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Cultural factors on children
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Educators must focus on creating culturally responsive learning environments and practices to prepare all students for success in the 21st century. This responsibility requires teachers to recognize the cultural, linguistic, and gender differences among students to promote effective communication, build collaborative relationships, and tailor instruction that supports learning. To accomplish this goal, one must examine his or her personal values or belief systems to eliminate any bias aimed towards any particular group (Dray, & Wisneski, 2011). This self-examination is critical because it can impede one’s ability to understand students who behave differently as a result of his or her cultural and linguistic backgrounds. For example, educators …show more content…
The lack of effective communication between the home and school environment undermines the learning process. It is important to understand the different dynamics of families to build collaborative relationships, which are an essential component in ensuring academic success for students. Parents provide educators with the vital information needed to understand the student’s behavior and strengths (Dray & Wisneski, 2011). This information enables teachers to tailor instruction that can maximize the learner’s …show more content…
These positive interactions are vital for student engagement and learning. When combined with positive supports and strategies classroom misbehaviors can be reduced as students learn to master the appropriate classroom expectations. Additionally, when teacher expectations for academic achievement remain high, it elevates the student’s self-esteem making it more likely that they will pursue their educational and professional goals (Montgomery, 2001). Another instructional strategy used in culturally responsive classrooms is the ability for students to become active in their own individual learning (Cartledge & Kourea, 2008). School projects can be selected that reflect the background, interests, and experiences that relate directly to the learner. These projects allow students to participate at varying levels of ability or choose topics that represent an ethnic or cultural theme (Montgomery, 2001). These diverse topics can promote an understanding among students for the different cultural or linguistic experiences of his or her peers (Montgomery,
Richards, H., V., Brown, A., F., Forde, T., B. (2006). Addressing diversity in schools: culturally responsive pedagogy. Retreived March 30th 2014from http://www.nccrest.org/Briefs/Diversity_Brief.pdf
In an online article Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research, & Practice, by G. Gray, culturally responsive teaching is Validating- using the cultural knowledge, prior experiences, and performance styles of diverse students to make learning more appropriate and effective for the students. Culturally Responsive Teaching is Comprehensive- develop intellectual, social, emotional, and political learning. Culturally Responsive Teaching is Multidimensional- curricu...
To start with, culturally responsive teaching practices recognize the validity of the cultural custom contained by several ethnic groups. In other words, it considers whether different approaches of learning are necessary and worthy in the formal learning. Furthermore, culturally responsive teaching practices are fundamental because they create links between school experience and home and between lived social cultural realities and academic abstraction (Gay, 2000).
Geneva Gay (2002) combines these two concepts of sociocultural consciousness and culturally responsive teaching in Restructuring Attitudes and Beliefs. Gay refers to culturally responsive teaching as a way of addressing “universal marginality, powerlessness, and disadvantages” within the classroom by taking a critical view of the curriculum (p.1). Culturally responsive teaching starts with the teacher’s identity and an awareness of their own ideologies and theories that influence how they act as a median between the student and curriculum. Similar to understanding their own identity, the sociocultural consciousness is how the teacher views the students’ identities in their community. Gay explains these relationship by saying, ”teachers’ instructional behaviors are strongly influenced by their attitudes and beliefs about various dimensions of student diversity” (p.3). The historical context of the community allows the teacher to use their individual students’ background as resources for scaffolding entire class’s curriculum and help meet the needs of the individual students. Assuming the role of public education is to act as an equalizer, culturally responsive teaching is a means of creating
Olsen, Glenn W., and Mary Lou Fuller. Home and school relations: teachers and parents working together. 4th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2012. Print.
Diversity in classrooms can open student’s minds to all the world has to offer. At times diversity and understanding of culture, deviant experiences and perspectives can be difficult to fulfill, but with appropriate strategies and resources, it can lead students to gain a high level of respect for those unlike them, preferably from a judgmental and prejudiced view. Diversity has a broad range of spectrums. Students from all across the continent; students from political refugees, indigenous Americans, and immigrants bring their cultural and linguistic skills to American classrooms. Students not only bring their cultural and linguistic skills, but they bring their ethnicity, talents, and skills.
I believe in culturally responsive teaching by embracing multiple perspectives and creating educational opportunities to empower students by drawing from their individual, cultural, and community identities.
A culturally responsive classroom is an environment where teachers and administration address the needs and interest of children so that the children can reach academic success. The way the curriculum is created and presented to the students is major. When students feel included and feel like their identity is being represented in their learning they become motivated and engaged. When the students do not feel included they become disengaged and feel as if their teachers do not care. (Ford, 2010) Teachers who change their curriculum, behavior management strategies, and praise to be more culturally responsive see dramatic, positive changes in their students. Not only do the students respond openly to the change but there is a difference in their academic success. They are much more engaged, motivated and they are actually eager to learn. It is very important as a teacher to know your students and know what methods or strategies will wo...
In order for these goals to be met, certain values and beliefs must be present. Cultural differences must be viewed as assets, not liabilities; furthermore students and families have to feel that their heritage is being valued. Educators must realize that cultural responsiveness is vital to educational effectiveness in all areas of learning for all student groups. It is more than just accepting differences, cultural responsiveness is believing that teaching to and through differences in student groups can lead to more positive learning outcomes. Students constantly view and adapt content and instructional strategies through their own cultural frames of reference in order to make the learning more personally meaningful which aids in mastery of the curriculum.
To be more efficient in the classroom teachers should use cultural competence as a key factor in teaching students from different cultures. This is a way for both the teacher and student to connect inside and outside of school. Wardle explained that “student should develop and maintain cultural competence, and the students home culture needs to be used as an opportunity for learning“ (2013). Many teachers are missing this step to better adjust their teaching for a certain child.
The job of a teacher is never easy but we have seen how cooperative discipline and enabling students to feel capable, connected and contributing can improve classroom management and maybe even our own moods. If we create an environment of mutual respect and give our students legitimate power of voice and choice in the classroom we will see positive results in improved student behavior and student achievement. Because when our students believe that they can succeed, they will.
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 expect students of other social classes and cultures to change perspectives on motivation and competition, learning styles, and attitudes and values that their homes and families have instilled in them (Manning & Baruth, 2009).
In classrooms across the nation educators are confronted with a variety of students in their classes. These students arrive in the classroom with many different experiences. These experiences include different backgrounds, cultures, languages and ability levels. The classroom teacher must find ways to balance the educational program to meet the needs of a diverse population of students.
One of the most effective ways teachers are able to manage a classroom is through developing positive relationships with students (Emmer & Evertson, 2013). When students feel they are valued and cared for by their teacher, they are much more likely to comply with rules and procedures. A classroom teacher has the great responsibility and privilege to be around students for up to seven hours per day, five days per week for around nine months and during that time, teachers must work to develop positive teacher-student relationships with each student (Boynton & Boynton, 2005). When students are able to experience healthy relationships with their teachers, they grow personally and are self-motivated and achieve academic success (Tassione & Inlay, 2014). There are a number of ways to enrich these relationships and they are all initiated by the teacher. While there are many ways teachers will find to develop teacher-student relationships, only a select number of them will be discussed here.
In conducting her research, the author understood that she needed to describe key issues of culturally diverse students, recommend a curriculum approach to address the issues, and discuss the challenges and benefits expected. In reading Cultural and Linguistic Diversity: Issues in Education (2010), s...