Differences and diversity raises questions for educators about how to best respond to groups of students who do not share the same background or experiences as other students. Socio-cultural factors influence curriculum experiences and reflects on strategies that support student’s engagement with curriculum through learning and experiences. To effectively promote this, educators need to have a number of pedagogical practices and practise them effectively. As an educator, it is vital to either reinforce or challenge student’s beliefs, assumptions, and their stereotypes. As mentioned in EYLF (2013, pg. 21I educators awareness and cultural competence are the principals of diversity, equity, fairness, and social justice. It is able to assist
It is crucial for educators to value, understand and incorporate every child’s cultural diversity in the classroom (The Early Years Learning Framework Professional Learning Program, 2011). This means educators needs to deal with any bias beliefs they might/may hold. For example, some children might not participate in the classroom because
2. “Including ethnic and cultural diversity content in the curriculum” Seek out and use only factually based information on different cultural traits. “This is needed to make schooling more interesting and stimulating for, representative of, and responsive to ethnically diverse students,” and this is a teacher’s ultimate goal in being culturally
How do people behave? What makes us act the way we do? There are as many different answers as there are people. Each person is a unique makeup of individual characteristics which blend together to form the personality, the behavior of the person. We can identify certain broad characteristics of groups of people and apply them to individuals to get an idea of how they will behave in a given situation. This is called stereotyping and, when taken too far, will give a distorted picture of what to expect of a persons behavior. While you can never get a fully accurate picture of how someone will behave based on their demographics and characteristics, you can make certain general guesses that will point
Every classroom provides a community of learners who offer individualistic styles of learning, unique beliefs and thought processes. Through the curriculum and all experiences within an educational setting, educators have the ability to influence students through their own beliefs and philosophies. Educators have a responsibility to confront and challenge stereotypes, particularly those pertaining to gender and socio-economic status, to promote diversity within the classroom and enhance student’s emotional, physical, social and academic well-being by recognizing the importance of self-esteem and self-efficacy. Curriculum frameworks are influenced by how they are developed,
Teachers must learn about their student’s cultures if they want to educate them to the best of their ability. Many of the students in culturally diverse classrooms will want to learn in different ways. Some will want to learn in pairs, groups, as a class, or just alone. If the teacher is educated in their culture then lessons can be adjusted to appeal to every student as much as possible instead of forcing some to forget about their culture and learn like others. Students from
The United States of America is known for being a country filled with people of many different ethnic backgrounds. Likewise, the student population in schools is just as diverse as it continues to grow. Lynch (2015) notes that schools are expected to teach their students “how to synthesize cultural differences into their knowledge base” as this will help “facilitate students’ personal and professional success in a diverse world” (para. 8). Educators must be able to provide for the diverse needs of students and are expected to equip students with skills that can lead to healthy development as it can affect higher levels of student achievement and students have more opportunities of success in their future. Providing students with tools and skills requires an awareness and acceptance of their ethnic identity. Once students have developed self-acceptance about their ethnic identity, they can begin to feel empowered and motivated to do well. Through cultural empowerment, students of color can develop intrinsic motivation and achieve academic success.
Some say love is blind. I would like to disagree. When a person falls in love with another surely, they are aware of that individuals many characteristics such as gender, race, and age. And I believe it’s those very differences which attracted people to one another. This belief of mine made the concept of Diversity Awareness very interesting to me. Within this paper, I will describe and explain why I found the Diversity Awareness concept most important to me, the implications of not applying the concept, the actions I will take to apply the concept, and the impact this new insight will have on my supervisors, peers, and subordinates.
Diversity is defined as “the condition of having or being composed of differencing elements” (Webster Dictionary). Through my clinical experiences I have seen a lot of diversity whether it be different ethnicity, the family culture/make-up or students living with disabilities in the classrooms. Specifically, in my urban clinicals I saw more ethnicity and culture diversity differences between student to student and student to teacher relationships. However, in my suburban school clinical experiences I also saw diversity, but in a different way. Here I saw much more diversity in family make-up.
Overcoming stereotyping is a challenge educators can encounter when it comes to ensuring that teaching strategies are appropriate for culturally diverse children. Some educators may compare one child to another child that comes from the same cultural background and use the same teaching strategy. One way to overcome this is to make sure that educators know each of the students individually instead of comparing one to another or relying on stereotyping. “To truly engage students, we must reach out to them in ways that are culturally and linguistically responsive and appropriate, and we must examine the cultural assumptions and stereotypes we bring into the classroom that may hinder interconnectedness.” (Teaching Tolerance, 1991) Once they know more about each of the students then they can avoid stereotyping and adjust their teaching strategy to meet the individual needs of the students in the classroom.
There are many factors that play a role in the learning process for every human being. Race, religion, language, socioeconomics, gender, family structure, and disabilities can all affect the ways in which we learn. Educators must take special measures in the delivery of classroom instruction to celebrate the learning and cultural differences of each of their students. As communities and schools continue to grow in diversity, teachers are searching for effective educational programs to accommodate the various learning styles of each student while promoting acceptance of cultural differences throughout the classroom. It no longer suffices to plan educational experiences only for middle-or upper class white learners and then
Fostering cultural awareness in children has many benefits that contribute to the overall development of children. Educators encounter challenges that may include academic pressure, collaborating with diverse families, and meeting the needs of the students. This paper examines theoretical perspectives using a longitudinal study. The study examined the experiences of children ages 3.5 to 5.5, by using their everyday experiences of race and ethnic diversity in their classroom setting.
and curriculum. The discussion of the historical and philosophical background of multicultural education teaches educators how race and culture influence educational policy and programs. Multicultural teaching and curriculum is also crucial for the development of equitable education for diverse students. The author asserts that multicultural education can lessen biases while also furthering democratic beliefs and practices among students. The text’s discussion of multicultural education is significant to the field of multicultural education as it demonstrates how multicultural educational practices help students become culturally literate and prepared for today’s diverse and globalized world.
Educators should critically examine their own values, beliefs, and attitudes related to difference in diversity because we as individuals all have different experiences, beliefs, values and attitudes that can be quite diverse. Staying mindful of this difference is essential in professional practice. For this to really be effective, you need to critically reflect on how your own life events have shaped your beliefs, values and attitudes. Educators must put all assumptions and bias’s aside and keep an open mind when dealing with these differences. For example, by reflecting on your background, you can become aware of biases and prejudices that may impact on your relationship with others from different backgrounds. Once identified, you can then
After reviewing the discussion board forum the business issue I have at my current organization is diversity issues. I am HR recruiter that hires different culture of individual to work in my organization. I enforce equal opportunity in all training programs, and is fulfilled when every employee is able to enjoy and respect the workplace environment that values their contribution.
Once students and teachers are aware of cultural differences, they become aware of racism and can fight to eradiate it. Through their unbiased understanding of the differences between cultures and races, they are able to come to a point of acceptance of themselves and others. If you noticed in my previous paragraph, I mentioned the different types of diversity. Diversity emphasizes how different students and teachers are, but when explored in a classroom, can be used to reveal our similarities. Once students and teachers grasp the concept of diversity, displayed through everyday interactions with diverse groups of students and teachers, racism begins to disappear. In addition, positive sense of self can be developed once students and teachers have an understanding of their own uniqueness through experiences and understanding of diversity. Once teachers and students