The Importance Of Cultural Diversity In Education

In schools, the place where Americans first learned critical fundamentals and values of freedom, religion is separated from home life to school life. In the United States, 89% of public school teacher’s cannot lead a class in prayer, 36% can teach a class comparing religions in different countries, and only 23% can read from the Bible for examples of literature (citation). Without religious instruction in schools, students are not granted with the option to display their faith and practice their religion in a school setting. Despite the advantages, some Americans argue that teaching religion in public schools can be dangerous and harmful to students. Schools disapproving of students practicing

It is important to respect, understand and include a child’s culture as it helps each child feel a sense of being, becoming and belonging. Knowing about each child’s cultural identity will also help you to promote an equitable environment by building trusting and responsive relationships with children and their families and to demonstrate acceptance of diverse family structures and perspectives (OpenSpace, 3.2.1). For education and care services, understanding and valuing cultural diversity is key to countering racism in our services and community. Including a child’s culture into the centres environment gives the individual child a chance to grow with their culture and to include the other children in it. Showing children an individual child’s

Students have their own best way in effectively learning the lesson. With the diversity of students, the problem is each student has a preferred learning style. It becomes undeniably one of the reasons that make it difficult to achieve the best expected outcome out of teachers’ effort. However, teachers try to incorporate various teaching techniques to make every learning opportunity become productive, meaningful, and relevant for the learners.

Religion in the Public School Curriculum: Questions and Answers, which was issued by a coalition of 17 major religious and educational organizations,...describes the importance of religion in the curriculum through this statement: Because religion plays a significant role in history and society, study about religion is essential to understanding both the nation and the world. Omission of facts about religion can give the students the false impression that the religious life of humankind is insignificant or unimportant (Haynes, 2). Thus showing that religion was a vital part of the foundation of the United States. If we no

I volunteered at Chiefland Elementary School, under Ms. Sidorenko’s supervision. After doing my twenty hours of volunteering at Chiefland Elementary School, I have gained new knowledge on how religion works in schools. If you grew up in a small town area like I did, you would know that religion around here is not a touchy subject with many people. Many faculty administrators who work in the school system happen to be Baptists or Christians. Therefore, people are able to throw in religious assessments here and there without getting into too much trouble. In this case, at this school, everyone goes to the same church or partners with each other’s churches. Before I go on, let me just say, even though I am a Christian, I think that religion shouldn’t be a topic talked during school hours. My reasoning for this is because children are there to get an education and to learn about the world around them. Teachers barely have enough time to teach the concepts that are mandatory, if we add religion it will just offend students and teachers won’t be able to get their job done. Now that society is changing and is starting to accept individuals more, I have noticed this school is having a hard time accepting that.

Moreover, teaching multicultural diversity in preschool ages increase children’s awareness, appreciation and inclusion of diverse beliefs and cultures. It means that children with different needs are giving opportunities to participate in the general education curriculum based on their ages and grades. Those children are not separated by classrooms, but rather the curriculum and the rooms are conformed to meet their needs. Research shows that children are capable of understanding differences and abilities of surrounding people at the very early ages (Perlman, Kankesan, & Zhang, 2010). Therefore, a program, which fully regards to multiculturalism, allows children to explore varying cultures and create opportunities for them to recognise that even when people have various customs and traditions, they often share some similar characteristics as well. The ability to function compatibly and efficiently in a multicultural society is also promoted throughout a multicultural program. It is obvious that children are able

And, although preschool administrators have a desire to begin increasing the amount of multicultural materials in the center as well as train the staff on ways to incorporate a child’s culture into the learning environment, it has been found that teaching practices are notoriously slow to change (Hooven & et al., 2018). By conducting literature research, examining the current practices at Kiddie Academy, and meeting with the center’s staff, it is hoped that new and innovative ways to celebrate diversity will be found and agreed upon by staff members. Since collaboration is crucial to the implementation of anti-bias curriculum in order for students to learn about their own culture and those of people who are different from them, communicating the results of the study will increase the chances of finding additional ways to up productivity, provides access to new sources of information, present opportunities to learn and go beyond traditional ways of thinking, problem solving, and forming partnerships as teachers and administrators begin to see positive results from the trainings, acknowledgement and celebration of diversity, and anti-bias curriculum being put into action. It is critical for early childhood teachers to promote culturally inclusive classrooms and experiences and provide learning materials and other resources that help children develop a greater appreciation of

