Learning is for life. Learning is a fundamental operation for us to navigate through our experiences. Interestingly, lifelong learning happens in the context of our social and cultural experiences. This context may be different across groups of individuals which calls for a teaching and learning approach that considers these differences.
This blog is a short version of my attempt in applying Guo’s (2013) transnational lifelong learning in teaching and learning social psychology.
What is Transnational Lifelong Learning for Recognitive Justice and Inclusive Citizenship?
Transnational lifelong learning (TLL) for recognitive justice and inclusive citizenship refers to a call for social justice that sees cultural diversity as an asset (Guo, 2013). Guo builds upon Jarvis’ concept of lifelong learning by acknowledging that the disjunctural situations that immigrants from diverse cultural backgrounds face cannot be addressed with a universal approach. In the universal approach, people are viewed as similar, hence, services and interventions are provided in the same way. Yet the disjunctural situations that immigrants face may be multi-layered than those who are born and raised in the Canadian context and, therefore, they require an individualized / pluralist approach.
TLL calls for pluralist citizenship – ‘an alternative form of citizenship that recognizes migrants’ multiple attachments to specific traditions, values, languages, and other cultural practices and that furthermore fosters plural ways of belonging’ (p. 327, Guo, 2013). It does not aim to overthrow the dominant culture but wishes to collaborate with different social and cultural groups to establish inclusive citizenship and realize lifelong learning experiences.
What are the implications of TLL in teaching and learning Social Psychology?
Immigration reflects globalization. Globalization presents a network of people connected not only geographically but also virtually and in other spaces. Robertson and White (2007; as mentioned in Guo, 2013) emphasized that globalization has four dimensions namely economic, social, political, and cultural. TLL must consider these dimensions to ensure that lifelong learning needs are satisfied. Among these four dimensions, I gravitated toward the cultural dimension.
As a social psychology instructor, the concepts I invite my students to experience are concepts that they may experience similarly or differently depending on their individual perspectives and cultural views. The cultural goods students experience and consume depend largely on their cultural background. Cultural goods, as defined by UNESCO, include ‘printed matter and literature, visual arts, cinema and photography, radio, televisions, games, and sporting goods’ (p. 137, mentioned in Stanbury & Vertinsky, 2004). Although more recently, cultural goods flow freely across cyberspace (Kelly & Konrad, 2021), there are still those social and cultural experiences that are heavily rooted and ingrained in particular cultures. Hence, in teaching social psychology aligned with TLL, I must consider the students’ varied cultural backgrounds.
How did I apply TLL in teaching and learning Social Psychology?
I started by looking into my own cultural competence. I assessed my own teaching and learning practice by using the UCLA culturally responsive teaching checklist based on the concept of multicultural education (Banks, 1988).
In my social psychology course, I wanted to activate level 4 of the culturally responsive teaching approach and align it with the four elements of the social actions approach. I must move my course from just purely presenting cultural similarities and differences to integrating how the concepts and theories apply (or do not apply) to my students’ personal and sociocultural experiences. With this frame of thinking, we can 1) identify social problems that directly affect us as a class (or as individuals), 2) make sense of these social problems through the social psychology lens, 3) reflect on how to deal with these social problems, and 4) propose (and hopefully implement) a social-psychology-informed course of action to deal with a specific social problem. These four steps rest on the idea that a theoretical explanation and a course of action can be viewed from a multicultural perspective. Hence, one theoretical explanation may (or may not) make sense and one course of action may (or may not) work in a particular social situation.
References
Banks, J. A. (1988). Approaches to multicultural curriculum reform. Multicultural Leader, 1(2), 37 – 38. Retrieved from https://www.teachingforchange.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Banks_James.pdf
Guo, S. (2013). Citizenship, immigration, and lifelong learning: Toward recognitive justice. In Nesbit, T., Brigham, S. M., & Taber, N., & Gibb, T. (Eds.), Building on critical traditions: Adult education and learning in Canada (pp. 319-329). Thompson Publication. Available at https://sfu-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1ecgsju/01SFUL_ALMA21177330590003611
Kelly, M., & Konrad, V. (2021). Borders, culture, and globalization: Some conclusions, more uncertainties, and many challenges. In Konrad, V., & Kelly, M. (Eds.) (pp. 319 – 334). Borders, culture, and globalization: A Canadian perspective. University of Ottawa Press. Retrieved from https://muse-jhu-edu.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/chapter/2945508/pdf
Stanbury, W. T., & Vertinsky, I. B. (2004). Economics, demography, and cultural implications of globalization: The Canadian paradox. Management International Review, 44(2), 131 – 156. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/40836023
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