This study was inspired by an inclusive intercultural perspective on education, and developed empirical knowledge concerning the intercultural professional development of in-service teachers. The study was conducted during the first year of a newly-designed master’s programme that focused on “education for refugees”. In the Netherlands master’s programmes in education qualify in-service teachers to contribute to school development, together with giving them a specialisation in a specific topic. The findings were based on the teachers’ written work, and interviews with the teacher educators. They show that the intercultural professional identity of the teachers was developed by a combination of pedagogical approaches. These include the following: new knowledge from an inclusive intercultural perspective, critical socio-cultural self-examination, real encounters with newly-arrived refugees, and a reflective, intervention-based approach to professional learning and curriculum renewal. The intervention-based approach turned out to be the most important for the teachers’ agency in intercultural school development. The challenges experienced concern mono-cultural practices in mainstream education for refugees, together with the dominance of an instrumentalist approach to teaching and learning.
Diversity initiatives in the US workplace: A brief history, their intended and unintended consequences
Diversity initiatives are designed to help workers from disadvantaged backgrounds achieve equitable opportunities and outcomes in organizations. However, these programs are often ineffective. To better