PB9MAT_9. Cultural Influences on Educational Context

Cultural Influences on Context: the Educational Setting.

(Meeting – 9)

Globalism, Multiculturalism, and Education.

Globalism promotes the ideal of thinking globally and acting locally by bringing forth numerous and profound changes in the economic, cultural, and political life of nationsMulticulturalism is concerned with establishing cultural connections and transcend our national experience.

Globalism, Multiculturalism, and Education.

Within democratic perspective, multiculturalism recognizes the personal worth and dignity of each individualEducation must find a way to combine particular values within the framework of universal values

Education in a Culturally Diverse Society

The importance of examining the educational setting is based on four reason

We can gain valuable insight into culture by studying its perception of and approach to educationEducation is one of the largest profession in certain countrySchools are a primary means by which a culture’s history and traditions are passed from generation to generationThe function of an educational system is to teach the informal knowledge of a culture

Cultural Differences in Education

Most cultures with formal educational system tend to teach much the same thing– literacy, mathematics, science, history, and so fourthThere is great deal of diversity in education


What cultures TeachWhat a culture emphasize in curriculum can give you some insight into the character of that culture

Spanish students are taught the basic skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic. Spanish students are also instructed in formative skills, national spirit, and complementary skills.


What cultures TeachChinese education emphasizes the goals of the group society, foster in-group belonging, demands cooperation and independence, and pursue harmony. The Chinese always stress moral education over intellectual and physical educationThe Japanese curriculum emphasizes social studies, democratic political processes, and religious tolerance


How Cultures TeachWhat a culture teaches can give you knowledge about that culture.Knowing how culture teaches is just as important because it (a) provides insight into the nature of the culture; (b) helps you understand interpersonal relationship between students and teachers; (c) gives you with the importance a culture places on education


How Cultures TeachThe Spanish classroom is characterized by a lack of competition. Unlike American students, Spanish students do not compete for grades. Ideas and information are shared and not treated as if they were the domain of one person.


In Japan, prestige is determined almost entirely by education. This has led to the development of a teaching system that is intensely competitive yet nourishes group solidarity and collaboration. Mexico is a collective culture it tends to deal with conflict in a manner that reflects consideration of the feeling of others.

Multicultural Education in USGoals Multicultural Education

In multicultural society and world, it is imperative to recognize and affirm our genuine commonality. Buffee insists “schools should be looking for ways to engage culturally dissimilar students in understanding and dealing with one another effectively”School must provide their students with intellectual awakening and growth. The intellect is exercised through encountering new people, new ideas, and new social constructs

Multicultural Education in USThe problem of educating students in a multicultural nation is not an easy assignment.The challenges and problems facing education in US are complicated by two factors

The US educational system is based on the idea that as many people as possible should have access to as much education as possible The increase of student cultural diversity

Multicultural Education in US

Approaches to multicultural EducationMulticultural education seeks to help students develop the knowledge attitudes, and skills to participate in a free and democratic societyA multicultural education, therefore, must recognize the cultural diversity of students and the effect that diversity has on the learning process


In the classroom setting, both learning style and language diversity affect how students learn and participate in the educational processThere are four dimension of learning styles subject to cultural variation

CognitiveCommunicationRelationalMotivational style


Cognitive style understanding the different ways people a large role in determining individual preferences.Understanding the different ways people think and process information is essential to developing learning system appropriate to a multicultural society


There are four common cognition style in multicultural classroom

Field independence VS field sensitivityThe manner in which people tend to perceive their environment and the emphasis they place on the field or the parts of the field

Cooperative VS CompetitionA cognitive style denoting whether learners prefer to work together in a cooperative environment or to work independently in competition with one another


Trial and error VS “watch then do”Refers to people’s preference to learn by engaging themselves in a task and learning to do it by trial and error or whether they prefer to observe first and then attempt the task.

Tolerance VS Intolerance for ambiguityHow well people deal with ambiguous situations.


Communication stylesIn the classroom, communication is the most vital activity because it is the mechanism by which learning occursFour styles of communication most relevant to the multicultural classroom

Direct VS indirect communication The degree to which culture influences whether people prefer to engage in direct or indirect communication.

Multicultural Education in USFormal VS Informal

The degree of formality expected in communication situations

Nonverbal communication too varied to categorized into either/ or styles. The nonverbal communication form is heavily influenced by culture and is often misinterpreted in the classroom

Topic-centered communication VS topic associating communication addresses

The manner in which students examine and study a topic .


Relational stylesThe manner in which people relate to each other is called their relational styleThere are five relational style in multicultural education.

Dependent VS independent The degree to which students rely on the support, help, and opinions of their teacher

Participatory VS Passive learningHow students prefer to participate in the learning process

Multicultural Education in USReflective VS Impulsivity

The degree to which students rely on the support, help, and opinions of their teacher

Participatory VS Passive learningHow students prefer to participate in the learning process

Reflectivity VS impulsivityIndicative of how long students think about a question or problem before arriving at a conclusion.

Multicultural Education in USAural, visual, and verbal learning

The degree to which students are primarily aural, visual, or verbal learners

Energetic learning VS Calm LearningDescribes whether students function better in highly active and animated classrooms or calm and placid environment


Motivation Styles Cultures provide diverse reason why it is important and desirable to learn

There are two types of motivational styles Intrinsic VS extrinsic motivation

Concerned with the source of motivationLearning on demand VS learning what is relevant or interesting

Describes whether learning proceeds best based on a set curriculum or whether students should be permitted to learn about what is of interest and immediately relevant to them


Language Diversity in US Language holds particular significance both in and out of the classroomLanguage is a system of symbolic substitution that enables us to share our experience and internal states with others.A common language assumes mutual understanding.It facilitates shared meaning and allows you to communicate on a similar level

Multicultural education in Indonesia

Have a look at the following pictures. Describe the multicultural education in Indonesia.

Multicultural education in Indonesia

Improving Communication in a Multicultural Classroom

Culture creates expectations about appropriate behaviors for teachers and students and describes the “best”way to learnMulticultural teaching requires incorporation of new educational paradigm if it is to be truly responsible to cultural diverse students


Classroom is community. There are six characteristics of true community that may be applied to the multicultural classrooms

Community must be inclusiveThe member of community must have a strong sense of commitmentCommunity must recognized the necessity of consensusMember of a community must have an awareness of both themselves and othersMembers of the community must feel secure enough to be vulnerable to one anotherThe community must be able to resolve differences


The teaching perspectives must develop several important competencies appropriate for the multicultural education processThese competencies include

Understanding diversityUnderstanding the selfAssessing acculturationMulticultural communication skillsEmpathy

Activities

How can multicultural education be effective if it must deal with a large variety of learning styles and language differences.

Documents

PB9MAT_9. Cultural Influences on Educational Context