Dialogic interactions in schools to value diversityan ethnographic case study in a compulsory school in Ghana

Resumen

In today's increasingly diverse world, it is imperative to encourage students to value diversity and the importance of engaging in meaningful dialogue to appreciate and learn from different perspectives. Particularly, when recent trends show a decline in the rate at which students complete lower secondary education in Ghana due to social differences and poverty within the school community. Given that little is known about dialogic learning in Ghana, it is essential for stakeholders in education to establish a safe and inclusive learning environment which includes setting ground rules for respectful communication, addressing instances of discrimination, and actively promoting the idea that everyone's voice matters irrespective of their status or background. Along these lines, this study sought to explore how Dialogic Literary Gatherings implemented in a compulsory urban school in southeastern Ghana could encourage 8th-grade students to value diversity. Findings from the research demonstrated that despite the diversity existent among this group, participants felt marginalized and experienced discrimination by name-calling, by virtue of their learning difficulties, their poor background, and their ethnicity. Nonetheless, the DLGs encouraged the students to recognise and appreciate these differences. Also, it transformed the educational experiences of these marginalized ones by making affordances for the students to engage in egalitarian dialogue, share their grievances with their peers and boost participants self-confidence. Lastly, it showed that the DLGs encouraged these adolescent students to make more friends and show solidarity for each other while exhibiting attributes of teamwork, tolerance and respect for one another, thereby encouraging positive interpersonal relations among the students. These eventually encouraged participants to value the diversity existent among them irrespective of their backgrounds.