Teachers' Beliefs and Students' Development, Migration, Distress, and Cultural Identity - Assignment Example

Human Resources and Cultural Assessment Name Grade Course Tutor’s Name Date: Part 1: personal beliefs and how they impact me as an educator Beliefs are deeply personal, and as Pajares (1992, p. 309) indicates, they are not affected by persuasion. Notably, beliefs can be about oneself or others, and can be formed as one goes through events, or experiences. As an educator, I, for example, believe that students need to find time to finish their class work or homework in good time. Looking back, I realise that the foregoing belief has its genesis from my interactions with teachers early in life. Such interactions made me believe that I had to complete all my class and homework in good time. Over the years, I have had experiences that have made me aware that varying reasons may hinder students from completing their class or homework punctually, but as a rule of thumb, I have always encouraged my students to beat all odds in order to finish their work in good time. Since I am aware of my beliefs, however, I make a deliberate effort to base my thinking and decision making on knowledge, as opposed to beliefs. This means that when a student is unable to complete their class or homework, I usually try to understand their reasons and advice them accordingly. I also hold the belief that all students, regardless of gender, race or social class differences are capable of learning. The foregoing belief largely comes from my background as a Saudi Arabian woman who grew up in an extremely patriarchal society, but still succeeded in excelling academically. In America, I have become aware of the many differences that exist among students in the same school, and this always reminds that all my students are equally capable regardless of their gender, racial or economic differences. My personal definition of culture borrows a lot from Jandt (2012, p.6), who defines it as the values, beliefs and concepts that guides a person’s behaviour, which are to a great extent shaped by the person’s experiences. In my case, for example, my experiences as a Saudi Arabian woman have shaped my beliefs, values and even my behaviours. An American would, for instance, pinpoint that I am exhibiting behaviours that are different from the predominant American culture based on how I dress alone. My background can briefly be defined as an Arab woman, with a Saudi Arabic culture. I subscribe to the Islamic religion, which is arguably the genesis of the predominant culture in Saudi Arabia. Specifically, most of the values, beliefs, and even customs that Saudi Arabians hold have its genesis in the Islamic religion. The Arabic language is a predominant cultural symbol for most Saudi Arabians, although multi-linguistic tendencies are common among people who have an interest in relocating or working in other countries where English is the common language. Based on my work experiences as an educator, and my family’s economic social background, I would describe my economic status as middle class. My economic status, as described, above has to a great extent shaped by the belief that hard work pays. In my work as an educator, I strive to instil the concept of hard work in students by encouraging them to be diligent and persistent in their education. In retrospect, I think my belief in hard work is to a great extent shaped by my experiences here in America, and in Saudi Arabia. Cultural components Bhugra (2004, p. 3) defines cultural components as aspects of one’s cultural identity, which include language, religion, and dietary habits among others unique cultural traits. My background as a Saudi Arabian national has made religious beliefs one of my cultural components. Unlike the US where freedom of worship is a basic tenet of the constitution, Islam is the predominant religion in Saudi Arabia. In my interactions as an educator with both my students and colleagues, I’m increasingly becoming aware that people hold different religious views, and that all I can do is respecting their diverse views. When my students wonder why I hold different religious views, I strive to educate them the best way I can without creating the impression that one religion is better than the other. Another cultural component that I’m increasingly aware of is language. As Bhugra and Becker (2005, p. 21) note, language, whether spoken or written, is a cultural indicator. As an educator in the US, I have since learnt the importance of being linguistically competent especially in my use of the English language. The foregoing importance emerged when it became evident that regardless of the many languages that are spoken by immigrants in the US, the primary language of communication, which is understood by American and non-Americans residing in the country is English. To communicate effectively with people from diverse backgrounds, therefore, linguistic competence in the English language became a prerequisite. Race is also another cultural component that has affected how I have handled diversity since coming to America. As Bhugra and Becker (2005, p. 21) note, race is not only having specific physical attributes that differentiate a person from others, but it can also be understood from a political or social construct. As an Arab, I have been subject to stereotypes mainly associated with Arab Muslims. Initially, I was infuriated, but later, I got to understand that most people use specific stereotypes out of ignorance. During that time however, I had a deep yearning to be understood but it became apparent that for that to happen, I needed to venture into the dominant American culture, without necessarily abandoning my beliefs and values. While interacting with people from other racial backgrounds, I also become aware that I judge them based on a specific racial prism, which was not based on knowledge, but on unverified information that I had picked when growing up. I therefore made a deliberate decision not to subject people from other races to the same stereotypes that I experienced. With time, I have learnt to treat other people not as people from specific racial groups, but as individuals distinct from their racial groupings. Part II: Evaluate, Change and Assess a School’s (organisational) cultural competency The National Education Association (NEA) (2009) defines cultural competency in schools as the ability to teach students from diverse cultures successfully. From a wider human resource perspective however, cultural competency is described as a set of policies, attitudes or behaviours, which are evident in an organisation, and enables that organisation to have cultural diversity (Van Ngo, 2000, p. II). Cultural competency is characterised by specific skills, cultural knowledge, cultural sensitivities, and awareness that enhance the ability of an institution to uphold culturally responsive instructional strategies. An assessment of a School’s cultural competency from a human resource standpoint Van Ngo (2000, p. 9) recommends that an internal