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Intractable dilemmas : = "Sesame Square" and the quest for multiculturalism in Nigeria.

Record Type:	Language materials, manuscript : Monograph/item
Title/Author:	Intractable dilemmas :/
Reminder of title:	"Sesame Square" and the quest for multiculturalism in Nigeria.
Author:	Moland, Naomi A.
Description:	1 online resource (450 pages)
Notes:	Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 76-03(E), Section: A.
Contained By:	Dissertation Abstracts International76-03A(E).
Subject:	Multicultural Education. -
Online resource:	click for full text (PQDT)
ISBN:	9781321303056

Intractable dilemmas : = "Sesame Square" and the quest for multiculturalism in Nigeria.
Moland, Naomi A.

Intractable dilemmas :"Sesame Square" and the quest for multiculturalism in Nigeria. - 1 online resource (450 pages)

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 76-03(E), Section: A.

Thesis (Ph.D.)

Includes bibliographical references

Despite the fact that most multicultural education models have been developed in Western socio-political contexts, such models are increasingly being diffused around the world. Many scholars advocate the widespread use of such models for recognizing diversity and fostering intergroup tolerance, yet few studies empirically examine how such initiatives are "taken up" in new contexts. This dissertation investigates how multicultural education operates in a non-Western postcolony. As a case study, I examine the Nigerian version of Sesame Street, called Sesame Square, which is co-produced by Americans and Nigerians and funded by USAID. I investigate how Sesame Square's creators "localized" the program to be culturally relevant in Nigeria, and how they attempted to teach Nigeria's youngest citizens to value diversity and respect their co-nationals--a daunting task in a context where ongoing conflicts threaten to fracture the country. During nine months in Nigeria, I observed the production of Sesame Square, interviewed the program's creators, and analyzed episode content in order to learn about how creators navigated tense issues of cultural representation. Despite significant contextual differences in Nigeria, educators faced the same dilemmas of multicultural education that their Western counterparts face. They struggled with how to represent diversity "authentically" without perpetuating stereotypes that exacerbate divisions between groups. They grappled with how to "respect" groups and simultaneously change their behaviors. Ironically, efforts to be culturally sensitive led to "othering" discourses that echoed prior civilizing and modernizing missions. Educators also questioned if teaching tolerance was futile amidst the "public curriculum" of violence perpetuated by extremist groups and by the state. The fact that these dilemmas emerged in a very different context indicates that they are inherent dilemmas in multicultural education. These dilemmas are heightened, however, by aspects of the Nigerian context. Historical legacies of colonialism in Nigeria, coupled with a fragile postcolonial state and ongoing conflict, raise the risks that multicultural education efforts may exacerbate divisions. This suggests that paradoxically, multicultural education may be a luxury reserved for nations that have some semblance of national cohesion and stability. Nations such as Nigeria may need to develop alternative models of using education to "recognize" diverse populations.

Electronic reproduction.
Ann Arbor, Mich. :
ProQuest,
2018

Mode of access: World Wide Web

ISBN: 9781321303056Subjects--Topical Terms:

1179578
Multicultural Education.
Index Terms--Genre/Form:

554714
Electronic books.

Intractable dilemmas : = "Sesame Square" and the quest for multiculturalism in Nigeria.
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520 $a Despite the fact that most multicultural education models have been developed in Western socio-political contexts, such models are increasingly being diffused around the world. Many scholars advocate the widespread use of such models for recognizing diversity and fostering intergroup tolerance, yet few studies empirically examine how such initiatives are "taken up" in new contexts. This dissertation investigates how multicultural education operates in a non-Western postcolony. As a case study, I examine the Nigerian version of Sesame Street, called Sesame Square, which is co-produced by Americans and Nigerians and funded by USAID. I investigate how Sesame Square's creators "localized" the program to be culturally relevant in Nigeria, and how they attempted to teach Nigeria's youngest citizens to value diversity and respect their co-nationals--a daunting task in a context where ongoing conflicts threaten to fracture the country. During nine months in Nigeria, I observed the production of Sesame Square, interviewed the program's creators, and analyzed episode content in order to learn about how creators navigated tense issues of cultural representation. Despite significant contextual differences in Nigeria, educators faced the same dilemmas of multicultural education that their Western counterparts face. They struggled with how to represent diversity "authentically" without perpetuating stereotypes that exacerbate divisions between groups. They grappled with how to "respect" groups and simultaneously change their behaviors. Ironically, efforts to be culturally sensitive led to "othering" discourses that echoed prior civilizing and modernizing missions. Educators also questioned if teaching tolerance was futile amidst the "public curriculum" of violence perpetuated by extremist groups and by the state. The fact that these dilemmas emerged in a very different context indicates that they are inherent dilemmas in multicultural education. These dilemmas are heightened, however, by aspects of the Nigerian context. Historical legacies of colonialism in Nigeria, coupled with a fragile postcolonial state and ongoing conflict, raise the risks that multicultural education efforts may exacerbate divisions. This suggests that paradoxically, multicultural education may be a luxury reserved for nations that have some semblance of national cohesion and stability. Nations such as Nigeria may need to develop alternative models of using education to "recognize" diverse populations.
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