Embracing the Change in Multicultural Education 1

Embracing the Change in Multicultural Education

Karri Runion

Western Governors University

Embracing the Change in Multicultural Education 2

Abstract

As schools prepare students to live and work in a comprehensive nation, it is evident that

teachers and faculty must be readied to embrace this challenge. This paper discusses the ever-

changing cultural landscape and the obligation of educators to reform common communication

practices by the use of diversity skills.

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Demographic Changes
There are three dominant demographics present in the faculty and volunteers of our local school district. Our interest for this growing trend will reveal the source from which they derive as well as bring growth and improvement to our schools. They are as follows: * Socio-economic * Ethnicity * Language

A diverse teaching staff as well as student community is important to strengthen our school as a whole. Students have the right to gain experience and knowledge from teachers with similar cultural backgrounds or at the very least teachers that can relate with and teach from an understanding of a wide array of cultures. “A benefit of a diverse workforce is the ability to tap into the many talents which employees from different backgrounds, perspectives, abilities and disabilities bring to the workplace.” (Lindenberger, J.) Knowledge and experience opens a door for teaching by increasing creativity and problem solving. In an article from Diversity And the Workplace, Ms. Judith Lindenberger discusses how diversity goes beyond race and gender. This article gave great insight into the benefits of diversity and how it can strengthen the workplace. For example, “Provide practical training. Using relevant examples to teach small groups of people how to resolve conflicts and value diverse opinions helps companies far more than large, abstract diversity lectures. Training needs to emphasize the importance of diverse ideas as well.” Embracing the Change in Multicultural Education 4 (Lindenberger, J.) Next, “Walk the talk. If senior management advocates a diverse workforce, make diversity evident at all organizational levels. If you don't, some employees will quickly conclude that there is no future for them in your company.” (Lindenberger, J.) Furthermore, by implementing this information, the staff can only become a stronger educational tool to our students.
Firstly, socio-economics focus on social issues that affect economic change. This can include “a closing factory, market manipulation, the signing of international trade treaties, new natural gas regulation, etc. Such social effects can be wide-ranging in size, anywhere from local effects on a small community to changes to an entire society.” (Socioeconomics- Wikipedia) Socio-economic issues are trending due to the lack of skills and qualifications, lack of job opportunities and recession due to poor economic conditions. A large portion of the population does not have their basic necessities and they live in poor conditions. Other examples of trending is due to “new technologies such as cars or mobile phones, changes in laws, changes in the physical environment (such as increasing crowding within cities), and ecological changes (such as prolonged drought.” (Socioeconomics-Wikipedia)
Next, ethnicity will continue to diversify as immigration continues to account for a sizable portion of population growth. Immigrants are searching for opportunities such as education, jobs, healthcare and financial resources. “Projections suggest that the Hispanic and Asian shares of the population will rise from 14 percent in 1995 to 19 percent in 2020.” (Card, David.
, 1996.)

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Lastly, foreign language is increasingly climbing as more people are immigrating to the United States. “The most popular language is Spanish, due to the large number of recent Spanish-speaking immigrants to the United States.” (Language Education by Region-Wikipedia)
Many families are relocating here to seek opportunity. They have not abandoned their families’ culture but yet are enriching the natives of the United States with a learning opportunity to explore a new dialect.

Communication
Open communication is one of the most important tools to keep a school running smoothly and effectively. Essentially, healthy communication relationships grow, build trust, and spawn creativity; it supplies a time to express emotion, share struggles and celebrate successes.
Culturally-based communication practice is one approach to keep a diverse staff connected. One goal is to support our English language learners (ELLs) with the school’s monthly newsletter. Our administration has provided a translator to transcribe the newsletter to ensure the diverse staff can understand what is taking place as well as feel included.
The district also utilizes the translator for faculty meetings and Professional Development opportunities. This allows the staff to communicate effectively without the struggle of a language barrier. We believe, as a district, that it is important to meet people where they are while giving them an equal opportunity to learn.

