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EFFECTIVE
SCHOOLS RESEARCH
Research
indicates that a child’s success in school is significantly
influenced by having:
TEACHERS
WHO UNDERSTAND DIFFERENT CULTURES AND BACKGROUNDS, RECOGNIZE
STUDENT DIFFERENCES, AND PROVIDE A SENSE OF INCLUSIVENESS FOR
ALL STUDENTS.
Research on preparing
teachers to teach culturally diverse student populations shows
strong links between an educator’s understanding and sensitivity
towards a student’s cultural background and the successful
academic performance of that student. Using knowledge about student
differences, teachers can choose curricula and teaching strategies
and design the most inclusive classroom environments in meeting
students’ learning needs and abilities. Some research indicates
the following:
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Many students
tend to learn successfully through approaching tasks visually
rather than verbally. Others respond well to inter-active
learning methods such as role-playing and dialogue. Others
frequently use mental images rather than word associations.
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The ways
in which people converse with one another can vary greatly
from culture to culture. For example, when a teacher asks
a direct question, students from some cultures may not immediately
respond. To answer quickly might be considered disrespectful
and might indicate that not enough thought had been given
to the question. But if the teacher makes a casual observation
or comment, that student might feel more comfortable about
responding and joining in a discussion. Also, it helps to
remember that people from some minority groups find the challenging,
often coercive, conversational style of many North Americans
to be quite intimidating.
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Some students
perform better in groups when they are led by a teacher or
student whom they can relate to culturally as an elder.
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Students
from some cultures may have a different way of processing
information than other children who have been raised in the
mainstream culture. These students may prefer to first observe,
reflect upon what they have seen, and then practice it privately.
Only when they feel confident about their ability to perform
the task do they attempt it publicly. Some students also
tend to learn more quickly when they see the whole picture
first rather than having that picture broken into segments.
Sources:
Bert,
1992.
Butterfield,
1994.
Kaulback,
1984.
Kirkness,
1992.
Pepper
and Henry, 1986.
Stokes,
1997.
Turner,
1998.
Wang,
1998.
Wax,
1961.
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