The Effect of Changing Demographics on Student

LearningPPS 6010 Multicultural Children,

Adolescents, and Families- Sabrina Cabanilla

Understanding Socio-Cultural Diversity

Activity

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Thanks for your participation =)

What’s changed?

What events do you think influenced changes in family structure and dynamics?

A major change: A Growing Population

The median age has gotten older

Changing patterns in immigration and birth rates = no majority racial or ethnic group in the U.S.

We’re growing older, and more diverse

The U.S. population is rapidly growing, especially in states in the West and South

Rank StatePercent of State's Total Population

1 California 40

2 New Mexico 37

3 Texas 32.6

4 New York 28

5 Hawaii 27

6 Arizona 26

7 New Jersey 26

8 Florida 23

9 Nevada 23

10 Illinois 19

Source: U.S. Census Brief, "Language Use and English-Speaking Ability: 2000," Census 2000 Brief, October 2003

Table 11: Top Ten States in which Persons Five and Older Speak a Language Other than English at Home

What states did you think of?

A Look at the Numbers….

Student Racial/Ethnic Makeup

Charts were obtained from the CA Dept of Ed Website

What do these demographic patterns imply?

Schools are needing to educate an increasing population of children of color and of Hispanic origin

Cultural differences may be misinterpreted as deficits

A growing need for bilingual teachers and teachers of English Language Learners

A demand for multicultural training and education for professionals

How can we implement best practices as School Psychologists in Multicultural Education?

Establish rapport and trust Learn the family system and try to

understand problems from the family’s perspective

Evaluate one’s own cultural biases Determine the influence of previous

cultural information