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ERIC Number: EJ834407
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005-Jul
Pages: 25
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1360-3116
EISSN: N/A
Rethinking Silence in the Classroom: Chinese Students' Experiences of Sharing Indigenous Knowledge
Zhou, Yanqiu Rachel; Knoke, Della; Sakamoto, Izumi
International Journal of Inclusive Education, v9 n3 p287-311 Jul 2005
Recent research has documented silence/reticence among East-Asian international students, including Chinese students, in Western/English classrooms. Students' communication competence and cultural differences from the mainstream Euro-American society have been identified as two primary barriers to participation. Placing emphasis on individual characteristics of Chinese students, however, without considering aspects of the educational context with which those characteristics interact, may over-simplify and distort the mechanism underlying their silence in the classroom. Based on a qualitative study of Chinese students' experience of sharing "indigenous knowledge" in classroom settings of Canadian academic institutions, it is argued that the pursuit of diversity in the classroom may be compromised by classroom interactions, through which, for instance, the dynamics and quality of the "knowledge exchange" of students from different socio-cultural backgrounds may be adversely affected. Within this conceptual framework, the concepts "silence", "culture difference" and "indigenous knowledge" are re-examined; the concepts "reciprocal cultural familiarity" and "inclusive knowledge sharing" are advocated. (Contains 4 notes.)
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada; China
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A