The social and cultural structures of classrooms

Classroom Social and Cultural Systems

Classroom social and cultural systems are complex and frequently ignored, as are learning settings (Archer, 1990). Many teachers find it challenging to handle a few kids from various cultural backgrounds. Adopting mindfulness can help teachers understand and clarify these social and cultural frameworks. The need of increasing diversity in schools is discussed in the essay "Mindful Reflection as a Process for Developing Culturally Responsive Practices" by Barbara J. Dray and Debora Basier Wisneski. Diversity in learning environments can be maintained through embracing conscious reflection and being sensitive to cultural differences.

Teachers' Perceptions and Cultural Diversity

Teachers' perceptions of the students are influenced by their cultural, linguistic, and gender-based frames of reference. Such unique set of values, attitudes, experiences, and beliefs influences cultural diversity in the learning environment. Female and male students use language differently while in school (Ferguson, 2003). Female learners use the social communicative structures that make them avoid vulgar language or shouting while expressing themselves. However, male students employ obscene language and yell in their expressions (Ramsey, 2004). Male students tend to be physically aggressive compared to girls. Moreover, students from different cultural backgrounds vary in the way they communicate and interact in a learning environment. For instance, students from Asian or Latin American cultures avoid the glimpse of authority figures as a symbol of respect. This can be considered as disrespectful by an instructor who is unfamiliar with the culture (Ramsey, 2004). Additionally, international students face the language barriers during communication. For instance, in the U.S., it is hard for a student from Asia to have an American accent when speaking English. It is upon the teachers to consider such factors when interacting with students of different backgrounds.

Cultural Diversity in the United States

The population in the United States is composed of students from a variety of cultures and ethnic group. Cultural diversity is a real matter, although in most aspects it has been constructed by the society. Dray and Wisneski (2011) argue that the African-American students have high chances of being suspended from school compared to their white peers. Furthermore, the authors present the argument that African-American students face disciplinary actions as a result of their "subjective" offenses like being disrespectful, loud, and loitering (Ferguson, 2003). On the contrary, white students only receive punishment for committing "objective" offenses: vandalism, smoking, and using language that is obscene in school. Frequently, this results in unequal discipline and bias (Ramsey, 2004). Therefore, such practices based on racial preferences affect the ability to establish a learning environment that dutifully embraces cultural as well as individual differences.

Creating a Culturally Responsive Learning Environment

For a teacher, cultural, gender, race, and other differences influence the ability to create a learning environment that is culturally responsive. Students from different cultural backgrounds experience culture shock and that may lead to depression, worry, and fear, hence affecting ability of creating a necessary learning environment. Moreover, based on gender differences, male students are much more aggressive and disruptive than female students. Therefore, a teacher may spend most of the time controlling and keeping the boys quiet in a learning environment that includes both females and males (Ramsey, 2004).

Mindful Reflection and Effective Communication

I can adopt mindful reflection and effective communication to incorporate students' interests, abilities, linguistic and cultural backgrounds into the learning environments. Dray and Wisneski define "mindfulness" as a specific quality of attention under which an individual is present to all the experiences of the specific moment (Dray & Wisneski, 2011). Mindfulness creates space for alternative interpretations of student's behavior and provides teachers with the chance to respond in a different way. Furthermore, effective communication would help me to pay close attention to student's behaviors as well as my own conduct (Dray & Wisneski, 2011). This would enable me to avoid biased responses that are based on my cultural frames of references.

Mindful Reflection and Cultural Diversity

Description, interpretation, and evaluation are the three cognitive processes involved in the mindful reflection (Ferguson, 2003). As a teacher, interpretation can assist me in inferring the implications of a student's behavior through attributing it to social significance (Dray & Wisneski, 2011). The evaluation process of mindful reflection would help me relate negative or positive social importance to a particular behavior. I may evaluate different students' behaviors from various angles without bias. Such strategies will embrace cultural diversity in a classroom setting (Popkewitz, 1998).

Improving Cultural Responsiveness

Cultural diversity and inclusion are important in any learning environment. Dray and Wisneski (2011) competently lay out the strategies that can be used in cultivating "mindful reflection" to help the teachers to check their notions and assumptions regarding students' behavior. The article successfully illustrates the best approach to improve cultural responsiveness among educators.

References

Archer, C. (1990). Living with strangers in the U.S.A.: Communicating beyond culture. Thousand Oaks, CA: Prentice Hall

Dray, B. J., & Wisneski, D. B. (2011). Mindful Reflection as a Process for Developing Culturally Responsive Practices. Teaching Exceptional Children, 44, 28-36.

Ferguson, R. F.  (2003). Teachers’ perceptions and expectations and the Black-White test score gap. Urban Education, 38 (4), 460–507. 

Popkewitz, T. (1998). Dewey, Vygotsky, and the social administration of the individual: Constructivist pedagogy as systems of ideas in historical places. American Educational Research Journal, 35, (4), 535- 570.

Ramsey, P. G. (2004). Teaching and learning in a diverse world. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.