Practices That Best Serve Learners from Diverse Backgrounds

Research: Educational Theories That Provide A Rationale for Multicultural Teaching and Pedagogical Strategies and Practices That Best Serve Learners from Diverse Backgrounds. There are many factors within a school capable of affecting the culturally diverse students’ success such as attitudes toward diversity, culturally responsive curriculum, involvement of the community and the school’s atmosphere. The academic and personal relationships between teachers and their students can be influential of all the mentioned factors.

Such a relationship is referred to as learning core-relationship which includes the role of interactions between students, subject matter and teachers in school. There are instructional and behavioral strategies that enable a strong teaching-learning relationship between the teachers and their culturally diverse students. Most theories exemplifies standard practices of better learning for the culturally diverse students (Tucker, et. al., 2005). Some strategies and theories based on research articles have been documented to help the culturally diverse students learn.

Strategies involving teacher behaviors include accommodating and appreciating the differences and similarities among students of all cultures. Teachers who interact with the culturally diverse students should enthusiastically acknowledge and identify both the cultural and individual differences positively (Santamaria, 2009). The positivity in the identification process develops the basis for developing instructional strategies and effective communication. Teachers’ social skills can be modeled and reinforced using their social skills such as respect and understanding for cross-culture. Teachers should build their relationships with their students.

An interview was once conducted to culturally diverse high school students. These students presented behavior challenges in which they wanted their teachers to know how their lives were like when they were outside school. Understanding the lives of students enables teachers to have the relevance of lessons increased and more meaningful examples made. Teachers should teach their students in a way that their behavior match to the setting. Different students behave in different ways. For instance, some might behave formally during ceremonies.

Students need to be taught the differences between their community, school and home environment to assist them switch to appropriate behavior for each setting. Some students might automatically adjust their behavior while others need to be taught and opportunities need to be provided to them for practice. The teachers are required to involve both the community and families in student matters so that the students can learn to adjust their behavior in each environment they interact with (Santamaria, 2009).

Students not being able to adopt different behaviors at different settings is a weakness for this research work. This is because, different people have different rates for adapting. Some of the instructional strategies to teaching the culturally diverse students include offering variety of learning activities that require responsive learning opportunities using attitudes, communications styles and cognitive styles of their own. The variety assists them in developing the approaches they use in learning. Teachers need to consider student’s cultures whenever developing learning objectives (Ladson-Billings, 1995).

Comparable learning opportunities should be facilitated for students from different cultures. Opportunities for students with different ethnicity, race, religion, appearances and social status must be considered. Rationales should be provided as learning benefits are explained. Teachers should explain to the students how the skills they are acquiring applies in different environments. Student task behavior should be promoted by beginning lessons promptly and transition time between different lessons being minimized. Feedback should be frequently provided to students.

Brief feedback can be provided by acknowledging a correct response and providing clues and rephrasing the question to a student who has provided an incorrect answer. Positive feedback can also be given to a student by stating aspects of their performance (Ladson-Billings, 1995). The weaknesses arising from this research work include teachers not receiving permanent training for purposes of implementing instructional strategies in their contents. This research provides an outline of the principles of inter-cultural approaches required to be shared among teachers.

The educational staff thinks that the best way the culturally diverse students can learn is by enforcing their cultures into their curriculum (Tucker, et. al., 2005). Introducing new elements such as cultures of the culturally diverse students or sharing their cultural festivities can help in favoring enhancement and recognition of their differences and cultural exchange. However, improvement on these aspects can be difficult especially because most teachers do not recognize that their views are both historically and culturally determined.

However, some of its weaknesses arises as teachers might faces difficulties due to their lack of proper training courses and practical instructions on how such can be enforced in a concrete manner. There are various documents that have been introduced by the ministry of education for purposes of giving advice and instructions on adoption of intercultural approach during a teaching-learning relationship. Initiatives and proposals recommend introducing different cultures in subjects like geography and history. Their aim is to increase the exchange among different students and favor different cultures’ knowledge.

The culturally diverse students are required to actively participate in class as their differences are put to light in a positive way. Besides students’ involvement in class activities, their differences should be appreciated. How a school manages the culturally diverse students influences parents’ decision on which school they would want their children to attend (Gay, 2010). Some of the weaknesses include teachers does not have the required knowledge to use the provided documents to teach these students.

Conclusion Most teachers believe and know how important guarantying a culturally diverse student’s rights can be. This usually make them deny some parents’ claims especially if they know they might end up damaging their student. For example, some parents might deny their children to go into a swimming class with other students. These students become criticized, feel demoralized and different from their peers. They end.