The Power of Cultural Awareness

Catharina Gräbe

(Kaplan & Owings, 2011, p. 375)

Culture

Gender

Race

Ethnicity

Age

Traditions

Abilities

Socioeconomic status

Why should teachers understand cultural differences?

Source: "Creating a Multicultural Classroom Environment" by Foram Mehta (2011, October 6), Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/creating-a-multicultural-classroom-environment.html

The Importance of Diversity

“The Race Connection” by Dr. Thomas S. Dee of Stanford University

Examining influence of teacher’s cultural background on student learning: Tennessee randomized field trial that began in 1985

(Dee, 2004)

Project STAR

Project STAR (Student Teacher Achievement Ratio)

Effect of class size on student learning

Placed students and teachers together randomly

11,600 students in 79 schools

Kindergarten up to 3rd grade

Math: 23, 883 observations

Reading: 23, 544 observations(Dee, 2004, pp. 55-56)

Results

Black teacher with black students

Math scores: 3 to 5% increase

Reading scores: 3 to 6% increase

White teacher with white students

Math scores: 4 to 5% increase

Reading scores for girls: no detectable difference

Reading scores for boys: 2 to 6% increase

(Dee, 2004, p. 57)

Can you think of possible reasons that explain the research results?

In your experience, do students learn better from teachers who understand

different cultures?

Note. Adapted from "Population Distribution by Race in Hampton Roads" in Virginia's Hampton Roads Regional Profile by Hampton Roads Partnership and Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, January 2009, p. 4. Retrieved from http://www.hrp.org/Site/docs/ResourceLibrary/HR_Performs_Regional_Profile_FINAL_01-30-09.pdf

Hispanic - ethnicity within white racial groupHampton Roads: 4.0%United States: 15.1%

Hampton Roads Teacher-Student Demographics

http://hamptonroads.com/2011/09/datapilot-local-teacherstudent-demographics

“Teacher-student racial imbalance widest in Virginia Beach” by Mike

Hixenbaugh

Across VA: 43% of students, 17% of teachers are minorities

In Virginia Beach: lack of cultural diversity among teachers

Too few black and Hispanic teachers

Few men teach in Virginia Beach (one in five teachers)

(Hixenbaugh, 2011)

(Hixenbaugh, 2011)

Racial Imbalance in Virginia Beach

"Candid Conversations about Race"

Professional development program

2008 Virginia college graduates in education: 3,100 graduates, 225 black

Across the U.S.: less than 8% of teachers are black

(Heinemann Publishing, n.d.)

Teacher and Student Cultural Differences

http://youtu.be/tfa7VWxtS7k

How can a teacher’s cultural awareness help students in

the classroom?

Hampton Roads Demographics

Non-Hispanic White: 61.7%

Black: 32.5%

Hispanic: 4.0%

Asian: 3.1%

Note. Adapted from "Population Distribution by Race in Hampton Roads" in Virginia's Hampton Roads Regional Profile by Hampton Roads Partnership and Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, January 2009, p. 4. Retrieved from http://www.hrp.org/Site/docs/ResourceLibrary/HR_Performs_Regional_Profile_FINAL_01-30-09.pdf

Source: From cradle to career: Connecting American education from birth through childhood. (2007, January 4). Quality Counts 2007, Education Week, 26(17), p. 8. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/media/ew/qc/2007/QC07_PressConference_Remarks.pdf

(Children, 2014)

Single-Parent Families in the United States

Data for 2011

Black: 67%

Hispanic: 42%

Non-Hispanic White: 25%

Asian: 17%

Source: "US Race Household Income" by BrendelSignature, Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_Race_Household_Income.png

Non-Hispanic White

Colonies: British and French, Germans and Dutch

2011: less than 50% of children born in U.S.

Immigration has declined

Increased intermarriage

78.4% of Americans identify themselves as Christian (Report 1, 2013)

(Non-Hispanic, n.d.)

African-American History

1500 to 1860s: 12 million African slaves brought to North and South America

mainly to South American and Caribbean

500, 000 slaves sent to North America

1865 Slavery abolished in United States

(Gates, n.d.)

