21st Century learners must be literate in multi-cultural issues

What you need to know:

  • In using e-mails, chatrooms, virtual classrooms, social platforms, and gaming environments, the learners interact with individuals from other cultures and societies with a frequency that was unimaginable a few years ago.
  • A skill that is highlighted as a core competency for learners in the 21st Century is multi-cultural literacy. This is the ability to understand and appreciate the customs, values, and beliefs of one’s culture, and that of others.
  • As the current generation goes through schooling, it is important that they learn how cultural beliefs, values, and norms affect how people think and behave.

The virtual world of social media platforms is with us. It is here to stay. Time and again, we do not treat each other right on these platforms. We cause undue stress through the exchange of despicable words. We demonstrate a lot of intolerance for each other, breeding breeds cross-cultural hatred. Why does this happen?

Let’s speculate. Are we products of an education system in which multicultural literacy was not a core competency for the learners?

With radical educational reforms underway, a solution to this problem could hopefully be in the offing. The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), in collaboration with the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), has been conducting trainings on the anticipated competence-based curriculum. UNESCO is the agency of the United Nations that promotes education and communication. In these KICD trainings, participants are taken through the framework of the reforms, including the areas of competence that are likely to be included in the curriculum.

A skill that is highlighted as a core competency for learners in the 21st Century is multi-cultural literacy. This is the ability to understand and appreciate the customs, values, and beliefs of one’s culture, and that of others.

As we carry out the educational reforms, this should be a key competency for a country like ours with diverse cultures. Some of the social tragedies that we have suffered in the past as a nation directly relate to our inability to tolerate one another. Commissioners at the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) have in the past added their voice to the reforms.

Their concerns are legitimate considering that the Internet has brought people of the world closer together. The learners, who are currently in the school system, intensely engage in the virtual world.

TRICKY QUESTIONS

In using e-mails, chatrooms, virtual classrooms, social platforms, and gaming environments, the learners interact with individuals from other cultures and societies with a frequency that was unimaginable a few years ago. Sadly, sometimes these interactions lead to tragedies. We recently read about the demise of the 29-year old Celine Awour Kosi. The young lady met a Canadian man online and flew out of the country to be with him. Media reports indicate that this man has been questioned as a suspect in the murder.

Locally, young people also engage with people from other communities, be it on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram among other platforms. The hashtag KenyansOnTwitter (#KOT) has always been a high trending one. A journalist once described #KOT as the arm of our Defence Forces that guards Kenya’s virtual space. The sad thing is that during these engagements, we sometimes demean each other based on our ethnic background. It is during such times that our multicultural illiteracy is demonstrated.

As the current generation goes through schooling, it is important that they learn how cultural beliefs, values, and norms affect how people think and behave. This is key because by the time this generation joins the workplace, unprecedented advances will have been made in e-commerce, e-communication, e-learning, and a myriad other e-things. Against this background, learners in the 21st Century will be expected to develop their ability to communicate, interact, clinch deals, and collaboratively work with individuals from other cultural groups across the globe.

With the introduction of DigiSchool, it is expected that engaging in virtual education platforms will become the new normal. It will be commonplace for students to participate in video conferencing, as well as collaborating on projects via online exchanges. Hence the need for students to understand and appreciate diverse cultures.

During the interviewing process for the position of the Chief Justice, a common question presented to the candidates required that they state their stand regarding the rights of the LGBT and atheist communities. It was a tricky question. As players in the shrunken world, our children must be sensitised accordingly so that they are able to exhibit an informed stand on such matters.

With multi-cultural literacy as a core competency in the education curriculum, students will be sensitised to become more tolerant of others across cultures. The competency will help nurture a generation of goodwill ambassadors and nurture peace and unity that we so much need.

They will also appreciate that there is a huge responsibility that comes with access to and use of social media platforms. More importantly, they will become more cautious when making personal decisions when interacting with individuals that they meet online to avoid tragic events similar to the one that that the family of Celine Awour Kosi has suffered.