Families and Intercultural Challenges
Date Issued
2025-05-05
Author(s)
Sonaj Bilal, Osman Emin, Biljana Krsteska – Papić
Abstract
Intercultural upbringing and educational initiatives are a contemporary ped
agogical trend and a precondition in school contexts that reflect diverse char
acteristics. Encouraging intercultural education as a concept and philosophy
is closely related to the value system nurtured and practiced within the fam
ily, serving as a foundation for forming, shaping, or transforming attitudes
and values towards diversity and otherness. Following this premise, the active
participation of families is crucial and constructive recommendation for sup
porting and sustaining intercultural upbringing and educational approaches.
To this end, a study was conducted focusing on elucidating the following as
pects of the presented issues:
• examining the role of family communities of different types and struc
tures in embracing intercultural values and orientation;
• identifying the factors influencing families’ decisions to take part in inter
cultural initiatives;
• determining the similarities in different family structures involved in in
tercultural upbringing and educational approaches.
The qualitative methodological framework of the research was designed
based on participant observation, semi-structured interviews with multiple
focus groups, and analysis of pedagogical documentation. The ethnic, gen
der, social, educational, age, cultural, linguistic, and geographic diversity of
the parents’ sample provided both a deep insight into obstacles they face and
their motivations to take part in intercultural activities, as a prerequisite for
further involving their children of early school age. Possible obstacles that
parents faced included concerns about overburdening their children with
additional school activities; unfamiliarity with the languages of other ethnic
communities in the country; unfavourable social and political conditions in
various local contexts; and fear of possible misunderstandings or conflicts.
A crucial finding of this research were the universal encouraging factors
among the parent’s sample (regardless of diversity across various grounds) for
a support of intercultural educational activities. Human values such as child
well-being, quality education, and the opportunity for children to meet and
interact with peers from different ethnic backgrounds were main reasons for the parents’ positive stance, further supported by strong trust in class teachers and their intercultural competencies.
agogical trend and a precondition in school contexts that reflect diverse char
acteristics. Encouraging intercultural education as a concept and philosophy
is closely related to the value system nurtured and practiced within the fam
ily, serving as a foundation for forming, shaping, or transforming attitudes
and values towards diversity and otherness. Following this premise, the active
participation of families is crucial and constructive recommendation for sup
porting and sustaining intercultural upbringing and educational approaches.
To this end, a study was conducted focusing on elucidating the following as
pects of the presented issues:
• examining the role of family communities of different types and struc
tures in embracing intercultural values and orientation;
• identifying the factors influencing families’ decisions to take part in inter
cultural initiatives;
• determining the similarities in different family structures involved in in
tercultural upbringing and educational approaches.
The qualitative methodological framework of the research was designed
based on participant observation, semi-structured interviews with multiple
focus groups, and analysis of pedagogical documentation. The ethnic, gen
der, social, educational, age, cultural, linguistic, and geographic diversity of
the parents’ sample provided both a deep insight into obstacles they face and
their motivations to take part in intercultural activities, as a prerequisite for
further involving their children of early school age. Possible obstacles that
parents faced included concerns about overburdening their children with
additional school activities; unfamiliarity with the languages of other ethnic
communities in the country; unfavourable social and political conditions in
various local contexts; and fear of possible misunderstandings or conflicts.
A crucial finding of this research were the universal encouraging factors
among the parent’s sample (regardless of diversity across various grounds) for
a support of intercultural educational activities. Human values such as child
well-being, quality education, and the opportunity for children to meet and
interact with peers from different ethnic backgrounds were main reasons for the parents’ positive stance, further supported by strong trust in class teachers and their intercultural competencies.
Subjects
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