Multicultural Education System in the Classroom on Psychological and Intellectual Development - Term Paper Example

Multicultural Education System in Classroom on Psychological and Intellectual Development Literature Review Institution Name Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Multicultural education: Definition 4 Goals of multiculturalism in a classroom 4 Positive impacts of Multicultural education 5 Negative impacts of multicultural education 8 Conclusion 9 References 10 Introduction Over the last one decade, majority of learning institutions in the United States have held that students from diverse cultures can benefit significantly from multicultural education (Maruyama & Moreno, 2000; Zaldana, 2010; Dervin et al, 2012). Due to the current intensified globalization, the impacts of multicultural education on psychological and intellectual development in classroom have become a critical subject of scholastic inquiry. In a different review, Ozturgut (2011) noted that increased cultural diversity due to globalisation has led many educators to identify and see the necessity to increase their understanding of multicultural education within classroom, specifically in public schools. Indeed, Kozulin et al (2002) reiterated that the prolonged history of immigration among people from varied cultural groups has intensified the urgency for multicultural education. As stated by Jotia and Pansiri (2013), the success or failure of multicultural education is contingent on how effective the educators are prepared. Drawing from this background, this paper reviews the current and pertinent literature to shed light on the effect of multicultural education system in classroom on psychological and intellectual development. Within this context, this literature review is anchored in the thesis statement that adopting a multicultural education system in classrooms reduces cultural competency. At the same time, it promotes learners’ psychological and intellectual development (Kozulin et al, 2002). Multicultural education: Definition Researchers have suggested several definitions of multicultural education. Ozturgut (2011) defines multicultural education as a reform movement, as well as a process whose major aim is to adjust the structure of the educational institutions. This is to allow the male and the female students to be exceptional learners, and for the learners from the diverse cultures, languages, ethnicities and race to have an equal opportunity of achieving better economic performance in schools. Zirkel (2008), however, portrays multicultural education as a broad range of practices and programs relating to educational equity due to diversities in gender, ethnicity, income or language. As stated by Zaldana (2010), multicultural definition refers to the cultural variation paradigm with respect to creation of classroom strategies and interventions intended to support students from different cultures. Hence, it is perceivable that the concept of multicultural education refers to processes of adopting pedagogies that are culturally responsive by instructors or educators in order to achieve equality in learning across students from diverse groups. Despite the many attempts to define multicultural education, there appears that an agreed description of the term lacks. Still, scholars appear to agree that there is a room for further review of multicultural education and application of the concept in schools. Goals of multiculturalism in a classroom Multicultural education has varied goals in a typical classroom setting. According to Zaldana (2010), it seeks to enable the students to accept and respect individuals from all cultures and backgrounds. Ozturgut (2011) supports the point in his discussion that students get to learn that people are uniquely different, although they can share something. Another critical goal of multicultural education is to widen the teachers’ intellectual capacity and their psychological development. Within this context, it seeks to explore the range of differences existing in multicultural classroom, and to gain an insight into the differences between varied cultures within the classroom and to embrace them. According to Ozturgut (2011), multicultural education also seeks to foster cooperative social skills since the students from minority groups develop their capacity and skills to interact within the classroom setting. In return, this leads to development of self-confidence and self-esteem, while they accept their differences. Away from the teachers, Zirkel (2008) also suggests that the teachers also benefit greatly from multicultural education far greatly. Hence, the teachers may develop the capacity to develop skills that will enable them identify bias and prejudice to promote their teaching expertise. Positive impacts of Multicultural education Multicultural education system has a range of advantages pertinent to the current globalised world. As established by Ozturgut (2011) in his review of the benefits of multicultural education, the system enables students to develop a personality that allows them overcome antisocial behaviours, such as stereotyping or racism. Students also gain an insight into the society to a degree that involves developing and understanding of social justice within the globalised world. In addition to affecting the psychological and personality aspect of education, it influences the intellectual aspects by involving a range of perspectives in terms of critical thinking (Kozulin et al, 2002). Multicultural education enables the learners to develop and maintain positive attitude towards the different cultures within the classroom. When the teachers’ understand the students’ learning needs and how the needs are different for the students from other cultures, Zaldana (2010) states that actual learning happens. Zirkel (2008) shares this perspective in his analysis and adds that when teachers understand the students and how different they are from the dominant students, it becomes easy to begin making a difference in the learning of these students. In order to attain this, Zaldana (2010) suggests that teacher preparation programs should design programs that are consistent with the learning needs of the diverse cultures. Zaldana (2010) also reiterates that such programs need to challenge the teachers to evaluate and expand their knowledge on the diverse cultures. According to Ozturgut (2011), when cultural diversity is promoted in the face of globalization, within the multicultural education, the traditional ethnocentric curriculum is avoided. Multicultural integration influences integration of content from a range of cultures that ultimately lead to intellectual development of students, enabling it to be the development awareness of new cultures. According to Jotia and Pansiri (2013), it also leads to knowledge construction. Some multicultural theorists, such as Zirkel (2008) have argued that knowledge is essentially subjective, as well as objective in the manner in which it reflects the cultural, social and power positions of individuals within the society. In fact, Dervin et al (2012) points out that because of the inherently subjective nature of the knowledge accessible in literature, it is of vital significance that learners be taught how to identify the points of views from different cultures rather than understand concepts selectively from their own cultures. In view of these, it could be reasoned that integration of multicultural content in a school curriculum creates a divergent viewpoint from that of the mainstream literature, and grants the learners an opportunity