Thumbs up for Pedagogy!!

Pedagogy now means and represent so much to me now!!Before the course i associated this concept to education but education in its narrowest sense(learning a subject at school for instance) but now its more deep, complex and it is the pillar,the foundation of  care relationships( such as s.workers or pedagogue relationship with their clients/citizen- as Inge explained this last word gives the vision of rights to the ppl and i aslo think it has a new dimension when one consider the client as an individual with rights). I can really see that working with ppl demands so much pedagogical skills whereby both citizens and professional workers are in a 'learning' environment. But first things first lets start with my understanding of pedagogy-my new awareness of the subject.

Peda-gaigos meaning to bring somebody from one place to another:there is the notion of change and helping relationships that enable ppl to move, to progress and when somebody bring someone else to one place to another it also mean that the guide as well will have to move together with and also wait for clients sometimes to move forward ,go at the client's pace and also encourage him/her. The "guide" and the "follower" will need to know it eachother to progress efficiently and ultimately both would be changed from the experience( at least both would be in a different place than at the starting point)

In many parts of Europe pedagogy is a complex and holistic interactions between ppl and between man and society-quoted fromt the recent international discussion on terms and concepts of pedagogy by Jan Peeters VBJK from Ghent University in Belgium.

  It is pretty linked to philosophy draws it values form psychology, sociology and other social sciences. Pedagogues works with the principle of seeing ppl as as whole and uses his professionality and personality as tool to build interpersonal relationships to help individuals to develop, maintain, reconstruct, access various resources and aibilituis to comprehend and function better in the society. There is also the interesting concept of 'upbringing" that was unknown to me. Pedagogy is based on theories and "empirical" personal experience which are transform into knowledge for practice.

Pedagogical work transcendents teaching, learning approach, it can be working with care, health,learning,general well-being or development. It is a holistic idea including intersubjective relationship of recognition(anerkendelse), equality( no power abuse because citizen and practioner are inhabitng the same life space not existing in seperate hierarchical levels) and ethics.
Pedagogues use a lot of observation so as to create a learning environment and usually create a common third whereby an activity can be lauched for instance having pets in the club and building a little pet house together and taking care of it together with the pedagogues.There is also an importance concept of teamwork whereby a practioner can sit and discss with his or her collegues and find new ways of reflection and apply it in practice.They work with their hands,heart and head(Pestalozzi).

Intercultural Intelligence

Elisabeth Plum characterises Intercultural Intelligence  and states for a successful intercultural communication one should:

• Understand the situation, realising that there are cultural differences that are influencing the situation
• Stand back and analyse how to react to the situcation drawing knowledge from general knowledge about culture meetings and intercultural communication.( but often in reality situation demands immediate action and the analysis comes afterwards) and specific knowledge about the present cultures.

Thomas Hylland Eriksen talks about ethnocentric perspective thereby someone judge another culture by taking as starting point his/her own culture. Everything discovered during this process will be according to one's own cultural standard.
This perspective is totally understandable because no one can be tabula rasa when looking at another culture but i think if u analyse another culture totally through this method will it not imply that  we will tend to say automatically what is good and bad according to our own set of beliefs?It can also implies that anybody from my particular culture would be able to have the same findingds if all the information analysed will be according to the culture's norm and beliefs?Is it not easier to fall into the inferior and superior trap?

Cultural Relativist Perspective states that all cultures have the same worth and recognises all cultures as equally  good. We should use our own horizon of understanding and be aware of our prejudices and try to understand other cultures before making our own opinions and it is important to meet people as individuals.

Cultural Relativism is an interesting way of looking at culture i agree with the concept that every culture is worth . For instance if a cultural practices causes harm or can endanger people lives than i dont think it is a good thing. Such as genital circumcition is considered as barbaric but if we look at wars for instance and soldiers sent to Irak or Afghanistan is it not as barbaric??!!But at the same time This perspective preconises trying to understand but understanding does not mean agreeing. One can respect an culture or cultural practice and disagree.

