Student Multicultural Perspective - Essay Example

Multicultural Perspective Analysis College: Multicultural Perspective Analysis School Demographics In the recent past, there has been a great demographic change in the learning environment demanding for a change in the education style. The student population is diverse in terms of gender, race, sexuality and economic status. The principle of diversity education requires that each student have an equal opportunity to learn and attain high level of education despite their difference in the learning environment. Therefore, the teachers are left with the challenge of implementing diversity management strategies within their institutions to facilitate learning in a multicultural environment. In my school, there is a great variation in the population characteristics of students in terms of gender, race, sexuality and economic background. Being an international school, the institutions has 20% of international students most of do not speak English as a native language. The 20% of international students come from more than 5 races majority having an Indian background. In terms of gender, the institution is composed of 39% of female and the rest are male students. This gender imbalance is a factor that has become critical while designing the institutions education programs. Most of the students in this institution come from middle level income earners and only about 10% are from the economically disadvantaged social classes. This great variation in the population characteristics has led to diversity challenges in this institution. Diversity management in this institution is complex due to the community characteristics. Majority of the parents in this institution have acquired only basic education and hence make little contribution to the students learning process. On the hand, most of the teachers are US natives and have to learn ways to take care of the students from the international countries. Fortunately, most of the teachers have acquired at least master education and understand the necessity for diversity management in the contemporary learning environment. The institution maintains the population of female students at about 30%, a proportion that is approximately the same as that of the female students. In this institution, the duty of diversity management heavily depends on the ability of the institution and the individual teachers to design effective curriculum programs to take care of the diverse needs of the student population. Multicultural Education In my institution, a number of multicultural management strategies are used to meet the special needs of the students (Ball & Tyson, 2011). To start with, the school administration provides the teachers with opportunities to learn diversity management principles. In multicultural education, the teachers have the greatest role in designing a curriculum that meets all the academic needs of a diverse student population. The teachers are provided with opportunities to visit different institutions and forums that address diversity issues in education. In these forums, they learn how other institutions manage diversity in their institutions and have an opportunity to share and understand the matter in depth. A core aspect of diversity management is to enhance social interaction among the students (Ball & Tyson, 2011). To achieve this, the institution has formulated student organizations that help the students to interact and learn from each other. For instance, the debate club provides opportunities for students of English to participate and help each other with language problems. In classroom, I prefer to use text books that are internationally recognized and that give examples and fact from the world and not from America only. This gives all learners equal chances of understanding. To teach the American history, the school has adopted an integrative curriculum. The American history forms part of the subject to accommodate the history of other cultures. This gives students the chance to learn their own culture alongside that of American. The school has remained dynamic due to the changes in diversity evident in this institution each year. There are always new students and this brings about new cultural factors that the institution has to account for. In this light, the institution changes its curriculum to accommodate the changes in the student population. The institution abides to its motto of diversity management by reflecting the cultural differences in the in the institution through images. For instance, in every classroom, there is a picture that has students from different races and a tag that states “school for all”. This helps all students to feel comfortable in the new environment and embrace the differences that exist among them. The school recognizes all international holidays to allow each student to celebrate the significance of the holiday just like they were in their own country. Racial Demographics In my institution, 80% of the students are Native Americans while the rest come five different races. This implies that there is a great heterogeneity within the student population demanding for a diverse curriculum that takes care of the learners needs. The situation is worse as many teachers are Native Americans and only 3 teachers out of 50 teachers are from other races. This difference in race in the student population makes it complex to meet their learning needs. To a great extent, race difference affects the beliefs and the attitudes of students to education. Also, students from different races have different understanding of phenomena and this affects the way they perceive learning (Banks, 2006). For a school located in town, the community surrounding the school is diverse in terms of race and background. This makes the environment more conducive for young learners and gives them a positive influence in the learning process. In the recent past, America is a state that has embrace cultural diversity due to changes in demographics. Many people have migrated to America in search for employment, education and some have acquired permanent citizenship. This diversity has impacted the school diversity as students from different background continue to flow in the school. However, it is clear that there