"JESUS in the classroom!" Are you feeling uncomfortable yet? Religion in the public school systems is among the top of the list of controversial topics in American society, We've long been advised to avoid this and other religiously politically intertwined subjects in polite conversation. If you're like most Americans, this topic makes you frustrated, high strung, or at least a little queasy. From the day the 1st amendment right appeared in the U.S. Constitution, to this present day, and surely into our nation's tomorrows, the proper role of religion in public schools has been, is, and will continue to be a subject of great debate. It is important for school officials, parents, and students

since 1776 the United States has grown from a nation of relatively few religious differences to one of countless religious groups. This expanding pluralism challenges the public schools to deal creatively and sensitively with students

Sometimes it can be challenging to incorporate cultural diverse teaching in the classroom if there is a lack of support from parents or other stake holders. The second challenge encounter are accessing materials which can be integrated into our classroom activities. Sometimes the budget of the school can inhibit the amount of equipment’s or materials that are need to be use in the classroom. Thirdly, lack of understanding by the teachers on the norms and culture of the society. In an article, Creating Culturally Inclusive Classrooms, states, “ Many teachers are faced with limited understanding of cultures other than their own and the possibility that this limitation will negatively affect their students’ ability to become successful learners”.

The principles of liberation and acceptance help to establish a sense of belonging and fellowship in the world. In a modern and rather censorious society, it can be rather difficult for people to be accepting of this concept. All people, no matter what their ethnic background, should be granted the right to freely express themselves through their cultural practices without having to endure the constant hurdles of ignorance and prejudice that surround them. However, some individuals argue that too drastic of a change in religious secularism would pose a threat to America’s traditional customs. Though controversial at times, diversity is an inevitable concept that needs to be discussed more openly, especially in the classrooms of early childhood.

Early Childhood Education and services should respect multiple cultural ways of knowing, seeing and living. They can achieve this by celebrating the benefits of diversity and having an ability to understand and honour differences. This is evident in everyday practice when educators demonstrate an ongoing commitment to developing their own cultural competence. In the early childhood environment adding a range of diverse resources is one small aspect of inclusion and diversity. Children need to be listened and observed by educators during interaction with resources. Resources need to be discussed and explored with children (DEEWR, 2009). research shows that children's quality early learning experiences lead them to academic success and well-being later in the life (Sylva, Siraj-Blatchford,Taggart, Sammons, Melhuish, Elliot and Totsika, 2006; Clarke, 2009). Broad range of ideas in the early childhood is connected with the principle of equity and diversity and professionals need to address issues of inequality and promote the richness if diversity and differences. To support children's learning and development, educators need to form strong bond with families and communities (DEEWR, 2009). Moreover, children achieve better outcome in learning throughout the life when their diverse strengths and capabilities are identified and supported (Freeman, and Bochner, 2008; Rodger, Braithwaite and Keen, 2004; Changying, 2010). The convention empathises the importance of

In addition to the areas of ambiguity, there is the problem of religious ignorance (Giess, 2012; Haynes, 2011). There is a marked and dramatic ignorance among Americans about religious traditions including their own (Giess, 2012). Ignorance is no virtue and especially so when the opportunity to harm one’s students through intolerance and ignorance is more prevalent than ever before. The US, the predominance of the Christian religion notwithstanding, is becoming more and more diverse religiously (Gunther & Purinton, 2011). This type of ignorance is a contributor to the escalation of religious intolerance that has manifested itself in increasing numbers of hate crimes (Haynes, 2011).

Cultural diversity can be a valuable strength in an early childhood classroom. When approached correctly, it can assist children’s learning and social-emotional development. However, when it is dealt with negatively and with prejudice, it can have damaging effects on both the person giving and the person receiving the prejudice. This behaviour can affect a person’s identity and self-esteem in turn restricting their academic success (Buchori & Dobinson, 2015, p. 71; Ewing, 2013, p. 73; Siraj-Blatchford & Clarke, 2004, p. 24). Educators need to be aware of other issues that families from diverse cultures may be affected by. Families like Abedi’s who have immigrated to Australia from a largely non-English speaking country will find that their

One of the avenues of influential learning is in school. The place where students spend half of their life. Going to school aids students in acquiring knowledge, establishing rapport and developing skills. When students attend school, they showcase not only their characters traits and attitudes, but they also carry with them their cultural differences and religious practices. (Green & Oldendorf, 2005). Looking at how diverse our society is, the question of teaching religions and their ideologies at a school-level rise. Whilst the state practices neutrality towards religion, there are still issues and challenges when it comes to accommodating religious diversity and its integration in the education system (Berger, 2013, p.104). Therefore, integrating religion in the education system can lead to