Empowering minority students: a study of cultural references in the teaching content

Abstract

Using references to the world outside the classroom is an intrinsic part of teaching content. Cultural references, however, might present a challenge for minority students. This paper investigates how teaching can contribute to the empowerment of all students through a qualitative observational case study of two Norwegian primary and secondary schools. Plenary teaching in two classes at each school was observed for two weeks. Using an abductive research process inspired by linguistic translatory research and Bildung-centred general didactics, we developed categories of universal and particular cultural references in classroom teaching. Universal references are general topics concerning all human beings, while particular references presuppose knowledge of specific cultures. The results are discussed in relation to multicultural research, as well as the ‘postcolonial paradox’. The article concludes that teaching can contribute to the empowerment of all students by combining universal and particular cultural references so that different realms of the human condition are displayed. The challenge for the teacher in this endeavour is to increase the use of non-Western references and to be aware of the postcolonial paradox as an inevitable dilemma when teaching in culturally diverse classrooms.