Cultural Awareness Paper Week 1

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University of Phoenix *

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CTEL503

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Sociology

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Apr 3, 2024

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1 Cultural Awareness Emma Bragdon University of Phoenix CTEL/503: Culture and Inclusion Dr. Thomas Carriveau March 11, 2024

2 Cultural Awareness Educators, no matter what part of the world they are teaching in, will experience diversity within their classrooms. It becomes our job to provide an equitable education in which all children reach their highest potential. To do that, we have to become effective multicultural educators. Practices that enhance cultural awareness among students, faculty, and the community include building meaningful relationships with students and their families, creating an inclusive, safe learning environment, reflecting on personal biases, transforming pedagogical practices to ensure they are culturally responsive, and encouraging students to reflect on their prior knowledge and experiences. When an educator knows each individual student, it can change a student’s education. It allows the child to feel like they are valued (Burnham, 2020), as well as allowing the teacher to develop strategies to address different backgrounds, whether that be a child whose parents are getting a divorce or a child who is homeless. (Singhal & Gulati, 2021). Creating meaningful relationships within the classroom can include engaging in regular check-ins with students as well as breaking the ice at the beginning of the school year (Singhal & Gulati, 2021). To demonstrate cultural awareness to students, faculty need to respect cultural differences among each other. When teachers display respect for all backgrounds with other adults, it reinforces the idea that it is imperative to validate religious beliefs, language, morals, etc. that add to a person’s self-identity (Singhal & Gulati, 2021). Making profound connections with the community, such as with a student’s family, has been proven to help improve a student’s grades as well as attendance (Singhal & Gulati, 2021). Reaching out to families includes when something positive happens at school, not just disciplinary issues. Multicultural educators should also reach out to

3 families periodically to provide resources for support as well as check-ins for parents to ask questions. Creating meaningful relationships within the classroom, among faculty, and within the community only helps promote cultural awareness in the education system. Creating a safe, inclusive environment for all students is important for cultural awareness. Within the classroom, this could be making sure that learning is student-centered (Howe & Lisi, 2024). For teachers that have a small library in their classroom, this could include making sure all communities are represented in the books, including individuals of all races, religions, sexual orientations, etc. (Burnham, 2020). Among faculty, this could be regular professional development to ensure all educators are knowledgeable of all cultural identities. Within the community, it is important to create an inclusive environment. One way to do this is to make sure all families feel supported. This could include translators for families that are English as a second language speakers or transportation vouchers for individuals of lower socioeconomic status (Singhal & Gulati, 2021). Multicultural educators should always make all students feel welcome and safe. One way educators can enhance cultural awareness is by exploring their own personal biases. Every single person in this world is brought up differently, with their own unique experiences. With those experiences, biases could take many forms, including religious, academic, or gender biases (Singhal & Gulati, 2021). Within the classroom, unconscious bias could lead to unfair grading practices. It is important to reflect on all biases to ensure all students are treated fairly and equally. Not only can biases affect students, but they can also affect staff relationships. If faculty demonstrate that reflection on personal biases can lead to positive relationships, it shows students that self-reflection is a necessary practice. Within the

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