). In India, the children and the parents do not address the teacher by their names, so when I saw that the people often referred to their elders by their name, it was something tough for me to adapt to. In India, calling an older person by the name is often seen as disrespect and I faced a major cultural crisis in teaching the students what I have been taught to refrain from. Moreover, as a teacher I am also not accustomed to this culture and feel awkward in doing so.
Another major issue that I still face and is a result of the cultural change in the society is the language. I have gradually become acquainted to using the English language but I still am under confident in using it on a daily basis. The issue that I face in the usage of English is the accent with which the people here use English. I often get confused by the usage of the language and the different way words are pronounced here. What I learnt in India was the basic usage of the language and the words were pronounced according to the spelling. However, in Australia, there are people from various backgrounds and different accents of speaking the language, which makes it tough for me, understand (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010, p.45). The language is one of the reason of my under confidence as it makes it exceedingly difficult for me to perform my daily social functions. Interacting with the children is also often very tough for me as they speak in very heavy accented ways and are often not very correct with pronunciations. Most often, I feel that I am left out during conversations because of the language barrier.
Challenges faced during Cultural Plunge
The cultural differences in the society that I face are majorly due to the cultural shock that I have felt in shifting to Australia and the problems I have in adapting to the new environmental situations. The changes in the society, that I have seen between India and Australia is that the way of childcare and education is dealt very different between the two countries. While back in India the early education of the child too focuses on educating them and laying the foundation to their future schooling, the childcare in Australia focuses on developing the cognitive abilities of the child behaviorally and ethically (Dodds et al., 2014, p. 34). The different teaching pattern is tough for me because I face difficulties in teaching the student the culture they belong to as I have very less information about their ethnic backgrounds (Tayler, et al, 2013, p. 2). The only thing that united the Australian and the Indian cultures is the use British colonialism that they belonged to and the certain ethics that they have learnt from them.
The constant feeling of being alone in the crowd and not being able to identify myself in the environment leads to a conflict in my mind leading to number of issues. The cultural changes I have to adapt to and the overall behavior causes a cultural clash as some of the things I am supposed to do here is extremely opposite to the things that I had been taught in my culture. The general habits of the people are very different from the people in India, I often feel awkward when people drink alcohol in front of children or publically since, it is chided in India. The major changes in the cultural habit is that in India we pronounce everything in its complete form but here the people often tend to shorten the words which is often tough for me to understand. Mostly, the people often subconsciously use their native words mixed with English language, which makes it tough for me to understand. This has caused many of the parents to question my abilities as an educator and hurt my self-esteem. The difference in the culture has always made me feel that I was the ‘other’ or the outsider in the society (De Leersnyder, Kim & Mesquita, 2015, p.12)..
The feeling of alienation from the crowd also comes from a number of issues that I have faced while shifting to this country. One of the major issues that I face is the practice of religion. The way the religions are practiced in India is quite different from here and the celebrations often stand out. The dressing style in the country is also an issue in this country, as I feel uncomfortable in wearing the ethnic dresses. Mostly, I must be conscious because of the feeling of being out of place but there are often situations where I see people pointing me out for my dresses. However, it may be normal but I feel disoriented because of it. One of the major issues out of which my insecurities delve from is my inability to do normal chores here. I faced issues in doing normal things like going to the market to get the household things. It is a general conception that racism has become quiet controlled in Australia, but as an outsider, I have felt a number of taunts that have been targeted towards me.
Implications for Future Career as a Teacher
As a childcare supervisor, it is extremely important to sort out the issues I face in this cultural plunge and acquaint myself with society and its norms to teach the students properly and fit well within the society (Rhedding-Jones, 2005, p. 88). The different efforts that I have undertaken to understand the environment and the cultural and educational patterns helps me understand the environment better and be a better teacher to the students. The multicultural background I have greatly I feel now is not a drawback that I have, which should pull me back from the educating the students (Cummings, 2016, p. 32). My multicultural background can in turn be a lot more helpful to the students as they can learn the ethical teachings from various backgrounds and develop into better individuals for the society. I have faced a number of issues in due to my lingual barrier and the sheer discrimination that I have faced because of being the outsider in the (Summer, 2014, p.14). Therefore, I can teach the students the importance of multiculturalism so that they themselves do not feel the social dilemma living in a society, which consists of the people coming from different backgrounds (Blair, 2015, p.45). The growth of multiculturalism in Australia is bound to happen and therefore the social acceptance is necessary for the development of the overall society (Cleveland, et al., 2016, p.34).
