Addressing Language-Related Challenges in the Practice of Dialogue and Deliberation

Sandy Heierbacher (Director of NCDD). Unpublished manuscript, 2006.

The true power of dialogue and deliberation lies in their ability to surface new insights and innovative solutions when all voices are brought to the table. But while diversity is an asset to these programs, it brings with it a unique set of challenges. This paper addresses four broad challenges related to language and culture that dialogue and deliberation practitioners regularly face. These are: (1) the challenge of getting culturally diverse participants in the door; (2) the logistics involved in having multiple languages spoken in the room; (3) creating a safe space for those with other language/speech needs or differences; and (4) dealing with participants?’ existing preconceptions, assumptions and stereotypes related to language/cultural differences.

Resource Link: http://www.thataway.org/exchange/files/docs/Heierbacher_language_paper.doc

CRS Programs For Managing School Multicultural Conflict

A multicultural learning environment has become the norm in many school districts and communities throughout the United States. The diversity found in these settings offers many opportunities for people to learn more about one another. Yet too often schools are ill prepared to adjust to this diversity positively. To address this reality, the Community Relations Service of the U.S. Department of Justice has developed several racial/ethnic conflict prevention and management programs for schools or school districts.

Resource Link: http://www.usdoj.gov/crs/pubs/pubflyercrsschoolprograms92003.htm

Multicultural Teaching in the University

David Schoem and Linda Frankel, Ximena Zuniga, Edith Lewis. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1995.

Rather than representing a homogeneous view of multicultural teaching, this volume reflects the debate and dialogue that surround the issue. This book integrates new scholarship that reflects a more expansive notion of knowledge, and suggests new ways to communicate with diverse populations of students.

NAME Listserv

National Association for Multicultural Education.

NAME-MCE provides a forum to discuss multicultural education, share resources, post job openings, announce conferences or other events, and ask questions of educators and activists around the world.

Resource Link: http://mail.nameorg.org/mailman/listinfo/name-mce_nameorg.org

Talking about Race: Community Dialogues and the Politics of Difference

Kathy Cramer Walsh. University of Chicago Press.

More than 400 communities across the country have used dialogue in an attempt to improve race relations. In this 317-page book, the author takes an eye-opening look at this strategy to reveal the reasons behind the method and the effects it has in the cities and towns that undertake it. With extensive observations of community dialogues, interviews with the discussants, and sophisticated analysis of national data, Walsh shows that while meeting organizers usually aim to establish common ground, participants tend to leave their discussions with a heightened awareness of differences in perspective and experience.

Resource Link: http://www.press.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/hfs.cgi/00/225477.ctl

Teachers, Study Circles and the Racial Achievement Gap

Catherine Orland. Capstone paper for the School for International Training (submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Master of Arts in Social Justice in Intercultural Relations), 2006.

The subtitle of Orland's 76-page thesis is "How One Dialogue and Action Program Helped Teachers Integrate the Competencies of an Effective Multicultural Educator." Study Circles, a dialogue and action process, brings together teachers, parents and students from diverse racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds to talk about the racial achievement gap. This study asks "How does the experience of participating in Study Circles bring teachers closer to integrating the competencies of the effective multicultural educator?"

Resource Link: http://www.thataway.org/exchange/files/docs/Orland-AchievementGap.doc

Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice

Maurianne Adams, Lee Bell, Pat Griffin. NY: Routledge, 1997.

This much-acclaimed sourcebook is aimed at educators working in the field of social justice education. It addresses theoretical and practical issues that confront teachers who introduce diversity and social justice issues in their classrooms.

Teaching Tolerance

Founded in 1991 by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Teaching Tolerance provides educators with free educational materials that promote respect for differences and appreciation of diversity in the classroom and beyond. Our magazine and curriculum kits have earned Oscar nominations, an Academy Award, and more than a dozen honors from the Association of Educational Publishers (EdPress) including the Golden Lamp Award.

Resource Link: http://www.tolerance.org

University of Massachusetts, Amherst - Social Justice Education Program

Social Justice Education is an interdisciplinary program of study with a focus on social diversity and social justice education particularly as they apply to formal educational systems, kindergarten through higher education. The masters concentration focuses on reflective practice; the doctoral concentration focuses on research informed by reflective practice. Our goals are to generate knowledge about social justice education and to apply new knowledge to the design and delivery of effective social justice educational programs. The Social Justice Education Program boasts a strong intergroup dialogue component run by Ximena Zuniga.

Resource Link: http://www.umass.edu/sje/

University of Michigan - Program on Intergroup Relations (IGR)

IGR is a social justice education program which works proactively to promote understanding of intergroup relations throughout the student community. It assists students as they explore models of intergroup understanding and cooperation while acknowledging differences between and within groups. A number of other universities have used IGR as a model for developing similar programs.

Resource Link: http://www.umich.edu/~igrc