Cultural Diversity and Its Effects on Child Development - Research Paper Example

? Cultural Diversity And Its Effects On Child Development Introduction Cultural diversity is of great effect on the development of children. Children exposed to the various elements of cultural diversity find it quite challenging to freely interact with others and be tolerable to the cultures of children from diverse backgrounds. The principal reason of writing this paper is to outline the impact of cultural diversity on the development of children. Parents as well as the society and teachers play a vital role in educating children regarding better understanding of the cultures of other individuals. It is also of importance to consider several elements required to help reduce negative effect of cultural diversity on developing children. Conclusively, better understanding of cultural diversity of children is through introduction of education during tender ages. Cultural diversity and its effects on the development of kids Cultural diversity is a term used to denote the difference arising in diverse cultures within a certain region. The principal cultural diversity element affecting growth of children is communication, which entails mass media and journalism. The existence of many tribes in a particular region results to an increase in the effects that culture is likely to have on the progress of children. Communication differs from a tribe to another. Desire of children to learn about the moral values of other cultures increases the probability of cultural confusion. Children concerned about other cultures lack the capability to determine the best of the cultural morals. According to the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (2010), lack of adverse knowledge on the culture of other tribes leads to negative influence towards progressing children. Reducing negative impact of cultural diversity a) Developing an effective way to address diversity Cultural diversity can have a positive effect on the progress of children through learning. Parents and the community are the most crucial people in the growth of children and should first acquire the best ways of passing on information about culture to the children. The information passed on should not only entail elements of cordial relations but also aimed at enhancing perception of children concerning particular values. Communication is vital, as it is the basis of passing over understandable information regarding the culture of other tribes. Parents should enlighten children on the importance of their culture in coming times. For instance, children need to know that strict observation of the ancient cultural morals is of importance, as it helps gain respect from other communities (Robinson, & Jones-Diaz, 2006). An additional element of improving the current way of developing children through diversity of culture in a positive manner is through educational institutions. The Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (2010) asserts that teachers need to have advanced training to be able to meet the needs of various children. It is a basic requirement for teachers to take part in special training programs to be able to cope with character of children from different cultural societies. Acquisition of knowledge of various cultures helps children in that teachers necessitate the need to respect the culture of other states. b) Impact of diversity on development of kids Progression of children appears to be excellent when children are portraying good manners in the society. Despite the concern that the community, parents, and teachers have on the effect of culture on development of kids, ignorance of children is the principal issue to the negative effects of culture on their (young kid’s) growth. There are various ways of enhancing strategies of developing children from diverse cultures. For one, there is the need for early exposure to the values of various cultures. Children with an experience of diverse cultures since the time when then they were young throughout their adult stages are at the forefront in depicting good morals (Robinson, & Jones-Diaz, 2006). Children having learnt about the cultures of other people in different communities are less likely to discriminate against other individuals. Enquiring information about other communities through communication via mass media and journalism helps increase their (young and growing children) desire of to live with those in this other community. Prior knowledge concerning various communities is of great importance to children in schools, as they are able to make a connection between the ethnic groups and the reasons for forming up such groups (Gurin, Nagda, & Lopez, 2003). However, diversity may on the other hand be of a negative effect of the development of children. The reason for a negative impact is that children may aspire to adopt various norms of individuals from other regions. Through media, young children get access to adverse data on the subject of the morals of the people living there. Immorality may result in the cause of learning, as young children seek to engage in practices similar to those exhibited by individuals from a different culture. Moreover, children adopting various dressing codes of other cultures may end up abusing their own primal values. Therefore, it is significant to note that exposure of children to the diversity of cultures may lead them to adopt behaviours of other ethnic groups, as they acquire poor morals hence abandoning their vital ways of living (Gurin, Nagda, & Lopez, 2003). Improved tools used to introduce diversity in the education system a) Sharing of resources Enhance ways of introducing diversity to the younger generation is the determinant factor of the effect that diversity may have on the development of several children. It is imperative to have equity in distribution of resources to the children at school. The supply of available and fundamental possessions to various schools helps build a good relation between the teachers and students, as competition is high and they all have similar resources. Schools constructed in various regions should not only admit students from within the region, but also students from different cultural societies. Such admission is of great use in enabling