Classroom Communication and Diversity

Enhancing Instructional Practice

Robert G. Powell, Dana L. Powell

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781317484264
• Edition: 3
• Topic: Sprachen & Linguistik
• Subtopic: Kommunikationswissenschaften

Classroom Communication and Diversity provides a useful framework for helping both new and experienced teachers and instructors navigate the communication challenges in today's diverse classroom. It encourages teachers to reflect on how their personal cultures influence their expectations regarding classroom communication. This textbook is distinctive in its distillation of research from numerous sources to provide the best viewpoint and systems for focusing on the needs of the individual learner.

Dana L. Powell and Robert G. Powell draw on research in both the communication and education disciplines, and provide useful strategies for improving teaching practices alongside theoretical models regarding diversity in the classroom. Much of the information found in this text is also inspired by the authors' direct experience in schools and from the experience they have gleaned from other first-line instructors as well as from parents and children.

Among the many updates to this Third Edition are:

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• Expanded coverage of students with diverse needs

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• Discussion on working effectively with parents

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• Coverage of cultural influences and the impact of race and ethnicity on disciplinary actions

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• Examination of the role of social media and its impact on instructional communication

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• The increase of educational technology use.

Teachers and scholars in the communication and education fields will find this text practical and valuable for their teaching efforts, and it is appropriate for instructional communication courses in both disciplines.

Unit II
Understanding Diversity

This unit focuses on three features of diversity: culture, gender, and exceptionalities. As noted previously, we consider diversity to be fluid and multidimensional. Culture, gender, and exceptionalities converge and emerge in different contexts. For purposes of clarity, we will deal with each of these areas separately. We begin with cultural diversity. Demographic changes are affecting education in profound ways. Students from, and who have generational connections to, Latin American, Southeast Asian, African, and Middle Eastern countries are entering the educational system in increasing numbers. Chapter 3 is intended to increase readers’ understanding of the ways in which culture influences beliefs about how to communicate in the classroom. Readers are encouraged to interrogate their personal beliefs about culture and education. We begin the chapter by contrasting assimilation and pluralistic viewpoints about culture. We discuss the value dimensions of culture and how those dimensions inform expectations about classroom behavior. We follow this with an explanation of the impact of cultural identity, culture and learning style, and ways to engage in culturally responsive teaching. Chapter 4 examines sex and gender. We begin the chapter by reviewing difference and similarity hypotheses. These hypotheses propose different explanations of male and female brains and behavior. This section is followed with a discussion of vulnerability and empowerment explanations of female beliefs and behavior. We also include a discussion of strategies for teaching males who are at risk for academic failure. In Chapter 5 we explore students with exceptionalities. First, we define risk and then review pertinent legislation on disabilities. In this chapter we also include a discussion of other factors that place students at risk. We address immigrant children, English learners, poverty, and homelessness. We conclude the chapter by discussing practices that promote positive interactions with all students in inclusive classrooms.

3
Culture and Classroom Communication

Learning Outcomes

1. Explain the cultural values that define educational contexts.
2. Analyze the way cultural identity impacts classroom communication practices.
3. Describe how culture impacts preferences for learning.
4. Reflect on your attitudes about culture and diversity.
5. Develop strategies for accomplishing culturally responsive teaching.

Classroom Scenario

On the first day of class, LeAnne Young, a first-year teacher, waits enthusiastically for the students in her first-period English class to arrive. They trickle in, some quietly, others engage in heated conversation. The veritable rainbow of student colors impacts Ms. Young considerably. Finally, the students take their seats and look at Ms. Young as she takes out her roll sheet and begins to call out their names: Eduardo Martinez, Shanisha Knight, Teng Her, Sandi Chalensouk, Gabriela Gamino, Markus Tyson, Michael Smith, Azor Singh, Ignacio Vidales, Danny Castanon, Tamika Yosida, and Brian Moore.

Ms. Young faces a daunting task. She recognizes the vast diversity in her class but is unsure how to address this opportunity. The one cultural studies course she took in college focused on the African-American history. Although interesting, the course did not provide Ms. Young with the skills needed to teach in a culturally diverse classroom. In this chapter we examine the role of culture in the instructional process. Our goal is to provide a foundation for culturally responsive teaching.

American schools are experiencing profound demographic shifts. For example, in 2000–2001, 61 percent of the students enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools were White, while 17 percent were Black, 16 percent were Hispanic and 4 percent were Asian/Pacific Islander. In 2007–2008, 56 percent were White, 17 percent were African-American, 21 percent were Hispanic and 5 percent were Asian/Pacific Islanders (Digest of Educational Statistics, 2012). The trends are more significant in the west where White students represent 43 percent of students enrolled in public schools followed by Hispanics, 38 percent, Asian 6.4 percent and Black, 6.2 percent (Digest of Educational Statistics, 2012).

