Abstract:

Multicultural Ripples: Mono vs. Multiculturalism in the Classroom

By Andrew Reimann & Gregory V. G. O'Dowd

Canadian Embassy, Tokyo

In this presentation, the process and results of a study conducted at several Japanese universities on how Japanese students view different models of multiculturalism (in particular, the examples of Canada and Australia) vis-a-vis Japan's efforts to internationalize itself.

If you were to ask a Japanese person to describe their country, they invariably describe it in monocultural terms; they are overly self-interested and do not regard Japan as having a multicultural society as foreigners are largely marginalized. Yet foreigners reside here in increasing numbers and are playing an increasingly more important role in Japan's society and economy. Furthermore, if you were to suggest to a Japanese person that Japan is already a mulicultural society, the usual response is an immediate rejection of the idea and the insistance that Japan is still populated by Japanese. It is largely forgotten, or ignored, that Japan is home to sizable Korean and Chinese communities as well as numerous other ethnic groupings also growing regardlessly. Nevertheless, since the early 1980's Japan has been trying to internationalize itself with varying degrees of success. Internationalization involves looking outward at other countries and trying to gain a broader understanding of their cultures, but in Japan's case it invariably means looking at the USA (an interesting model of multiculuralism but not the only one).

Canada, on the other hand, presents a different perspective. Canada is typically regarded by social observers as a cultural "stew" where immigrants are encouraged to keep their old ways as they learn to become Canadians. The American model, in contrast, is regarded as more of a "melting pot" in which immigrants are encouraged to assimilate quickly and dump their old ways. If the policy of pursuing internationalization is meant to develop an open-mindedness to foreign cultures in Japanese citizens, it should therefore include a broad range of perspectives. Which would be a better model for Japan to follow? The Japanese must make up their own minds but we as educators can help them to do that by raising their awareness of alternative models.

The aims of this study were two-fold;

Firstly, to determine what opinions and images students held about Canada, and

secondly to raise their consciousness of Canada as an important model of multiculturalism.

What follows is a brief explanation of how the survey instruments used in this study were developed, then an overview of the data collected and some discussion of the more interesting and pertinent results. Finally, suggestions are made as to how these results may be used to raise Canada's profile in Japan and how Canadian content can be made more relevant to Japanese students who will mold Japan's future.