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Understanding Culture and Multiculturalism
RULES FOR DISCUSSION
Treat others as you would like to be treated Classroom discussions are confidential Mutual respect for each other must be tolerated Attacks on another person are not permitted We can agree to disagree Everyone must speak from their own
experiences Try to refer to one another by name
Commonly used terms
Culture Ethnicity Race
CULTURE A totality of learned behaviors in the context of a social
system (Slonim, 1991) Includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom,
and any other capacities and habits acquired by individuals as members of society
The characteristics of that individual’s society or some subgroup within that society
We live it and may cause some distress when we are out of our culture.
Attributes include familial, linguistic, religious, spiritual, aesthetic, socioeconomic, educational, dietary, gender etc.
Culture-explicit and implicit
Explicit aspects of culture-language, dress, food habits, religion, aesthetic conventions-taught deliberately and learned (tip of iceberg)
Implicit aspects of culture-equally important; habits often invisible to us-timeliness, what is proper or improper
RACE
A socially determined category that is related to physical characteristics in a complex way (Banks & Banks).
Not a stable category; has changed over time Used often in US as if there is total agreement
about definition ( school forms, Birth/death certificates etc)
Has been defined socially, biologically and geographically
RACE-PHYSICAL
Physical and inborn characteristics Skin color, body build or facial features Unlike culture-race cannot be changed or
learned or acquired after birth Other terms used-Negroid, Caucasoid and
Mongoloid
RACE-GEOGRAPHICALLY
Determined by the region of the world and country
African, American Indian, Asian, Australian, European, Indian, Melanesian, and Polynesian
RACE-UNITED STATES
Should not be reviewed solely but important to note
Individuals are asked to state race on forms Society places emphasis on race and some
individuals may claim that their race affects the quality of their life experiences
( Some African American and Latino American men may feel some harassment due to their race)
RACE-Why is it difficult to discuss?
May be considered taboo to discuss
(especially in mixed settings) There may be denial on personal
prejudice, racism, failing to acknowledge its impact on the individual’s life
Not easily defined or understood
Ethnicity
An individual’s sense of identification and provides a sense of belonging to a reference group [derived from five major racial categories-African American, Native American, Asian American, Latino American, European American] (Slonim, 1991)
African-Caribbean , Jewish American, Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Italian American, Muslim, Cherokee, Navajo
More on Ethnicity
Persons can be at different stages of the ethic awareness
Ethnic group is a cultural group with a sense of peoplehood, shared history, common ancestry, and common set of political and economic interests
MULTICULTURALISM
A WORLD VIEW THAT REJECTS THE GLOBAL CENTRALITY OF ANY SINGLE CULTURE OR HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
A PRINCIPLE, AN APPROACH, OR A SET OF RULES OF CONDUCT THAT GUIDES THE INTERACTIONS AND INFLUENCES THE PERCEPTIONS, BELIEFS, ATTITUDES, AND BEHAVIORS OF PEOPLE FROM DIVERSE CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS
Multicultural Education-IT IS
An idea An education reform movement A process
Multicultural Education A multifaceted, organizational, change-oriented strategy
aimed at seven goals1. Educational equity2. Empowerment of students, parents, and teachers3. Development of society that values cultural pluralism4. Understanding and harmony in classroom, school and community5. Maintenance and expansion of freedom and democracy6.knowledge of cultural and ethnic groups7.develop all staff , parents and students with multicultural perspective
Cultural Pluralism
The notion that groups should be allowed and even encouraged to hold on to what gives them their unique identities while maintaining their membership in the larger social framework.
It does not advocate separatism but promote diversity - not a melting pot but a salad bowl concept-unity with uniqueness!
Multicultural Education-A little history
Grew out of the civil rights movement of the 1960s which was grounded in the democratic ideas of freedom, justice and equality
Extends the values and beliefs inherent in a democracy- the promotion of human rights and privileges, the sharing power and equal participation in all social contexts
Communication and Culture
Playing by the Rules
Educational Setting
Schools have a culture that has values, beliefs and norms that are related to school success
School Culture
Rigid schedules Analytical reasoning Individual achievement Competition Definition of disability according to laws Certain learning styles (visual and
auditory)
Possible home cultures
Flexible schedules Intuitive reasoning Achievement through cooperation Definition of disability by physical
characteristics, intuition, other family members with disability.
Different learning styles
Language and Communication
“language and culture are so inextricably intertwined that it is often difficult to consider one without the other” (Padron & Knight, 1990)
It includes: Pronunciation Vocabulary Phonology (rhythm, tempo pitch) When to speak and what is left unspoken Questioning Dialects, accents
Language and Communication
Students whose spoken and written language does not match the requirements of mainstream language experience academic difficulties due to differences in language capabilities.
May cause overrepresentation of students in Special Education due to language differences- especially students who speak English as a second language .
Nonverbal Communication
65% of all communication is related to nonverbal communication
Proxemics (interpersonal space) Kinesics (body language) Haptics (frequency of touching) Paralanguage (voice, tone, pitch and rhythm) Inexperience teachers often overreact to
nonverbal cultural manifestation by imposing rules and prohibitions
Teaching Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD)
Students
Addressing Learning Styles is affective way of instructing CLD
student
Example:Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences
Field dependent learners vs field independent learners
Field independent learners
Focus on parts instead of whole Focus on things Prefer learning by watching and listening Prefer learning individually Can learn without the need for hands-on
activities
Field dependent learners
Respond to things in terms of the whole instead of isolated parts
Prefer learning in groupsFocus on people rather than thingsPrefer learning by doingMore proficient in nonverbal communicationPrefer kinesthetic, active, hands-on instructional
activitiesDoes not focus on competition
“All students have an incredible capacity for developing the ability to use multiple learning styles in much the same way that multiple language competency can be accomplished” (Hillard, 1992)