MULTICULTURAL

DIVERSITY: A Challenge to
Global Teachers
 DIVERSITY OF LEARNERS IN
Multicultural Classrooms
According to James Banks (1975 in Sadker, 1991):
A Leading researcher in the area of students.
The major goal of multicultural education is to
transform the school so that the male and female
students, exceptional learners, as wel as students
coming from diverse cultural, social- class, racial
and ethnic groups will experience an equal
opportunity to learn in school.
 Diversity or Differences among our
Students

o Differ in race (color of the skin)

o Belong to different ethnic or religious
groups
o speak different language
o Socio- economic backgrounds
 plagued by poverty,
 unemployment
 frequent relocation
 limited access to high quality medical and
social services
 crime ridden neighborhoods
In the midst of this diversity, the students are
supposed to be given equal opportunities to
education:
There is a need for
 curricular and instructional modifications
 teaching styles
 re- examination of teachers’ attitudes
 beliefs and perception
Multicultural Education: enables teachers
and educators to give value to the
differences in:
a. Prior knowledge
b. experiences of learners from diverse
background
c. familiarity with students’ histories of
diverse culture (Haertel, 1998)
 Responses of Multicultural Education

 inclusion of learners with special needs

 environmental adaption of classrooms
 behavior support plans
 cooperative learning
 peer tutoring
 team teaching
 Every one’s heritage is given due respect
 differences should be regarded as
strengths to build on rather than deficits to
be overcome
 Accommodating Cultural Differences and
Commonalities

Fraser- Abner (2001): Suggests the

following:
1. Pre- service teacher education programs
should help prospective teachers
understand the complex characteristics of
ethnic groups in ways race, ethnicity,
language and social class interact to
influence students behavior.
2. Teachers should ensure that all students
have equitable opportunities to learn and to
perform to a standard.
3. Teachers should help students acquire
social skills needed to interact effectively
with students from other racial, ethnic,
cultural, language of social groups.
4. The school curriculum helps students
understand that knowledge is socially
constructed and are reflective of the social,
political and economic context in which they
live and work.
5. Schools should provide all students with
opportunities to participate in extra and co-
curricular activities that develop knowledge
and foster positive intercultural relationships.
6. Teachers and students should learn to
reduce or eliminate stereotyping and other
related biases that have negative effects on
racial and ethnic relations.
7. Schools should provide opportunities for
students from different racial, ethnic cultural
and language groups to interact socially
under conditions designed to reduce fear
and anxiety
8. Teachers should teach and students
should learn about the values shared
virtually by all cultural groups like justice,
equality, freedom, peace, compassion and
charity among others.
 Basic Assumptions that Enhance
Teacher Development

1. No two learners are exactly the same.

2. Strategies that work with one learner may not
work with another.
3. Student’s background and experiences should
be considered when teaching.
4. Community members from various ethnic
groups can assist teachers in facing issues of
ethnic differences and similarities