individuals to have diverged in learning about the lives of other cultures. Allotment of necessary learning resources including teachers from different communities seemed to educate children of other societies with regard to helping improve performance of students (Baker, 2013). Government’s responsibility for construction and equal allotment of resources to various institutions is a lesson to the children, as they gain knowledge about the results of equity sharing. In addition, there should be proper implementation of modern laws to ensure that schools run without constraints. The government should scrutinize laws applied by the teachers concerning the set educational curriculum to help prevent underperformance of students. Establishment of present day laws is crucial to evade the poor performance by students in different schools (Palmer, Wood, & Spencer, 2013). b) Community based diversification Offering a mixture of education in the community should be the primary concern of individuals developing children to be better persons in the future. The chief way that the community plays a role in developing young generation is through the necessitating participation of children in the programs set in the community. Children should also contribute to the dramatic events in various community functions. It is of significance to avail video shows for children. The content of these videos has to involve moral behaviour portrayed by acquaintances of kids. Another improved way of developing children is through field trips where by children tour the historical site to acquire knowledge about a particular person or area. Children yearning to be alike with respectable individuals in other societies learn various ways of improving their (kids) lives. For example, children touring the “Martin Luther King” monument learn better ways of progressing (Gurin, Nagda, & Lopez, 2003)). Developing a complete sense of tolerance and acceptance in the development of kids Children should learn about how to be appreciative to the struggle of various individuals aimed at improving them (kids). There is a need for children ton develop through and give due respect to the cultural practices of other societies. To appreciate the culture of a community, the deeds of the community need first to be just and the people living there should exhibit good interactions. Lessons for children should necessitate on respect of the practices of other communities. Rumour has it that that exposure of the cultural practices to young children is of use, as it helps them grow up observing their norms. Parents should aim, at enhancing the degree of tolerance in children (Charlesworth, 2011). On the other hand, exposure to the diversity of cultures may be a deadlock on the growth of young kids. The reason for diversity resulting to impasse is that it impedes children from concentration on the ancient morals of a community, as there are many changes in the culture of different people. Effectively, children frequently visiting and enquiring knowledge of other cultures increases the degree of adopting the practices of the studied community. The Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (2010) advocates schools to ensure they adopt the current educational curriculum. The reason for the selected sequential arrangement of points Arrangement of the work in a sequential manner is one of the vital elements for better presentation of points. A better arrangement of different points in this paper is vital for several reasons. For one, the introductory part helps the reader to have a good picture concerning what the paper is about to bring to light. The flow of work is through the arrangement of information. Secondly, the sequence used when writing helps bring out several impacts of the subject matter. Additionally, the chronological arrangement of points helped me exhaust the most important points down to the less essential points. The array of work also helped me to ensure that there is a full coverage of the areas involved in the study of the matter at hand. Finally, proper sorting of points to discuss helps in making critical suggestions concerning what individuals need to do in order to avoid negative results of what they carry out. Summary and conclusion Cultural diversity is an important element in the development of children. Various ways of learning different cultures are through communication. Various ways of communicating the culture of other communities are by touring the foreign communities and learning in schools or via mass media services. Learnt morals of a range of cultures may negatively affect the progression of children, as it may result in children abandoning their cultural ways and adopting the ways of their choice. Parents, the government, and the community should set up rules and implement better ways of enacting change in the development of children (Gurin, Nagda, & Lopez, 2003). Therefore, it is worth concluding that the impact of diversity on a developing child depends on the way of communicating cultural practices of various communities and the time of passing relevant cultural information to the child. References Baker, A. (July 19, 2013). Law on Racial Diversity Stirs Greenwich Schools. Retrieved on 4 December 2013, from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/20/nyregion/law-on-racial-diversity-stirs-greenwich-schools.html?_r=0 Centre for Educational Research and Innovation. (2010). Inspired by Technology, Driven by Pedagogy: A Systemic Approach to Technology-Based School Innovations. Paris: OECD, Centre for Educational Research and Innovation. Charlesworth, R. (2011). Understanding child development. Australia: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. Gurin, P., Nagda, B. A., and Lopez, G. E. (2003). The Benefits of Diversity in Education for Democratic Citizenship. Retrieved on 4 December 2013, from http://www-personal.umich.edu/~pgurin/benefits.html Palmer, R. T., Wood, J. L., & Spencer, D. (May 2013). “Diverging Interests”. Retrieved on 4 December 2013, from http://jbs.sagepub.com/content/44/4/406.abstract Robinson, K. H., & Jones-Diaz, C. (2006). Diversity and difference in early childhood education: Issues for theory and practice. Berkshire, England: Open University Press. 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