assessment of the cultural competency of an organisation should evaluate the involvement the involvement of diverse communities in different organisational aspects. Additionally, an assessment requires one to review the cultural composition of staff members basing the assessment of the current and past data. Van Ngo (2000, p. 9) further recommends an examination of practices and policies of recruitments, policy delivery and the provision of services. Finally, the assessment should identify barriers that hinder cultural diversity in a given organisation. In XYZ School, diverse communities (especially as represented by the parents) are involved in the different school aspects. A review of the cultural composition of current and past teaching staff reveals that the school has always had teachers from diverse cultural backgrounds. Unfortunately, however, the assessment revealed that the school does not have policies that indicate how recruitment, policy development or service delivery would be done in a manner that enhances diversity. Finally, the assessment revealed that the main barrier that limits cultural diversity is that no one talks about diversity issues. In XYZ School, it seemed that diversity is a silently acknowledged reality, but no one was willing to discuss it openly. Change Lewin’s change model proposes that an organisation needs to be prepared for change through unfreezing (Kritsonis, 2005, p.2). In XYZ School, this stage would involve breaking the status quo and perhaps letting the school management know that the absence of policies that indicate how recruitment is done in a manner that enhances diversity among the teaching staff is not okay. To institute change, one would need to challenge the values, beliefs, or attitudes that the school management holds, and which for many years have made the absence of diversity policies in recruitment of new teachers acceptable. Van Ngo (2000, p. 8) indicates that the person pushing for change should develop recommendations that would enhance cultural competency, develop an implementation action plan circulate the report to affected stakeholders, ask for their input and obtain approval from relevant authorities to implement the same. Implementation Lewin’s change model indicates that the second stage of the change process is embracing the change itself (Kritsonis, 2005, p.2). According to Van Ngo (2000, p. 9), the second phase is where the change is implemented through activities that include assigning specific responsibilities to particular people. In the Context of XYZ School, for example, implementing change would involve giving the school management the responsibility to come up with a policy document that would indicate how recruitment practices would be used to enhance diversity in the school’s teaching staff. Additionally, Van Ngo (2000, p.9) notes the need to build a support system for the implementers of change because in most cases, people resist change. The final bit of implementation would require the implementers to ensure that the strategies advocated for in the change proposals are implemented. In XYZ School, for example, the final stage of implementation would involve ensuring that the policy document for enhancing cultural diversity is followed during the recruitment of all new teachers. Assessing the effectiveness of change According to Van Ngo (2000, p. 10), assessing or evaluating the outcome of change is an essential step in change management if an organisation is to determine whether it has attained the goals it had set. In XYX School, that goal would be to have a recruitment policy that enhances diversity in the school’s teaching staff. To evaluate the outcome of the change, therefore, the person responsible for implementing the change would need to determine whether indeed the school’s management had come up with a recruitment policy that underscored the importance of diversity during recruitment. Next, the person in charge of implementing the change would need to determine whether the policy is clear; whether it is knowledge-based; whether there is an action plan; and whether measures that would ensure that diversity is upheld during recruitment have been adopted. Finally, if the results of the evaluation process suggest that the goal envisaged by the change implementers will be met, they can engage in final stage of change management as indicated in the Lewin’s model, which is re-freezing (Kritsonis, 2005, p.2). Re-freezing helps the organisation to stabilise as people become more comfortable with the changes. In XYZ School, for example, re-freezing would ensure that the diversity policy is used during all new recruitment exercises. How personal and school cultures work together School cultures are the shared practices, values and norms that are practiced in the school set up (Caplan & Owings, 2013, p. 2). The culture gives the school a unique identity. One’s personal culture, however, refers to the set of practices, values and norms that shapes an individual’s thoughts and behaviours. When individuals spend their days in a predominant school culture, a process, which Bhugra and Becker (2005, p. 21) call acculturation occurs. In acculturation, the personal culture still remains but a person learns to accept the dominant school culture. Alternatively, cultural assimilation may occur, where the personal culture is replaced by the dominant school culture (Bhugra & Becker, 2005, p. 21). Arguably, whenever personal cultures take a back seat as the school culture takes over; individual teachers can identify more with the school. However, personal cultures are inevitably evident in behaviours that people exhibit, and ideally, this makes the school environment a diverse place. Overall, it is worth noting that school cultures are more inclusive thus making them more accommodative of the diverse personal cultures that diverse students and staff may hold. For example, a school may have a culture that upholds specific rules of etiquette that people will have to uphold regardless of their cultural differentials. References Bhugra, D. (2004). Migration, distress and cultural identity. British Medical Bulletin, 69, 1-13. Bhugra, D., & Becker, M.A. (2005). Migration, cultural bereavement and cultural identity. World Psychiatry, 4(1), 18-24. Jandt, F.E. (2012). An introduction to Intercultural communication. NY; London: Sage. Kaplan, L.S., & Owings, W.A. (2013). Culture re-boot: reinvigorating school culture to improve student outcomes. London: Sage. Kritsonis, A. (2005). Comparison of change theories. International Journal of Management, Business and Administration, 8(1), 1-7. National Education Association (NEA). (2009). Diversity toolkit: cultural competence for educators. Retrieved from https://www.nea.org/tools/30402.htm Pajares, M.F. (1992). Teachers’ beliefs and educational research: cleaning up a messy construct. Review of Educational Research. 62(3), 307-332. Van Ngo, H. (2000). Cultural competency- a self-assessment guide for human service organisations. Calgary, Alberta: Cultural Diversity Institute Read More