From the experiences that I have gained from the cultural plunge and understanding the cultural diversity and the multiculturalism in the country, I can understand the students and my workplace colleagues better. The proper understanding of the various social determinants guiding the behavior of the students and their guardians along with the cultural environment at their homes I can understand the children better. Moreover, understanding of the Australian culture and my knowledge of it helps me to build the trust of the parents on me, which is extremely important for my success as a childcare supervisor. Now, I can devise plans, which help in the better development of the children and help in their education in a proper way. Moreover, my ability to communicate with their guardians help me develop better procedures to educate them helping in the development of the ethics of accepting multicultural society from a very early age. One of the biggest issues with diversity in the way of education can be the problem of communication as language becomes a barrier. For children who speak in a different mother tongue find it difficult to communicate and hence it will make them apprehensive to approach for help as well. It is important for the educators to understand this and work towards making the children comfortable. I would encourage using other methods of communication more than language like gestures and emotion. It would also help me inculcate among others the idea of a proper multicultural society, which would decrease the racialism in the society. The understanding of the childcare facilities and the norms of education will be properly implemented by me, as I have a better understanding of the culture.
Cultural differences and teaching pattern in Australia vs India
Thus, from the above experiences I understand that the social changes is bound to happen if I move from one country to another and it would be only respectful towards the culture of my host country to accept their social changes. I also understood that the people of Australia also feel a cultural shock with the influx of a number of cultures in their society, which sometimes make them feel threatened. However, both the host and guest need to understand that culture is social norm and we should have mutual respect towards each other. If I am adapting to the new culture I need support from the society for my efforts, which will help me adapt better and intermingle the two cultures for something better.
|
Description of Risk |
Consequence of Risk(If cultural issues identified, please state whether risk is H,M,L) |
Hazard/Risk Management or Controls Implemented |
|
The language barrier in communication in the new environment. |
H |
I need to learn the languages better to analyse and understand the way the language is spoken in the country. |
|
The cultural shock due to change in the environment. |
M |
I need to learn the ways of the society better to understand the social norms and behaviours |
|
Emotional upsets |
H |
I need to understand the society and seek help from the people around me. |
|
Racial issues |
M |
I need to adapt to the discrimination i face in the society and learn to mingle in the society for feeling secure. |
References
Blair, K. (2015). Young adults’ attitudes towards multiculturalism in Australia: tensions between the multicultural state and the intercultural citizen. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 36(4), 431-449.
Bochner, S. (Ed.). (2013). Cultures in contact: Studies in cross-cultural interaction (Vol. 1). Elsevier.
Cleveland, M., Rojas-Méndez, J. I., Laroche, M., & Papadopoulos, N. (2016). Identity, culture, dispositions and behavior: A cross-national examination of globalization and culture change. Journal of Business Research, 69(3), 1090-1102.
Cummings, T. (2016). Diversity and difference in early childhood education [EEP304 Modules]. Retrieved November 13, 2017, from Charles Sturt University Website: https://interact2.csu.edu.au
De Leersnyder, J., Kim, H., & Mesquita, B. (2015). Feeling right is feeling good: psychological well-being and emotional fit with culture in autonomy-versus relatedness-promoting situations. Frontiers in psychology, 6.
Derman-Sparks, L. & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010).Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children
Dodds, P., Wyse, R., Jones, J., Wolfenden, L., Lecathelinais, C., Williams, A., … & Wiggers, J. (2014). Validity of a measure to assess healthy eating and physical activity policies and practices in Australian childcare services. BMC Public Health, 14(1), 572.
Gomes, C., Berry, M., Alzougool, B., & Chang, S. (2014). Home away from home: International students and their identity-based social networks in Australia. Journal of International Students, 4(1), 2-15.
Miller, M., & Petriwskyj, A. (2013). New directions in intercultural early education in Australia. IJEC 45, 251–266. DOI 10.1007/s13158-013-0091-4
Rhedding-Jones, J. (2005). Questioning diversity. In N. Yelland (Ed.), Critical issues in early childhood education(pp. 131-145). Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Robinson, K. H., & Jones Diaz, C. (2017). Diversity and difference in childhood: Issues for theory and practice(2nd ed.). New York: Open University Press
Rodriguez, N. M. (2000). Projects of whiteness in a critical pedagogy. In N. M. Rodriguez & L. E. Villaverde (Eds.), Dismantling white privilege: Pedagogy, politics and whiteness(pp. 1-24). New York: P. Lang.
Summer, M. (2014). You are a racist: An early childhood educator’s racialized awakening. The Social Studies105(4), 193-200. DOI: 10.1080/00377996.2014.894903
Vaughan, W. (2014). Preparing culturally responsive educators: Using the cultural plunge to strengthen pre-service teachers awareness and understanding. The Ohio Journal of Teacher Education, 28, 35.
Walton, J., Priest, N., Kowal, E., White, F., Brickwood, K., Fox, B., & Paradies, Y. (2014). Talking culture? Egalitarianism, color-blindness and racism in Australian elementary schools. Teaching and Teacher Education, 39, 112-122.
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