Rethinking Multicultural Education: How might shi (勢)--inflected thinking enhance practice?

Abstract

The overall purpose of this study is to explore the implementation of an ancient, philosophical Chinese style of thinking, shi (勢), as an analytical tool to the field of Education and examine how this approach might inflect professional practice of teaching and learning within Higher Education in the UK. The overarching aim of the study is to inquire into the effectiveness of current approaches to multicultural education as these relate to the practices of tutors and then, in the light of this, to consider the potential resourcefulness of drawing upon traditional Chinese concepts as inaugurating new ways forward.

The methodology of this study is complex in that there are distinct phases to its execution. The initial focus is upon postgraduate students as they interact and participate as members of a multicultural group. This involved adopting a familiar Western framework and style of thinking in order to collect empirical data. The findings supported and contributed to existing knowledge of issues surrounding intercultural communication within group work and re-enforced the prevailing fixed nature of this orientation that little appears to have changed over recent decades.

However, at the same point of time, I had been reading about shi (勢), which comes from Chinese philosophy. Its use as a tool in relation to Western styles of thinking is especially associated with the writings of Francois Jullien (1995). Using shi as a tool with which to analyse the data, a new direction emerged, one which involved bringing the practitioner into the mix and highlighting the importance of his/her role in multicultural group work. So, by moving the spotlight to the practitioner and comparing the thinking of a conventional practitioner with that of a shi-inflected practitioner as they engage with their students, insight is afforded into how an apparent static situation might be moved towards a more dynamic one. The findings indicate how a shi-inflected approach to practice necessitates a practitioner engaging with reflexivity and reflectivity and treating each teaching context as unique. This engagement can enhance a practitioner’s practice by helping to reduce the anxiety experienced by all students as they engage in multicultural group work and increase the potential for successful intercultural interaction from the start of a programme of study.