Given the increasing diversity of our classrooms, a lack of multicultural competence can exacerbate the difficulties that novice teachers have with classroom management. Definitions and expectations of appropriate behavior are culturally influenced, and conflicts are likely to occur when teachers and students come from different cultural backgrounds.
Culture is integral to the learning process. It is the organization and way of life within the community of students and teachers and directs the way they communicate, interact, and approach teaching and learning. Although founded in particular values and principles, the academy, like most organizations, is impacted day-to-day by its culture. Yet, the traditional higher education institution has not been designed to operate within a racially or ethnically diverse student population. The social, political, economic, and cultural forces that support the institution influence the teaching and learning environments. To better address cultural diversity in the classroom, faculty must first examine their own cultural background and understand how biases may affect their interactions with students. To advance teaching and learning in the college classroom requires an understanding of the underlying values, beliefs, perceptions and assumptions of students, which affect their understanding of what they hear and read as well as how they express themselves in the classroom. When teachers recognize these different qualities, classroom instruction can be designed to connect content to students’ backgrounds. I examines one approach to building a teaching and learning community through faculty professional development and collaboration. Focusing on the essential components of personalizing culture through the five institutions of family, school, religion, politics, and economics through workshop activities, it is an investigation of individual and institutional backgrounds to determine how faculty may recognize the forces that influence student behavior, and how to engage them in a more active learning process.
In most traditional learning settings, ‘minoritized’ students are often forced to alter their comportment and conduct to fit into regular Canadian standard views; otherwise, they stand the risk of being tagged as difficult & unteachable – further boxed into stereotypes that are harmful to their own academic growth. The culturally responsive classroom, on the other hand, is primed to place the responsibility of adaptability on the educator, who then learns about, and adjusts to the students’ cultural minutiae.
Initially, it seems really hard to incorporate lessons learned about ethnic diversity and how it impacts attitudes and conduct in the classroom without becoming trapped by either stereotyping or overgeneralization. Nonetheless, they can be avoided. To do so, the instructor would have to do the hard work of thoroughly analyzing the students’ cultural norms. This sets the tone for a truly culturally responsive classroom, where different cultural ideologies can be expressed optimistically.
To achieve this, however, every student’s cultural background must be viewed as unique since the individual’s culture consists of the totality of all domains of influence, inclusive of past history, sexual characteristics, religious conviction, age, family background, traditions, and educational status. If stereotyping would be evaded, then an instructor has to consider students’ cultures individually, as opposed to seeing a student in the light of being a group member. Indeed, it seems challenging to accomplish this, but there are several methods to achieve this task.
For example, when skillfully utilized, classroom tests and take-home tasks can be really useful in providing an important way of engaging with a student’s cultural heritage. In particular, writing tasks are essential in entering students’ worlds, and understanding their life’s patterns and histories. An instructor can smartly engage with a student’s cultural heritage by assigning tasks to students where they have to conduct interviews with family members, write about learning activities occurring at home, or writing about cherished family traditions.
To take the knowledge gathering process a step further, parents of these students can be approached to request valuable personal information. Additionally, neighborhood districts where the students live can be visited to gain a grasp on the crucial challenges faced by these students and the degree of social support available to them.
In summary, culturally responsive classrooms are really important in ensuring the effectiveness of instructors in class and in enabling them to connect deeply with their students. This way, students enjoy their K-12 experiences.
