Conflicts in a Transcultural Workplace - Insights from Are Our Kids Tough Enough? Chinese School by

Background Information

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Introduction

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In our group, a BBC documentary series, Are Our Kids Tough Enough? Chinese School was chosen as the source of text for analysing transcultural communication in the workplace.

This documentary series explored the contrasts between the British and Chinese education systems by inviting five Chinese teachers to teach 50 grade-9 students in Bohunt School for a month, applying the Chinese teaching methods (Are Our Kids Tough Enough Chinese School, 2015).

Identity

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Identity is a fluid concept that describes who we are. It can be seen as a production that is constantly evolving and being constructed (Weedon, 2004). Taking Jun Yang as an example, the documentary reveals her multiple identities, including a science teacher, a citizen of China, an advocate of Chinese cramming education, and a challenger of Bohunt Academy’s educational system.

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Identity could also be directly assigned by society or related organisations (Weedon, 2004). Yang is born to be a citizen of China. This identity is not subject to personal choice or self-awareness; it is defined and maintained by China’s legal frameworks (Rapoport, 2021). Meanwhile, Yang was directly appointed as a teacher by Bohunt Academy and was required to have her students compete against those educated under the original system. In this sense, her role as a challenger of Bohunt Academy’s educational system was assigned to her.

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These identities influence how individuals perceive themselves and how others perceive them (Weedon, 2004). They provide individuals with clues about where they actually belong, or in other words, help them understand their positioning.

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We are going to focus on specific Chinese teachers, discussing the reasons behind the transcultural conflicts they encountered in the workplace and exploring how identity, self-positioning and power shape their perception and working style.

Furthermore, Community of Practice will be used to generate insights into how Chinese teachers reconstruct and influence the transcultural community together with British students in a mutual way.

Position

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However, Bowe et al. (2014) demonstrate that whatever that position is, it will be questioned and reinvented during the interaction. This class's students viewed this teacher's position of authority as unfair and responded with resistance. This also proves the claim that the educator's position is influenced by the interactions and connections with people in the education environment (Vanassche & Kelchtermans, 2014).

From a transcultural viewpoint, the issue is how Miss Yang and her students position students and teachers in the transcultural space.

Power

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As Bowe et al. (2014) put it, more knowledgeable people tend to have more power. Yang and Li argue that teachers have more power than students, as they have more academic knowledge than students.

Brown & Levinson (1987) claimed that power is the degree to which a hearer can impose his plans and his self-evaluation at the expense of the speaker’s plans of self-evaluation. Yang and Li both think that teachers, as authorities in education, have essential control and absolute authority over the students. The power lies in teachers’ ability to impose their views and authority on students. This is done at the expense of students’ plans and self-evaluations.

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Yang finds that Bohunt students are used to questioning the teacher and challenging the teacher’s authority in all aspects, and they believe that there is no power difference between students and teachers. She claimed her Chinese students are completely different from them.

Community of Practice (COP)

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This documentary not only represents the conflicts between two parties but also reflects how the coming of Chinese teachers influenced and reconstructed the workplace environment of Bohunt School, which is a procedure that can be analyzed from the perspective of CoP (Community of Practice). CoP refers to the process of newcomers developing common knowledge through interactions with community members, aiming to achieve the shared goal and learn common practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991).

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Identity is shaped by various factors, such as culture, social class, and societal norms (Weedon, 2004). Yang perceives herself as a science teacher who advocates Chinese cramming education. As she said, teaching was a highly respected profession focused solely on imparting knowledge. This approach was a shared consensus between teachers and students in her previous working environment. Society’s collectivism and intense competition forced her to apply a severe teaching method, which also shaped her self-awareness and professional identity (Tan et al., 2021).

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Reference

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Bowe, H, Martin, K & Manns, H. (2014), 'Positioning the self: role, power and gender' in Communication across cultures: Mutual understanding in a global world, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne, pp. 118-135.

Brown, P., & Levinson, S. C. (1987). Politeness: Some universals in language usage. Cambridge University Press.

Canagarajah, S. (2010). Achieving Community. In D. Nunan & J. Choi (Eds.), Language and culture: Reflective narratives and the emergence of identity (pp. 41-49). Routledge.

Heng, T. T. (2018). Different is not deficient: contradicting stereotypes of Chinese international students in US higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 43(1), 22–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2016.1152466

Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge University Press.

Li, W. & Wang, M. (2016, May 20), UK school in BBC show adopts Chinese learning methods. ChinaDaily. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2016-05/20/content_25390775_2.htm

Paltridge, B. (2012). Discourse and Society. Discourse Analysis: An introduction (pp. 15-37). Bloomsbury.

Rapoport, A. (2021). The Changing Meaning of Citizenship and Identity and a Perspective Model of Citizenship Education. In Globalisation, Comparative Education and Policy Research (pp. 37–50). Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-2014-2_3

Tan, T. X., Yi, Z., Camras, L. A., Cheng, K., Li, Z., Sun, Y., & Chen, N. (2021). The effect of academic performance, individualistic and collectivistic orientation on Chinese youth’s adjustment. Social Psychology of Education, 24(5), 1209–1229. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-021-09650-x

Vanassche, E., & Kelchtermans, G. (2014). Teacher educators’ professionalism in practice: Positioning theory and personal interpretative framework. Teaching and Teacher Education, 44, 117–127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2014.08.006

Weedon, C. (2004). Identity and Culture : Narratives of Difference and Belonging. McGraw-Hill International (UK) Ltd.

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This view reflects a high degree of power held by parents and teachers in shaping and controlling students’ behaviours and attitudes.

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However, Bohunt students Angelina and Rosie resisted to imposed power and their response reflects a pushback against the traditional power dynamics told by Miss Li.

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Further Research

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This documentary overstates the cultural distinctions between different educational systems. In actuality, the principal of Bohunt, Mr. Strowger, stated in an interview that the documentary showed opposing teaching styles, yet Chinese and British instructors frequently interacted privately for betterment (Li & Wang, 2016). It should attempt to explore transcultural events in a more specific and detailed manner from the perspective of how culture shapes individuals, as well as investigate the impact of culture on the way individuals think and work, rather than overgeneralising and exaggerating stereotypes about Chinese students as being unaccustomed to critical thinking and challenging their teachers (Heng, 2018). Furthermore, to give more thorough and appropriate information and conclusions, it can incorporate the views of more diverse participants, like bystanders, along with the major players in the workplace, such as parents and supervisors.

Comments & Feedback

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Thank you for engaging with our poster. 😊

Your thoughts and feedback are essential to us, and we look forward to hearing from you!

Discussion Questions:

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Do you think the transcultural conflicts presented in this documentary are over-generalized or stereotypical? What other transcultural theories can be applied to explain these conflicts?
Share a personal experience where you encountered a teaching style from a teacher of a different cultural background. How did you view and adapt to their teaching methods? Do you think your perception of this transcultural experience was influenced by your own cultural background? What insights or reflections did this experience bring you?

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In the first episode, Yang finds herself dealing with a harsh teaching approach in the British class. She positioned herself as an “educational authority” figure by enforcing discipline and focusing on information transmission, assuring success via control and high standards.

Since people's self-positioning is influenced by their social and cultural backgrounds (Paltridge, 2012), her experience in the Chinese educational system shaped her positioning. She feels that her position as a teacher presents authority that students should respect and follow. She also positioned students as passive absorbers of this knowledge, viewing their responsibility as simply obeying orders without challenging authority.

What Shapes the Teachers in the Workplace - The Reason behind the Transcultural Conflicts

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How These Teachers Influence and Reconstruct the Community

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