Culturally responsive classroom management
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[edit] Descriptions & Definitions
http://www.fatimahs.org/activity/images/diversity.jpg
In the makeup of classrooms around the country there is a more diverse population of students. Demographic data indicate that more than one third of the children in our elementary and secondary schools are students of color. (Weinstein, et.al., 20004) With this increasing population, teachers need to still maintain order in their classrooms, but also they need to be aware of the cultural differences in the students and take that in to consideration when maintaining that order.
“Given the increasing diversity of our classrooms, a lack of multicultural competence can exacerbate the difficulties that teachers have with classroom management. Definitions and expectations of appropriate behavior are culturally influenced, and conflicts are likely to occur when teachers and students come from different cultural backgrounds.�? (Weinstein, et.al., 2004)
A culturally responsive classroom specifically acknowledges the presence of culturally diverse students and the need for these students to find relevant connections among themselves and with the subject matter and the tasks teachers ask them to perform. In such programs teachers recognize the differing learning styles of their students and develop instructional approaches that will accommodate these styles. (Montgomery, 200l) So not only do teachers need to be aware and accommodate the learning styles of the different students, but also the classroom management for these students.
Five components essential to culturally responsive classroom management: 1) recognition of one’s own ethnocentrism and biases 2) knowledge of students’ cultural backgrounds 3) understanding of the broader social economic, and political context of our educational system 4) ability and willingness to use culturally appropriate classroom management strategies 5) commitment to building caring classroom communities
[edit] Application in classrooms and similar settings
The Dimensions of Multicultural Education (Banks, as cited in Woolfolk, 1995, p. 158)
1. Content Integration
Using examples and content from a variety of cultures and groups to illustrate key concepts, principles, generalizations, and theories in their subject area or discipline.
2. An Equity Pedagogy
Matching teaching styles to student learning styles in order to facilitate the academic achievement of students from diverse racial, cultural, and social-class groups.
3. An Empowering School Culture and Social Structure
Group and labeling practices, sports participation, and the interaction of the staff and the students across ethnic and racial lines are some of the components that must be examined to create aschool culture that empowers students from all groups.
4. Prejudice Reduction
The characteristics of students' racial attitudes and how they can be modified by teaching.
5. The Knowledge Construction Process
Helping students to understand how the implicit cultural assumptions within a discipline influence the ways that knowledge is constructed within it.
In order to find out more about the students in one's classroom there are some questions that a teacher could/should ask to get a much clearer picture of the students in his/her classroom.
- Family background and structure: Where did the students come from? How long have the students been in this country? What is the hierarchy of authority? What responsibilities do students have at home? Is learning English a high priority?
- Education: How much privious schooling have the students had? What kinds of instuructional strategies are they accustomed to? In their former schools, was there an emphasis on large group instruction, memorization, and recitation? What were the expectations for appropriate behavior? Were students expected to be active or passive? Independent or dependent? Peer oriented or teacher oriented? Cooperative or competitive?
- Interpersonal relationship styles: Do cultural norms emphasize working for the good of the group or for individual achievement? What are the norms with respect to interaction between males and females? What constitutes a comfortable personal space? Do students obey or question authority figures? Are expressions of emotion and feelings emphasized or hidden?
- Discipline: Do adults act in permissive, authoritative, or authoritarian ways? What kinds of praise, reward, criticism, and punishment are customary? Are they administered publicly or privately? To the group or the individual?
- Time and space: How do students think about time? Is punctuality expected or is time considered flixible? How important is speed in completing a task?
- Religion: What restrictions are there concerning tipics that should not be discussed in school?
- Food: What is eaten? What is not eaten?
- Health and hygene: How are illnesses treated and by whom? What is considered to be the cause? What are the norms with respect to seeking professional help for emotional and psychological problems?
- History, traditions, and holidays: Which events and people are a source of pride for the group? To what extent does the group in the United States identify with the history and taraditions of the country of origin? ?What holidays and cleebrations are considered appropriate for observing in school?