Denmark's History

Ib Andersen came and talked abt a little bit of History.Even if usually history can rime with boring this teacher present his material in such a way that it has been very interesting. He started from the very begining the ice age until Denmark today. Of course i will not tell the "history" all over again but will rather comment on the parts i found interesting:

• In 1848 was the birth of Democracy where ppl were wanting to get away from the monarchy. There was a revolution but a peaceful one whereby there was no war no deaths no famines ect. Thing i find pretty amazing that the King wanted to give away his monopolic power and shared it with the population!Men only could vote and had to be over 30.

• In 1864, southern Jutland was under Germanic power.After the first WWar was it restituated to Denmark. After that, DK was mainly an agriculturak sociery whereby quality of the products was not very good and the grains were expensive. Cooperative started to be formed locally and dairy products and bacon started to be exported. It was a successful historical experience.

At the end of the 19th century industrialisation occured and migration from country side to the towns. Workers' conditions was terrible thus they started forming trade unions and the social democratic parties immerged. At the start if the 20th century more precisely in 1914 suffrage for woman in 1930's a big econommic crisis striked Denmark creating high level of unemployment.
1940-1945: the second WWar occupation situation during which Denmark kept a relative low profile but there was anyway resistance movement and actions such as sabotating railways and factories and those who were caught were sent to concentration camps.During the war no light was permitted in houses so as not to be detected from the sky.In May 1945, the allied came and free Copenhagen adn after that, Welfare state Era started: the "from cradle to the grave" concept waas born too thereby there was care from nusery to old people. Equality was the uppermost philsophy and high taxes rates were also present to sustain the system.
And more recently, The ghetto and immigration issue is on the front page in newspaper. There is a Fear of Islam and association of terrorism to this Religion. There is also a wave of new nationalism.
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Different components of Culture!

What is a subculture?
A culture within the dominant culture. They are groups with which ppl identify and from which are derived distinctive values and norms and rules of behaviour. They can be based on economic, social classes, ethnicity, race or geographic regions.  ex: American Indian in the U.S or Christiania in DK.

Economic and Social Class

Social Class is a position in a society's hierarchy based on income,education,occupation and neighborhood.Because very often to some degree of course all these features affect who you are friends with, what characteristics you will look for in a life partner, in what social circle you will evolve, what type of career you will choose and in what neighborhood you will live. In other way, it can limit your "world" in a certain way in  setting what is the desirable  thing to do and "politically correct' people to be with. Economic and social class also affect the way children are raised in terms values such as ambition in life ect but of course it is not directly proportional, it does not mean if a middle class family will only raise ambitious and successful offsprings and working-class families will produce the opposite.

Ethinicity

This term has changed over time. it can be defined as a group pf people having the same descent and heritage who share a common and distinctive culture passed on through generations.(Zenner,1996). These groups have the same languages or accent, physical traits, family names, customs, religion and culture.
Ethnic Minority and Majority  are terms usually used to describe the difference in numbers or political  power or powerlessness, wealth between different ethnicities in the same country or regions.
In reality i think those words double-edged at the same time they are important to recognise the differences in a large population. It is like not assuming that everybody is the same and giving value to differences but at the same time there is a notion of seperation in world like Italian-American or African-American. It can be seen as they are American but before that they are Italian or African.

Taking Mauritius as an example- of course it implies only my personal opinion- there are culture groups as they call it whereby different ethnic group meet and discuss about their particular group needs and demands to the government. Of course if one of the ethnic group people feel like they are underconsidered by the government and have the minority "syndrom" it is good to form alliances and ask for their rights. But to my mind the needs of almost all Mauritian are the same: employment will affect the economy and society as a whole it will not stop and choose who to strike harder or not!!Prices of food for example is not higher and lower for a certain section of the population. Although it will affect poor people more because they don't have safety needs(savings, insurance), but the essence of the problem will still be the same. Bad governance of a country will still affect everybody. My thinking is more towards a Mauritian assembly whereby the different components of the society can discuss ethinically specific problems and national problems in the same arena. But of course it is purely utopic.

