Open-access E-journal for 
International Scholars, Practitioners, and Students of Multicultural Education
ISSN: 1559-5005
Copyright © 1999-2006 by 
Electronic Magazine of Multicultural Education

THIS ISSUE
(FALL 2003: vol. 5, no. 2)
Theme: Globalization and Global Education

ARTICLES:
Chang • Dunn & Occhi • Johnston • Miller & Endo

INSTRUCTIONAL IDEAS:
Klein • Lund

REVIEWS:
Art • Books • Multimedia

CONTRIBUTORS

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Previous Issues
Call for Papers
Call for Reviewers
Issue Themes
Acknowledgments
About EMME
About the Editors

Heewon Chang, Ph. D.
Editor-in-Chief
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Copy Editor
  Hwa Young Caruso,  Ed. D. &  John Caruso, Jr. , Ph. D.
Art Review Editors 
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Assistant Editor

Eastern University
Education Department
1300 Eagle Road
St. Davids, PA,
19087-3696

Literature for Young Readers | Professional Literature

(provided by the editorial staff of EMME unless indicated otherwise)

Literature for Young Readers

Coburn, J. R. & Lee, T. C., & Sibely, A. (Illustrator) (1996). Jouanah: A Hmong Cinderella. Arcadia, CA: Shen's Books. 32 pp., ISBN: 1885008015, $15.95 (ages 9-12).

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Hickox, Rebecca & Hillenbrand, Will (illustrator). (1998). The Golden Sandal: A Middle Eastern Cinderella Story. New Jersey: Holiday House. 32 pp., ISBN: 0823413314, $16.95 (ages 4-8).

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Leigh, Nila K. (1993). Learning to Swim in Swaziland. New York: Scholastic Inc. 31 pp., ISBN: 0590459384, $15.95 (ages 5 & up).

Fitting in with the merging importance of global education, this book by Nila K. Leigh takes children on a journey to the small South African country of Swaziland.  When Nila was only eight years old, she and her family moved from the United States to Swaziland due to her father's transnational business assignment.  Simple story-telling, combined with fun facts and cultural learning activities, makes this child-authored and illustrated book a pleasurable literary experience for both children and adults alike.  This book displays enriching and practical ideas that could enlighten its readers to the language and culture of Swaziland.  This book can be applied to any global or multicultural learning unit, specifically one with the focus on Africa.

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McMahon, Patricia (1993). Chi-Hoon: A Korean Girl. Honesdale, PA: Caroline House. 47 pp., ISBN: 1563970260, $16.95 (ages 9-12).

This book explores Korean culture and life. Uniquely from the perspective of an elementary school-aged child, Chi-Hoon provides an opportunity for the readers to peek into her personal thoughts of her daily activities and struggles through her diary.  Along with the diary, the book contains descriptive details about Korean language, culture and values. This perfect combination of the personal narrative and the impersonal account may help the learning of Korea become both personal and factual.   Photographs of Korea embedded in the text add to the richness of global cultural learning.

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Tran, Truong, & Phong, Ann (illustrator). (2003). Going Home, Coming Home. San Francisco, CA: Children's Book Press. 31 pp., ISBN: 0892391790, $16.95 (ages 4-8).

Ami Chi does not understand why she has to go to Vietnam where both of her parents were born since she was born and grew up in the United States.  When she arrives there, she is hot, cannot understand the language, and is fed "weird" food that she does not like, which certainly adds to the displeasure of the trip.  All she thinks about is going home to the United States.  Then, one day she goes to the marketplace where she finds adventure, delicious baby bananas, good friends, and most importantly her identity as a Vietnamese American.  This book identifies typical struggles that second-generation immigrant children deal with in bi-cultural situations.  It affirms their need to embrace both cultures equally.  This book is practical and appropriate for the multicultural classroom that introduces aspects of the Vietnamese culture and advocates for children who are raised biculturally in this increasingly globalized world.

Professional Literature

Brown, Susan C. & Kysilka, Marcella L. (2002). Applying Multicultural and Global Concepts in the Classroom and Beyond. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.  210 pp., ISBN: 0-321-05398-2 (pk), $46.80.

This book is one of the few books that intentionally integrate global issues and concepts into multicultural education.  After arguing forcefully for the need of this integration, the authors provide practical suggestions as to how to apply multicultural and global concepts to "critical classroom elements" concerning teacher, student, environment, curriculum, instruction, and assessment.  First, they encourage teachers to investigate their own culture, which will lead to heightened awareness of and sensitivity to self and others.  They believe that this awareness and sensitivity become the foundation of transformation  in other critical classroom elements. Although education for global concerns could have been more fully explored, the last few pages of the book argue for raising students' awareness of global interconnectedness.  "Think and Act" boxes, inserted in each subsection of chapters, is a unique feature of the book.   Activities suggested in the "Think and Act" boxes may be done in pairs, triads, or small groups to create opportunities for dialogues and the exchange of multiple perspectives.   Grounded upon the authors' philosophy of transformation through reflection and action,  the thought-provoking and hands-on activities could make multicultural learning more meaningful and transformative.

Hansen, Mette H. (1999). Lessons in Being Chinese; Minority Education and Ethnic Identity in Southwest China. Seattle: University of Washington Press . 169 pp., ISBN: 0-295-97809-0 $50.00

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Mohammed, Javed. (2003).  Islam 101.  Milpitas, CA: Pyramid Connections.  129 pp., ISBN: 0-9701261-1-5 (pk.), $9.95.

