Cultural Diversity Literature week 6 (School), Universiteit Utrecht

Hoe je dit kan lezen:
Zwart: informatie of vragen vanuit de 'reading guide'
Blauw: mijn uitwerkingen op de vragen
Rood: aanvullingen op mijn uitwerkingen n.a.v. de werkgroep

Reading Guide Cultural Diversity, week 6, 2021.
In this week week’s readings the same question is addressed from different angles. The question: how can differences between groups in school success be explained and adressed? The answer concerns acculturation strategies of different groups, the importance of language, competences of teachers and the relation of minority and minority groups at school.

Andriessen, I., & Phalet, K. (2002). Acculturation and school success: a study among minority youth in the Netherlands. Intercultural Education, 13, 21-36. doi:10.1080/14675980120112913

Andriessen. Focus on the different aspects of school adjustment (page 23) and try to understand the relation to Berry’s acculturation model as summarized in the second paragraph on page 26. A standard summery could be helpful and you should know and understand the detailed conclusions as presented in Discussion.

1. What is the main question?

The aim of the study was to test cultural explanations of ethnic differences in success and well-being in school

2. In what way is the question answered?

In this study, we examine the school performance and school adjustment of youth from three different minority groups: Turkish and Moroccan labor migrants, and Christian-Turkish refugees. We compare these groups with their native Dutch peers in secondary school settings.

3. Which theories and key concepts are described?

Keywords:

School adjustment: sense of belonging or the affective attachment of students tot he school environment

4. What are the main results and or conclusions?

With regard to school adjustment, our findings suggest highly selective acculturation effects for specific ethnic groups in specific contexts (home vs. school). We found that acculturation effects are highly context-dependent

Acculturation: a second look With regard to our research question about the impact of acculturation attitudes on the performance and the well-being of minority students, the most important conclusion is a negative one. The expectation that positive attitudes towards inter- cultural contact would contribute to better school performance was not supported. As long as we have not been able to grasp the complex cultural dynamics of schooling in multi-ethnic classrooms, caution is warranted with regard to cultural explanations of ethnic diversity in school success. Still, it may well be possible that acculturation is related in more complex and indirect way to school success.
The last part of our conclusions is concerned with the impact of acculturation on the school adjustment of minority students. Overall, the Ž ndings provide only limited and seemingly contradictory support for the expected acculturation effects.

Indeed, the adaptive or maladaptive impact of acculturation attitudes appears to be highly context dependent.

5. How is the article related to the theme of the week? The theme of the course? To lectures and other articles?

This article tests cultural explanations of ethnic differences in success and well-being in school, thereby relating to this weeks theme ‘school’ and tot he theme of the course ‘diversity’ as it focussen on diverse cultural backgrounds.

Cummins, J. (2015). Inclusion and Language Learning: Pedagogical Principles for Integrating Students from Marginalized Groups in the Mainstream Classroom. (pp 95-116)

Cummins. This article should be studied thoroughly. On page 26, ‘in the following section …’, the three main questions are presented. You should know and understand the answers presented in the remaining pages of this article. These answers are addressed during the seminar.

1. What is the main question?

In this paper, I analyze patterns of school achievement among students who come from communities that have been socially marginalized in the wider society and suggest evidence-based directions for increasing these students’ educational success.

2. In what way is the question answered?

In the following section, the extent of inequality of educational outcomes for migration-background students is summarized, as revealed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Programme for International Student Achievement (PISA) studies. Then the causal factors underlying inequality of educational outcomes are examined and evidence-based responses to these causal factors designed to promote inclusion and equity of outcomes are proposed.

3. Which theories and key concepts are described?

Keywords:

Inclusion: the scope of the construct has expanded in recent years to emphasize the importance of providing equitable educational environments to all students
socially marginalized groups: The construct of ‘social marginalization’ is defined by UNESCO (2009b) as “a form of acute and persistent disadvantage rooted in underlying social inequalities” (p. 1) and it includes (in many societies) “girls and women, hard-to-reach groups such as indigenous people and ethnic minorities, poor households, people living in informal settlements, individuals with disabilities, rural populations, nomadic populations those affected by armed conflict and HIV and AIDS, and street and working children” (p. 1).

