Principle: Community Engagement “ the curriculum has meaning for students, connects with their wider lives, and engages the support of their families, whanau, and communities” (MoE, 2007, p. 9)
9th April 2013
Culture in the classroom
Gibbs (2006)
“Our culture shapes who we are as teachers. What we think, what we believe, how we perceive the world, and how we behave, are influenced by the cultures to which we belong” (p. 180).
Our culture is our system of knowledge, our beliefs and the values we hold. It shapes the way we see the world and behave in our environment (Krause et al., 2010). New Zealand is a multicultural society; therefore I believe as teachers we should adopt a multicultural education philosophy.
I have experienced how New Zealand’s native Maori culture plays a key role in the education sector and I am aware that the Ministry of Education has set goals and resources (Tataiako) to support teaching and student achievement in a cultural sensitive manner. Macfarlane (2004) suggests that “many of these ideas and strategies can be introduced and implemented for all students who make up these diverse classrooms” (p. 7). The classroom should be a place which is culturally, academically and socially responsive and I agree that there are teaching strategies that can be employed which will benefit all students. These strategies should be introduced in the different cultural contexts and with cultural appropriate instructions.
Macfarlane (2004) believes that an educational program which engages all individuals from diverse backgrounds should incorporate “humanism” approach. This approach specifically reaches out to students with special educational needs. I agree that in order to effectively respond to a multicultural classroom students’ cultural needs need to be respected and accounted for (humanist) and teachers should “identify that learners come with different motives, background information, characteristics and culture” (social-constructivist) (Carlyon, 2013).
As a teacher, teaching with high self-efficacy is essential to all student development and success (Gibbs, 2006). I would be self-aware of my cultural views and confidently and proactively foster a safe multicultural classroom atmosphere.
As a teacher I would bring my cultural beliefs into my classroom and encourage students to teach me about their culture, as we integrate and build our own multicultural classroom and culture. I would capitalize on the cultural diversity of my students by using their cultural resource, practices and languages, while communicating a positive attitude about diversity and using teaching strategies to show that culture counts.
“A multicultural education examines ways that culture influences learning and attempt to find ways that students’ culture can be used to complement and enhance learning” (Kauchack & Eggen, 2007, p. 36).
Principle: Cultural diversity “The curriculum reflects New Zealand’s cultural diversity and values the histories and traditions of all its people” (MoE, 2007, p. 9)
Principle: Inclusion “the curriculum ensures that students’ identities, languages, abilities, and talents are recognised and affirmed and that their learning needs are addressed” (MoE, 2007, p. 9)
A multicultural education will be achieved when there is a school wide focus to integrate diversity into the curriculum and parent and community participation is encouraged.
I have seen, on many occasions, how schools work to engage parents and community members in school events such as sports days and festivals and also inviting them to participate in the classroom which created more meaningful learning experiences. I would like to think that this strategy also built awareness, respect and better understanding amongst students and teachers in regards to the multicultural community of their school.
Principle: Setting high expectations “the curriculum supports and empowers all students to learn and achieve personal excellence, regardless of their individual circumstances” (MoE, 2007, p. 9)
‘The Treaty principle of partnership benefits all learners. It harnesses the knowledge and expertise of the diverse people who can contribute to students’ learning, including families, whānau, iwi, and other community members’.
(NZ Curriculum Update, 2012, p. 2)
The above picture depicts a multicultural classroom where “Effective teachers foster positive relationships within an environment that is caring, inclusive, non-discriminatory, and cohesive” (MoE, 2007, p.34).
These teaching strategies, to develop a multicultural classroom, is supported by Bishop (2008), Macfarlane (2004), Ministry of Education (2007, p.34) and and Ministry of Education (2011).
It is important for the teacher to understand each individual student’s background and needs, setting individual expectations, goals and assessment criteria; in order to help students achieve success. On practicum, the teacher incorporated this strategy very effectively by setting ‘gold’, ‘silver’ and ‘bronze’ standards for individual students. The teachers considered the students’ cultural beliefs and learning needs in order to set each their own achievement criteria.
Students will be encouraged to bring their cultural identity into the learning interactions, where their beliefs and knowledge are shared, respected, accepted and valued. I observed this on practicum where different cultural literature, languages, identities and practices where explored to build on students’ cultural background and knowledge. The learning contents were relevant to the students and also taught the students cultural differences in the classroom to foster respect, understanding, cultural sensitivity and awareness.
Principle: Community Engagement “ the curriculum has meaning for students, connects with their wider lives, and engages the support of their families, whanau, and communities” (MoE, 2007, p. 9)
