Context and relevance
The demographic changes in the United States transform the cultural landscape of the country. America attracts people who may represent different cultural, ethnic, and religious groups. This trend sets new requirements for educational organizations that need to adopt various strategies to support people who struggle to integrate into the society.
It should be mentioned that the population of California includes people who come from Latin America, Asia, Europe, and other regions of the world. Therefore, one should design policies that effectively support these people.
Statement of the problem
The current educational system does not fully empower people representing cultural minorities, and in many cases, their academic attainment and socialization can be significantly impaired. This problem manifests itself in several ways, for instance, one can speak about increased drop-out rates, poor educational attainment, and low expectations about academic and professional career.
Thus, one should single out methods that can be used to address these issues. This paper will include a proposal outlining the reform of K-12 education in California. The recommendations will be based on the analysis of both quantitative and qualitative studies.
Root causes of the problem
At first, it is important to examine the factors that contribute to this problem. Researchers point out that the educational success of a student is mostly influenced by school policies, rather than his/her nationality, ethnicity, culture, religion, and so forth (Gibson 444).
Much attention should be paid to the influence of such factors academic tracking, the failure to assess linguistic proficiency of a student, or prejudiced attitudes of educators (Gibson 444). Additionally, many parents point that that existing policies lay stress on the Americanization of students without considering their background (Doucet 2705). Furthermore, teachers should be able to motivate students.
Teachers should encourage minority students to set high expectations for their academic performance (Conchas 501). In many cases, they fail to cope with this task. In fact, some teachers may not attach much importance to the poor performance of these learners. This argument is particularly relevant if one speaks about African-American and Mexican-American students (Conchas 501).
Much attention should be paid to the attitudes of teachers. For instance, very often educators and policy-makers can use labels while discussing the experiences of minority groups. For instance, it is possible to mention such as term as “model community” which is usually used to refer to a group of people who are able to integrate into the society (Ngo and Lee 415).
This argument is particularly relevant if one speaks about Asian students. This problem can be regarded as a form of cultural stereotyping. By adopting this strategy, one can disregard the problems faced by the representatives of such groups as Asian students. More importantly, it can make teachers prejudiced against other minority groups.
Furthermore, one should not forget about the lack of cooperation between teachers and parents of minority students.. In many cases, they cannot achieve this goal due to linguistic barriers. Certainly, there are some factors that cannot be controlled by educators. It is possible to mention such risks as poverty, gender inequality, drug and alcohol abuse. Nevertheless, these risks can be mitigated by teachers.
Critique of the current approach
Admittedly, modern educators pay more attention to the role of diversity and culture. Nevertheless, in most cases, the modern education cannot fully empower students who often believe that their own culture is marginalized (McCarthy, Romero-Little, and Zepeda 660).
This argument can be relevant to various minority groups. Moreover, as it has been said the parents of these students do not have many opportunities for influencing the educational process. Therefore, there is little understanding of the problems encountered by many students.
Proposal
Overall, this reform should include a variety of changes that can empower students. Much attention should be paid to the involvement of parents representing diverse groups. This goal can be achieved in several ways. For instance, one can speak the involvement of interpreters during parent-teacher conferences. This approach can minimize the negative impact of linguistic barriers.
Furthermore, these people should have more influencing the curriculum. This argument is particularly relevant if one speaks about such subjects as literature and history. In this way, one can include diverse cultural perspectives into the educational discourse (Palmer 110).
Moreover, it is important to minimize the impact of stereotypes affecting the strategies of educators. The training of teachers should prompt them to question traditional stereotypes about various cultural and ethnic minorities. For instance, one can mention the use of concepts like model minority.
In order to achieve this goal, much attention should be paid to empirical studies and case studies illustrating that these stereotypes do not accurately reflect the experiences of students (Ngo and Lee 415). It is also important to develop educational practices that can take into account the role of language. This argument can be relevant to various fields including mathematics, physics, or chemistry.
Teachers, who work with ELL students, should provide clear definition of terms and provide illustrations if it is necessary (Bresser, Melanese, and Spher 171). This strategy can be important for promoting the educational attainment of many students who are often disadvantaged. Moreover, researchers speak about the need for dual-education programs that can benefit ELL learners (Billings 384). This is one of the points that can be made.
Furthermore, it is important to promote culturally responsive practices that can empower learners. This approach can be implemented in different ways. At first, it is possible to explore literary works written by authors who may represent different cultures. Furthermore, students should be encouraged to learn more about diverse communities living in a particular town or a city.
Additionally, educators, who work with children, should incorporate narratives imbedded into the culture of minority groups (Au 97). These are the suggestions that can be offered. The main advantage of this policy is that it can contribute to the academic achievement of many students. These people will have many opportunities for raising their socio-economic status.
Moreover, they will not perceive school as a hostile environment. These are the details that should be considered. Nevertheless, one should also mention that its implementation is rather time-consuming, and it will be necessary to set higher standards for the performance of many teachers. The education of would-be teachers should also undergo significant changes. These are some of the difficulties that should be anticipated.
Conclusion
On the whole, these examples indicate that there are several ways in which K-12 education of California can be reformed. These changes can support students representing minority groups. These learners and their parents should be able to influence education. Moreover, it is necessary to adopt methods that can help students who do not speak English fluently. These are the main arguments that can be put forward.
Works Cited
Au, Kathryn. “Participation Structures in a Reading Lesson with Hawaiian Children: Analysis of a Culturally Appropriate Instructional Event.” Anthropology & Education Quarterly 11.2 (1980): 91-115. Print.
Billings, Elsa. “Beyond English Development: Bilingual Approaches to Teaching Immigrant Students and English Language Learners.” National Society for the Study of Education 109. 2 (2010): 384-413. Print.
Bresser, Rusty, Kathy Melanese and Christine Spher. Equity for Language Learners, New York: The National Council for Teachers of Mathematics, 2009. Print.
Conchas, Gilberto. “Structuring Failure and Success: Understanding the Variability in Latino School Engagement.” Harvard Educational Review 71.3 (2001): 475-504. Print.
Doucet, Fabienne. “(Re)Constructing Home and School: Immigrant Parents, Agency, and the (Un)Desirability of Bridging Multiple Worlds.” Teachers College Record 113.12 (2011): 2705-2738. Print.
Gibson, Margaret. “Complicating the Immigrant/Involuntary Minority Typology.” Anthropology & Education Quarterly 28.3 (1997): 431-454.
McCarthy, Teresa, Mary Romero-Little, and Ofelia Zepeda. “Native Language Shift and Retention: Ideological Cross-currents and Their Implications for Language Planning.” The International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 9. 5 (2006): 659-676. Print.
Ngo, Bic and Stacey, Lee. “Complicating the Image of Model Minority Success: A Review of Southeast Asian American.” Review of Educational Research 77. 4 (2007): 415-453. Print.
Palmer, Deborah. “Race, Power, and Equity in a Multiethnic Urban Elementary School with a Dual-Language ”Strand” Program.” Anthropology & Education Quarter, 41. 1 (2010): 94-114. Print.