to make their own interpretations. In terms of psychological or psychosocial development, Zaldana (2010) points at the fact that multicultural education reduces prejudice among learners in a classroom. Prejudice reduction is therefore a significant psychological aspect in response to the racial differences. As Ozturgut (2011) states, in using the traditional mono-cultural education in the United States, young children, as much as three-year-olds, become aware of racial differences and become biased. He illustrated that children who have a White bias may tend to show contempt for objects that are not white in a classroom setting, or non-White people. In another research, Zaldana (2010) examined psychological impacts of multicultural education to the learners and established that when students are taught to distinguish between the different cultures of the diverse student body, it reduces prejudice while simultaneously promoting a positive conduct with the individuals from other cultural groups. Therefore, multicultural education reduces prejudice. According to Kozulin et al (2002), reduction of prejudice is essentially targeted at assisting the learners to create democratic values, attitudes, traditions and behaviors in classroom. Multicultural education also promotes equity pedagogy, which also marks a shift from the traditional system of classroom environment. Equity pedagogy consists of the environment and strategies designed to enable the students function efficiently and to enable and perpetuate democratic and humane society. To ensure this, Dervin et al (2012) advices that teachers need to eliminate the power relationships that stands between them and their students. Within the new classroom environment, students are converted into producers of knowledge rather than mere passive consumers of this knowledge. Within the classroom settings where equity pedagogy thrives, Zirkel (2008) comments that students do not just get to memorize facts. Rather, they get to construct knowledge and to develop their own insight into the world. Negative impacts of multicultural education Multicultural education has also been criticised by some scholars for its shortcomings. According to Ozturgut (2011), multicultural education stands in the way of efforts to assimilate students in order to create divisive society. In a past study of multicultural education in the United States, Citrin et al (2001) established that multiculturalisation threatens what the US education system stands to offers traditions, beliefs and values of Western Civilisation. The findings are reflected by a later study by Pon (2009) who discussed that cultural competency promoted by multicultural education does have some limitations as it consists of a new form of racism and otherizes non-white students by leveraging absolutist and modernist views of culture while simultaneously avoiding the use of racialist language (Ozturgut 2011). Some researchers such as Zaldana (2010) have claimed that an effective liberal education exemplifies relatively mono-cultural education, where race and nationality are not mistaken for culture as learning attributed. Taking a different angle, multiculturalists, such as Zaldana (2010) have explained that the study of multiculturalism is susceptible given its weakness in own language. The researcher further explained that such weaknesses influence returning to narrower isolationism, nationalism, as well as xenophobia instead of creating a universal perspective that respects a range of perspectives. Basing on these reviews, it can be concluded that multicultural education is a return to the past. Additionally, Ozturgut (2011) argues that the modern-day understanding of multiculturalism plays down the function of human relations since it focuses on reducing the tension among the diverse cultural groups. Ozturgut (2011) also states that efforts to change mono-cultural institutions into multicultural ones has only managed to treat cultural diversity as a subject matter rather than attempted to change the thoughts and practices in the society. Indeed, critical multi-culturalism has, according to Dervin et al (2012), only managed to underscore mostly the nature of teaching. Rather than argue that it is concerned with discussing the curriculum and the content, it has also been concerned with description of the relevant knowledge. Ozturgut (2011) explains that a major disadvantage of multicultural education is that it has the potential to promote negative feelings that may arise in the students who view no problems in the traditional educational mono-cultural education system. In the researcher’s view, this is since learning institutions may tend to resist transformations to adopt the new system of multicultural education. An additional problem with the multicultural educational system is also the conception that it may have accidental and undesirable consequences. A case in point is when it rebuffs the historical Western goals of assimilation and that of integrating minority into the majority cultures (Zaldana, 2010). Therefore, this may result to a country with distinct ethnic group rather than one that embraces the traditions of a country. Conclusion Adopting a multicultural education system in classrooms reduces cultural competency and promotes learners’ psychological and intellectual development. It enables the students to accept, embrace and respect individuals from all cultures and backgrounds. It also enables students to develop a personality that allows them to overcome antisocial behaviors, such as stereotyping or racism. Students also get to learn that people are uniquely different although they can share something. It also widens the teachers’ intellectual capacity and their psychological development. Hence, teachers get to develop the capacity to develop skills that will enable them identify bias and prejudice to promote their teaching expertise. Multicultural education also fosters cooperative social skills since the students from minority groups develop their capacity and skills to interact within the classroom setting. In return, this leads to development of self-confidence and self-esteem, while they accept their differences. However, a major disadvantage of multicultural education is that it has the potential to promote negative feelings that may arise in the students who view no problems in the traditional educational mono-cultural education system. References Citrin, J, Sears, D., Muste, C. & Wong, C. (2001). Multiculturalism in American Public Opinion. B.J.Pol.S. 31, 247–275 Dervin, F., Paatela-Nieminen, M., Kuoppala, M. & Riitaoja, A. (2012). Multicultural Education in Finland -Renewed Intercultural Competences to the Rescue? International Journal of Multicultural Education 1(1), 3-14 Jotia, A. & Pansiri, N. (2013). Multicultural Education: The Missing Link In Botswana Education Policy. European Journal of Educational Studies 5(1), 101-110 Kozulin, A., Gindis, B., Ageyev, V. & Miller, S. (2002). Vygotsky's Educational Theory in CUltural Context. Melbourne: Cambridge University Press Maruyama, G. & Moreno, J. (2000). University Faculty Views About the Value of Diversity on Campus and in the Classroom. American Council on Education 1(2) 7-16 Ozturgut, O. (2011). Understanding Multicultural Education. Current Issues in Education 14(2), 1-9 Zaldana, C. (2010). Multicultural Education: What is it and Does it Have Benefits? CMC Senior Theses. Paper 64. Zirkel, S. (2008). The Influence of Multicultural Educational Practices on Student Outcomes and Intergroup Relations. Teachers College Record 110(6), 1147-1181 Read More