Cultural Awareness: Understanding and Acceptance Essay

Culture

Depending on the context in which it has been used, the term ‘culture’ can mean many different things. In this study, I shall focus on the meaning that is linked to the customs, beliefs and practices of a group of people.

Culture has been defined in different ways by different people. For instance, Brooks Peterson attempts to define culture as “Culture is the relatively stable set of inner values and beliefs generally held by groups of people in countries or regions and the noticeable impact those values and beliefs have on the peoples’ outward behaviors and environment” (Peterson, 2004).

However, to provide an adequate definition for the word ‘culture’, we must include a few things in the definition: language, arts and sciences, thought, religion or spirituality, social activity and interaction. Therefore to define culture, one must highlight the above aspects of an individual’s life. In my opinion, culture is the combination of language, arts, custom, beliefs/ religion or spirituality, thoughts, sciences, social activities and interactions of a group of people.

Multicultural Education

For us to correctly define what ‘multicultural education’ is, we must first determine what the terms ‘multicultural’ and ‘education’ mean. Multicultural refers to the presence of a number of distinct cultures. Education is the process of passing knowledge through a structured learning process.

According to Thomas L. Wells, Multicultural education refers to ‘…an education in which the individual child of whatever origin finds, not mere acceptance or tolerance, but respect and understanding. It is an education in which cultural diversity is seen and used…to enrich the lives of all…in which differences and similarities are used for positive ends. It is an education in which every child has the chance to benefit from the cultural heritage of others as well as his or her own’ (Shapson, 1984).

Multicultural education is, therefore, education which highlights diversities with respect to culture. These diversities are used to create awareness among children in a class setting. In multicultural education, a child learns to appreciate other cultures, as well as their own.

How multicultural education address cultural differences and cultural bias in an educational setting

Multicultural education addresses cultural differences and cultural bias by recognizing these differences and using them to educate students in class. For instance, by celebrating and taking note of holidays and great men and women in different cultures, students are able to learn about other cultures and appreciate their histories (Banks, 2010).

Multicultural education could also be used to eliminate cultural bias by incorporating certain cultural aspects and practices into the learning process. This diversifies the syllabus and enables students to view their cultures as well as other student’s cultures through different perspectives. This promotes understanding which breeds unity (Gargiulo, 2012).

Organizing a day for students to highlight the practices and customs of their culture is also essential in enabling the teacher to understand individual students better. During these ‘culture days’, there should be open class discussions which provide students with the opportunity to talk about their cultures openly. For instance, if in a certain culture maintaining eye contact is frowned upon; the teacher understands it when a student from that culture never maintains eye contact while answering questions in class (Banks, 2007).

To breed further unity in a class setting where different cultures are represented, it is important to ensure that interaction between the students promotes cultural awareness and understanding. For instance, when organizing group discussions, the instructors should ensure that all groups are well represented. The membership of each group should be diverse to promote equality through interaction.

This system of education ensures that learners and teachers alike avoid cultural bias. Teachers are expected to understand that cultural differences directly influence a student’s behavior. Students should not be expected to react and behave in the same ways.

My Preconceptions and how this research has changed them

Prior to this research, I was under the impression that cultural differences were mainly with respect to race and skin color. However, I have now learnt that the differences are diverse, ranging from customs, religion, spiritual beliefs, language etc.

My preconceptions about multicultural education revolved mainly on educating students about their cultural differences. I was also focused on ways in which they should embrace unity and equality and avoid cultural bias. However, form my research, I uncovered that multicultural education is involved in a wider scope of cultural education and awareness. Aside from highlighting cultural differences, multicultural education incorporates these differences into the class setting and provides students with the opportunity to share, explain and celebrate the different aspects of their cultures. My research also helped me discover that students can be useful tools in dissuading cultural bias, and promoting understanding in the class setting. This is duty is not reserved for teachers and educators.

The impact of this new understanding

With this new understanding, I am now able to make use of the various mechanisms available through multicultural education to avoid cultural diversity. I will use this knowledge to try and understand students from different cultures better.

To ensure that no culture bias is bred among my students, I will make sure that, in all group discussions, there is diversity in terms of the cultures represented in each group. This will help breed unity among the students, irrespective of individual backgrounds.

I will also encourage my students to celebrate their cultures as well as other cultures by organizing a day each month for this purpose. On these days, we shall hold open class discussions and students will be given the opportunity to talk freely about their cultures. This will provide an insight into other cultures as well as appreciating one’s own culture.

To further promote cultural understanding, I plan on initiating projects such as asking the students to write papers on a different culture from their own. This will help me understand the students’ perspective on other cultures and whether there are any issues that need to be addressed.

I also intend to celebrate special cultural days and heroes from different cultures. This will enable my students to realize the importance of other cultures, their beliefs as well as their practices. This will ensure that there is no room for cultural discrimination and bias in my classroom.

This study has also helped me realize the impact of cultural diversity on a student’s behavior. It is clear that no two students can be expected to behave the same, not even those who share the same cultural background. This enables me as an instructor to avoid putting pressure on my students to behave in a certain manner.

References

Banks, J. A. (2007). Educating citizens in a multicultural society (2. ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.

Banks, J. A., & Banks, C. A. (2010). Multicultural education: issues and perspectives (7th ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.

Gargiulo, R. M. (2012). Special education in contemporary society: an introduction to exceptionality (4th ed.). Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.

Peterson, B. (2004). Cultural intelligence: a guide to working with people from other cultures. Yarmouth, Me.: Intercultural Press.

Shapson, S. (1984). Bilingual and multicultural education: Canadian perspectives. Clevedon, Avon: Multilingual Matters.