4. What are the main results and or conclusions?
   [note: deze afbeelding is door de WorldSupporter redactie verwijderd wegens vermoedelijke inbreuk op het auteursrecht]
   Conclusion
   Although policy-makers and educators in most countries accept that inclusion and equity are desirable goals in education, the PISA findings with respect to the academic performance of migration-background students suggest that these goals are far from being achieved. The argument in this paper is that a major reason for the disappointing educational outcomes documented by PISA is that research evidence on the causes of underachievement has not been interpreted appropriately and, as a result, ineffective and largely evidence-free policies have been implemented. For example, policy-makers in many countries have chosen to ignore extensive empirical evidence suggesting the following: (a) factors associated with SES and broader patterns of societal power relations exert a major influence on educational outcomes; (b) literacy engagement is among the strongest predictors of reading performance and low-SES students have significantly less access to books and print than do higher-SES students; (c) students will engage academically only to the extent that classroom interactions and academic effort are identity-affirming. The analysis in the present paper argues that school polices need to maximize print access and literacy engagement among low-SES and other marginalized group students. In addition, policies need to take account of the devaluation of student and community identities in both schools and the wider society and focus on enabling students to develop identities of competence (Manyak 2004) in association with academic engagement. In other words, schools focused on inclusion need to enable students to use language and literacy in ways that will affirm their identities and challenge the deficit orientation that is frequently built into programs and curricula for low-SES and bilingual learners of migration backgrounds.
5. How is the article related to the theme of the week? The theme of the course? To lectures and other articles?

The theme of this week is school. This article is related to it as it researches what are effective strategies t schools to improve the disadvantage results of minority/marginalized groups. Therefore its related to diverisity as well, especially as one of the outcomes of the research is taht bilangualism is not bad per se and htat developling identities in school is important for development.

Wubbels , T., Brok, P. den, Veldman , I. &Tartwijk, J. van (2006). Teacher interpersonal competence for Dutch secondary multicultural classrooms. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 12, (pp. 407-433)

Wubbels. Interesting article. Which specific competences does a teacher need in a multicultural classroom? You should know the conclusions as presented in Discussion and understand the concepts the conclusions are based on. These concepts are explained in the methodological section.

1. What is the main question?

We use this study to answer the question to what degree this teacher displays interpersonal competence (teaching behaviours, knowledge and attitudes) specific for teaching in multicultural classrooms by comparing this teacher’s competence with generic interpersonal teaching competence.

2. In what way is the question answered?

This paper reports on an exploratory study of teachers’ experiences in multicultural classes in two schools, followed by an in-depth case study of one expert teacher in a multicultural classroom. We use this case study to describe the beliefs, knowledge and attitudes of this teacher on teaching in multicultural classes and his teaching strategies and actions, and to answer the question to what degree this teacher displays interpersonal competence (teaching strategies, knowledge and attitudes) specific for teaching in multicultural classrooms. We do so by comparing this teacher’s competence with generic interpersonal teaching competence. Because of the design, the results are hypotheses to be tested in subsequent research. The paper contributes to the debate in the literature about the question to what degree effective teaching in multicultural classrooms is different from a more generic approach to good teaching. Is good teaching in multicultural classrooms just good teaching or does it require specific teacher competence?

3. Which theories and key concepts are described?

Keywords:
Cultural diversity

Multicultural

Teaching competence

Teacher–student relationships

4. What are the main results and or conclusions?

The teacher studied seems to be aware of special needs of students from different cultures and to use this knowledge to apply specific teaching strategies and interpersonal cues to create a positive classroom atmosphere and to cater for needs of diverse students. Further, the results indicate that many elements of this teacher’s interpersonal competence in teaching a multicultural class can be considered aspects of generic teaching competence. It seems that the multicultural classroom puts heavier demands on this competence than a less diverse classroom.

