Chapter 6: Culture and Diversity

1. Chapter 6: Culture and Diversity Educational Psychology, 13/e, GE Anita Woolfolk Prepared by RayeLakey

2. Chapter 6 Outline • Today’s Diverse Classrooms • Economic and Social Class Differences • Ethnicity and Race in Teaching and Learning • Gender in Teaching and Learning • Multicultural Education: Creating Culturally Compatible Classrooms

3. Chapter 6 Objectives • Describe the meaning of culture and how cultural diversity in American schools today impacts learning and teaching. • Discus what defines social class and socioeconomic status, including how SES differences relate to school achievement. • Explain how race, ethnicity, prejudice, discrimination, and stereotype threat might affect student learning and achievement in schools. • Describe the development of gender identity, sexual orientation, and the role of gender in teaching. • Define multicultural education and apply research on diversity to the creation of culturally compatible classrooms.

4. Today’s Diverse Classrooms • Aspects of diversity that affect teaching and learning • Social class, race, ethnicity, gender • Broad definition of culture • Knowledge, values, attitudes, traditions that guide the behavior of a group of people and allow them to solve problems of living in their environment • Defined along regional, ethnic, religious, racial, gender, social class, and other lines • Individuals are members of many groups, influenced by many different cultures • Example of one individual’s cultural ties: African American, feminist, middle class, social studies teacher

5. American Cultural Diversity • Many different cultures within every modern country • Examples of aspects that make us different • Rural town versus large urban area • Child of store clerk versus child of a doctor • Examples of aspects that make us alike • Common experiences, values, history, traditions • Iceberg metaphor for culture • 1/3 visible, the rest hidden and unknown • Many cultural differences are below the surface • A society’s culture defines intelligence in that society • Manipulation of words and numbers in Western societies • Graceful movement in Balinese social life

7. Diversity Among Students • Student 1, Ternice Mattox, 7th grade • Lives with mother, 3 siblings in large city in Northeast • Being part of a gifted program, viewed as “acting white,” would interfere with her friendships • Student 2, Benjamin Whittaker, 9th grade, lives with father • Takes Ritalin, loves art, pushed toward medical field by his parents • Student 3, Davy Walker, 2nd grade, struggling reader • Parents own restaurant; Davy wants to follow their path • Student 4, Jessie Kinkaid, 11th grade, lives with mom • Dislikes school, plans to graduate, marry, start family

8. Cautions: Interpreting Cultural Differences • Most research focuses on only one variable at a time (social class, ethnicity, race, gender), but children are complex individual beings • Group membership does not define an individual

9. Cultural Conflicts and Compatibilities • Cultural differences often generate conflict • Dominant culture values used as standard for behaviors • Students from other cultures have been socialized differently and behave differently • Example: Mexican American child violating school rule by taking bread roll home to share with sibling • Compatible cultural differences may generate labels • Example: “Model minority” label used with Asian Americans (in comparison to other ethnic groups) • Dangers in stereotyping • Reinforces conformity, stifles assertiveness • Perpetuates view of group members as foreigners

10. Economic and Social Class Differences • Social class levels – low to high, depending on perceptions of wealth, power, and prestige • Example: Basis of social cliques, in-group/out-group • SES (socioeconomic status) – relative standing in society based on income, power, background, prestige • Four levels: Upper, middle, working, lower • Characteristics: Education level, occupation, income, home ownership, health coverage, neighborhood, political power

11. Students in Poverty • Students in extreme poverty: Homeless, highly mobile • Extreme poverty – 10% of children in U.S. • Over 1 million homeless students • Students who move 3 or more times in a year are 60% more likely to repeat a grade • Poverty and school achievement • 45% of U.S. children live in low-income families or in poverty • Increasingly lower achievement the longer a child remains in poverty • Growing achievement gap between privileged children and children in poverty

12. Students in Poverty: Health, Environment, and Stress Negative effects of poverty: • Poor prenatal and infant health care and nutrition • High incidence of premature births (associated with cognitive problems) • Exposure to legal and illegal drugs before birth (associated with organization, attention, language problems) • High stress from evictions, hunger, lack of resources (associated with school absences, cognitive problems) • More likely to be exposed to environmental toxins associated with neurological impairment

13. Students in Poverty: Low Expectations—Low Academic Self-Concept • Negative assumptions are often made by teachers and other students • Negative results of such assumptions • Teachers avoid calling on poor children in class • Set lower standards • Accept poor work from them • Low expectations lead to low academic self-concept • Learned helplessness • Failure to complete high school

