Challenges to Teachers’ Education in the Context of Globalization and Integration: Experience of Multicultural Tatarstan Republic

Abstract

This challenging research paper is an effort to trace the changes and the role of the tolerance and multiculturalism in the varied, endlessly complex teachers’ training education in a modern Russian university; and to present the challenges that it faces in the context of globalization and international integration in the name of tolerance and multiculturalism. The purpose of our paper is to present the Tatarstan Republic’s experience in this sphere, and to create a body of knowledge for follow-on research. Indeed the process of world globalization means the formation of unified multicultural educational and research area. That’s why it’s necessary to develop both the teaching and learning strategies, and to include authentic materials in the teachers’ university curriculum. The authors stress the importance of the international educational experience research in the sphere of the organization of teachers’ education, and to investigate the opportunities of its use at the Russian universities. The paper also deals with the issues of diversity and multiculturalism in the teachers’ training process that is very important and valuable for multicultural societies, such as the Tatarstan Republic with the population, consisting of more than 65 nationalities, and having 2 state languages: Russian and Tatar. The population of Russia, in general, comprises more than 100 nationalities, ethnic and cultural groups. Special attention is paid to the role of joint international educational projects in teachers’ education.

Keywords: Teachers ‘education, multicultural area, tolerance formation, ethnicity, international educational projects, life-long learning

Introduction

By this paper, we present the Tatarstan Republic’s experience in reforming some aspects of the

teachers’ education and to explore massive changes that are taking place in Russian education system,

in general, in the context of globalization and integration processes. So, the data were collected through

the analysis and study of materials from Russian and international books, research journals, and

professional education publications as well as from the authors’ participation in numerous seminars,

conferences and meetings with Russian and international experts, so as to determine: "What was the

impact of globalization and integration on teachers’ education in Russia and Russian students' lives?"

Research findings

We conducted a survey of 25 ASE teachers in the questionnaire "Evaluation of the level of

tolerance” to measure the level of their tolerance. The questionnaire for evaluating the entrance and the

exit level of tolerance of the people attending the courses offered is based on a set of indicators

developed within The ACCEPT PLURALISM Project, supported by European Commission, Seventh

Framework Programme in 2013. The ALLMEET project adopts the suggested indicators to evaluate

the tolerance level of ALLMEET courses attendees. To measure the level of tolerance/intolerance, we

apply the definition of tolerance elaborated within the ALLMEET project, which might be defined as

“the ability, or willingness, to accept feelings, habits, beliefs, opinions, and behaviours different from

the own, and which one may dislike or disagree with” (ALLMEET Project Intercultural Glossary,

2014). An important pillar in this study served as their own teaching experience; interviews with

teachers; exchange of experience in the course of scientific workshops, scientific and methodological

conferences, forums, etc.

At that stage the work was conducted in different directions:

а) Classifying the difficulties which the teachers face in practice (studying theoretical materials and

experimental data).

The causes (reasons) of these problems are very diverse: they are both subjective and objective.

They can be the difficulties of study requiring making significant efforts to study the material, and

many concepts of abstraction, imperfection of tolerance of the teachers, lack of attention of these

teachers to this phenomenon related to the interaction of the different group of education participants,

and etc. With the support of ALLMEET project and according to the steering document, a teacher in

return is supposed to embody the whole indicated theoretical material but also come to deep

understanding of the points of the subject within the allotted time.

b). Analysis of teachers’ tolerance level.

The test involved 25 teachers with teaching experience from 2 to 42 years; 18% respondents were

teachers in human and social science; 64% respondents were teachers in professional subjects, and 18

% - in nature sciences. The age of the respondents was 26-65 years old, 16 % - male, and 84 % –

female. They had to answer 12 questions. The maximum possible amount was 70 scores. However, the

real average rating was 34 (the min. rating is 21 (49%) and max. - 42 (81%)).

We distributed awareness level as follows:

• Low level – 60 % and lower

• Middle level – 60- 75 %

• High level – 75- 100 %.

Before the beginning of our special training at the Center ALLMEET, only 16% of teachers was at

the high level of tolerance, at the middle level - 27% (7 persons), low – 57 % (14 persons).

