Intercultural Sensitivity of Teachers / Interkulturalna osjetljivost nastavnika

Abstract

The aim of the empirical research, conducted in the primary schools in the city of Pula and decribed in the current paper, was to examine (1) whether or not the teachers were interculturally sensitive and, if yes, to what extent, and (2) whether or not the teachers' intercultural sensitivity was affected by the factors, such as: their professional qualifications (class teaching – subject teaching), gender (male - female), school location (central or branch school) and years of service (up to 10 years, 11-20 years, and more than 20 years). The Intercultural Sensitivity Scale – ISS by Chen and Starosta (2000) was used as a measuring instrument here. This scale measures the intercultural sensitivity by focusing on 24 dependent items (variables/statements) linked to 4 independent variables and, thus, defining examinees. The results, obtained through the frequency analysis and the Chi-square test, as well as through the analysis of some statistically relevant figures (significance level 5%), suggest that – in terms of intercultural sensitivity – no statistically relevant difference subsists between the teachers. The participants proved to be interculturally sensitive; their professional qualifications, gender, school location and years of service did not affect their intercultural sensitivity level. Moreover, the research was also used to check the validity and reliability of the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale within the context of the Croatian educational system.
Key words: interaction between culturally diverse individuals; intercultural competence; student; teacher.

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Cilj empirijskog istraživanja u ovom radu bio je, na primjeru osnovnih škola grada Pule,
ispitati: jesu li i u kojoj mjeri nastavnici interkulturalno osjetljivi te postoje li razlike u interkulturalnoj osjetljivosti između nastavnika s obzirom na stručnu spremu (razredna nastava – predmetna nastava), spol (muški – ženski), položaj škole (centralna škola – područna škola) i godine staža provedene u nastavi (do 10 godina, od 11 do 20 godina i više od 20 godina). U istraživanju smo se koristili instrumentom Intercultural Sensitivity Scale – ISS autora Chen i Starosta. Skala mjeri interkulturalnu osjetljivost putem 24 zavisne varijable/tvrdnje kojima su pridružene 4 nezavisne varijable koje definiraju ispitanike. Na temelju rezultata istraživanja dobivenih frekvencijskom analizom i hi-kvadrat testom, zatim pregledom statistički značajnih rezultata (na razini signifikantnosti 5 %) možemo zaključitida ne postoji statistički značajna razlika u interkulturalnoj osjetljivosti među nastavnicima. Ispitali smo i utvrdili da su nastavnici  interkulturalno osjetljivi, nije utvrđena razlika s obzirom na stručnu spremu, spol, status škole i godine staža provedene u nastavi. Naše istraživanje je, nadalje, poslužilo i za provjeru valjanosti i pouzdanosti Skale interkulturalne osjetljivosti u kontekstu hrvatskog odgojno-obrazovnog sustava.
Ključne riječi: interakcija kulturno različitih; interkulturalna kompetencija; nastavnik; učenik.