Multicultural education

Multicultural education

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Multicultural Education

Many minority groups in the USA tend to struggle in school and the dropout rate of Hispanics, African American and Asian American students tend to be higher compared to white students .Pang (2008) found out that the self-esteem of the Asian students tend to be even lower because most teacher don’t understand their needs .While women may not come across a s minority in number their struggles towards getting education can be compared to what minority groups have had.

A dramatic shift occurred in 1972(Title IX of the Education Amendments Act) when legislation was passed outlawing all forms of discrimination on the basis in programs that have funded by the federal government. For a long time most these groups have been underrepresented in the education sector. One of the reasons why minority students struggle in schools compared to their counter is that there is inability by the teachers to meet their learning and communication styles. According to Banks (2006) minority students children from minority communities differ in the way they communicate and learn.

There are different in learning styles also. According to Banks (2006) learning styles are also different and this is influenced by culture and socialization. For instance women, African American and Latino tend to do better with cooperative methods of learning. Such students are more field-dependent.To meet the needs of all students despite of their cultural backgrounds there is need for culturally responsive teaching. Teachers need to examine their teaching styles by looking at the cultural composition of their students without necessarily making generalizations. One way of doing that might include to sue a variety of models and methods in teaching.

There is also need to develop culturally responsible content that appreciates the influence of culture, race, religion, ethnicity and not merely teaching about ethnic groups. This will create an environment in the classroom that is similar to one at home and that may encourage learning (Huber,1991)

In conclusion, it is important for educators to bear in mind that the children come from diverse backgrounds and thus they shouldn’t be stuck in one way of thinking but they should use different way of teaching.

References

Banks, J . A . 2006 . Cultural Diversity and Education: Foundations, Curriculum, and Teaching.

New York: Pearson Education

Huber, T. (1991). Restructuring to reclaim youth at risk: Culturally responsible pedagogy. Paper

presented at the 13th annual meeting of the Mid-Western Educational Research Association,

Chicago, IL, October 16-19. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 341655)

Pang, V . O . 2008 . “Educating the Whole Child: Implications for Teachers.” In Classic Edition

Sources: Multicultural Education, ed . J . Noel, 127–131. New York: McGraw-Hill