Improving Cultural Diversity In The Field Of Special Education

In todays society, there is an abundant array of diversity. Diversity surrounds our everyday lives, from the people we see, to the environment that we inhabit. Today in modern world classrooms, it is common to see many different cultures represented, and can even be a challenge for some school systems. Finding, and even training educators to deal with different cultures can be a challenge, and if you want to hire educators with specific cultural backgrounds, that is a greater challenge in its own. Fundamentally, diversity is a defining characteristic of the field of special education. There are three specific ways that we can improve cultural diversity in the field of education and make it better in the classroom (Irving & Terry, 2010).

Linguistic diversity can accompany cultural diversity.” With that being said, educators need to take the time to become competent when it comes to each student. Culture and linguistics are part of an integrated pattern of human behaviors that include language, thoughts, communications, actions, customs, beliefs, and institutions of racial, ethnic, religious, or other groups (ASHA, 2017). Sometimes, students and families can identify in more than one of these categories. The difference between identity and diversity depends on the person in question identifies themselves. They can choose to identify themselves based on how they were raised, what they were taught, or even where they came

The next strategy is being accepting of the diversity and differences. These basic techniques can help to establish trust between the educator and educational system and their students and the student families (Kids Matter, 2009). If an educator isn’t sure of a family’s preferences, then they should ask the family themselves so that any confusion can be cleared up. Once contact is made with the family in question, the educator should make sure that they are comfortable, while showing empathy and support in learning the needs and concerns of the family (Kids Matter, 2009). In doing this, the educator is encouraging the family to acknowledge what type of support services will benefit the student the greatest. Asking questions can also help the educator to understand more about the student and help to build a working relationship with the student rather than creating an environment that can make for a difficult situation, or even have a detrimental effect on the child either emotionally or socially (Salend, 2015). To promote these pathways of open communication, the educator can have phone conference hours and classroom conference sessions available to the students and their family. The educator can also send open ended correspondence home to the guardians about the student’s status, successes, and updates for the week so that the families can feel more involved, making sure that there