Chapter 2: The Teacher Called Me “Okasan”: Experiences of a Non-Japanese Single Father With Bicultural Children and Japanese Education System by Jon Dujmovich
Abstract
This chapter offers a glimpse into an atypical genre of single-parent family in Japan – a view from the perspective of a single non-Japanese father with young bicultural children. Interactions between the family members and systems of education in Japan can shed new light on cultural gender-based biases and traditionally held stereotypes. The confluence of connections between individual participants, gender role expectations, dominant cultures, and education, are explored in this study through autoethnographic methodology (Ellis et al., 2011; Strauss & Corbin, 1998) and the process of organizational sensemaking-the process by which people give meaning to their collective experiences (Weick, 1995; Weick, Sutcliffe, & Obstfeld, 2005). Educational settings bring together Japan's diversity within one setting, making intercultural encounters routine. Situations where there are perceived microaggressions (Pierce, 1970), cultural bumps (Archer, 1986), as well as examples of ethnocentrism and ethnorelativism (Bennett, M. J., 1998b) are examined and discussed within cultural, gender, and dominant culture privilege (Kimmel & Ferber, 2016; McIntosh, 2003) frameworks.
I will make a case that intercultural sensitivity (Bennett, M.J., 1998a), as well as shifting into other perspectives or worldviews, can lead to enhanced intercultural understanding resulting in win-win outcomes. I will make a second case that autoethnography and organizational sensemaking are particularly well-suited methods for initial inquiry into fringe cultures, such as non-Japanese single fathers raising bicultural children.
About the Contributor
Jon Dujmovich is a single father of two bicultural children and currently teaches intercultural communication courses at Keio University in Tokyo, Japan. He is also serving as member of the Ministry of Education, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) Special Committee on Elementary and Secondary Textbook Screening and Selection, and has over 25 years’ experience as an entrepreneur, educator, and intercultural trainer in Japan.
Citation
Dujmovich, J. (2020). The teacher called me “Okasan”: Experiences of a non-Japanese single father with bicultural children and Japanese education system. In M. L. Cook & L. G. Kittaka (Eds.), Intercultural families and schooling in Japan: Experiences, issues, and challenges (pp. 21-45). Candlin & Mynard. https://doi.org/10.47908/12/2
This chapter offers a glimpse into an atypical genre of single-parent family in Japan – a view from the perspective of a single non-Japanese father with young bicultural children. Interactions between the family members and systems of education in Japan can shed new light on cultural gender-based biases and traditionally held stereotypes. The confluence of connections between individual participants, gender role expectations, dominant cultures, and education, are explored in this study through autoethnographic methodology (Ellis et al., 2011; Strauss & Corbin, 1998) and the process of organizational sensemaking-the process by which people give meaning to their collective experiences (Weick, 1995; Weick, Sutcliffe, & Obstfeld, 2005). Educational settings bring together Japan's diversity within one setting, making intercultural encounters routine. Situations where there are perceived microaggressions (Pierce, 1970), cultural bumps (Archer, 1986), as well as examples of ethnocentrism and ethnorelativism (Bennett, M. J., 1998b) are examined and discussed within cultural, gender, and dominant culture privilege (Kimmel & Ferber, 2016; McIntosh, 2003) frameworks.
I will make a case that intercultural sensitivity (Bennett, M.J., 1998a), as well as shifting into other perspectives or worldviews, can lead to enhanced intercultural understanding resulting in win-win outcomes. I will make a second case that autoethnography and organizational sensemaking are particularly well-suited methods for initial inquiry into fringe cultures, such as non-Japanese single fathers raising bicultural children.
About the Contributor
Jon Dujmovich is a single father of two bicultural children and currently teaches intercultural communication courses at Keio University in Tokyo, Japan. He is also serving as member of the Ministry of Education, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) Special Committee on Elementary and Secondary Textbook Screening and Selection, and has over 25 years’ experience as an entrepreneur, educator, and intercultural trainer in Japan.
Citation
Dujmovich, J. (2020). The teacher called me “Okasan”: Experiences of a non-Japanese single father with bicultural children and Japanese education system. In M. L. Cook & L. G. Kittaka (Eds.), Intercultural families and schooling in Japan: Experiences, issues, and challenges (pp. 21-45). Candlin & Mynard. https://doi.org/10.47908/12/2
Information About the Book
Title: Intercultural Families and Schooling in Japan: Experiences, Issues, and Challenges
Editors: Melodie Lorie Cook and Louise George Kittaka
Publication date: 24 September 2020
Read more...
Title: Intercultural Families and Schooling in Japan: Experiences, Issues, and Challenges
Editors: Melodie Lorie Cook and Louise George Kittaka
Publication date: 24 September 2020
Read more...