Multicultural Classroom Analysis

Public schools are beginning to see a shift in demographics in the United States. There is now a culturally diverse student population and educators need to respond to this shift in order to ensure an equal education for all students. Culture aids in determining how students learn, and culturally responsive teaching is a way teachers can educate culturally diverse students and provide an equal education for all. Culturally responsive teaching is defined by Geneva Gay as using the various characteristics, perspectives, and experiences of many cultures to effectively teach culturally diverse students (2000). Culturally responsive teaching prepares teachers to work with and teach a culturally diverse classroom of students and allows teachers to create a classroom environment that is similar to their students’ home environments so students do not have to assimilate to the dominant culture or change from their home culture to their school culture depending on their setting (Brown). Multicultural education is not only important for ensuring equal education for all students, but also creates youth who will be able to function and be effective citizens in a pluralistic society (Gay 2003). In order to implement culturally responsive teaching, teachers must acknowledge potential biases and reconstruct their attitudes, create a diverse knowledge base, be caring and empowering, and create a classroom environment that is conducive to a culturally diverse

Teachers should advocate for all students’ backgrounds and cultures to better their students’ learning. To accomplish this, teachers should be informed about their students’ home lives, be conscious of how and what they should be taught, and ultimately make their education a priority. Students from poverty in a multicultural classroom need the correct tools and teaching approaches from their teachers.

It is essential that educators develop strategies to work more effectively with their student populations. Best practices for early childhood educators have been established to include multicultural curriculum for children from diverse backgrounds. “Early childhood educators have already adopted multiculturalism and anti-bias curriculum frameworks to address issues of culture and diversity” (Ponciano & Shabazian, 2012). According to Ponciano and Shabazian, multiculturalism involves providing equal opportunities and viewing cultural difference in a positive light. Anti-bias curriculum builds on this concept by emphasizing actions in response to racism and discrimination. As teachers put these two concepts into perspective, it helps to provide an in-class environment where children are educated about various cultures.

Becoming a culturally responsible educator is at the forefront of education to help reduce the disproportionate representation of students of color (Dray, Wisneski, 2011). Establishing and maintaining classroom management for many educators can be difficult when the student comes from a background unfamiliar to the teacher. Issues arise when a teacher tries to make meaning out of a concerning behavior from a student who, the teacher has a cultural disconnect. Teachers rarely know how diversity affects how they interpret students’ actions and the way they interact with their students. Teachers may misinterpret a cultural difference as lacking self-regulation. If the teacher is in a low socio-economic community, then that one student can turn into the majority or the whole classroom. This can lead to a mishandling of classroom-management. Dray and Wisneski (2011) agree that diversity is not problematic, but it is the response of the individuals and institutions to diversity that can be problematic. An effective teacher must be culturally responsible, maintain quality teaching, and establish clear classroom routines to manage a student-centered classroom.

Sullivan (2010) says this type of approach is “underpinned by an ethos of respect, care, responsibility, and substantive transformation of discriminatory systems.” Teachers must exhibit a level of concern for their students to help them excel. Glickman, Gordon, & Ross-Gordon (2014) demonstrated other ways culturally responsive teachers can cater to a diverse community. Incorporating linguistic diversity, learning about the students’ families and communities to integrate into teaching, utilizing the students’ strengths to help them learn, creating a collaborative classroom environment to reflect a variety of beliefs, enforcing behavioral and academic guidelines, and highlighting the issues of race and culture in an effort to promote awareness and overcome these challenges (p.

As a future teacher, one of the ways I can accomplish and promote inclusion is to develop lesson plans which positively promote multicultural diversity. By including cultural differences and similarities, I will be helping my students understand and appreciate how to be respectful of others culture as well as supporting and demonstrating an equitable learning environment for all students learning experiences. Promoting equity and diversity in the classroom are essential in ensuring my students will be able to thrive and develop values and attitudes to survive in a multicultural society. They learn to celebrate their uniqueness in ways that foster harmony and

The aims of multicultural education is to make sure any student, no matter their demographic, receives and is provided the essential resources to get an education. Along with Banks, he discusses that multicultural education “is to reform the school and other educational institutions so that students from diverse racial, ethnic, and social-class groups will experience educational equality” (p. 3). In today’s schools, the students attending are changing, in regards to demographics, so schools need to adjust to be able to teach to all students.

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.

Culturally responsive classrooms are important in our schools because we are a culturally diverse society. There is a relationship between culturally responsive classrooms, inclusive education, and specialized instruction. When teachers provide a culturally responsive classroom, this in turn creates an inclusive environment for students of all cultures. Additionally, being culturally sensitive, responsive, and inclusive within the classroom will help teachers provide specialized instruction for culturally diverse students. Culture plays a large role in a student’s behavior and academic performance (Lerner & Johns, 2015). Ignoring one’s culture, and essentially their identity, could cause problems with students who are from a different culture

Developing the ability to communicate with culturally diverse students allows for teachers to create a positive learning experience for every individual. The author states that not only is it important for teachers to be prepared to work with students from different backgrounds, but also from a young age students in today’s generation should be developing an understanding of the world around them. Dr. Keengwe refers to multicultural scholars as he

Learners in urban schools face a myriad of challenges ranging from poverty, poor health, to family instability. For this reason, multiculturalism theme is crucial in promoting equality for these learners. Multiculturalism theme is a positive and significant achievement for the American public education (Holland). In particular, learners are taught how to appreciate cultural diversity in the school. This not only promotes cohesion but more so improves cooperation between learners from different cultural backgrounds. For instance, in urban district schools, multicultural policies and practices have become important in enhancing equality for the majority minority in public schools (Holland). Therefore, multicultural education eradicates prejudice and racism, builds interaction and cohesion between various races, creates cultural tolerance, and eradicates cultural

A way this movie can relate to this class would be the diversity issues of race, and gender. In my Cultural Diversity class we learn a lot about diversity in race and gender and what causes it to take place which can lead to your values of families back then. Values were completely different years back. If you’re taught what is right is to have slaves and it’s all you ever see then people will follow along. Because, if you don’t follow along with the values of ones close to you sometimes it could of lead to death, judgement from family and friends, or even becoming a slave yourself as punishment. Values are described as the deep subjective ideals and standards by which members of a culture judge their personal actions and those of others(Page

Multicultural education advocates the belief that students and their life histories and experiences should be placed at the center of the teaching and learning process and that pedagogy should occur in a context that is familiar to students and that addresses multiple ways of thinking. In addition, teachers and students must critically analyze oppression and power relations in their communities, society and the world (The National Association for Multicultural Education).

However, there are questions as to whether or not teachers possess biases that would influence their teaching methods and curriculum. Taking a class in educational diversity is only a start in addressing those biases that may have been unconsciously created. It is the writer’s sincere hope that researching and writing a paper on multicultural education will be a stepping stone toward the critical examination of biases and practices in regards to diversity in the classroom that will continue to influence the readers throughout their educational