Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Article
Critique:
Improving
Teachers
Socio-Cultural
Understanding
for
a
Diverse
Classroom.
Heather
Woodland
24544041
University
of
British
Columbia
Author
Note
This
paper
was
prepared
for
ETEC
500,
Section
65
D,
taught
by
Professor
Oksana
Bartosh.
preservice
teachers
from
a
large
American
Midwestern
university.
The
intention
of
the
study
was
for
the
preservice
teachers
to
record
the
culture
and
community
of
their
practicum
schools.
The
preservice
teachers
were
trained
in
ethnography
and
received
ongoing
support
from
researchers.
This
paper
reports
on
year
two
of
a
five-year
project
called
the
Beyond
Awareness
project.
Main
Points
that
this
work
is
a
positive
addition
to
the
curriculum
of
teacher
preparation
programs.
Lenski
et
al.
confirm
their
study
suggested
that
participant
observation
and
ethnographically
informed
approachescould
be
key
elements
to
developing
more
effective
ways
to
address
culture
and
cultural
diversity
in
teacher
education
(Conclusions
section,
para.2).
The
background
behind
their
interest
in
examining
this
topic
came
from
a
perceived
culture
clash
which
existed
between
teachers
and
students.
They
reported
that
past
teacher
preparation
regarding
this
topic
has
produced
mixed
results.
(para.
3)
Though
some
teachers
had
improved
racial
attitudes
(para.
3)
regarding
their
understanding
of
others
cultures,
unfortunately
others
reported
few
or
even
negative
changes
(para.
3)
in
their
attitudes
towards
understanding
cultural
diversity.
Lenski
et
al.
discuss
that
preservice
teachers
must
also
understand
their
own
culture.
Once
they
have
an
understanding
of
their
own
culture
they
can
use
that
understanding
to
explore
how
it
relates
to
other
cultures.
This
process
gives
the
preservice
teachers
a
chance
to
confront
their
assumptions
of
culture
and
to
look
at
the
ways
in
which
they
could
be
open
to
new
ways
of
thinking(Results
section,
para.
1).
Researchers
analyzed
three
trends
among
the
data
collected.
The
first
trend
was
the
issues
with
the
pre-service
teachers
understanding
what
their
observations
should
be
(Discussions
section,
para.
1).
The
second
trend
was
that
the
preservice
teachers
had
shifted
their
thinking
about
diversity
to
a
level
where
they
began
planning
strategies
for
bringing
students
communities
into
their
classrooms
(Discussions
section,
para.
1).
The
last
trend
was
that
the
written
component
of
completing
an
ethnographic
study
for
this
research
was
too
cumbersome
in
combination
with
the
other
course
work
included
in
the
students
program.
My
Questions
and
Concerns
My two most significant concerns with this study and the Lenski et al. article are
the
language
used
and
the
scope
of
the
article.
I
was
surprised
to
see
the
use
of
white
as
a
descriptor
of
the
preservice
teachers
rather
than
the
term
Caucasian.
Perhaps,
I
am
used
to
the
term
Caucasian
as
a
more
politically
correct
form
of
expressing
a
racial
group
that
people
belong
to.
I
also
questioned
why
culture
was
simply
defined
through
race.
But
having
used
the
term
white
as
a
descriptor,
I
began
to
question
the
scope
of
the
article.
The
research
may
simply
be
American
educational
research
rather
than
more
general
educational
research.
I
may
be
biased,
as
the
practicum
class
that
I
worked
in
(in
the
Delta
School
District
No.
37)
was
extremely
diverse
with
only
three
students
who
would
label
themselves
as
white.
My
first
teaching
job
was
as
a
teacher
on
call
for
the
Vancouver
School
board.
The
district
educates
an
exceptionally
diverse
student
population.
Furthermore,
my
Bachelor
of
Education
through
the
University
of
British
Columbia
contained
courses,
which
I
felt
prepared
me
well
for
the
diversity
that
I
encountered
in
my
early
years
teaching
and
that
I
was
able
to
appreciate
the
culture
of
my
students
without
simply
addressing
superficial
elements
such
as
celebrations.
In
summation,
the
article
was
narrow
in
scope,
but
one
message
that
it
conveyed
that
I
value
is
the
importance
of
a
teacher
and
their
class
to
interact
with
positive
role
models
from
a
variety
of
cultures.
Appreciating
the
culture
of
each
individual
in
a
classroom
must
be
authentic
and
should
give
members
of
various
communities
a
chance
to
share
their
story.
References
Lenski,
S.D.,
Crawford,
K.,
Crumpler,
T.
&
Stallworth,
C.
(2005).
Preparing
Preservice
Teachers
in
a
Diverse
World,
Action
in
Teacher
Education,
27(3),
pp.
3-12
Manassas,
VA.