[edit] Evidence of effectiveness
Carol Weinstein recites the following story: "Sometimes, teachers may decide to modify discourse styles so that their communications are consistent with students' cultural backgrounds. Cindy Ballenger (1999), for example, was an experienced preschool teacher who expected to have little difficulty with her class of 4-year-old Haitian children. To her surprise, however, her usual repertoire of management strategies failed to create a respectful, orderly environment. Since her colleagues--all Haitian--were experiencing no difficulty with classroom management, Ballenger had to conclude that the problem "did not reside in the children" (p. 32). She began to explore her own beliefs and practices with respect to children's behavior and to visit other teachers' classrooms to examine their "control statements." Eventually, Ballenger was able to identify several key differences between her own style of discourse and that of her Haitian colleagues. While the Haitian teachers stressed the fact that they cared for the children and had their best interests at heart (e.g., "The adults here like you, they want you to be good children."), Ballenger frequently referred to children's internal states (e.g., "You must be angry."). Moreover, she tended to stress the logical consequences of children's behavior (e.g., "If you don't listen, you won't know what to do."), while the Haitian teachers articulated the values and responsibilities of group membership and stressed less immediate consequences, such as bringing shame to one's family. Once Ballenger had identified these differences in control statements, she made a deliberate effort to adopt some of the Haitian discourse style. Order in her classroom improved significantly."
[edit] Critics and their rationale
One has to be very careful when demonstrating culturally responsive classroom management techniques. A teacher doesn't want to be labeled that he/she is biased, nor does the teacher want to be perceived that he/she is a racist.
[edit] Signed �?life experiences�?, testimonies and stories
This is more of a question than a 'life experience,'but how would being cultural responsive translate into an area such as Chemistry? In Chemistry, there is no concepts that deal with issues of race or cultures.
The example given about the Haitian students seemed to have worked for that teacher because all the students shared a culture. How dose this pertain to the teacher that has students of various cultures? I have a particular class in mind: Spanish as a Second Language in middle school setting, 30 minute class: 26 students- 18 Caucians (primarily middle-class background), 4 African-Americans (low socio-economic background), 1 African-American (middle class), 1 French-African, 1 Asian, 1 Hispanic. The problem is that my African-American students of low SEB seem to crave lots of attention from me and their peers. This is a problem because it takes time away from my lessons/activities (in which time is so short anyway). Three of the four students also tend to leave their seats to talk to friends without any consideration of what we are doing in class. How should a teacher respond to this culturally diverse classroom? How should the rules be set up? Some of the caucasian students welcome the disruptions, while others have voiced their concern. I'm pretty sure my experience is representative of what we are seeing more and more in the U.S. It's not that we are teaching a group of a different culture from our own, but our group of students have varying cultures as well. Which culture determines the expectations for behavior in that class?
[edit] References and other links of interest
Here is a link to the Wiked page Culturally Responsive Teacher- (http://moodle.ed.uiuc.edu/wiked/index.php/Culturally_responsive_teacher#References_and_other_links_of_interest)
Here is a link to the Wiked page Cultural Hegemonist.
Banks, J. A. (1994). Multiethnic education: Theory and practice. In Woolfolk, A. E (1995). Educational Psychology (6th ed.). (pp. 152-193) Allyn and Bacon.
Cushner, Kenneth, Averil McClelland, and Philip Safford; Human Diversity in Education, an integrative approach, McGraw Hill, Inc., 1992
Tiedt, Pamela and Iris Tiedt; Multicultural Teaching (A Handbook of Activities, Information, and Resources), Allyn and Bacon, 1995
Villegas, Ana Maria, and Tamara Lucas; Educating Culturally Responsive Teachers, Coherent Approach, State University of New York Press, 2002.
Weinstein, Carol S., Saundra Tomlinson-Clarke, & Mary Curran; "Journal of Teacher Education," Vol.55, No.1, January/February 2004 25-38
Montgomery, Winifred; "Teaching Exceptional Children", Vol.33, No.4, pp.4-9. (2001)
"Culturally Responsive Teaching", (http://www.intime.uni.edu/multiculture/curriculum/culture/Teaching.htm)
