UNIQUE CHALLENGES TO CULTURALLY SENSITIVE PRACTICE OR WORK:
POWER DISTANCE CHALLENGE
By Stephanie Close
An additional area that can test intercultural relationships between an educational assistant and her students may be the difference in the value dimension of power distance. The power distance dimension deals with the fact that in Mexican society, not all individuals are equal (Hofstede Centre, n.d.). Mexico is a hierarchical society where it is approved that there is an order where everyone has a place, and no further explanation or justification is needed (Hofstede Centre, n.d.). In Mexican culture, centralized power is popular (Hofstede Centre, n.d.) and subordinates are expected to listen and be obedient, just as much as a boss is expected to give orders and directions. In small power distance cultures, like Canada, individuals are treated as equals, and education is centred around students and more open (Ing, 2012). An educational assistant might prevent intercultural conflicts in the classroom by constantly affirming that in the classroom all students are equal and though we all are unique and are given different talents and strengths each student is as valuable as the other. An educational assistant might choose to relay this message by including the idea of fairness and equality in the classroom mission statement or by using the ‘popsicle sticks of fairness’ (see figure x below) to ensure that each student is given an equal turn and amount of turns. A student that has grown up in Mexican culture may find it difficult to participate in discussions unless asked by the teacher or educational assistant, and will under no circumstances tell a teacher that the word she wrote on the board is written wrong. In this case, an educational assistant might have more success with these students if she were to tell her students consistently that she is interested in their opinion, their questions, and their feedback because school is about them, the student, and providing them with skills for the future. It’s important to remind these students that sometimes as educators we make mistakes too, and in Canadian society, most educators appreciate kindly being made aware of our mistake. In fact, if a student can tell us the mistake we’ve made, as educators, we feel like we must be doing our job well if you can spot the mistake!