14. Peer Influences, Resistance Cultures, and Resources • Middle and high-income students of all ethnic groups more likely to have friends planning to attend college • Low-SES students more likely to have friends who drop out • May be part of resistance culture (resist school achievement; resist acting “middle class”) • Linked to poor Latino, African, and Native American groups and poor White students • Greater academic setbacks from summer breaks • Begin school 6 months behind in reading skills • May be tracked into “low-ability” or “vocational” classes • Often attend schools with few resources

15. Teaching Students Who Live in Poverty • Learn about effects of poverty on student learning • Set, maintain high expectations of the students • Develop caring teacher-student relationships with them • Build their learning skills, self-regulation skills • Pay attention to health problems, absences, tardies • Assess their knowledge; build on what they know

16. Ethnicity and Race in Teaching and Learning Clarification of terms: • Ethnicity is cultural heritage shared by a group of people • Shared history, language, traditions, religion • Race is a socially constructed category of people who share biologically transmitted traits • Traits often based on appearances and ancestry • Minority group: Group of people who have been socially disadvantaged • Not always a numerical minority of the population • Example: Areas where African Americans are majority

17. Ethnic and Racial Differences in School Achievement • Achievement gaps narrowing, ethnic groups gaining on standardized achievement tests • Greater gaps exist between wealthy and poor students • Concerns for students of color, students of poverty: • Narrow cultural view of the norm for evaluating achievement • Opportunity gaps for poor students, ethnic students • Quality of teaching, curriculum, schools, funding • Affordable housing, health care, childcare • Wealth and income gaps, employment gaps • Varying high school completion rates across ethnicities • Need for teachers to focus on successes of ethnic students

18. The Legacy of Discrimination • Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 1954 • Parents, concerned families filed suit • Ruling: “separate but equal” schools inherently unequal • Segregation became illegal • Problems of legally mandated integration • Many Whites left integrated schools • Segregation persists in neighborhoods (neighborhood schools remain segregated) • School district lines often promote segregation • Racial segregation often means economic segregation

19. What Is Prejudice? • Prejudice: Unfair prejudgment about a group of people • Based on beliefs, emotions, actions – cultural values • Can be positive or negative (usually negative) • Targets race, ethnicity, religion, gender, other differences • Racial prejudice: Racism (discrimination and bias) • Pervasive and not confined to any single group • Still exists, but has declined in recent years • Development of prejudice starts at an early age • Personal, social, and societal factors contribute • Human tendency toward us/them or in-group/out-group • Stereotype: What we believe, know, feel about a group • Prejudice prompts stereotyping

20. Continuing Discrimination • Discrimination involves acting on one’s beliefs/feelings of prejudice • Unequal, unfair treatment toward categories of people • Continues toward Native Americans, African Americans, and Latinos in U.S. education system • Teachers need to recognize own prejudices • Avoid all discrimination, even unintentional acts • Value each student, guarding against marginalizing any • Increase sensitivity to each student’s needs

21. Stereotype Threat • Stereotype threat – fear that your performance may confirm a stereotype others hold about you • Example: Stereotype that girls are not good at math; girl feels anxious about solving difficult math problem in class • Can affect any group in any stereotypical situation • Stereotype threat and school achievement: • Prevents students from performing their best • Interferes with attention/learning in the subject • Decreases connections to and value of that subject • Likely contributes to achievement gap

22. Effects of Stereotype Threat • Short-term effects: poor test performance • Example: Lower math performance for women and African Americans when stereotype threat is present • Possible explanations • Performance-avoidance goals (trying to avoid looking dumb) that interfere with use of effective strategies • Reduction in working memory capacity under stress • Decrease in interest/engagement in the task • Long-term effects: Disidentification • Feeling disconnected, less motivated, withdrawn • Combating strategies: Help students believe intelligence can be improved

23. Gender in Teaching and Learning • Gender: Traits, behaviors deemed proper for males/females • Gender identity: Sense of self as male/female and beliefs about gender roles • Sex: Biological differences • Sexual identity: Sexual orientation, beliefs about gender • Stages in development of sexual orientation/identity • Feeling different, feeling confused, acceptance • LGBTQ: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, questioning • More likely to be bullied, miss school, attempt suicide • Teachers: Listen, affirm students who reach out to you • Refer them to expert; squelch harassers; check back

