Geneva is an international city with expatriates coming from all over the world to work at the international organisations and multinational companies. Many of these expats come with their families. Some singles even get married and have families in the area. The big mix of ethnicities in the city should make it easier for children, since they grow up in this environment. But is that always the case?
After seeing how employers ensure that their employees maintain cultural sensitivity in the workplace in our interview with Anne-Claude Lambelet, and finding out how students prepare for working in an international environment during our interview with Dr. Jon-Hans Coetzer, we were interested in knowing how education at earlier ages helps children increase their sensitivity to other cultures.
To help us understand this we talked to Norbert Foerster, General Director of the Institut International de Lancy in Grand-Lancy, Geneva.
About the school
The Institut International de Lancy (IIL) is one of the oldest international schools in Geneva. Founded in 1903, it was originally a catholic boarding school for girls. Over the years, it has expanded to accommodate the needs of the ever-changing international community in Geneva. The school now offers both the English and French Curricula, and have over 1500 students from 90 different nationalities. The IIL remains a Catholic school, but welcomes children from all religious backgrounds.
The teaching staff consists of 155 teachers from 23 different nationalities. They strive to create an atmosphere where students learn from a very young age that there is a difference between them, but that they can live with those differences and take the best from every culture they have.
The families represented in the school
The international schools here do not just have children from expat parents. Children of locals who are married to foreigners are also a big part of the school, as are the children of non-French speaking Swiss people living in Geneva. There are also children of Genevans, and French or English speaking people living in Geneva.
The public school system in Geneva has an excellent reputation compared to many other countries, however, some parents from other countries might feel that an international school would be best. Some families that send their children to international schools might just want the children to have a second language, want the children to be bilingual and even multilingual.
In the professional world, multilingualism is increasingly important, and many parents are starting their children with different languages at an early age. IIL students in the French section learn English, and those in the English section learn French. The school also offers German and Spanish to their students, exposing them to even more languages and cultures. This further helps with opening opportunities for the children when they leave the school.
When do the children need cultural sensitivity?
The children at IIL start the school at the age of 3. At that age, one does not really see differences between oneself and other children. We only start noticing differences as we grow older.
“We make sure that children of all ages get in contact with different cultures through experiences, activities and information that will help them stay open to differences.” For instance, at home children hear about situations in other parts of the world, and at school, they may discuss what makes these situations different from their day-to-day life here in Europe. According to Foerster, “I believe that the difference is information and this is something we try to do from a very young age: give the children the information they need so they are able to learn about the differences.”
IIL knows the influence that the internet has on children is important at any age. Today, children are exposed to what the world thinks about different cultures more easily than ever before. If they are not helped to understand the difference between fact and stereotypes, it might be harder to accept cultural differences as they grow up. The school emphasises respect. This becomes more important when the children get older and start to form their own peer groups. With a firm foundation on respecting everyone, the students learn to accept the differences and enjoy the similarities.
Which kind of children adapt better to the system?
Children who start the school at the age of 3 grow up with the cultural mix, so they learn to accept other cultures quickly. Children who start at IIL later might take longer to adapt. At the same time, parents play an important role in how quickly children adapt. Children generally want to adapt faster, since they want to interact with their mates. However, parents sometimes make a choice about what is “allowed” based on their personal experiences.
If a parent is open-minded and willing to adapt, children usually make the transition more easily. This might be in terms of language, for example. If a parent is keen to learn the local language, the child might want to learn more quickly. However, if a child feels that the parent is not really adapting to a culture, there might be more of a resistance from the child to learn the language and accept his or her “new home”.
From this series of articles about intercultural integration, we can see that in every phase of life, there is a new and very important reason why we need to take a look at our surroundings, to learn about the differences we have between us and how we can adapt to our environments and accept others.
Intercultural sensitivity is a learning process that changes with age. Children need to learn to accept and to understand themselves better. University students need to learn cultural sensitivity for the skills they need alongside their diplomas. Finally, employees need to learn to be culturally sensitive so that they are able to clearly and efficiently communicate with colleagues, clients and different markets.