We must also be mindful that there are substantial differences within the cultural groups identified above. Asians may consist of Chinese, Japanese, Hmong, Vietnamese, Laotian, and Cambodian. Hispanics may consist of Mexican, Cuban, Salvadorian, Mixtec Columbian and Spanish. Blacks consist of African-American, Nigerian, Ethiopian, Haitian, and Jamaican. There are also increasing numbers of students from East Indian and Middle Eastern ethnic backgrounds. Also a large number of students come from blended families where the parents are from different ethnic or cultural backgrounds.

Immigration has dramatically influenced the shifting student mosaic. In the past, immigrant children traced their heritage to Europe. Approximately, 70 percent of recent immigrants with legal status are from Latin America, and Asia (Martin & Midgley, 2006). There are also a large number of immigrants from non- or mixed documentation families (Passel, as cited in Rong & Preissle, 2009).

Indeed the students in today’s classroom come from a wide variety of cultural experiences. They bring their languages, customs, religions, attitudes, and abilities. At the same time, 80 percent of the teachers are White and may have limited understanding of the way culture influences the teaching–learning process.

The demographic changes can be challenging and exciting at the same time. Responsible schools and educators must struggle with ways to meet the needs of students with a wide range of experiences, skills, and interests. Understanding the ways in which culture influences educational contexts can empower teachers to reach all of their students. This is no easy task. Teachers must understand not only how culture influences the behavior of students, but also the way that it influences their own perceptions and behaviors. According to Rong and Preissle (2009), there are two perspectives on teaching immigrants and we would say diversity in general. One is to use an assimilation model. Within this perspective education serves to subordinate an ethnic identity so that an American identity can be created. Central to this view is that the immigrant or diverse student develops competence in English, values, individual accountability, and perseverance. Educators embracing an assimilation perspective often view diverse students and new immigrants from a deficit perspective. Teachers embracing this view claim that through hard work and education, everyone can participate in the American Dream. Many White teachers, because of their history and teaching experiences may buy into the assimilation model. Every semester, I place students into diverse groups and ask them to answer a series of questions about culture. One question asks them to identify their country of origin. Many White students state that they have no idea or that they are, “a mutt” or “Heinz 57”—a blended variety. They do not see themselves as cultural or having a cultural identity. They do not see their cultural traditions, such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, or their norms for dress, or their values and beliefs, as inherently cultural.

In contrast, a pluralistic model does not strive for a homogeneous society but one that recognizes and celebrates heterogeneity. This perspective recognizes that there are a variety of factors influencing an individual’s assimilation. Teachers view diversity as a resource that can be used to bolster educational goals and objectives. This perspective also recognizes the institutional and educational structures and obstacles facing students such as racism, prejudice, xenophobia, and socioeconomic status. The perspective advanced in this text is consistent with the pluralistic perspective. We believe that teachers who increase their cultural competence will be in a better position to create a classroom culture where all students can prosper and grow.

Reflection

• How do you define culture?
• To what cultural groups do you belong?
• Do you have friends who are culturally different from you?
• What do you know about your friend’s traditions or history?

Culture

Culture is a difficult concept to understand. An examination of some representative definitions might be helpful. Lustig and Koester (1999) defined culture as “a learned set of shared interpretations about beliefs, values, and norms which affect the behaviors of a relatively large group of people” (p. 30). Orbe and Harris (2001) characterized culture as “learned and shared values, beliefs, and behaviors common to a particular group of people; culture forges a group’s identity and assists in its survival” (p. 6). Individuals are taught, sometimes implicitly, sometimes explicitly, to view the world in a certain way and to behave in a way that supports this viewpoint. Samovar, Porter, and Stefani (2000) offered the following conceptualization of culture:

the deposit of knowledge, experiences, social hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relationships, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual or group striving.

(p. 7)

Culture, then, influences what people know, how they came by that knowledge, what roles they play and how they should play them, what they value, and how they put their values into action. Clearly, culture plays a significant role in the education process.

