Glocal citizenship education in English language teaching : an ethnographic action research with Jamaicans on the Japan exchange and teaching programme

Abstract

Jamaica and Japan are island nations with different geo-linguistic and racial histories. Japan has maintained its sovereignty since the 12th century, survived global isolation, war, occupied other Asian states and rose to global economic power with a largely homogeneous, monolingual citizenry. Beginning with Amerindians from South America then Europeans, Africans and Asians who emigrated forcibly during the transatlantic slave trade and de-colonisation process, Jamaica is historically a multicultural, multilingual nation. Because of over 300 years of British colonisation, Jamaicans possess linguistic capital as native speakers of English, meeting the eligibility criteria of the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) programme which aims to internationalise Japan and improve its citizens’ English language competencies by importing diversity in the Beings of international professionals. The migration of Jamaicans, also known as Yaadis in the diaspora, to serve as English Language Teaching (ELTs) professionals in Japan since 2000 suggests that they possess identities as global and local – glocal citizens. Yet, their voices and experiences are sparsely represented in academic discourses on glocal citizenship, glocal citizenship education, ELT pedagogies, teacher professional learning and ethnicity in ELT. Consequently, this study explored the perspectives and experiences of Jamaican ELTs in Japan by engaging them in critical reflections about the relationship between their nationality, personal and professional competencies and their ELT roles in respect of the concepts of Glocal Citizenship and Glocal Citizenship Education.

This study employed a tri-stage (plan-act-reflect), mixed-methods ethnographic action research (EAR) methodology with four embedded case studies and developed a Coloniality-Capital theoretical framework as the analytical lens for data within and across stages. For Plan, forty-seven JETs and Non-JET Yaadi ELTs responded to an online questionnaire which informed the content and structure of the Act stage. Four Yaadi JETs proceeded to Act, a one-week professional learning experience with me (reverse ethnography) in Hong Kong focused on deepening Yaadis’ reflective understandings of glocal citizenship through seminars, workshops, community engagements and journaling. For Reflect, I visited Blessed, Brie, Paula and Ami in their respective Japanese teaching contexts to observe how the professional learning experience impacted their lives and work as ELTs.

The findings challenge long standing notions of economic migration associated with Jamaicans by clarifying Yaadi ELTs’ motivation to migrate to Japan, recognising their glocal competencies and recording their global sojourn. They also illuminate the relevance of geo-racio-historic factors that cultivate the development of glocal competencies and offer a framework of glocal competence developed from empirical data. The findings also provide insights to the racial and professional power relations that dictate pedagogical approaches to glocal citizenship education in ELT in Japan. The study establishes the potential of the ELT industry for Jamaica and Japan as a lucrative and active space for GlCE by proposing a pedagogical model for glocal citizenship education and the development and delivery of professional learning experiences in ELT. The study also expands the use of EAR as an approach suitable for the education discipline and the Coloniality-Capital framework, which is unique to this study, has the potential for future interdisciplinary application.