For many of us, living in a multicultural environment is a hugely enjoyable experience and we want our children to enjoy it too, and to appreciate it in the same way we do. That’s almost a moral point about the value we place on diversity – so it’s interesting to see that there is an increasing body of evidence to suggest that ‘multicultural engagement’ supports more than just attitudes; it also develops the ability to deal with more complexity in more creative ways. That is, it can help us to think better and hence be more successful in a whole range of areas.
A striking thing is that it’s not automatic; what’s crucial to cognitive benefit is not the simple exposure to multiculturalism but rather the adoption of an open and adaptive attitude toward different cultures. Angela Leung, Professor at Singapore Management University suggests that much depends “on the extent to which individuals open themselves to foreign cultures.” This openness, she adds, includes a tolerance for ambiguity and open-endedness, a lack of closure and firm answers. That is, the values that we associate with multi-culturalism come before the cognitive benefit – they are necessary, not incidental.
Whatever the order, though, this is a finding that resonates with our experience, and also with what we know about learning generally. If creativity, critical thinking and deep understanding comes from making connections and unexpected links between disparate ideas and concepts, then it’s hardly surprising that encountering and engaging with people of difference is a great way to get there, and two studies (full text here and also here) suggests that multicultural engagement results in thinkers who “are better problem solvers and display more creativity (the second study is particularly interesting because it tried to address the possibility that those who who choose to study or work in other countries are already more inclined to be complex and creative thinkers).
Overall, the conclusion is that “multicultural learning experiences: (a) facilitate idea flexibility (e.g., the ability to solve problems in multiple ways), (b) increase awareness of underlying connections and associations, and (c) help overcome functional fixedness.”
It may not, therefore, be surprising to find that in the first study quote above, the students’ multicultural engagement also predicted the number of job offers they received and “that people with this international experience are more likely to create new businesses and products and to be promoted.”
What a happy convergence between facts and values!
