Workshops in Marketing and Education. Presentation: âExamining ... American Education: Cultural Incompetence and Bias .... pictures if available. â« Does the ...
Workshops in Marketing and Education
Presentation: “Examining Cultural Incompetence In American Education: Cultural Incompetence and Bias in the Classroom”
D. Anthony Miles, Ph.D., MCP, RBA, CMA, MBC
AGENDA
The Impact of Social and Racial Attitudes in Teaching Bias in Conceptualizing Ethnic Populations Bias in Assessment Textbook Bias Teacher Characteristics that Make a Difference in Multicultural Pedagogy Strategies for Change: Curriculum Reform in Multicultural Pedagogy
Source: Diller and Moule (2005) Cultural Competence
The Impact of Social and Racial Attitudes •
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Cultural perspectives. Most teachers bring their own cultural perspectives and their own unexamined classroom experiences. Sleeter (1989) analyzed preservice teacher preparation. These studies revealed a strong existence of ethnocentric attitudes and a general lack of cultural knowledge. Classrooms based on unexamined experiences will inevitably miss the needs of many culturally diverse students. This leads to “implicit association.”
Source: Diller and Moule (2005) Cultural Competence
Cultural Aspects of Curriculum Delivery • • •
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“Eurocentric” dominated pedagogy often portrays Students of Color in a negative light. Teachers tend to value students who imitate them or display similar learning and behavioral characteristics to themselves. Teachers negatively judge students whose learning styles or behavior as either below their standards or not up to their standards. White teachers many times unconsciously form opinions about the academic ability of Students of Color. Blair and Jones (1981) showed how teacher-student interaction styles could severely hamper the learning process for a child.
Source: Diller and Moule (2005) Cultural Competence
Bias in Conceptualizing Ethnic Populations • • •
Use of terms such as “cultural inferiority” or “deficit.” Recent acceptable terms such as “culturally distinct” and “culturally different” still carry negative connotations. Notably prior researches on ethnic cultures are criticized today for faulty methodology: 1) First, the researchers chose to study and compare Whites and People of Color on characteristics that culturally favor the White dominant-group members. 2) Second, the differences that have been found between whites and People of Color, tend to be interpreted as reflecting weaknesses in the ethnic culture or character.
Source: Diller and Moule (2005) Cultural Competence
Bias in Assessment •
A test may measure different characteristics when administered to member of different cultural groups, based on culturally unfair criteria.
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Differences in experience in taking tests may put non-white students at a disadvantage in testing situations.
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Because of the strong and insidious cultural bias in testing, People of Color have watched their children being placed in remedial classrooms or tracked as having “special needs.”
Reynolds and Kaiser (1990) listed a number of factors that can contribute to cultural bias in testing. Test procedures reflect and favor the dominant culture’s values.
Standardized testing are generally “contrived exercises” that measure how much students can cram into a short-term memory.
Educators in the U.S. tend to be “over-attached” to standardized tests as a means of gaining student information.
Source: Diller and Moule (2005) Cultural Competence
Who Are the Teachers? •
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A study by Liston and Zeichner (1996) showed that the majority of prospective teachers are: • White females who come from middle-class homes • Had very little prior contact with other cultures or with Children of Color. Another study by Hodgkinson (2002) reported that overall college student enrollments have become increasingly racially diverse, however the teaching workforce is becoming increasingly White. The teachers at the university level are overwhelmingly white. They also have the proclivity in being oblivious to the influence of Eurocentric perspective in pedagogy at all levels of education. While much lip service is paid to recruiting more students and Faculty of Color (look at universities across America), the numbers remain consistently low.
Source: Diller and Moule (2005) Cultural Competence
Teacher Characteristics that Make a Difference in Multicultural Pedagogy
Teacher’s Belief: Teacher’s belief that it is the teacher’s responsibility to engage all students in meaningful learning activities. Caring orientation: the expectation of the need for rapport with children and youth. Fallibility: the expectation and orientation of teachers to their own errors, reflectivity. Explanation of success: the predisposition to emphasize effort rather than ability. Teaching Style: the predisposition to engage in coaching rather than directive teaching. Organizational ability: the predisposition to protect children or youth experience success in learning against bureaucratic constraints
Source: Diller and Moule (2005) Cultural Competence
Cultural Incompetence and Bias in Textbooks In addition to curriculum reform, Banks and Banks (2001) model can teachers bring a discerning eye to textbooks and readers. For example an instructor must review reading material for cultural insensitivity: Cinema and Movies. “The Lone Ranger”; the myth of “Tarzan, the King of the Jungle” History Myths. Another example, is the historical myths used in history taught in schools: • Texas History. The Battle of the Alamo (with Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie). Spanish history offers an alternate view. • Columbus. The historical myth of Christopher Columbus’ exploits. Source: Diller and Moule (2005) Cultural Competence
Are Textbooks Still Culturally Incompetent and Relevant? Questions we need to ask: Are the author’s members of different cultures? Check pictures if available. Does the preface make reference to multiculturalism or diversity? Do the illustrations, photographs, and drawings show more than one cultural group? Do written examples, problems, and/or samples draw from more than one culture? Is any reference made to help include speakers of other languages currently learning English? Are historical references to other cultures accurate? Do multicultural references emphasize individuals rather than stereotypes? Source: Diller and Moule (2005) Cultural Competence
Strategies for Change: Curriculum Reform Banks and Banks (2001) identified four approaches or levels of curriculum reform: •
The Contributions Approach: involves merely adding discrete items of culture to the existing curriculum.
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The Additive Approach: involves adding content, concepts, themes and perspectives to the curriculum without changing its basic structure
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The Transformational Approach: occurs when the structure of the curriculum is changed to enable students to view concepts, issues, events, and themes from the perspectives of diverse racial and cultural groups
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The Social Action Approach: encourages students to make decisions on important socials issues and take action to help solve them.
Source: Diller and Moule (2005) Cultural Competence
Summary and Conclusion • The Impact of Social and Racial Attitudes in Teaching • Bias in Conceptualizing Ethnic Populations • Bias in Assessment • Textbook Bias • Teacher Characteristics that Make a Difference in Multicultural Pedagogy • Strategies for Change: Curriculum Reform in Multicultural Pedagogy
Source: Diller and Moule (2005) Cultural Competence
Workshops in Marketing and Education
QUESTIONS? Presentation: “Examining Cultural Incompetence In American Education: Cultural Incompetence and Bias in the Classroom”
D. Anthony Miles, Ph.D., MCP, RBA, CMA, MBC