Dimensions of Culture

A number of scholars have investigated the role culture plays in communication exchanges. The research of Hall (1976) and Hofstede (1980) is particularly relevant to our examination of culture in the classroom. Hall believed that individuals are faced with so many stimuli that they develop mechanisms for filtering and making sense out of them. According to Hall, the context for communication plays a significant role in the way the information is sifted and acted upon (Hall, 1976, p. 86). A communication context has physical, social, and psychological features. The physical feature is the actual setting for the interaction (classroom, principal’s office, home). The social feature is the relationship among the participants (teacher/student, teacher/parent, teacher/ teacher). Psychological features include the attitudes, sentiments, and motivations of the participants. Culture influences the degree to which communicators focus on these features.

Hall postulated a continuum with high-context messages on one end and low-context messages on the other (1976, p. 91). A high-context message has most of the relevant information in the physical setting or is internalized in the person. Much of the meaning in the message is implied. Japanese, Hmong, Koreans, Chinese, and Latinos are examples of high-context communities. Members of high-context groups have developed similar expectations about how to perceive and respond to a particular communication event. Consequently, explicit verbal messages are not necessary for understanding. Low-context groups, on the other hand require that the message include a great deal of explicit information. Uncertainty is reduced and understandings are obtained through expressed verbal codes.

Most American classrooms are predicated on low-context exchanges. Teachers are expected to be clear, direct, explicit, and linear with their instructions and expectations. Students are expected to be clear, direct, and explicit with their answers. The farther students depart from these communication conventions, the more at risk they become.

Hofstede (1980), another expert on intercultural communication, explained that individuals possess cognitive processes that are shaped by culture and are expressed through the culture’s dominant value dimensions. He identified four dominant patterns and each has its own application to classroom exchanges.

The first dimension is power distance. This dimension is concerned with the way in which status differences are ascribed and negotiated. Some cultures believe that power should be distributed while others hold that only a few people should possess power and authority. European American students tend to believe that power should be distributed and that everyone has an equal opportunity to possess it. Students from Latin and Southeast Asian cultures tend to believe that power should be held by a select few. As we noted, clan elders possess a great deal of power in the Hmong community and young women possess very little. Some teachers wield a great deal of power in classrooms. They make all classroom decisions and impose their will on the students. Other teachers share power with students and give them an opportunity to make decisions about instructional issues and class activities.

A second dimension is uncertainty avoidance. This dimension is concerned with the ways in which a culture deals with change and unpredictability. Some cultures have very little tolerance for circumstances that may threaten the culture’s structure and hierarchy. Severe consequences follow for the individual who does not adhere to the culture’s expectations. Individuals from cultures high on uncertainty avoidance have very strict rules governing appropriate behavior and there are severe consequences for violating these rules. Schools and classes also establish rules and policies for appropriate classroom behavior. Some teachers may be very strict and intolerant of student “misbehavior.” One teacher stated that the problem with Native-American students is that they lack structure at home so he was going to be sure they learned discipline in his classroom. His primary instructional goal was to control student behavior; learning was a secondary goal. Other teachers allow students to make choices, multi-task, and socialize with other students.

A third dimension is individualism–collectivism. This dimension is concerned with the degree to which individuals commit to self or community. Competition, autonomy, privacy, personal opinion, and independence are core elements in individualistic societies. The United States is extremely high on this dimension. The school system, with its growing emphasis on grades and test scores, competition, and performance outcomes, strongly promotes individualistic values. Cultures subordinating the needs of the individual to the group are reflective of collectivist societies. Humility and sharing are core values in collectivistic cultures. Thus, focusing attention on the achievements of one individual can bring much stress. For example, it is inappropriate to single out the success of a Native-American individual. Obligation is another core element in collectivist cultures. Some teachers have become frustrated with students who miss class because of family “business.” The teachers do not understand that, in some cultures, especially for new immigrants from collectivist societies, family obligation transcends school and education.

The fourth dimension discussed by Hofstede is masculinity–femininity. This dimension concerns the degree to which the culture values assertiveness and achievement versus nurturance and social support. Some cultures judge others by their achievements and the manifestations of appropriate masculine behavior. In Mexico, for example, the male is the head of the household, is primarily responsible for the financial security of the family and ultimately makes all the important decisions. Women are expected to tend to home duties such as child rearing and cooking. Attitudes about masculinity and femininity are also revealed in America’s classrooms. Boys are often encouraged to be assertive, active, and competitive while females are encouraged to be passive, and cooperative. The issue of masculinity and femininity is complex and we discuss this topic in Chapter 4.

After publishing the first four dimensions, Hofstede (2001) added a fifth dimension which he labeled long-term and short-term orientation. According to Hofstede, this orientation is rooted in Confucianism which values thrift, and persistence and a predictable social order. Values of a short-term orientation are a concern for “here and now,” a low concern f...