What is a Co-Culture?

Is an alternative to the word "sub-culture" as the prefix sub can convey an idea of superiority and inferiority or a less important  meaning. It is used to express a coexistence rather than just a relation to the culture embraced by the majority.

Subgroup

Being in a group implies having a membership, it can influence greatly the values and attitude of one. Subgroup exists within a dominant culture. Subgroup can be manifested in common dress code, common vocabulary, similar values. examples are police officers, employees of large organisation such as IBM, Mc Donalds ect.But it is not usually about accumulation of values and pattern of behaviour other generations. Importantly, one can terminate the membership whenever it suit him/her and it has a temporary conotation. In contrast to culture which is a non exclusive group whereby no one choose to belong to a the culture he or she has been born in.

Someties subgroup can be qualified as deviant which mean different from the cultural norms but is has a negative labelling as associated to undesirable activities such as vegeterian are as deviant as prostitutes both deviate from the norm and considered as subgroups.

Whereas Reference group is one that wants to have a membership in a particular group but is not and still adhere to values, attitudes and behaviour of the group members.

Culture!

Culture is something impalpable(nevertheless can be observed by the expression of it) that can be characterised by many appellations but has the uppermost importance for many people-give meaning to life - by guiding behaviour and pattern of thinking and even the feelings towards oneself and the others. It is amazing how the word culture has a great importance nowadays, it seems that as time passes by ppl want to be recognised as a part of something bigger than themselves and to have a feeling of togetherness. In the 19th though there was a clear distinction about what was the most wishable culture to possess "barbarian" or "civilised" one. Whereby civilised was the culture adopted by the western part of the northen hemisphere-it was a battle between superiority and inferiority.
But Nowadays culture is no longer restricted to country or political boundaries or what is worthy or less worthy, it is  a  large number of ppl having a certain common experience, thoughts, pattern of behaviour,values, assumptions about life that guide their behviour and how they should relate to to other cultures. According to Hofstede culture should have: symbols(verbal &non verbal language), rituals( social collective events around the culture), values(strict and clear definition about what's good and bad,beautiful or ugly,normal or abnormal) and heroes (real or imaginary people-culture's myths- who are the most valued role models.Culture is socially transmmitted from past to future generations. Members of a culture have cultural identity-they usually acknowledge their shared experience, thoughts,norms and values ect but it does not mean knowing one person in a culture implies directly knowing all the others(stereotyping).
Interestingly, we cannot know another culture totally because we also bring our backbag with our own set of beliefs, past experiences in short our own culture.Therefore, we can only see the "alien" culture through the set of eyes of our own culture.
Today we hear about global community and globalisation whereby new culture and trends of behaviour can immerge but at the same time as well undermining the others.
           Personnally i think tha globalisation has many obvious advantages such as broadening trade arena and can even create bonds between far-away countries for instance the 2006 Tsunami whereby in many parts of the World there was funds raising to help the victims. But can we really talk about democracy resulting from it because is it not the most powerful countries that will tend to be more democratic than others(or at least having the last word in decision-making? can we say that small countries like Mauritius or poor countries such as Nigeria benefit from globalisation in the same ways as the U.S for instance??Can we safeguard the existence & survival of ancient( in comparision with the advent of new ones) culture? New cultures are they not seem to origninate from one specific part of the world and exported to the rest of the world? Therefore i guess it is a very nebulous debate and i am quite sceptical on the subject.

Ethonography is the direct study of customary behaviours of a culture and implies an immersion into the culture. On the other hand, cultural studies study the cultures through their similarities and differences with others, through history, traditions and values.It Studies the most common features that can explain the actions of individuals in the culture. Ethnographic and cultural approahes are said to be complementary and help a better understanding of intercultural communication.