are constrains in the cultural integration process as some races are perceived as unfriendly. For instance, there is tension between Americans and Muslims as American perceive Muslims as a peace threat within the country. When this is translated in class, there is tension between Muslim students and the American students and this poses a challenge for teachers who have to safeguard the learning needs of all the students. The black students often suffer from inferiority complex due to the prevalent believe that the whites are superior to the blacks. These believes intimidate the learning abilities of these students and the teachers have a role to take support these minority groups. Racial differences impact the students’ contribution in class and extra-curricular activities (Banks, 2006). For instance, the Indian students are quiet in class and will not contribute in class unless asked to do so by the teacher. This is contrary to the American students who are willing to contribute and feel free to participate in every social event. In my class, I have adopted a routine for ensuring that all students participate in class work. I assign the last 30 minutes of my lesson to an interactive session. In this interactive session, every student is expected to give their opinion or answer a question. This gives equal chances for every student to contribute and participate in class. Effective diversity strategies in class help to reduce student isolation, segregation and discrimination that may arise within the student population. Socioeconomic Data In my teaching environment, over 50% of students come from middle level income earners. This is because most America parents are employed and are capable of providing for their students. 30% of the remaining students come from economically disadvantage families whose parents have no decent jobs and they can barely afford to fund their children’s education. The socioeconomic status of the parents is directly related with their level of education and hence their ability to provide pre-school education to their children (Gorski, 2010). In my class, I observe that students from poor parents take long to understand and have little background knowledge. As such, they need more support that those from well up parents. Children from rich families are taught by their parents and have the ability to purchase relevant text books giving them a great academic advantage (Hick & Thomas, 2009). Hence, the institution has a great challenge dealing with the students’ needs, given the difference in their economic background. To manager socioeconomic diversity, the institution has provides bursary kitties for poor students. The bursary funds help students to pay for their school fees and buy extra textbooks that they need in their studies. This treatment helps students to be at the same level of education and provides an opportunity for poor students to learn without having to break for reasons such as school fees. The school conducts a research to identify students from poor backgrounds and provide them with the support they need. In the classroom, the teacher closely identifies their learning needs and defines ways to meet them. In my class, I have three children weak students and I provide them with extra tuition during their free time to assist them to catch up with other students. From this point of view, it is possible to give credit to the institution for managing the learning needs of students on the socioeconomic boundary. Gender and Sexuality Data Gender and sexuality are important factors in a learning environment. Scientists recognize the difference in the abilities of students across the line of gender and the way this affects the learning needs of students (Milner, 2009). In general, females are weak in specific subjects that males regard as best for them, and the vice versa still holds. In my institution, the number of females amount to 40% of the student population although the proportions vary in every class. This gender imbalance brings about special needs in the learning environment that teachers have to consider in their instructional methods. In my class, I have observed that male students are stronger in mathematics and science that female students. On the other hand, female students perform better in history and language. To overcome this challenge, I have to pay more attention to each group and assist them in the subjects that they are weak in. In any learning environment, the incentive of teachers to support each gender in their weaknesses determines the effectiveness of their diversity management systems. In this institution, the proportion of the female teachers is the same as that of female students. Female teachers assist female students with psycho-support that is necessary for teenage students. Gender difference affects the way students stand out in the extra-curricular activities (Milner, 2009). Female students are less active in sporting activities and student organizations unless they are encouraged. The institution allows the students to interact in student organization and equal funding is given to support both genders in their sporting activities. In soft games such as volleyball, the institution allows inter-gender competition to enhance health social relationships within the institution. As students interact socially outside class, they develop a closer relationship in their academics and they assist each other in learning. In my opinion, the institution has supported gender diversity management in an effort to provide equal learning opportunities for both male and the female child. References Ball, A. F., & Tyson, C. A. (2011). Studying diversity in teacher education. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Banks, J. A. (2006). Cultural diversity and education: Foundations, curriculum, and teaching. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon. Gorski, C., (2010). The Challenge of Defining Multicultural Education. Retrieved from: < http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/initial.html> Hick, P., & Thomas, G. (2009). Inclusion and diversity in education. Los Angeles, Calif: SAGE. Milner, H. R. (2009). Diversity and education: Teachers, teaching, and teacher education. Springfield, Ill: Charles C. Thomas, Pub. Read More