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Considerations in Teaching Culturally Diverse Children. ERIC Digest.

Recent projections (Griffith, Frase, & Ralph, 1989) have estimated that minorities in the United States will comprise one-third of the population; in some metropolitan areas African Americans and Hispanics will constitute a majority of the school-age population. In other communities, there are concentrations of school-age children from both Native American and Asian backgrounds with growing numbers of immigrants and refugees from Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean (First, 1988). Currently, the majority of prospective teachers are White females (American, 1990), which stands in sharp contrast to the backgrounds of the students they will teach. This digest examines considerations within preservice teacher education programs to address this challenge.

BACKGROUND

* at least one course in multicultural education that takes into consideration the needs of all students;

* information about the history and culture of students from a wide number of ethnic, racial, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds;

* content about the contributions made by various groups;

* information about first- and second-language acquisition and effective teaching practices for working with students from limited English proficient (LEP) backgrounds; and

* field experiences and student teaching opportunities with students from varying backgrounds.

COURSES IN MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION

INFORMATION ABOUT HISTORY AND CULTURE

Many African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Asian Americans have had educational experiences where they suffered as a result of negative social, economic, and educational policies (Banks & Banks, 1989). Practices such as referral of these students in disproportionate numbers to special education classes continue even today. With additional information, teachers may be able to ask further questions or request technical assistance in providing appropriate instruction before a referral is considered.

Some researchers (Bennett, 1990; First, 1988) have focused on the miscues which occur between teachers and students based on misinterpretations and generalizations made about cultural background. Student behaviors such as attention-getting strategies, ways of responding to questions, and ways of interacting are examples of actions which are influenced by cultural background. For some African American, Native American, and Hispanic students, cooperative grouping instructional activities may be better because they parallel the context for learning found in their cultures. Teachers can consider modifying traditional direct instruction to include other types of instruction from which all students can benefit.

Another classroom factor to be considered is the extent to which the literacy tradition of the home and culture closely resembles that of the school. If there is a strong emphasis in the culture on the oral tradition, then knowledge may be transmitted through "verbal usage and memorization" as in the cases of Moroccan and Western Samoan cultures (Field & Aebersold, 1990). This is different from the highly literate tradition in the United States and presents problems if the teacher expects certain types of classroom interaction based on reading text.

The cultural values transmitted by parents can be markedly different from those the children encounter in the schools. For example, among some Southeast Asian parents the individual's role within the family is of primary importance; personal desires are secondary (Morrow, 1989). Thus, for these students a decision to care for younger siblings while parents work might come before a decision to complete a school assignment. Understanding child-rearing practices, family relationships, and interpersonal communication is critical in understanding parents. Communication can be increased by using the home language for conferences and providing written notices in both languages for those parents who have difficulty with English. Community liaisons, aides, translators, or volunteers who are bilingual can assist in this area. The teacher can solicit more participation and cooperation from parents if the message is communicated appropriately.

INTEGRATION OF CONTRIBUTIONS

LANGUAGE BACKGROUND

The incorporation of information about first- and second-language acquisition and effective teaching practices for working with students from LEP backgrounds is critical for teacher planning. Information about the language strengths and needs of students will be helpful for working with special personnel such as bilingual teachers and English as a second language teachers.

Knowledge about the student's use of both languages can assist the teacher in the development of reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills activities. The teacher may know that one student has contact with English-speaking peers outside of school and also reads material in English at home. Another student may socialize primarily with students from his/her own language background and read materials at home in the native language. This information can be helpful to the teacher in setting up homework assignments as well as in-class interactions with other studen ts (Hudson & Fradd, 1990; Cheng, 1987).

FIELD EXPERIENCES

REFERENCES

American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. (1990). Teaching teachers: Facts & figures. RATE III: Research About Teacher Education Project. Washington, DC: Author. ED 324 295

Banks, J. A., & Banks, C. M. (1989). Multicultural education: Issues and perspectives. Needham Heights, MA: Simon & Schuster. ED 311 102

Bennett, C. (1990). Comprehensive multicultural education. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Cheng, L. L. (1987). Assessing Asian language performance: Guidelines for evaluating limited-English-proficient students. Rockville, MD: Aspen Publishers, Inc.

Cummins, J. (1984). Bilingualism and special education: Issues in assessment and pedagogy. Avon, England: Multilingual Matters Ltd.

Field, M. L., & Aebersold, J. (1990, March). Cultural attitude toward reading: Implications for teachers of ESL/bilingual readers. Journal of Reading, 33(6), 406-10. EJ 405 082

First, J. M. (1988, November). Immigrant students in U.S. public schools: Challenges with solutions. Phi Delta Kappan, 70(3), 205-10. EJ 379 978

Griffith, S. E., Frase, M. J., & Ralph, J. H. (1989). American education: The challenge of change. Washington, DC: Population Reference Bureau.

Hudson, P., & Fradd, S. (1990, Fall). Cooperative planning for learners with limited English proficiency. Teaching Exceptional Children, 23(1), 16-21. EJ 416 641

Morrow, R. D. (1989, April). Southeast-Asian parental involvement: Can it be a reality? Elementary School Guidance and Counseling, 23(4), 289-97. EJ 396 286

National Center for Research on Teacher Education. (1991). Final report. East Lansing, MI: Author.

Sleeter, C. E., & Grant, C. A. (1988). Making choices for multicultural education. Five approaches to race, class, and gender. Columbus, OH: Merrill Publishing Company.