Learning process 16/09

Today in class, we discussed the readings and one of them being very complex and labourious to understand but fortunately after the discussion and summing up, it was much better!!
The first reading was claiming that for comparative analysis to occur, it is important to have certain dimensions that transcend each country in comparison. The author gave example as welfare regimes, organisation of social work amongs others. The pros of comparative studies:

• Comparing pratices, methods of intervention and education of professional give an  opportunity to share knowledge and successful experiences.
• With globalisation, many countries across Europe and even more broadly, across the World, face the same social challenges, dilemas and problems therefore, the solution can be more a global one than only national-wise.
• to try to enclude those target groups that are normally left out by national policies ,examples were ppl who do not have a solid nationality(immigrants, refugees ect.)

The authors claim an objective approach but at the same time, exposed the various problems in doing so because of the very subjective nature of social Work itself.
Social Work in a country does not stand on its own as a distinct entity but it is dymanically embedded in the context it is evolving. Context here include the national traditions, culture, beliefs, values and importance of social work. Even more how social is perceived, it is a professional or more voluntary based action ect.

And more importantly i have realised(and being  taught that) there is NO perfect theory or practice in social work and that Theory give ways to new interrogations and insights on. Theory and Pratice Area are two distinct things. Of course theory gives a base but it does not have to be tranferred directly in reality.

Secondly, the importance of having an anti-discriminative approach in social work practice by firstly be aware that there can be some grounds for prejudices but it is our duty not to discriminate our clients or encourage its perpetuation. We should of course have an open mind and not jump into precipitated conclusion if for instance we have a client of different ethnic belonging than the majority ,that the latter is facing discrimination ONLY on the basis of race. Very tricky i think because S.Workers should be aware of it but not over emphasising on it.
Anti-discrimination is not only an individual movement but can be at a more mezzo or macro level(when implementing policies at a national, regional or international level).

my Beloved island, Mauritius

Mauritius Beach

Second week...from strangeness to closeness:)

Second week was much better...we had a set of readings about intercultural communication the first two were fairly easy(the second reading being the most interesting) the 3rd one was only based on theories and quite complex. A little resume of what i learned or may be in some cases relearned, was culture (any types it can be Static or dynamic) frame our minds and behaviour(consciously or unconsciously) it is really interesting to realise to what extend society, family, the environment define who we are and our most sacred sense of what is 'right' or 'wrong'. Most of all to be able to communicate efficiently , ppl should have the same codes( the camp exercise illustrate this completely) thats why sometimes intercultural exchange can be difficult but NOT impossible of course. At the camp, there was a part that really remind me of a phenomenon that happens a lot at home:):) about one saying something and the other one did not hear or does not remember and having an argument around it:) I guess the internal noise can explain most of it( me internally thinking abt something else or the sender internally thinking so much about the message but forgot to send it).
              The Hmong text really interested me due to the first part about all the traditions around their culture versus the social 'alienation' in the US whereby some of the traditions could not be fulfilled(the burial of the umbilical cord for instance) or delayed( 3 months after the birth was the ceremony organised). It was of course interesting to discover the traditions but what was the most important thing for me is: Their culture around the dab stealing children's souls made them think(realise) that children are the worthiest possession and the welfare of their children was equally important. As a result, few Hmong kids were mistreated and the bond between hmongs parents and their kids was very strong. This is fantastic that culture can do that, it is not only a set of beliefs and customs but it can really have positive and constructive effects.

 Oh yes, the Camp experience was on all aspects beneficial, first, the context was beautiful and the way the classes were orchestrated whereby we were in groups discussing our perceptions on things. It was enriching as it enabled me to open myself to other views and helped me to understand the texts better with the helps of my team members.
        I am not used to this kind of teaching/ studying, i must admit and i was so surprised when our lecturer asked us if the way she was giving texts was convenient for us. I was so amazed that i did not say anything- which does not mean that some parts of them text was not laborious for me as well-but in Mauritius the texts are very difficult and it is considered to be our duty to understand them. I guess i need time to assimilate and get used to it.

