Getting along
When staff meet parents from different cultures they are likely to be aware of potential problems caused by any ignorance on either side of the other's language or differences in values and beliefs. It can be less easy to recognise and cope with the issues that arise from the unspoken assumptions that everyone makes about the way to behave when meeting others.
Precisely because conventions about conversation are usually unspoken, it can be difficult to anticipate the differences that might emerge in contact with people from another culture. Yet these can be the source of greater misunderstanding than failure to speak each other's languages well, or ignorance about culture and values.
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