Meeting diversities in maritime education. A blend from World Maritime University

• To address a diversified student complement in academic studies is becoming more and more frequent in maritime education and training. Diversity challenges are also the reality onboard ships that muster a multicultural crew complement. This thesis aims at creating awareness on dilemmas and challenges that students and faculty meet when working in a multicultural environment. In order not to have students academically suffering from environments that they are not used to, there are several issues identified, generated and discussed. If these issues are not adhered to, perhaps the students’ academic performance would not accurately reflect the students’ capability to absorb new knowledge. In extension: from cultural awareness and better communication will follow reduced mistakes and increased safety onboard ships. The empirical data in this study is generated from conversations with the faculty of World Maritime University. The theory in this thesis is Bronfenbrenner’s ecology of human development and two strategies or methods have been used to analyse the conversations: phenomenography and discourse psychology. A conclusion drawn from the conversations is that when students and professors have a diversified background the pedagogy has to be different compared to addressing a culturally homogenous class complement. When also women commence to take up studies in maritime subjects, an education traditionally male dominated, it presents new challenges for the facilitators of information and knowledge. The conditions that the faculty and students meet in such constellations, most probably, can have an impact on behaviour, performance and study results. One important solution to above dilemmas is found to be offering faculty and students courses in cultural awareness. This would be a recommendation to any worldwide maritime education and training institution ready to serve the shipping industry. Another conclusion is to have faculty and students to attend courses in pedagogy (andragogy). These two major conclusions would contribute to an uplift to achieve an even better effect from students’/professors’ encounter in the class room.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap -- Pedagogik (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences -- Pedagogy (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Education

multi-cultural

culture

multi-language

language

IMO

WMU

maritime

pedagogy

Bronfenbrenner

MET

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