It
would then be seen that culture holds an obvious role in the classroom, as not
only “a place where culture is produced, consumed and regulated” (Wadham, Pudsey & Boyd, 2007) but
also where cultural differences and misunderstandings between teachers and
students occur and create divides in a classroom unable to properly function.
It is thus important that understanding is met by both students and teachers
for such issues to be resolved, particularly when Australia is known for it’s
variety of cultures.
To escape the negative issues
that often arise in the classroom due to cultural misunderstanding, teachers should
take steps to educate their students as well as themselves about the particular
cultures in which they are encountering and act to dismiss views of
‘orientalism’ towards different cultures seen as unusual and less functional
(Phillips, 2006). Teachers should also become aware of the certain “cultural
tendencies” students may exhibit in the classroom and to shape their teaching methods in a
way that leaves all students on a relatively equal level of understanding (Rosenberg, Westling & McLeskey, 2011). Some of these cultural
tendencies may include the generally higher levels of value felt towards
education among Asian Students and their parents due to cultural values of the
importance of Education, as a “key to social success and advancement” (Leaney,
2013).
Education
and schooling has an important role in helping to enhance a students
understanding of their own and other cultures, being key to this through
teaching students about the “ways in which we learn to live within and contribute
to our own cultural lives” as Schools
can be seen as “a site of cultural struggle” (Wadham, Pudsey & Boyd, 2007).
Resulting
from this is the increased popularity in studies and practices of
‘Multicultural education’, particularly for primary school teachers who feel
the need to establish this earlier in a child’s development. Beliefs that “such approaches help children feel more welcomed,
validated, integrated, and able to cooperate with others in their classroom”
(Levy, 2012) make them a key issue to integrate in the classroom.
The four main
approaches that are taken under this program include “multicultural education,
anti-bias curriculum, global education, and international education” (Levy,
2012) and hold obvious importance, particularly in Australia where
multiculturalism is a defining feature, deeper understanding into issues of cultural
difference and similarity are needed for adolescents to grow to form more
cultured and un-biassed views about the wider world as well as the views and
depth into their own culture, helping to attack and eliminate cultural
misunderstanding and racism at it’s routes.
Resources:
Rosenberg, M. S.,
Westling, D. L., & McLeskey, J. (2011). The Impact of Culture on Education.
Special education for today's teachers: an introduction
(http://www.education.com/reference/article/impact-culture-education/ ed., pp.
63-64).
Leaney, G.
(Director) (2013, August 14). EDST1104, Social Perspectives in Education. Context
of Australian Education. Lecture conducted from University of New South
Wales, Sydney.
Wadham,
B., Pudsey, J. & Boyd, R. (2007). Culture and Education. Sydney: Pearson
Education. Chapter 1: What is culture?
Alison
Levy - http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=141
