Teacher's role in facilitating inclusive classroom environments

Multicultural Classrooms

For some, the discussion of multiculturalism is a theoretical one, with little practical application to their day-to-day behavior. Even when people encounter others from different cultures, ethnocentric ideals may prevent them from really understanding how cultural backgrounds impact their interactions. For classroom teachers, however, multiculturalism is much more than a theoretical concept; it is the framework that helps establish how a teacher can create a classroom environment that is beneficial for all of the students in the classroom. However, establishing a multicultural classroom is not a simplistic process. In order to do so, an educator must consider many factors that relate to development in children. Educators must also think about the different family backgrounds of the students. Finally, teachers have to keep in mind that they may direct their classrooms, but they do not completely control them; the teacher has to play an active role in facilitating the creation of a multicultural classroom.

It is important to understand that multiculturalism is more than a theoretical concept. Even if some local areas feature relatively homogenous populations, when taken as a whole, the country has a very broad cultural background. "In all, since 1945, seven million people have migrated to Australia. Today, one in four of Australia's 22 million people were born overseas,

44 per cent were born overseas or have a parent who was and four million speak a language other than English" (Australian Government, 2011). The result of this immigration, combined with the aboriginal communities that existed in Australia prior to colonization is a country with tremendous diversity; for example, there are over 260 languages spoken in Australia (Australian Government, 2011). As a result, teachers must be prepared to educated students from various backgrounds and to educate their students about different cultural backgrounds.

One of the challenges with a multicultural approach to education is rooted in imperialistic ideas about language. Initially, as educators began to embrace a multicultural approach, there was a focus on multiple languages in the classroom. However, in 1990, there was a broad international shift in emphasis on language. 1990 was declared the Year of Literacy, but the idea of literacy was conflated with the notion of core competency in a number of western languages, primarily English. "A practical impact was also to focus more attention on English, and to construe levels of funding for English literacy as a mainstream investment, and, at first by implication, later more directly, other kinds of language education spending as pandering to "ethnic "rather than to "national" interests" (Lo Bianco, 2010). This led to a change in policy that favored English over other languages and reduced the opportunities to teach children in their native languages. Therefore, when educating non-English speakers, the goal became to teach them English first, then focus on other subjects. The practical result of this type of policy is that many intelligent non-native English speakers are years behind in other subjects because of a failure to incorporate multiple languages in the classroom environment. Understanding the special challenges that these students face, and being willing to find resources to help the teacher educate in the child's native language, may be one of the most pressing challenges in a multicultural classroom environment.

Language may be the most obvious difference in immigrant populations, but it is important to keep in mind that home and family structure can vary tremendously by population. Moreover, one of the ways that Australia examines cultural diversity is to ask about the place of birth of the child or the child's parents (Swetnam, 2003). While this may help explain national origin, it does not explain ethnic origin and ethnicity and culture overlap and impact family structure. Rather than a nuclear home environment, students may experience a variety of home life experiences, ranging from single parents to multiple generations of the family living in the same home. These family configurations can impact how the student approaches learning in the school setting, the type of assistance the child receives at home, and the appropriate contact person for the teacher if there are issues with the child's performance at school. Without having a basic knowledge of the family structure and the cultural norms surrounding family structure, a teacher may fail to reach the appropriate person in the household, and miss an easy opportunity to provide a struggling child with assistance or guidance.