If we analyze the results of the survey, we can uncover a tendency of receiving high scores for the

answers on politics, economics, and state, and the low scores are on the teachers’ work themselves,

thus, as the teachers consider, the state and society are obliged to solve the problems of migrants, in

this case the most of problems can be avoided. This research shows initially that most teachers had low

level of tolerance maturity.

The second stage of research (exploration phase) was directed to reach the main purpose of this

work, thus to develop an effective instruction technique and academic content.

During this work, the academic content was carefully selected, the practical work system was

developed, the test bank was formed, all the practical materials proposed by the participants of the

project were approved, the technology on tolerance formation was moderated, the purpose of which

was to develop the knowledge and skills of tolerant students. A set of appropriate teaching materials

was developed and implemented.

The teachers attended the qualification upgrading courses, besides they participated in all research

and practice seminars conducted by the members of the project ALLMEET.

The purpose of the re-survey was to test the efficiency of materials and technologies developed and

implemented by the members of the Project consortium into the qualification upgrading courses. The

results of the pilot survey allowed identifying the general tendency and personal positive

improvements. As a proof of the positive tendency confidence, we assessed the level of the teachers

tolerance maturity, the degree of maturity was on the basis of the following indicators:

1. Intolerance/ ignorance or denying;

2. Passive tolerance;

3. Active tolerance.

Quantitative estimation showed: 45% teachers reached the high level of tolerance, 38% - the middle,

and 17 % remained on the low one. The visual analysis suggests a strong tendency of the growth of

better understanding of the tolerance phenomenon and possible approaches to it. Besides:

1. The teachers, having attended the courses under the International educational platform within the

project of ALLMEET, featured mostly the middle and high level of tolerance (83% respondents) which

is characterized by the teachers’ tolerance to the culture, ethnic, and religious differences, an active

recognition of social and economic needs of ethno-cultural minority and migrants. Teachers recognize

the necessity of introducing special political, social and economic measures, which may concern

different fields of a public life, and understanding that their actions should have a nature of tolerance.

2. The research of the teachers’ survey with the low level of intolerance showed that intolerant

features concerned the answers to social and economical needs of ethno-cultural minority and migrants.

Hence we can notice the rejection of these groups from the involvement into the different points of

social, economical and political life of a society.

3. Correlations have been found between the level of tolerance / intolerance of the teacher and his

(her) teaching experience. Thus, the low level of tolerance and a low level of intolerance are observed

in teachers with little pedagogical experience (from 2 to 8 years). This fact is likely to explain the lack

of experience in the early years at work, thus focusing mostly on job performance but not on

interaction with the students. The tolerance level rises to the high level, when the teachers have been

conducting their classes for 10-20 years, when specialists have gotten interested in efficiency of

interaction with the students. However, if we speak about the teachers with work experience longer

than 30 years, we can notice, on the one hand, these teachers often have professional fatigue, burnout

relating to work routine, and on the other hand, conventional wisdom solves any difficulties in

teaching, including tolerance.

The research results brought us to the conclusion: tolerance as a value focus on a professional

culture of a teacher is necessary to develop, stimulate and correct, since just teachers give a general

vector to bring up youth and society in general. It is necessary to work on tolerance level development

of teachers intentionally and consistently.

These results suggest: raising the level of tolerance is provided by teachers in the process of training

courses, in the process of participating in various events on the issues, based on a specially developed

program, which includes the following necessary components:

-A section devoted to the phenomenon of tolerance; and a holistic view of the processes of

ethnic, ethno genesis of peoples, ethnic and cultural features of the peoples living in the Russian

Federation, in particular, in the Republic of Tatarstan;

-The inclusion in the compulsory practical component of the tolerance formation; training

teachers of educational technology to promote tolerance in interethnic relations; training methods,

procedures and techniques for Ethnic Studies in a multicultural educational space;

-In educational institutions, the organization of training courses, seminars, and master-classes

with experts for the target groups of teachers;

-Self-education of tolerance formation, which is manifested in the work of the teachers

themselves: self-examination, reflection, rejection of prejudices, stereotypes, the use of tolerant

practices of interaction in the educational process, etc.

