TEACHING FOR CROSS-CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING: A CRITICAL STUDY OF THE CLASSROOM EFFORTS OF THREE US ARTS EDUCATORS

Abstract

Misunderstandings continue to exist between cultures. Across space, continued social inequalities involving unequal power relations create lack of understanding between cultures; this has led to oppression, dominance, and even death. Education, especially arts education, may be one means of helping build cultural bridges. Thus, this study examined three college teachers' efforts to use the arts to promote cross-cultural understanding in the United States. The teachers were known for using non-Western or multicultural arts in their teaching. The attempt of the researcher was to understand the possibilities of promoting cross-cultural understanding through use of the arts in education. The inquiry method involved critical qualitative research. The data were examined through the lens of Maxine Greene's "The Dialectic of Freedom." From Greene's point of view, education itself is a dialectical process that can be realized, in part, through a relational use of the arts. Collectively, the findings suggest that these teachers promoted cross-cultural understanding by providing pedagogical spaces conducive to recursive discussion of personal and collective experiences related to stereotypes and the affirmation of diversity. Implications and applications were discussed for use of the arts in education in general.