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Are university students getting enough interethnic communication and diversity engagement experience?: concerns & considerations

Interethnic communication study in today’s increasingly democratic multicultural societies is important to improve communication practices and relations across ethnic boundaries. Within the context of higher education settings, interethnic contact, attention to news in the media and other forms of c...

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Main Author: Tamam, Ezhar
Format: Inaugural Lecture
Language:English
Published: Universiti Putra Malaysia Press 2016
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/58813/1/20170731173927ARE_UNIVERSITY_STUDENTS_GETTING_ENOUGH_INTERETHNIC_COMMUNICATION_AND_DIVERSITY_ENGAGEMENT_EXPERIENCES_CONCERNS_%26_CONSIDERATIONS__.pdf
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/58813/
http://www.pnc.upm.edu.my/upload/dokumen/20170731173927ARE_UNIVERSITY_STUDENTS_GETTING_ENOUGH_INTERETHNIC_COMMUNICATION_AND_DIVERSITY_ENGAGEMENT_EXPERIENCES_CONCERNS_&_CONSIDERATIONS__.pdf
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institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
building UPM Library
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continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Putra Malaysia
content_source UPM Institutional Repository
url_provider http://psasir.upm.edu.my/
language English
description Interethnic communication study in today’s increasingly democratic multicultural societies is important to improve communication practices and relations across ethnic boundaries. Within the context of higher education settings, interethnic contact, attention to news in the media and other forms of culture-related diversity engagement are important because they contribute to social and personal development. Positive interethnic contact in different communication settings, intercultural communication sensitivity, interethnic bridging social capital and attachment to the national ethos are salient social processes and mechanisms within students’ development and unity-integration frameworks. This monograph highlights concerns and considerations related to undergraduates’ interethnic communication and culture-related diversity engagement, and the implications for academicians and administrators. Although interethnic/intergroup posturing is not pronounced, Malaysian undergraduates are not extensively engaged in interethnic interaction and socialization despite their awareness of the importance of such engagement and the continuous call for them to mingle on a regular basis. Interethnic interaction and socialization on a daily basis are not yet a norm in the lives of local students. Such engagements occur more often in structured or facilitated situations and mostly on matters related to academic activities. The undergraduates are also found to have little interest in news in the news media, although the news media has a role in the development of social attitudes. It also seems to be a norm for undergraduates not to capitalize on the wide ranging diversity-related learning opportunities that are presumably available to them throughout their three- to four-year study period. Intercultural sensitivity, interethnic bridging social capital and civic responsibility development among undergraduates are affected by the extent to which they experience positive interethnic interaction and socialization, in and outside the classroom. Thus interethnic contact and diversity learning experiences, where relevant and appropriate, should be systematically and strategically integrated into the students’ study program. It is necessary to develop positive interethnic contact expectations that members of other ethnic groups have an interest to interact with members of one’s own ethnic group. This has to be emphasized and integrated in the formal curriculum (in the teaching of intercultural communication or in courses related to cultural diversity and ethnic relations in particular) and in cocurriculum activities. For the contact to have positive effects it must be under conditions that are conducive. These conditions are: (1) equal group status within the situation; (2) common goals; (3) intergroup cooperation; and (4) authority support. Students must perceive and feel that the campus multicultural environment promotes inclusiveness, where the students feel that the different ethnic groups are of equal status and working for common goals in a cooperative manner and policies for better intercultural relations are in place and endorsed by the university. Additionally, as the news media has a role in fostering interethnic tolerance, attachment to national ethos and national pride, the news media must convey more positive news on national affairs and interethnic relations to enhance unity and intercultural understanding. Such news should then be strategically tapped as learning resources. On the more specific goal of nation building, within the context of higher education systematic longitudinal studies, including assessment studies, are recommended. Individual- and institutional-level factors that facilitate and hinder a higher level of positive ethnic/culture-related diversity engagement in and outside classrooms must be integrated in future studies.
