INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION: BALANCING TRADITION AND MULTICULTURALISM IN A TECHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY CONTROVERSIAL SOURCES OF EDUCATION: TECHNOLOGY VS. FAMILY

Ia Beridze & Guli Shervashidze
State University of Batumi, Republic of Georgia

Abstract

Having researched the subcultures and lives of immigrants to the U.S. for over a decade, I have observed, overwhelmingly, that immigrant communities serve as an extension of the traditional ‘classroom.’ Parents, for immigrants especially, are the primary teachers, goal setters, and planners and teachers of traditional cultural beliefs often are nested in the local community. It follows that one of the most powerful tools for teaching is an environmental teaching; individuals appreciate the feeling of being a part of something he/she can participate in and understand, and by extension cultural values may be imparted through shared and collaborative learning. Simply stated, the family and community are—according to my observation in the field—the most powerful vehicle for establishing and individual’s ‘roots’ and educational foundation. Though some ethnic, immigrant communities exist parallel or ‘outside’ the broader social spectrums in which they reside, these communities are not immune—despite their traditionalism and focus on preserving native cultures—to the influence and advances of technology. With technology, ‘outsider’ communities are more prone to assimilation. Thus, the technology causes major and significant social changes in the way students in these communities learn. Despite the impact of technology, family and community remain at the heart of education, cultural and social, in the lives of immigrants.  It is valuable to consider the ways in which these communities both benefit and may be at risk from the contradiction.

Our global community lives in an intercultural world, the clichéd melting pot of values, integrated into a unified global culture, where unique nations strive to retain their originality and promote individualism. Cultural unification is one of the challenging social issues of contemporary life, as present as a society’s need to survive in different climates and geographic conditions. National cultures despite their diversity face similar problems integrating old and new customs and traditions, managing the opposition between generations, and alleviating social conflict or alienation due to diversity, especially as technology invented to foster connection often proves isolating. Cultural “measurements” of difference in terms of regions, ethnicities, religions, genders, generations and class are popular in the social sciences, and the development of intercultural education as a part of curriculum has become a key. Yet, it is difficult to measure intrinsic knowledge, let alone the spiritual health of a community or ethnic enclave. Social knowledge and the individuals’ sense of connection within a community—be it national or ethnic—is immeasurable and immeasurably important. This paper will address the regulation of such ‘measures’ as they are mediated through the educational process. Specifically, we will focus on how to implement and measure the acknowledgement and respect of difference within an educational setting, such that a unified nationality maintains the traditions and nuances of subgroups and encourages individuals to tailor their own cultural originality to become a worthy member of the global community. World society lives and develops in an intercultural environment. The universe is adjusting its existence to the conditions of globalization. Living in a century of technological change, for better or worse, means that this is a significant time when each minute gives us new chances for technological improvement. The opportunity for the rapid dissemination of information hastens the formation of an intercultural, unified and global society. The process of accumulation of different cultural values in a unified culture is a rapid and ongoing process, though still progress is complicated. Isolation, which is controlled with borders, stage-by-stage losses its power as far as the most communication is implemented via online space, area that is free from borders and problems handicapping the spread of any information novelties. Quite frequently the novelties are in contradiction with pre-existing rules and thus confrontation occurs. In contemporary society, the promotion of novelties and innovations are implemented so hastily that society cannot get well acquainted/educated with the novelties and thus it turns into a social issue. A relevant education should be an inseparable part of everyday life, though the contemporary world looks at this education in a different way. We will present a case study to illustrate these challenges, centering our research on the different communities leaving in the United States with different traditions, cultural specifics, religions, and living styles. National cultures despite their diversity face similar problems integrating old and new customs and traditions, managing the opposition between generations, and alleviating social conflict or alienation due to diversity, especially as technology invented to foster connection often proves isolating. Different cultures also facing the same difficulties in terms of saving their own specifical life styles or cultural differences. Technological revolution made this process fast and uncontrolled. That is why in now days family role, early education and the living environment become very important and attributive. As is widely accepted, knowledge which comes from parents has enormous power and plays a significant role for every human personality, for the formation beliefs. The purpose of the current study is to explore the role of environment and role of family education on saving unique nations traditions in support of human happiness. I worked on to find out the relationship between ancient traditions and environmental influences based on Georgian and American cultural differences. In now days it is obvious that even every society is experiencing some kind of impact on their traditions and living habits. Rapidly developing modern technologies promote the popularization of intercultural perception. New styles of communication, online friendship, and the organization of online communities have generated interesting questions for researchers. The main purpose of these investigations is to make clear the positive and negative aspects regarding intercultural perception which become dominant in today’s world. There are a lot of questions about how online communication changes our society, and why this new technological lifestyle (messaging, texting, online meetings) has become very useful.

Keywords: Individualism, Traditions, Technology, Family, Society, Happiness