10/22/2020; Personal Space Differences

 

Another important aspect of the cultural differences in the classroom is personal space. There are a lot of factors that play into someone's personal needs in regard to personal space. For example, I have anxiety, so I would really rather people didn't stand too close to me, and I am not a "huggy" person. This is perfectly acceptable in the United States, where I live though. 

In other cultures, my need for more personal space might be more difficult to maintain. My friend who was raised in Peru is much more open to physical touch than I am. In fact, students who are from certain South American countries, the Middle East and Southern Europe might be more open to "contact". We could call these "contact" cultures. Northern European countries, North America and Asia could be called "non-contact" cultures. Students from these cultures typically stand and sit further apart and touch less.

This can cause some conflict in the classroom. What a student needs to feel comfortable will vary from student to student. Especially in young students, if one student is very open to physical touch and another isn't, students could end up feeling uncomfortable. Creating boundaries will be important in your classroom. How else can you help students to understand personal space differences in the classroom?