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Stereotypical Assumptions
“An often unfair and untrue belief that many people have about all people or things with a particular characteristic” (Merriam-Webster online dictionary) is stereotyping. A stereotyped person is placed in a box based on a small percentage of factual information regarding their race, religion etc. “Communication among faculty and staff is hindered due to inaccurate stereotypes because of one’s appearance or hear-say. They discredit others abilities without truly understanding their colleagues true capacity. This is all determined without actually observing one another.” (McGinn, Mindy- Principal Voyager Elementary School- personal interview, 2014) A teacher that is overweight, has an outdated hair style and is not up-to-date on the latest and greatest trends could easily lead others to presume that he/she is not a well- qualified educator. According to “R.A. Hinde, former Master and Royal Society Research Professor of St. John’s College-Cambridge University, much time, money, and effort is put into the control of appearance, (which) can be regarded as a special kind of NVC (non-verbal communication) (248). Before any formal introduction is made, we are programmed to prejudge our counterparts strictly by their initial appearance: a practice committed by almost every person on the planet. Also, Hinde notes “people send messages about their social status, their occupation, or the social group they belong to, by wearing the appropriate costume (248). Appearance also gives the rest of the world an insight to your personality and mood.” (Hinde, R.A., 1972). Hinde clearly states that one’s appearance could hinder communication. If one’s appearance is not what we perceive is acceptable or to our liking, we choose to not make contact or likewise, communicate with that person. We gravitate to those that are more appealing to the eye.
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Another dimension, one that is more subtle and rarely mentioned, is physical attractiveness. “Psychological research shows that many people in our society equate character with looks. According to the attractiveness stereotype, we view people who are attractive as “more sensitive, kind, interesting, strong, poised, modest, sociable, outgoing, and exciting, sexually warm, and responsive.” (Bucher, R. D., 2010) Through an article by , Ritu Mahaian, Mr. Mahaian states that “ Those who do not measure up to society's norms of aesthetics, appearance, and grooming are often perceived as lazy, incompetent, and less productive. Not only do these implicit biases affect social interactions, they also affect one's ability to obtain employment.” (Mahaian, R., 2007) Mr. Mahaian makes it clear that the stereotypes we perceive as normal not only affect communication with others but also hinder the ability to succeed.
Likewise, there have been gender stereotypes of teachers in our history. In the past, it was generally understood that female teachers are better suited to teach elementary students opposed to high school due to their natural nurturing ability for the young. Most elementary students go through their entire elementary career without a male teacher. If there are any present it is usually in physical education or the technology department. “Statistics from the National Education Association (2003) reveal that only approximately twenty-five percent of public school teachers are male. When looking at the percentages of males in elementary and secondary education, nine percent are in elementary grades while 35 percent are in secondary grades.” (National Education Association, 2003). According to the Principal at a local elementary school, “male teachers are usually hard to come by in an elementary setting. They are surrounded by women and it is usually assumed that they do not have any nurturing qualities
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about them or that it is weird that a male would want to teach young children opposed to middle or high school students where a more authoritative figure is needed.”(McGinn, Mindy Principal – Voyager Elementary School- personal interview, 2014) McGinn stated that female teachers reveal the difficulty in communicating with male teachers due to their presumed lack of compassion and caring. She also revealed that this brought on communication barriers for their staff, which in turn affected the students. For example, female teachers were reluctant to discuss lesson planning with their male counterpart and left him on his own. This in turn, affected the students in this particular class due to the fact they were behind the other children in their grade level. “We must put our stereotypes aside and reach a common ground in order to effectively educate our students for the future.” (McGinn, M. Principal Voyager Elementary School- personal interview, 2014) “In our perception of people, and their perceptions of us, the hidden, subliminal mind takes limited data, and creates a picture that seems clear and real, but is actually built largely on unconscious inferences that are made employing factors such as a person’s body language, voice, clothing, appearance, and social category.” (Mlodinow, Leonard, 2012)

Barriers to Communication
With the influx of a diverse staff come communication obstacles. One barrier that may hinder effective communication and improvement is the “we’ve always done it this way” mentality.
This type of narrow thinking silences new ideas and inhibits growth. The largest barrier is the ignorance to cultural differences and the lack of interest to seek and understand it. Often when a culturally different person is present the cultural perception is seen first and the person second.
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Improvement of Communication
Good communication skills are essential to success in many aspects of education as well as everyday life. A good attitude is one way to improve communication. It plays a significant part in how a person functions as part of a team. Also, a positive attitude will foster a spirit of cooperation while making the team more productive in the process. At times, listening is more important than speaking. Being an active listener is a key element to avoiding communication obstacles. Listening illustrates that you care and the level of trust rises as problems cease.
“In order to improve communication skills across cultures, leaders should engage in teaching active listening to their workers. The focus should be on listening to understand, not to judge. Leaders should actively assist in working problems by sharing themselves with others and demonstrating respect and concern (Harris & Moran, 1993). Active listening breeds cross-cultural interpersonal sensitivity defined as: “The ability to hear what people from a foreign culture are really saying or meaning, and an ability to predict how they will react” (McClelland, 1973, p. 3). Guest lectures are an excellent way to give staff a firsthand experience with someone from a culture different than their own. Another resource for a diverse staff is to have them pair up with someone other than their native culture and perform a personal interview. This is an effective way to expose them to a different cultural perspective.
Finally, feedback is an essential element in the improvement of communication. Ideally, feedback flows in all directions; from administration, to the teaching faculty as well as the custodial staff. Feedback can be used to encourage as well as overcome negativity. Taking

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feedback and reflecting on the information positively can alleviate mistrust and foster a sense of caring.