(Kaplan & Owings, 2011, p. 393)

African-American Culture

Graduation from high school

1960: 20%

2007: 82.3%

College Graduation

1960: 3%

2007: 18.5%

Life expectancy

1900: 34 years old

2008: 73 years old

Annual Median Income in 2007: $33, 916

African-American Culture

Family values

Extended family may live together

Community help one another to raise children

Value spiritual beliefs and involvement in religious activities

Men and women share family roles

Value education

(Kaplan & Owings, 2011, pp. 393-394)

(Kaplan & Owings, 2011, pp. 394-395)

Hispanic American History

Have faced discrimination in education

1848 South-West Mexican territories

1898 Spanish-American War – Puerto Rico

Predominantly Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban

(Kaplan & Owings, 2011, pp. 394-395)

Hispanic Students Family values: loyalty and cooperation

Traditional family roles

Community of family and friends (social networking)

Catholicism

Value education

Possible language barrier

(Information, 2014)

Asian American History

1840’s: immigration of Chinese and other Asian national groups to U.S. to find work

Persecution, denied citizenship

World War II: internment camps

Own communities

Asian American Culture

Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism

Value harmony, do not want to engage in arguments

Hierarchical family structure

(Information, 2014)

(Chen, 2005)

Asian American Culture

Strong work ethic

Focused on education

Structured family roles

Non-verbal communication

Possible language barrier

(Achievement, n.d., Gender achievement)

The Gender Gap

1970s and 1980s - girls did not score as well academically as boys, especially in math and science

Recent years: girls scored better than boys in school

More women than men graduate from college

Men attain better scores on standardized tests

More men than women work in STEM fields

Source: "Differences in Average Scale Scores for Girls and Boys" by the U.S. Department of Education, National Assessment of Educational Progress. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Differences_in_Average_Scale_Scores_for_Girls_and_Boys.jpg

The Gender Gap

2007 Census (Achievement, n.d., Gender gap in graduation)

Bachelor’s degrees: 20,501,000 women, 18,423,000 men

Over time: more women than men graduating from high school since 1970s (Murnane & Hoffman, 2013)

Which cultural groups do you identify with? As a teacher, how could you use your knowledge of different cultures to facilitate learning?

ReferencesAchievement gap in the United States. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved March 22, 2014, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achievement_gap_in_the_United_States#Gender_achievement_gap_in_the_United_States

Chen, H. J. (2005, February 14). Asian Americans and Their Culture. Personal Collection of H. J. Chen, University of South Florida Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, Tampa, FL. Retrieved from http://www.emfp.org/DocVault/ContributionstoScience/AsianAmericanandTheirCulture.aspx

Children in single-parent families by race. (2014). The Annie E. Casey Foundation. Retrieved from http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/107-children-in-single-parent-families-by#detailed/1/any/false/868,867,133,38,35/10,168,9,12,1,13,185,11|/432,431

Dee, T. S. (2004, Spring). The race connection. Education Next, 52-59. Retrieved from http://media.hoover.org/sites/default/files/documents/ednext20042_52.pdf

Gates, H. L., Jr. (n. d.). The African Americans: Many rivers to cross. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/on-african-american-migrations/

Hampton Roads Partnership & Hampton Roads Planning District Commission. (2009, January). Virginia's Hampton Roads Regional Profile. Retrieved from http://www.hrp.org/Site/docs/ResourceLibrary/HR_Performs_Regional_Profile_FINAL_01-30-09.pdf

References (continued)

Heinemann Publishing. (n.d.). Culturally Responsive Teaching. [Video file]. Video posted to http://youtu.be/tfa7VWxtS7k

Hixenbaugh, M. (2011, September 17). Teacher-student racial imbalance widest in Va. Beach. The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved from http://hamptonroads.com/2011/09/teacherstudent-racial-imbalance-widest-va-beach

Information on specific cultural groups. (2014). Brigham Young University David O. McKay School of Education. Retrieved from http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html

Kaplan, L. S., & Owings, W. A. (2011). American education: Building a common foundation. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Murnane, R. J., & Hoffman, S. (2013, Fall). Graduations on the rise. Education Next, 13(4). Retrieved from http://educationnext.org/graduations-on-the-rise/

Non-Hispanic Whites. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved March 22, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Hispanic_Whites

Report 1: Religious Affiliation. (2013). The Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://religions.pewforum.org/reports