Discussion
We thus have described potential important aspects of teacher competence in a more detailed way. These aspects relate to managing student behaviour, creating positive teacher– student relationships, teaching for student attention and engagement and teacher knowledge and attitudes. They include, for example, being aware of the multiple factors that influence life in multicultural classrooms, being personally interested in every student and school and class social structures, being a strong leader, dealing with emotional reactions of students, negotiating with students, preventing distraction and off-task behaviour, and building trustful relationships. Many of these strategies consisted of variety in teaching methods, the use of nonverbal behaviour and techniques to obtain knowledge regarding students’ background.
Second, the study results indicate that competence in teaching a multicultural class generally can be considered to be an aspect of generic teaching competence. The aspects mentioned in our study have been mentioned before as important for good teaching in every classroom. This is particularly true for the importance of clear and structured lessons, of giving feedback and of correcting students. . The importance of early and small corrections and of reestablishing rapport with students after corrections or problems is in line with the study of Créton et al. (1989) on escalating classroom situations. It is, however, our impression that the multicultural classroom puts heavier demands on the teacher competence than a less diverse classroom, e.g., because so many difficult factors play a role simultaneously.
The conclusions of this study are based on a small-scale investigation and cannot be generalized. It is important to keep in mind that these refer to a multicultural classroom with only a few native Dutch students. Future research will have to be conducted to investigate if the elements of competences that seemed to be important in this study are a comprehensive set for the interpersonal aspect of teaching in multicultural classes. If this appears to be the case, then there are implications for teacher education programmes. This study makes clear what knowledge and attitudes teacher candidates must have or acquire and what teaching strategies should be trained.

5. How is the article related to the theme of the week? The theme of the course? To lectures and other articles?

The theme of this week is school. This article is about competencies for teacher to deal with diverse classes, relating to diversity as well.

Vervoort, M. H. M., Scholte, R. H. J., & Scheepers, P. L. H. (2011). Ethnic composition of school classes, majorityminority friendships, and adolescents’ intergroup attitudes in the Netherlands. Journal of Adolescence, 32, 257-267. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2010.05.005

Vervoort. A standard summary is very helpful. You should know the contact theory, the ethnic competition theory and the social identity theory. Furthermore the main conclusions should be studied thoroughly and you could ask yourself how policy makers could translate these conclusions to the most desirable class room composition and activities.

1. What is the main question?

The relationships between the proportion of ethnic minority adolescents in school classes, the proportion and quality of majority–minority friendships and intergroup attitudes were examined using multi-level analysis (N ¼ 2386 adolescents in 117 school classes in the Netherlands).
The present study investigated whether the proportion of ethnic minority adolescents in classes and intergroup friendships are related to adolescents’ intergroup attitudes.

2. In what way is the question answered?

Multi-level analysis

3. Which theories and key concepts are described?

Keywords:

Intergroup attitudes
Majority–minority friendships
Ethnicity
Multilevel analysis
School context

4. What are the main results and or conclusions?

In school classes with high proportions of ethnic minority adolescents, both ethnic majority and ethnic minority adolescents reported more negative out-group attitudes. Moreover, in these school classes, ethnic majority adolescents showed more positive in-group attitudes, whereas ethnic minority adolescents showed less positive in-group attitudes. The proportion of majority–minority friendships was related to less negative out-group attitudes for ethnic majority adolescents only. The quality of majority–minority friendships was related to less negative outgroup and in-group attitudes for both the ethnic majority and ethnic minority adolescents

5. How is the article related to the theme of the week? The theme of the course? To lectures and other articles?

The theme of this week is school. This article relates to it as it discusses the effects of school composition and majority-mionrity friendships on class and intergroup attitudes. Therefore it relates to diversity as well.