The Roll of Cultural Diversity in Education
The role of cultural diversity in education and how it effect on Students, teachers and the community
Culture encapsulates so many characteristics that shape an individual. There are not only influences from gender, race but also from class, age, geographic location, religion and even language influence one’s own cultural identity. In the United States, the student population is one of the most diverse in the whole world. We have a large number of immigrants who locate here from countries across the globe in search of a better life. A result of this is that our society is made up of a large diversity of people who speak a myriad of languages and have their own customs. It is the responsibility of society and educators to recognize and react to the changing population in order to make our students successful. Educators have an obligation to help identify the needs of their students in order to provide a proper education. Students are not only affected by their own culture, but the culture they need to assimilate to. According to our text understanding cultural differences and learning to recognize when students do not share your own cultural patterns are critical steps in the provision of equitable learning environment. When students never see themselves in textbooks or stories, the culture of their families and communities is denigrated. As a result, students too often learn that their own culture is inferior to the official culture of the school or mainstream culture (Johnson, Musial, Hall, Gollnick, Dupuis 2005). It is important that the teaching materials used by teachers are proportionate to the student population within the local school system. The administrators and principles need to diligently study the demographic of their school district every year in order to identify what challenges they may face in order to identify the needs for the upcoming school year. Society has changed over the last 25 – 30 years not only through cultural
Culture encapsulates so many characteristics that shape an individual. There are not only influences from gender, race but also from class, age, geographic location, religion and even language influence one’s own cultural identity. In the United States, the student population is one of the most diverse in the whole world. We have a large number of immigrants who locate here from countries across the globe in search of a better life. A result of this is that our society is made up of a large diversity of people who speak a myriad of languages and have their own customs. It is the responsibility of society and educators to recognize and react to the changing population in order to make our students successful. Educators have an obligation to help identify the needs of their students in order to provide a proper education. Students are not only affected by their own culture, but the culture they need to assimilate to. According to our text understanding cultural differences and learning to recognize when students do not share your own cultural patterns are critical steps in the provision of equitable learning environment. When students never see themselves in textbooks or stories, the culture of their families and communities is denigrated. As a result, students too often learn that their own culture is inferior to the official culture of the school or mainstream culture (Johnson, Musial, Hall, Gollnick, Dupuis 2005). It is important that the teaching materials used by teachers are proportionate to the student population within the local school system. The administrators and principles need to diligently study the demographic of their school district every year in order to identify what challenges they may face in order to identify the needs for the upcoming school year. Society has changed over the last 25 – 30 years not only through cultural
References: Introduction to the Foundations of American Education(13th ed.) James A Johnson, Diann Musialo, Gene E. Hall, Donna M. Gollnick and Victor Dupius. Published by Allyn and Bacon, Copyright 2005 b y Pearson Education, Inc.