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A cuppa a day keeps the therapist away :)

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As a Specialist at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, I lead my team in Intercultural Learning and Inbound Programmes.

As part of the Experiential Learning team, I design and curate credit-bearing overseas programmes for undergrads.

Even though I work in education, I view myself as a practitioner as I still periodically teach at preschools and managing the sales at a local hotel while running my own business.

I am like the Energizer Bunny - always keeping myself busy, ensuring I have a purpose-driven life.

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Add a personal profile by adding a section with your name (click on "add section").

Click on the "+" sign to add a new post for each question.

In the blue posts, you can find suggested questions for your personal profile. Write your answer (headline and text or pictures) and click "publish" to add your post.

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General information of participant: For example, what are you working as? Is there a discipline you are focused on? What are your special interests?

How would you describe yourself to a stranger?

What inspires you to learn about cultures?

What does 'Cultures' mean to you? (not a Google answer please!)

Feel free to add any fun photos to express yourself!

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If you have a question to the group or the trainer, feel free to add a red post to your profile and add your contact details or questions you might have.

An example:

I'm Michelle. How can I be more culturally intelligent?

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I'm a high functioning introvert.

My right ear is my good ear.

I am a mummy to 2 wonderful girls.

Other than my family and mum, I love cycling as an exercise. Work takes up most parts of my day but I am happy to be doing so!

I have 3 work portfolios while taking my MA in Global Cultures at King's College London.

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1. your multicultural experiences,

2. new perspectives, and

3. your goals and aspirations.

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1. Ancient

2. Opportunities

3. Dialogue

4. Understanding

5. Appreciation

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Always 'Like a Girl' Super Bowl Commercial: #LikeAGirl

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How Culture Drives Behaviours | Julien S. Bourrelle | TEDxTrondheim

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I work on a part-time basis as a Proflair Teacher.I teach Englsh and facilitate assistance in reading to preschoolers.

I am a task oriented bubbly and creative person.A mother of two lovable boys and fond of music,dance,painting, sewing besides my routine of house chores ,cooking and teaching.I love exercising and taking nature walks and having a good time with my friends.

Learning. about culture enriches me to learn something unique,intriguing and beautiful.

When the word Culture comes to mind it means getting to know people with some characteristic, influences and backgrounds.

Sharon.

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I work on a part-time basis as a Proflair Teacher.

I teach Englsh and facilitate assistance in reading to preschoolers.

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I am a task oriented bubbly and creative person.

A mother of two lovable boys and fond of music,dance,painting, sewing besides my routine of house chores ,cooking and teaching.

I love exercising and taking nature walks and having a good time with my friends.

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Learning about culture enriches me to learn something unique, intriguing and beautiful.

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When the word Culture comes to mind it means getting to know people with some characteristic, influences and backgrounds.

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I am a part-time (hopefully soon to be full-time!) course writer and instructor at the Singapore University of Social Sciences. I work within the Early Childhood Education program. My main responsibility is facilitating the course ECE370 Introduction to Edible Education for Young Children.

I just completed my Doctor of Education (EdD) in Innovative Teaching and Learning at Northeastern University, and will be attending my hooding ceremony on May 9. My dissertation was titled, “Sifting through Preschool Teachers’ Funds of Knowledge to Reveal Culturally Sustaining Child-Feeding Professional Learning Opportunities at One University in Singapore”.

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How I would describe myself to a stranger

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How I would describe myself to a stranger

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I am a career changer and lifelong learner. Before my EdD, I earned a bachelor’s degree in Media and Communications and American Studies from The University of Melbourne, a master’s degree in Food Studies from New York University, and a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Boston University. I have also worked as a food writer, small business owner (I made and sold small batch granola) and preschool teacher.

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I would like to learn how Barbara views interculturalism, and how she bridges British and local understandings of culture. As most of my graduate education was done in the United States, I have some understanding of how American audiences view culture. It can be quite different from how people in Singapore understand culture. To illustrate, in the American context, colleagues often commented on how Singapore is culturally “homogenous” because we are mostly “Asian”. In Iyengar’s (2010) TED Talk, Coke, Sprite, Pepsi, Mountain Dew etc. were all “one choice” (i.e., soda). In many of my doctoral courses, course mates viewed Singaporeans not as Chinese, Malay, Indian, Eurasian etc. but as “one choice” (i.e., Asian). I wonder what experiences Barbara has had at King’s College. :)

I also want to learn how preschool teachers in Singapore understand interculturalism. As a course writer and instructor, I hope to eventually develop helpful cultural content that responds to our community’s expressed needs.

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“Cultures” encompass things like values, practices, languages, roles, expectations and rituals (in varying proportions, depending on when, where and why I am being asked to define the term “cultures”, haha). Often, we use things like ethnicity and nationality to define the boundaries of cultures. But it does not always have to be that way. There is some fluidity to my understanding of cultures. In the course I facilitate, ECE370, we discuss four approaches to ethnic and cultural diversity in the classroom: the instrumental multicultural approach, conscious multicultural approach, intercultural approach and transcultural approach (Stier et al., 2012). The former two approaches see “cultures” as more static and separate. I tend to take on something between the intercultural and transcultural view.

The intercultural approach—as I view it—sees cultures as multifaceted and constantly changing. Teachers take children’s questions about diversity seriously and are willing to challenge their own cultural conceptions. They learn just as much from the children as the children learn from them. Learning about culture is bidirectional. The transcultural approach views cultures as more similar than different and constantly constructed through social interaction (Stier et al., 2019).

References

Stier, J., Tryggvason, M. T., Sandström, M., & Sandberg, A. (2012). Diversity management in preschools using a critical incident approach. Intercultural Education, 23(4), 285-296.

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Do you view cultural diversity as always helpful (i.e., resulting in “higher quality” outcomes) at your workplace? :)

Bourrelle’s (2015) TED Talk suggests that it might be. But as I understand it, cultural diversity only helps when the task at hand is complex and challenging (Page, 2007). For simple tasks—with tight timelines—cultural diversity can make the work processes slower and less efficient (as the group navigates cultural communication barriers). I think its helpfulness also depends on whether the cultural diversity is surface-level or deep. Wang et al. (2019) suggest that surface‐level cultural diversity is not linked to team creativity and innovation but a team’s deep‐level cultural diversity is connected to creativity and innovation. I am curious how everyone else feels about this!

References

Page, S. E. (2007). Making the difference: Applying a logic of diversity. Academy of Management Perspectives, 21(4), 6-20. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2007.27895335

Wang, J., Cheng, G. H. L., Chen, T., & Leung, K. (2019). Team creativity/innovation in culturally diverse teams: A meta‐analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 40(6), 693-708. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2362

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I work as a Chinese curriculum specialist in the curriculum department of a private organisation for early childhood education and also teach part-time at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, focusing on course ECC305, Current Issues in Early Childhood Curriculum Development and Implementation (in Chinese). My first language is Chinese, and my second language is English.

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How I would describe myself to a stranger

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How I would describe myself to a stranger

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I am an introvert with a curiosity to learn new theories or knowledge. Originally from China, I worked as an engineer in Beijing before transitioning to early childhood education in Singapore, a field where I have over 20 years of experience. I hold a Master of Education in Early Childhood Education (taught in Chinese) from Beijing Normal University.

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To me, cultures are deeply intertwined with social context, reflecting the specific histories, traditions, and perspectives of different communities. Both explicit or implicit cultural elements profoundly impact people's lifestyles and behavioural patterns. Cultural diversity enriches our understanding of humanity and the world. At various historical stages, certain aspects of a culture have played positive roles in the development of society, while others have had negative impacts.