Negative Effects of Diversity in the Classroom - Essay Example

Negative Effects of Diversity in the Classroom: Literature Review

Introduction

Schools are becoming increasingly diverse with students from different cultural backgrounds. Students go to schools to acquire education and become professionals and responsible citizens. The learning environment should impart the necessary skills and knowledge to enable students to thrive beyond the schooling process. In today's schooling, the classroom environment has become more heterogeneous than it was in the past (Rosh, 2018). Due to globalization and the increasing calls for a more diverse and tolerant world, the modern classroom exhibits a wide gamut of diversity. In the United States, students of color represent about half of the student population in public schools (42 percent), while about 20 percent of the student population does not speak English at home (Voltz, Sims, and Nelson, 2010). Fourteen percent of students in American public schools have a disability, while more than 11 percent of students are identified as gifted and talented (Voltz et al., 2010). In this regard, the contemporary American classroom presents significant opportunities and challenges to the day-to-day teaching and learning. Students that get into a multicultural classroom experience a disadvantage, and they have to encounter unfamiliar people, language, and cultures (Devita, 2000; Alsubaie, 2015). The most affected students are international students studying in the United States. Taras and Rowney (2007) recognized the influx of international students in universities and colleges in North America, West Europe, and Australia. The authors observed that cultural differences portend adverse effects in the learning process despite great and indisputable benefits. This literature review has identified scholarly literature on the effects of diversity in the classroom. An analysis of the selected sources of literature has shown that while diversity portends adverse effects in the classroom, including social alienation and discrimination, there are also great benefits.

Source Finding and Analysis

The process of finding the sources of literature was quite involving. My first database of choice was the New Jersey State Library Database. The database contains numerous published and unpublished scholarly literature on a wide range of topics. To help me get the right resources, I used several keywords such as "diversity” in "classroom," “classroom diversity," and "multicultural classroom.” Searching the database using these keywords enabled me to obtain some journals and books focusing on diversity issues in the contemporary classroom environment. To make sure that my sources were highly relevant, I added the word "negative" in the search engine to extract articles that illuminated the negative effects of diversity. During the search process, I established that some of the articles that focused on the negative effects of diversity highlighted some positive effects. I considered such articles as relevant because they present a non-biased perspective of the phenomenon of diversity in a modern-day classroom environment.

Evaluation of the sources involved carefully reading the abstract pages of the journals and books to find out their relevance to the topic under study. I was particular with sources that attempted to highlight the effects of diversity in the classroom. I settled on the articles and journals whose results reflected my topic of study. I believe that the sources are appropriate to the research question because they convey useful insights regarding the challenges and opportunities that diversity presents in the classroom environment today. Some of the journals highlighted language differences as a challenge that a diverse classroom confronts. In examining such articles further, I recognized that the language difference could be a harbinger for discrimination and bias in the learning environment. To ensure variety of sources, my search was not limited to journal articles only. I also included two books and articles that I had utilized in my past research to enrich my selection of sources. Like the journals, the two books explored the phenomenon of diversity and detailed the evolving trends in classroom composition. As I will explain in the section "Themes," the books further explored the techniques teachers, and students can use to connect and manage diversity.

Themes

A synthesis of the selected sources of literature found major themes regarding the effects of diversity in the classroom. The major themes included language difference/barrier, peer victimization, social alienation, low achievement, and merits.

Language Difference/Barrier

One of the challenges in a diverse classroom is the language barrier. This problem occurs when students from non-English speaking countries acquire study opportunities in English speaking countries, especially in the United States, Canada, and Australia. According to Rosh (2018), the language barrier can lead to teacher bias, especially if the teacher fails to plan a lesson related to different cultures that students reflect in the classroom. The teaching methods used in schools are designed to offer the same instructions to students (Rosh, 2018). However, in a classroom environment that exhibits language difficulties, teachers can believe that a student who faces language problems is weak. Fluency in a language can become a yardstick for teachers to categorize students as either weak or competent in class. The danger with this kind of categorization is that students with poor communicative abilities can feel sidelined and alienated from the learning process. In a separate study, Rothstein-Fisch and Trumbull (2008) recognized that effective communication is vital between the teachers and the parents. Language becomes a medium through which the teacher and the parent can engage regarding the performance of the learner in the classroom. Meanwhile, Voltz et al. (2010) observed that communication between educators and families regarding the learner's academic progress often takes place through writing. However, such communication tends to ignore the fact that some families have inadequate literary skills to respond to written communication.

Low Achievement

The effect of diversity on student's achievement was discussed in some of the sources of literature. There were mixed results in the study findings. Alsubaie (2015) reported that low academic achievements are associated with diversity. The study that relied on previous research revealed that diversity presents difficulties in the classroom environment, especially where teachers and students from different cultural backgrounds are involved. Some cultures prefer indirect relations as opposed to direct expression. For example, dealing with Chinese students in Western universities is a challenge due to their fear of direct questioning (Alsubaie, 2015). Such students can potentially register low academic achievements in case they miss out on essential concepts during teaching and learning.

Peer victimization

Diversity in the classroom was also found to have a bearing on peer victimization. While reporting on the effects of diversity on peer victimization, Thijs, Verkuyten, and Grundel (2014) reported previous findings in the United Kingdom. Peer victimization was common as ethnic minority students increased. It implies that incidences of peer victimization were likely to be reported as the class became more heterogeneous. The rationale behind increased victimization anchors on the claim that a high number of ethnic minority students presented a challenge to the dominant position of the majority (Thijs et al., 2014).

