Caregivers and classroom communication: negotiating the discourse divide - a lesson learned - Maureen Harris

This article addresses an attempt to understand how post-basic nursing students experienced communication in a tertiary South African classroom. It deals with learning and identity formation in the light of the student-educator relationship and classroom discourse. The medium of instruction was English and a significant proportion of the students, all working women, spoke English as an additional language. A focus group of black African nursing students addressed the research question 'Are second language English students disadvantaged by the expressive mediums demanded by the course, namely reflective writing and oral discussion'. Even though the intention was to empower students, limitations presented by the language of discourse bacame apparent. The broader South African political context constituted a filter for classroom relationships where social constraints still ruled the powerful norms of inclusion/exclusion. These were partly mitigated by small group discussions, seen as a forum for safety in expression. Although the research question appears to generate more questions than answers, it does conclude that educators from different cultural frameworks could improve cultural understanding by taking risks, suspending judgement, obtaining feedback, checking perceptions and active listening. Interrogating personal values and beliefs before entering the multicultural class room should lead to clearer understanding of prospective educators influences on students.
Perspectives in Education, Vol. 25 (1), March 2007, pp. 85-97