Intercultural Learning In and Through Sports - The Development of a Device to Measure the “Sensitivity towards Strangeness”(STS) (PhD)
Involverte ansatte Beskrivelse„[…] denn als fremd wird der Fremde nur in der Fremde wahrgenommen und jeder der sich fremd fühlt ist nur so lange ein Fremder, bis er sich nicht mehr fremd fühlt, denn dann ist er kein Fremder mehr. […]“
Karl Valentin was a cabaret artist and author from Munich (1882-
The meaning of the term “strangeness” in this article is at first to be understood as unfamiliarity or unusualness. It is a theoretical construct which is referring to social phenomena where people, situations, or objects are perceived as different to the individuals own perception. It can be differentiated between to perspectives: 1) the stranger’s view, where one could personally feel strange in a situation such as an “outsider” within a group of unknown people, and 2) from the “insiders” perspective, where persons or objects are perceived as strange. Dependent on the subjective meaning attributed to the difference, strangeness can consequently be perceived as threatening. Terms such as xenophobia, and hate against strangers, illustrate problematical consequences related to this phenomenon.
Conversely, a perceived difference is a crucial incentive for development in general. As a case in point, in order to de-velop identity, we have to deal with differences. Accordingly, perceived distinctions between oneself and other persons are needed in order to demarcate ourselves from other people. Initially, the noticed difference enables one to make the dis-tinction between “you” and “I”. As a result, the focus of attention will be upon the term ‘difference’, and the ways people deal with it.
The “sensitivity towards strangeness” is mainly determined by a perceptiveness towards differences, and the subjective meaning a perceiver ascribes to noticed distinctions -- always in comparison to own knowledge and standards. As a result, the sensitivity itself should to be understood as the capability to notice and to deal constructively with distinctions, even though one is not able to understand the cause of the difference in the first place. Nevertheless, such a sense requires the awareness that strangeness is not a peculiarity of persons or social groups, but that it is socially constructed. As a case in point, skin color can only be defined as strange where it is perceived as different to the individuals own or others person’s perception – ‘only abroad, a stranger is perceived as strange’ (Valentin).
Therefore, some knowledge about the structures and mechanism causing strangeness is compulsory in order to meet the stranger with a certain degree of open mindedness. However, the main goal of intercultural learning in the realm of physi-cal activities is to improve a better mutual understanding between different individuals and social groups. Furthermore, it is intended to develop more constructive strategies of conflict management between natives and strangers. The field of sports and physical education seems to be a special and promising field in order to achieve such objectives. In sports, minimal modifications of tasks and sensitive pedagogical treatment within the situations offer special possibilities for intercultural learning processes. Situations can for instance easily be arranged in ways that demonstrate how it feels to be a stranger. Subsequent discussions and reflections are expected to lead to a better mutual understanding.
The concept of strangeness does not only refer to ethnic differences. The structures and mechanism of resulting con-flicts are typical within any given (heterogeneous) society such as between: men and women, “abled” and “disabled”, or people from different parts of the country or differences in religious beliefs.
However, experiencing strangeness and learning how to deal with it constructively is an essential skill for both natives and strangers. The “sensitivity towards strangeness” turns out to be a key-indicator in order to evaluate effects of interven-tion programs such as “intercultural competence in and through sports”. This demands the development of a measuring instrument which is based on theoretical considerations implicit in the phenomenon of strangeness. The instrument is intended to be economical and easy to apply, while it differentiates between defined groups in the expected theoretical direction, and can be used on different populations as a screening tool. The transfer of the instrument into other languages and cultures should increase a wide range of application in the long run.