Social Alienation and Inferiority

Diverse classrooms have the potential of creating social alienation and feelings of inferiority among students. Gorski (2020) revealed that social groups in the school environment are formed according to values, beliefs, and common interests. Such similarities include race, gender, and religion. In this regard, minority students in a classroom environment can feel isolated from the dominant social group. The formation of social groups within the classroom can potentially beget tensions and undermine tolerance (Devita, 2000). While recognizing the positive contribution of diversity to the educational outcomes among learners, Hurtado (2001) also highlighted the potential limitation of diversity in the classroom situation. Diverse classrooms can create feelings of superiority among the dominant social group and inferiority among the minority social group (Hurtado, 2001). This argument lends credence to the voices that support homogenous classroom environments.

Merits of Diversity

While many studies have explored the negative effects of diversity in the classroom, it is imperative to recognize that some studies have identified the positive benefits of diversity in educational outcomes. Studies that sought to discover the potential of diversity in improving educational outcomes identified some benefits. They include increased retention of minority students, improved cognitive development, enhanced openness to diversity, improved social and academic concepts, and greater participation in civic and community-service behaviors (Terenzini et al., 2001); improved cognitive development (van Geel & Vedder, 2011). Meanwhile, Hurtado (2001) carried out a study to assess the impact of diversity on the classroom environment, focusing on the student's self-perceived improvement. Results from the study showed that diversity improved educational outcomes and activities among college students. Hurtado (2001) further revealed that diversity enhances the cognitive abilities of students and social problem-solving. College students that interact with diverse peers exhibit more openness and are more tolerant when their beliefs are challenged. In a separate study, Konan et al. (2010) recognized that the increase in the number of immigrant students have improved the performance benefits of native and immigrant students. These findings reveal that a multicultural classroom has significant benefits despite the adverse effects it has on the learning process.

Curiosity

Reading about the effect of diversity in the classroom environment has widened my understanding of this topic. The literature that has been analyzed in this research offered competing claims on the merits and demerits of diversity. The literature also revealed important insights on how educators and families can address cultural barriers that undermine learning in a diverse classroom environment. According to Voltz et al. (2010), educators need to recognize that families have strengths and needs. I realized that addressing the issue of diversity requires a collaborative effort that should also involve parents. In this regard, educators must work collaboratively with parents and students to achieve significant benefits of diversity.

Conclusion (Summary)

This paper sought to assess the negative effects of diversity in the classroom. The paper utilized a wide gamut of literature to explore the phenomenon of diversity in the contemporary classroom environment. Reading through the literature identified several themes on the topic, which include peer victimization, low achievement, social alienation, and language barrier. The study has found that the language barrier in the classroom environment between the teacher and the student can lead to discrimination and bias. Teachers may assume that students with poor communicative abilities are weak and maybe be prejudiced in that regard. The study has also demonstrated that increasing diversity can lead to peer victimization when the dominant ethnic/racial group in the classroom feels challenged by the increase in the number of minority students. The study has shown that the formation of social groups based on particular identities like race, religion, and gender can isolate minority students in a culturally diverse classroom. On the positive, this review has demonstrated that diversity has great gains for students. Some of the gains include high retention of minority students, improved openness to issues around diversity, and improved academic and social concepts.

Evaluation of the sources involved carefully reading the abstract pages of the journals and books to find out their relevance to the topic under study. I was particular with sources that attempted to highlight the effects of diversity in the classroom. I settled on the articles and journals whose results reflected my topic of study. I believe that the sources are appropriate to the research question because they convey useful insights regarding the challenges and opportunities that diversity presents in the classroom environment today. Some of the journals highlighted language differences as a challenge that a diverse classroom confronts. In examining such articles further, I recognized that the language difference could be a harbinger for discrimination and bias in the learning environment. To ensure variety of sources, my search was not limited to journal articles only. I also included two books and articles that I had utilized in my past research to enrich my selection of sources. Like the journals, the two books explored the phenomenon of diversity and detailed the evolving trends in classroom composition. As I will explain in the section "Themes," the books further explored the techniques teachers, and students can use to connect and manage diversity.

Themes

A synthesis of the selected sources of literature found major themes regarding the effects of diversity in the classroom. The major themes included language difference/barrier, peer victimization, social alienation, low achievement, and merits.

Language Difference/Barrier

One of the challenges in a diverse classroom is the language barrier. This problem occurs when students from non-English speaking countries acquire study opportunities in English speaking countries, especially in the United States, Canada, and Australia. According to Rosh (2018), the language barrier can lead to teacher bias, especially if the teacher fails to plan a lesson related to different cultures that students reflect in the classroom. The teaching methods used in schools are designed to offer the same instructions to students (Rosh, 2018). However, in a classroom environment that exhibits language difficulties, teachers can believe that a student who faces language problems is weak. Fluency in a language can become a yardstick for teachers to categorize students as either weak or competent in class. The danger with this kind of categorization is that students with poor communicative abilities can feel sidelined and alienated from the learning process. In a separate study, Rothstein-Fisch and Trumbull (2008) recognized that effective communication is vital between the teachers and the parents. Language becomes a medium through which the teacher and the parent can engage regarding the performance of the learner in the classroom. Meanwhile, Voltz et al. (2010) observed that communication between educators and families regarding the learner's academic progress often takes place through writing. However, such communication tends to ignore the fact that some families have inadequate literary skills to respond to written communication.

Low Achievement

The effect of diversity on student's achievement was discussed in some of the sources of literature. There were mixed results in the study findings. Alsubaie (2015) reported that low academic achievements are associated with diversity. The study that relied on previous research revealed that diversity presents difficulties in the classroom environment, especially where teachers and students from different cultural backgrounds are involved. Read More