The camp very interesting, it without any doubts created some bonds with eachother, sharing of stories, opinions, customs(learn on the meaning of some spanish songs that i knew- it as quite disappointing to know that i was sing  a cockcroach song (la cucaracha)all these years!!lol

         The international dinner was soo pleasant, the cooking, singing and talking at the same, the team work of cleaning up afterwards. It was not only the tasting of the delicious food(even if it was more than delicious) but all the things around it that was nice. I learned how to dance a turkish dance and showed a little the Sega from Mauritius:). It was really nice to get to know the other students in a more personal way, i guess by now i can tell a little on every student therefore i think the aim of the camp was more that fulfilled. 
   I hope that this atmosphere continues and that we will be -with time- more and more able to share things with each other and that we can instead of being in little groups become a big groups whereby everyone will be included.

I look forward to next week institution visit, i hope it will be a rich experience....

First Week at the International course!!!:)

It was not a "week" as such because we started on Thursday 26th August by a breakfast prepared by the dansk Students. Event on which i arrived late(on my 1st day not good) because i took the wrong bus. After sme sprints in various directions i finally found the correct bus station!!:)
When i arrived , I was of course a little shy and clumsy:). I was ,for the first time, exposed to about 40 strangers, therefore i think (as extrovert as you can be) it is always difficult to talk and open up to others. We were channeled in groups and given some instructions about the course and the various activities. Students come from different parts of Europe namely; Italy, Spain, Finland, Turkey, Norway, Holland, France, Greece, Denmark(of course) and Myself. It is a little special because all of the other students have right from the start in a group identity(common nationality, language or at least a binomen) which i don't have being the only one coming from Mauritius. Is it an advantage or a disadvantage? I am still thinking about it. But being who i am i cannot help myself seeing it as a challenge and an opportunity of opening myself to different ppl instead of restricting(may be comforting is the most appropriate word) myself to the known then proceeding to the unknown. I am in the unknown(with ppl of different nationalities and languages than my own) and still wanting to get to know the other students. I guess there is much more to share with others than only the similarities of language or culture, and i think its exactly what i expect to meet people in their upmost diversity. I hope i will discover new skills and new dimensions of myself because its my first time in this kind of exchange. Lets say the first days were mostly observational and a lot of inside thoughts(feeling of adequacy v/s inadequacy, at ease v/s not at ease) feeling lonely or surrounded amongst others.
On friday, we had an interesting visit to Copenhagen: Rådhuspladsen, Strøget and walk to Rundetarn from where we could see a lot of København. To be frank i have seen most of it but i really enjoyed jumping from groups to groups to have small talks(trying to create sme links here and there and discovering similar interest n point of views) with almost everybody. The trip along the canal was really nice as well. Afterwards we headed to Christania to have lunch.  Talking about Christania the idea of a state within the State is quite new and an interesting concept. According to a little explanation of what the place is about(of course it is the perception of the one telling the story) i think that the ideologies behind that place(from what i understood: away from capitalism, a community of brotherhood, a state where freedom is cherished -amongst others that i dont know-) should not be forgotten leaving this place to be known only for the hash and gang culture. I guess and hope there is more to it but unfortunately some people misuse it.
 I guess my favourite moment during the trip was then we went back to school and sat and had a beer. It gave us the opportunity to talk in a relaxed atmosphere, laughs and get to know eachother.

Myself

This always a fairly difficult task to talk on oneself!!!:) But i will give it a try:

             I am Gaelle, born in Mauritius Island and living in Denmark since about 6 months now. I see myself as a very positive, out-going, franc and a little crazy person. I love people and like to see the good parts in human and our innate potential to do good, as i guess it gives me some hope.
 I have completed my Social Work degree back in my home country and intend to start a masters next year. I must admit i really enjoy the atmosphere and the encounter of so many nationalities and culture. I think  i will learn a lot from this experience.

I have very high expectations about this course as i will use it as an opportunity to find out my work orientation that is, If i want to work with children and young people, or any other domain of social Work. Moreover, i want to meet new people to open myself to other types of thinking instead of taking things for granted.