format Inaugural Lecture
author Tamam, Ezhar
spellingShingle Tamam, Ezhar
Are university students getting enough interethnic communication and diversity engagement experience?: concerns & considerations
author_facet Tamam, Ezhar
author_sort Tamam, Ezhar
title Are university students getting enough interethnic communication and diversity engagement experience?: concerns & considerations
title_short Are university students getting enough interethnic communication and diversity engagement experience?: concerns & considerations
title_full Are university students getting enough interethnic communication and diversity engagement experience?: concerns & considerations
title_fullStr Are university students getting enough interethnic communication and diversity engagement experience?: concerns & considerations
title_full_unstemmed Are university students getting enough interethnic communication and diversity engagement experience?: concerns & considerations
title_sort are university students getting enough interethnic communication and diversity engagement experience?: concerns & considerations
publisher Universiti Putra Malaysia Press
publishDate 2016
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/58813/1/20170731173927ARE_UNIVERSITY_STUDENTS_GETTING_ENOUGH_INTERETHNIC_COMMUNICATION_AND_DIVERSITY_ENGAGEMENT_EXPERIENCES_CONCERNS_%26_CONSIDERATIONS__.pdf
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/58813/
http://www.pnc.upm.edu.my/upload/dokumen/20170731173927ARE_UNIVERSITY_STUDENTS_GETTING_ENOUGH_INTERETHNIC_COMMUNICATION_AND_DIVERSITY_ENGAGEMENT_EXPERIENCES_CONCERNS_&_CONSIDERATIONS__.pdf
_version_ 1643836893783130112
spelling my.upm.eprints.588132019-02-07T07:33:31Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/58813/ Are university students getting enough interethnic communication and diversity engagement experience?: concerns & considerations Tamam, Ezhar Interethnic communication study in today’s increasingly democratic multicultural societies is important to improve communication practices and relations across ethnic boundaries. Within the context of higher education settings, interethnic contact, attention to news in the media and other forms of culture-related diversity engagement are important because they contribute to social and personal development. Positive interethnic contact in different communication settings, intercultural communication sensitivity, interethnic bridging social capital and attachment to the national ethos are salient social processes and mechanisms within students’ development and unity-integration frameworks. This monograph highlights concerns and considerations related to undergraduates’ interethnic communication and culture-related diversity engagement, and the implications for academicians and administrators. Although interethnic/intergroup posturing is not pronounced, Malaysian undergraduates are not extensively engaged in interethnic interaction and socialization despite their awareness of the importance of such engagement and the continuous call for them to mingle on a regular basis. Interethnic interaction and socialization on a daily basis are not yet a norm in the lives of local students. Such engagements occur more often in structured or facilitated situations and mostly on matters related to academic activities. The undergraduates are also found to have little interest in news in the news media, although the news media has a role in the development of social attitudes. It also seems to be a norm for undergraduates not to capitalize on the wide ranging diversity-related learning opportunities that are presumably available to them throughout their three- to four-year study period. Intercultural sensitivity, interethnic bridging social capital and civic responsibility development among undergraduates are affected by the extent to which they experience positive interethnic interaction and socialization, in and outside the classroom. Thus interethnic contact and diversity learning experiences, where relevant and appropriate, should be systematically and strategically integrated into the students’ study program. It is necessary to develop positive interethnic contact expectations that members of other ethnic groups have an interest to interact with members of one’s own ethnic group. This has to be emphasized and integrated in the formal curriculum (in the teaching of intercultural communication or in courses related to cultural diversity and ethnic relations in particular) and in cocurriculum activities. For the contact to have positive effects it must be under conditions that are conducive. These conditions are: (1) equal group status within the situation; (2) common goals; (3) intergroup cooperation; and (4) authority support. Students must perceive and feel that the campus multicultural environment promotes inclusiveness, where the students feel that the different ethnic groups are of equal status and working for common goals in a cooperative manner and policies for better intercultural relations are in place and endorsed by the university. Additionally, as the news media has a role in fostering interethnic tolerance, attachment to national ethos and national pride, the news media must convey more positive news on national affairs and interethnic relations to enhance unity and intercultural understanding. Such news should then be strategically tapped as learning resources. On the more specific goal of nation building, within the context of higher education systematic longitudinal studies, including assessment studies, are recommended. Individual- and institutional-level factors that facilitate and hinder a higher level of positive ethnic/culture-related diversity engagement in and outside classrooms must be integrated in future studies. Universiti Putra Malaysia Press 2016 Inaugural Lecture NonPeerReviewed text en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/58813/1/20170731173927ARE_UNIVERSITY_STUDENTS_GETTING_ENOUGH_INTERETHNIC_COMMUNICATION_AND_DIVERSITY_ENGAGEMENT_EXPERIENCES_CONCERNS_%26_CONSIDERATIONS__.pdf Tamam, Ezhar (2016) Are university students getting enough interethnic communication and diversity engagement experience?: concerns & considerations. [Inaugural Lecture] http://www.pnc.upm.edu.my/upload/dokumen/20170731173927ARE_UNIVERSITY_STUDENTS_GETTING_ENOUGH_INTERETHNIC_COMMUNICATION_AND_DIVERSITY_ENGAGEMENT_EXPERIENCES_CONCERNS_&_CONSIDERATIONS__.pdf
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