-Training of teachers to conduct professional activities, taking into account the specifics of

the ethno-cultural regions and territories of Russia and Tatarstan.

2.1. Some conceptual ideas in Teachers’ education reforms

According to all Russian Federal standards (the III-d edition), the bachelor key competencies have

already been defined; and among them are professional and general cultural ones. Considering that

intercultural competence assumes skills of effective interaction in society, we consider necessary to

include ability to warn, solve and resolve conflict situations which can arise at communication with

other people in the content of this concept. As elements of social competence structure we consider:

1) Communicative abilities which assume readiness for communication, ability to understand

and accept other point of view, ability to use means of communication, and also skills according to

the prevention and a resolution of conflicts;

2) Social adaptation which is connected with acceptance of the social role, ability to work

according to the accepted role, readiness for the solution of social problems;

3) Confidence in communication process, ability to critical analysis of the actions and acts, and

also readiness for self-improvement.

Some degree of tolerance is necessary in any civilized society, but we understand, that it is not

realistic to believe that all people can achieve it completely on every issue. It goes against human

nature or the instinctive impulse of a person to pull away from people or things that are different or

unknown. Putting up with differences is a learned attribute, a virtue that requires honest effort on the

part of every person. It takes time to develop, and it also takes commitment (Analyzing Personal

Teaching Metaphors in Pre-service Teacher Education, 2014).

So, we would stress again the important conceptual idea on which the teachers’ education reforms

are based: investigation and practice of the international teachers’ education experience, and first of all,

the European one, as Russia is a member of “Bologna Сlub”. At the same time it is well known that

the attitude towards the international experience is ambivalent. On the one hand, there is a tendency to

believe that abroad all possible means to solve educational problems have been already found out, and

there is no need to look for something new. This tendency manifests itself in education and deals with

the appearance of many western-styled schools, like community colleges, lyceums, and so on. On the

other hand, there exists the opinion that Russian educators don’t have to study foreign experience

because our problems are specific, and the American or European experience won’t help us. The well-

known joke goes that every country prefers to make its own mistakes in the area of education.

No doubt, both of these positions are polar. The truth lies somewhere in the middle.

Conclusion

In order to secure development of modern reforms in the system of teachers’ education, it is

necessary to radically change the students and teachers’ attitude towards them. This change may be

possible when the social and economical situations of the main part of the population in Russia have

stabilized, and political situation will be approved. Then it will be possible to turn young people's

conscience towards the intercultural and educational problems. It may be necessary to carry out special

propaganda activities in a persuasive form that will attract people's attention towards the necessity of

lifelong learning and multicultural education, towards tolerance formation of people in Russia and

Tatarstan Republic.

We do hope through raising tolerance and multicultural awareness we will contribute to solving the

problem and help people living in Russia avoid any clashes or serious conflicts caused by xenophobia,

extremism, Nazism. As Helen Keller said "the highest result of education is tolerance". By learning

more about others we begin to realize that being tolerant is not about compromising our own beliefs,

but rather, it's about condemning the oppression or persecution of other's beliefs. The role of teachers

in this process is of paramount importance.

References

• A Call for Change in Teacher Education. Nation Commission for Excellence in Teacher Education (2005). Wash. D.C.: NCETE, 2005, 231.

• ALLMEET Project Intercultural Glossary. URL: http://allmeet.org

• Analyzing Personal Teaching Metaphors in Preservice Teacher Education as a Means for Encouraging Professional Development (2014). American Educational Research Journal, Vol. 61, 1, 197-224.

• Barr R.D. (2007). Reform of Teacher Education and the Problem of Quality Assurance //Journal of Teacher Education, Vol.48, 45-51.

• Melnick S.L. (2010). Multiculturalism: One View from the United States of America. Routledge International Companion to Education. London and New York, 2010, 485.

• Orlov A.A. (2002). Pedagogicheskoe obrazovanie: poisk putei povysheniya kachestva. Pedagogika, 10, 57-64.