Study on teaching practices of multicultural competences: Fostering a cultural connection between new immigrant females and undergraduate students

Abstract

The number of new immigrant females from Southeast Asia to Taiwan over the last two decades now exceeds 570,000, accounting for about 2.4% of Taiwan’s total population. Given this, universities must address multiculturalism as a critical teaching objective. This article presents an analysis of the pedagogy, through the process of curriculum planning and instructional design, using actual problems to clarify the teaching responses to the development of a multicultural society in higher education. The course emphasized student interactions and interviews with minority groups through the conduct of in-depth interviews, data analysis, and social action. The researcher collected and accumulated various analytical data, information, and materials by research methods of interview, document analysis, and questionnaire survey to evaluate the learning performance and outcomes in this course. The article presents the holistic learning concepts by illustration of Word Cloud, the cognitive learning progress of individual undergraduate students, the analysis of student learning feedback and reflection and the self-assessment of learning at the beginning and end through the course. The results showed that by practicing in real areas and focusing on the problems of the community, the students improved their awareness and action. Students were able to critique the oppression imposed on minorities in a majority-dominated society. The accumulation of these real experiences and feedback has deepened the students' multicultural competence. After learning and experiencing in the course, the undergraduate students further identified themselves as social actors in promoting and advancing a multicultural society for all. Finally, the researcher provides implications and limitations based on the research conclusions.