Actional Research

7/30/2019 Actional Research

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Contents

Abstract

Acknowledgement

Introduction

Problem Statement

Purpose and Significance of this research

Context

Methodology

Sample

Tools

Data collection

Data analysis

Findings and discussions

Reflections

Conclusion

References

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Abstract

This research was aimed at exploring the areas where teachers face difficulty

in teaching multicultural students in their classroom. Ten teachers from a

private school were taken as the sample for this research and questionnaire

technique was used to gather data from the respondents. Data was analyzed

in two categories (i.e. qualitative and quantitative).Recommendations was

also made at the end.

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Acknowledgement

I offer my humblest thanks to Allah Almighty; the most beneficent the

merciful whose blessing has enabled me to successfully complete this

project in the shortest possible time.

I great fully acknowledge the help and assistance provided by our course

faculty Ms Sabahat Khan Tatari. I will always cherish her way of teaching

and kind behavior.

I am equally grateful to the worthy Principal of Oxford High School

Islamabad for the amount of trust he has put on me and let me conduct this

research at his school. His cooperation and continuous encouragement

strengthened me a lot while conducting this research.

A vote of thanks goes to the respected teachers of Oxford High School who

served as the ultimate source of data for this research .I greatly admire their

cooperation and seriousness, shown while filling the questionnaire, which

gave this research more weight age and originality.

Finally, how can I miss the continuous support of my parents, who were

instrumental in bringing this research from an idea to a success.

Overall it was an interesting and knowledgeable experience for me, and I

hope that it will prove to be helpful in my future endeavors also.

Salma Jabeen

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Context

This action research has been conducted in a private school, located in G-9/1 Islamabad,

named as Oxford High School. The school has classes from playgroup to 10th

.The totalnumber of students in this school is 265 and the number is 120 at secondary level. The

percentage of boys in the school is 30 while rests of the 70% are girls. Students from four

different countries i.e. Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Iran are enrolled in this

school. The percentage of students from each country is given below:

Pakistan 55%

Afghanistan 30%

Somalia 10%

Iran 5%

Methodology

Sample

The sample for this research comprised of 10 secondary class teachers teaching different

subjects at Oxford High School Islamabad. Seven teachers were female and three were

male. As far as the nationality of these teachers is concerned nine teachers were from

Pakistan and only one teacher was from Iran.

Tools

The instrument or technique applied to get the opinion of the respondents in this research

was questionnaire method. The questionnaire was self designed which comprised of 13

closed ended questions and only one open ended question. The first thirteen questions

were about the common difficulties globally faced by teachers teaching multicultural

students. Respondents were asked to read the statements and choose one response for

each from the five given responses. The five given responses which were same for all the

thirteen questions are given below which were meant to measure the frequency of each

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Scores 23 29 31 38 37 24 35 16 24 34

Table 1.1

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Respondents

Scores

Chart 1.1

Furthermore, to get the scores on each item separately, the responses of each subject onevery single statement were summated. Same procedure was applied here also for the

scoring procedure (i.e. if the scores are higher than it means that the problem occurs

frequently and vice versa)

The summated scores on each statement are shown in table and chart 1.2 given below:

Questions 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13Scores 24 15 24 23 26 8 26 19 33 23 19 24 16

Table 1.2

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0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Questions

Scores

Chart1.2

Findings and Discussions

After data being analyzed, it became evident that which are the areas where teachers face

most difficulty in dealing with the culturally diverse students in their classrooms. From

the Table and Graph 1.2, it has been found that statement#9 which was Difficulty in

understanding each students background has been highly rated, which means that, most

of the teachers face difficulty in understanding every students background in their

classroom.

Likewise statement#5 and 7 which were Difficulty in dealing with a range of interests

and Difficulty in explaining cultural themes were second highly rated items.

Thirdly statement#1, 3 and 12 were rated highly, which were Difficulty in

communication/language problem, Difficulty in maintaining discipline, and

Difficulty in fulfilling students expectations.Than comes statement# 4and 10 which were Difficulty in creating harmony among the

students, and Difficulty in handling class discussions or debates.

Finally, the statements which came in the category of lowest ranking were Statement#6

which was Difficulty in making classroom more interactive, than staetment#13 which

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was Difficulty in motivating students to take more interest in their studies, and the

statement with the lowest score was Difficulty in choosing an appropriate teaching

methodology.

As mentioned earlier, that the last question being asked from the respondents was open

ended, where respondents were asked to write down those difficulties which they might

experience but not included in the questionnaire. As a response to this question, almost

all the respondents have written that teaching multicultural students is not an easy job, as

it requires lots of experience and patience too.

