Targeting Cultural Differences at Central Michigan University
Introduction
Cultural integration is important aspect in educational efforts undertaken by universities. It is important that each student regardless of his country of origin, race, ethnicity and cultural beliefs feel being treated equally to others, thus being capable of receiving maximum information from course materials presented. While universities in United States reinforce policies that outline equal treatment and prohibit racial intolerance, professors and other fellow students frequently experience communication barriers. International students could feel themselves underestimated as a result of these obstacles in learning process and other forms of relationships on campus, which might be a reason for worsened performance and grades. The reason, however, should not be univocally explained by racial intolerance or political prejudices, but rather cultural mismatches. What is treated as a norm in one society could be interpreted completely different in the other. That is why facilities that offer educational opportunities for international students should work towards establishment of dedicated programs that will assist international students to understand local culture, and vice versa. These programs should be integrated into a core curriculum and designed in a way to fit the earliest possible integration, so that further educational efforts are delivered and comprehended smoothly.
This paper describes a course at Central Michigan University that will allow American and international students to communicate and interact with each other throughout a semester, involving professors as course facilitators. The objective of this project is to decrease potential gaps in cultural understanding between American and international students and professors at the early stages of their educational process, primarily addressing the needs of Chinese, Indian and Saudi Arabian students in international context. The choice of cultures was informed by the largest international student populations enrolled for university courses. This paper will first describe the rationale behind program establishment, focusing on cultural specifics for the given educational effort, and then present the program content itself. The second part, however, will focus on more important aspect for the course establishment, which is appropriate targeting of students and, specifically, professors, with a consideration of generation gaps that require utilizing various targeting strategies. Program OverviewThe rationale of choice.
One of the earliest definitions of culture states that it is a set of knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired as a part of individual membership in particular society (Tylor, 1974). This explicit definition points out that different societies typically will have different cultures, even if these societies share some common or similar characteristics. In this sense, it is important to mention another term – multiculturalism – which is the concept that defines peaceful forms of coexistence and respect to differences in cultures that emerge in a single territory among inhabitants representing different societies. Educational facilities like colleges and universities that offer opportunities for international students are typical environments where multiculturalism is seen as one of the forms that mediate interaction among societies, and thus require designing specific approaches that …