As the title implies, this is an introductory text to Islam, written by an Islamic religious leader. With a dual intent of clarifying two commonly misunderstood aspects of Islam--the status of women and jihad--the author does a great job of expounding on the fundamentals of this religion in a manageable length and an accessible language.  He argues, "Islam came to liberate woman from oppression and has given her rights which are unparalleled in their completeness of fairness and equality" and "jihad means struggle in God's path...against many forms including internal temptations and external oppression" (p. 106).  Especially in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, a clear understanding of jihad would do good to non-Moslems as well Moslems (believers of Islam) because it does not mean a holy war against the non-Islamic world per se.   Emphasizing the common origin of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, he pleads for mutual understanding between the Islamic world and the Western counterpart.  This is not a book strictly for information.  Yet, anyone who knows little about Islam will come out much enlightened about this religion upon completing the reading.  For those who seek peaceful inter-religious dialogues, this text will provide plenty of food for thoughts and discussions.

Mole, John. (2003).  Mind Your Manners. London, UK: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.  272 pp., ISBN: 1-85788-314-4 (pk.), $24.95.

This informative book of Europe, written for the business world, consists of two parts: the first examining "the fundamental differences between European organizational cultures from the point of view of individual managers working within them" and the second containing "brief and generalized portraits of the countries of Europe, concentrating on aspects that most affect the national way of doing business" (p. 4).  The portraits of 30 European countries are simple and concise, but not necessarily simplistic.  If readers are cautious of cultural essentialism and overgeneralization inevitable in brief national profiles, they may find it pleasurable to learn about European countries in such a manageable way.

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Rosinski, Philippe. (2003). Coaching Across Cultures: New Tools for Leveraging National, Corporate, and Professional Differences. London, UK: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.  306 pp., ISBN: 1-85788-301-2 (pk), $29.95.

This book skillfully weds comprehensive coaching techniques with sound theories of culture, designed to help corporate coaches who work with  international workforces.  The author defines coaching as "the art of facilitating the unleashing of people's potential to reach meaningful, important objectives" (p. 4).  Drawing upon his corporate coaching experiences across cultures, the author introduces culturally sensitive coaching approaches complemented by realistic illustrations from the global business world.  His approach to cross-cultural coaching is not simplistic and narrowly focused, rather multi-dimensional and balanced.  The second part of the book is particularly insightful in that the author is able to unravel the complexity of cultural differences contributed by  people's "sense of power and responsibility," "time management approaches," "definitions of identity and purpose," "organizational arrangements, notions of territory and boundaries," "communication patterns," and "modes of thinking."  He proposes that coaches pay close attention to these dimensions of cultural differences and "leverage" them, which means "studying cultures, and looking for creative ways to find the best of different cultural views" (p. 40).  Urging cross-cultural coaches to be mindful of the interconnectedness of the world, he calls for responsible coaching that would encourage coachees to "commit to sustainable development; to the fostering of a balanced economic, social, and ecological approach to business; and to proactively creating a better world" (p. 236).  It is refreshing to see a business approach that is more globally oriented, rather than ethnocentric; culturally comprehensive, rather than essentialist; and globally responsible, rather than narrowly capitalist.

Stromquist, Nelly & Monkman, Karen (ed). (2000). Globalization and Education: Integration and Contestation Across Cultures. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.  363 pp., ISBN: 0-8476-9919-6 (pk), $34.95.

The impact of globalization on the economics, politics, and culture of the world has been rigorously studied. Yet, the relationship between globalization and education has not be given adequate scholarly attention.  This pioneer work is beginning to fill the gap.  Part I, including six essays, is especially helpful in conceptualizing globalization. Interdisciplinary perspectives presented in these chapters will help readers gain a much deeper and broader understanding of this phenomenon engulfing the world.  Following Part 2 that discusses the positive and negative impacts of globalization on educational reform, Part 3 provides numerous national case studies including the Commonwealth Caribbean, Japan, Lesotho, Mexico, South Africa, Malaysia, and Australia.  The case studies are generally critical of  West-centric forces of globalization imposed upon poor and less developed countries.  Yet, this book is fair-minded and based on serious scholarship.  It is not easy reading for novices, but it will help readers gain a solid appreciation of the phenomenon if they stick with the book.

Tanaka, Greg. (2003).  The Intercultural Campus: Transcending Culture and Power in American Higher Education.  New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing.  232 pp., ISBN: 0-8204-4150-3, (pk), $29.95. 

The Intercultural Campus is drawn upon Tanaka's four-year “action research” project, reporting on an institutional effort to change an entire higher education campus, which aimed at making it meaingfully "multicultural."  On this campus, a student certificate program in intercultural competency was created; workshops were initiated to help the faculty teach diverse classrooms effectively; more minority faculty members were hired; and staff underwent intercultural training. While several academic departments brought in outside consultants from their own fields, who helped them make course offerings culturally inclusive, it was the small group “intercultural storytelling” that proved the most powerful tool to bridge the gap between diverse groups on campus.  Tanaka's research revealed that gains were made in terms of the sense of community, one's ability to interact with others from different racial or ethnic groups, a sense of control over one’s own life on campus, and a marked decline in racial tension.  In the groundbreaking work to create the "first" intercultural university campus, Tanaka explores the strengths and limitations of multiculturalism and introduces the notion of “interculturalism,” an approach to learning and sharing across difference where no culture dominates. One of the main benefits of the intercultural model is that it can help prepare future leaders to listen to and communicate with others across difference.  At a time when America’s citizens need greater understanding of others in a diverse global community, these skills seem especially timely. Tanaka used this research to develop a new theoretical framework for diversity, which promotes interdependence between individuals. The research focused on the postsecondary setting.  Further studies are recommended to test the usefulness of the intercultural model in pre-K to 12 campuses.  Reviewed by Jacqueline Y. Knight, Pacific Oaks College