There were some other responses which were worth considerable. For example one

respondent has mentioned that Initially it seems difficult to teach a class with

multicultural students, but as the time passes the understanding level of teacher and

students increases and everything goes fine. Yet another respondent has wrote that Bringing multicultural students to one focal point

seems impossible because each individual carries a whole set of ideas and beliefs with

themselves and most of the time they are reluctant to accept others.

The response of Urdu teacher was also of a great significance, as she wrote that Its

difficult to understand students who are not Urdu speakers, as they cant pronounce

Urdu words properly and rarely get what the teacher wants to convey. Consequently

there are chances of misunderstanding between teacher and students

Similarly, teacher of Pakistan-studies reported that she face difficulty in motivating

students who are immigrants to Pakistan, because they show least interest in the subject

especially the history portion, because they dont feel the same way for Pakistan as the

native students do.

Finally, the respected principal has expressed his strong belief by saying that The whole

concept of successful teaching revolves around the teacher ONLY, if the teacher has got

the tact and experience, than he/she can make students feel at ease and comfort in a short

period of time. Hence where there is a will there is a way also.

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Reflections

Successfully teaching students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds

especially students from historically marginalized groups involves more than just

applying specialized teaching techniques. It demands a new way of looking at teaching

that is grounded in an understanding of the role of culture and language in

learning.(Villegas and Lucas, 2002)

The following six salient qualities which according to Villegas and Lucas, 2002 can

serve as a coherent framework for professional development initiatives in schools seeking

to respond effectively to an increasingly diverse student population. are recommended:

1. Understanding how learners construct knowledge (e.g. family makeup, immigration

history, favorite activities, concerns and strengths etc)

2. Learning about Students lives (prior knowledge of and experience with specific topics

in the curriculum)

3. Being socio-culturally conscious (Looking beyond individual students and families to

understand inequities in society)4. Holding affirming views about diversity (Seeing each student as a capable learner and

treat each student as a unique individual and not compare him/her with others)

5. Using appropriate instructional strategies (Embedding new ideas and skills in projects

that are meaningful to the students)

6. advocating for all students (Understanding that teaching is an ethical activity, and

teachers have an ethical obligation to help all students learn)

Approaching a students education in these culturally and linguistically responsive ways

rather than emphasizing deficits -has the potential to truly engage all students in

learning, both in school and beyond.(A.M.Villegas and Tamara Lucas, 2002)

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ConclusionFrom this research it became evident that teachers teaching multicultural students face

various difficulties in their classrooms, which affects the efficiency level of teachers as

well as the academic achievement of students. To minimize the frequency of the

difficulties teachers face, it has been recommended that schools must train the teachers to

effectively and efficiently handle the classes with multicultural students.

"Rapidly changing demographics demand that we engage in a vigorous, ongoing, and

systematic process of professional development to prepare all educators in the school tofunction effectively in a highly diverse environment."(G.R.Howard, 2007)

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References

Gary R.Howard (2007).As Diversity Grows, So Must We . Educational

Leadership/March 2007. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Villegas.A.M, Lucas.T, (2007).The Culturally Responsive teacher. Educational

Leadership/March 2007. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

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Questionnaire

Dear Respondents

Kindly fill in the questionnaire below. This has been designed to conduct

action research as part of my course requirement for

Educational Leadership and Management

Profile

Name:

Nationality:

Gender:

Subject you teach:

Here are some of the common problems, teachers face globally in dealing

culturally diverse students in their classrooms. Please provide responses for

the items given below. The last question is open ended. Kindly specify the

problems you have experienced that might not be included in this

questionnaire. Please try not to leave any question unanswered. Note that

there is no right or wrong answer.

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1. Difficulty in communication/language problem

seldom Occasionally Often Frequently Always

2. Difficulty in choosing an appropriate teaching methodology


3. Difficulty in maintaining discipline


4. Difficulty in creating harmony among the students


5. Difficulty in dealing with a range of interests


6. Difficulty in making class more interactiveseldom Occasionally Often Frequently Always

7. Difficulty in explaining cultural themes


8. Difficulty in gaining trust of students


9. Difficulty in understanding each students background


10. Difficulty in handling class discussions or debates

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11. Difficulty in conducting group activities


12. Difficulty in fulfilling students expectation


13. Difficulty in motivating students to take more interest in their studies


14. Please write down other problems you might have experienced which

are not mentioned in the questionnaire

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

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Actional Research

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