24. Gender Roles • Development of gender roles in children • Awareness of gender differences by age 2 • Realize their sex cannot be changed by age 3 • Factors include biology, treatment by adults/peers, socialization with toys/play styles • Gender schemas form: beliefs about males/females • Gender schema theory: Gender is an organizing theme to classify/understand the world • Clothes, games, toys, behaviors, careers “right” for boys and girls • Ideas about gender more stereotyped in young children

25. Gender Bias in Curriculum Materials • Gender bias: Favoring one gender over the other • Publishers’ role: Guidelines to prevent gender bias • Represent males/females equally • Defy gender stereotypes • TV, Movies, other media are not screened for gender bias • Teacher screening necessary for classroom use of media

26. Gender Bias in Teaching • Studies about gender bias in teaching • Boys receive more attention, both positiveand negative • High achieving girls receive least amount of attention • 90% of elementary teachers are females; more male teachers needed • No gender-specific teaching strategies • Good teaching is effective for all students • Goal is successful learning for everyone • No boy-specific or girl-specific teaching strategies

27. Guidelines for Avoiding Gender Bias in Teaching • Check textbooks, teaching materials for gender bias • Be vigilant about your own comments, teaching practices • Avoid limiting options for male/female students in any class/school activities • Use gender-free language • Provide non-stereotypic male/female role models • Provide opportunities for ALL student to do complex, technical work

28. Multicultural Education: Creating Culturally Compatible Classrooms • Multicultural education: Embraces pluralism • Ethnic, racial, linguistic, religious, economic, gender • Equity in all aspects of schooling of all students • Five dimensions of multicultural education (Banks 2014) • Content integration • Knowledge construction process • Prejudice reduction • Empowering school culture and social structure • Equity pedagogy

29. Culturally Relevant Pedagogy Teaching that rests on 3 propositions (Ladson-Billings 1995) • Students must experience academic success • Must develop/maintain their cultural competence • Must develop critical consciousness, challenge status quo (critique social norms producing social inequities) Three steps for teaching students of color (Delpit 2003) • Believe in the children; believe all children are capable • Connect to students’ lives, integrate across disciplines • Know your students; help them value excellence Research by Pressley (2004)identifies characteristics of schools/teachers effective with African American students

30. Fostering Resilience • Resilient students – thrive in spite of serious challenges • Have good interpersonal skills, confidence, positive outlooks, social support, engagement at school • Resilient classrooms – 2 strands bind students to classes • Self-agency strand • Academic self-efficacy, belief in own ability to learn • Behavioral self-control, self-regulation • Academic self-determination, setting/reaching goals • Relationship strand • Caring teacher-student relationships • Effective peer relations • Effective home-school relationships

31. Guidelines for Building Family and Community Partnerships • Parenting partnerships, helping families support children’s education • Communication, school-to-home and home-to-school • Parent volunteer opportunities at school • Learning at home, ways for families to help children learn • Involve parents in school decisions • Integrate community resources/services to strengthen school programs, family practices, student learning

32. Diversity in Learning • Social organization: Structuring learning in ways that are compatible with children’s social structure • Hawaiian children thrive in mixed groups • Navajo children prefer segregated groups • Cultural values, learning preferences that fit your students • Hispanic Americans: Family/group loyalty, cooperation • African Americans: Visual/global; reasoning by inference • Native Americans: Learn privately through trial and error • Asians: Interdependent, learn collectively • Cautions: Questionable nature of learning styles research; danger of focusing on ethic group differences

33. Sociolinguistics and Sources of Misunderstandings • Sociolinguistics studies: Formal and informal rules of conversations within cultural groups • Pragmatics for students – when, where, how to communicate in classroom setting • Participation structures for students – rules for how to take part in a given activity • Misunderstandings • Child’s home structures don’t match school structures • What teachers can do • Communicate clear, explicit rules for activities • Explain, demonstrate appropriate behavior • Respond to students with consistency

34. Lessons for Teachers: Teaching Every Student • Know your students • Learn their backgrounds; work with their parents • Respect your students • Accept their strengths, limitations • Build their self-images (respecting their cultures) • Teach your students • Hold high expectations and provide caring support • Focus on meaning and understanding • Balance routine skill learning with novel/complex • Provide context for skill learning, making it relevant • Influence attitudes/beliefs about academic content

35. Guidelines for Culturally Relevant Teaching • Experiment with different group arrangements • Provide range of ways to learn material • Teach classroom procedures directly; model • Learn the meaning of your students’ nonverbal behaviors • Emphasize meaning in teaching • Get to know customs, traditions, values of your students • Help students detect racist, sexist messages