Implementation An efficient way to address the suggested communication skills is during an end of year faculty/staff meeting. This is an opportunity to discuss things that worked well, things that did not work at all and things to improve on. This is a great way to break the ice and introduce the implementation of communication skills. With this, a small but effective piece of reading material will be distributed. A book, Innovative Voices in Education: Engaging Diverse Communities by Eileen Gale Kugler is an excellent way to “seek insights on parent engagement, leadership for equity, culturally responsive teaching, or just greater understanding of diversity; these words will engage you, challenge you, inform you and most of all inspire you” (Kugler, E.) It is expected to be read and ready to discuss during the faculty/staff meeting prior to the first day of school the upcoming fall. After group deliberation, a plan will be customized to meet the needs of the staff and a timeline will be set in place for implementation. Communication skills, along with continued diversity education training, will be carried out through a Professional Development Day that is required for all staff. During the P.D. for staff, we will be discussing the Diversity Toolkit Introduction from the NEA (National Education Association). Here, class and income, cultural competence for Educators, English Language Learners, race and Ethnicity are a few of the areas included in the toolkit that will be discussed.

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Benefits of Implementing the Diversity Skills
The wide array of diversity in a school staff is the reflection of a changing world. “The United States Office of Employment predicts that 29 percent of the U.S. labor force will be comprised of minorities by 2008. More importantly, it estimates that from 1998 to 2008 some 41 percent of the people entering the U.S. workforce will be minorities.” (Business Advantages of Diversity in the Workplace- Ethoconnect) Managing the benefits of diversity skills will reap better rewards for everyone. Effective communication is important in a diverse educational setting. Good communication skills help to avoid barriers regarding cultural and language differences. Schools that provide training for domestic and international staff, reap the rewards of strong relationships, employee morale and team building. For example, training for staff can begin with the suggested reading material, Innovative Voices in Education by Eileen Kugler. It is here that the staff can read and come together to discuss the importance of effective communication in their diverse staff. Next, by implementing good listening skills, you avoid misunderstandings and impart a sense of caring for what is being discussed. By just listening, you are exposed to new ideas and perspectives that help to gain clarity. For example, listening and discussing the Diversity Toolkit from the National Education Association will ready the staff to understand and communicate with cultures that are different from our own. By implementing these diversity skills, it will allow us to practice ways to strengthen our staff communication skills as well as help our students succeed. Lastly, implementing feedback from faculty and staff opens the door to communication. This reassures the staff that you are hearing their thoughts and concerns as well as have their best interest at heart.
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References

Bucher, R. D. (2010). Diversity Consciousness: Opening our Minds to People, Cultures, and Opportunities (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN:
9780135014639

Card, David. Economic Effects on Immigration: Past and Present. New York: The Jerome Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, 1996

Diversity Toolkit Introduction- NEA (copyright 2002-2015 National Education Association)

Business Advantages of Diversity in the Workplace- Ethoconnect

Innovative Voices in Education; Engaging Diverse Communities- Eileen Gale Kugler-Executive Editor

Harris, P., & Moran, R. (1993). Managing cultural differences (3rd ed.). Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing Co.

Hinde, R.A. Non-Verbal Communication. New York: Cambridge.
1972.

Diversity And the Workplace- Judith Lindenberger, Principal, The Lindenberger Group, LLC

Mahaian, Ritu (2007) The Naked Truth: Appearance Discrimination, Employment, and the Law- Mahaian, Ritu, 2007- Asian American Law Journal Volume 14 article 6

McClelland, D. C., (1973 for competence rather than for ‘intelligence’. American
Psychologist, 28, pp.1-14.

Merriam-Webster online dictionary

Adapted from Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior. Copyright 2012 by Leonard Mlodinow

National Education Association. (2003). Status of the American public school teacher. Washington D.C.: National Education Association.

Socioeconomics- Wikipedia