Amber Mattison

Chapter 5: Addressing Cultural and Socioeconomic Diversity

 Cultural pluralism assumes that societies should maintain different cultures, that every
culture within a society should be respected, and that individuals have the right to
participate in society without giving up cultural identity.
 United States has become more culturally diverse because of changes of immigration.
 Ethnic Group- a collection of people who identify with one another on the basis of one or
more characteristics. Group members differ in verbal and nonverbal communication
patterns and may hold different values.
 Social Class- indicator of an individual’s or a family’s relative standing in society.
 Achievement gap between low SES minority students and White students can be due to
living conditions, family environment, characteristics of the student, and classroom
environment.
 Classroom atmosphere-teachers’ approaches are connected with achievement levels of
low SES students.
 Teacher expectancy effect- students behave in ways that are consistent with expectations
that teachers communicate.
 Teacher expectancies are influenced by social class, ethnic background, achievement, and
gender.
 Multicultural education can be approached in different ways
o Contributions approach- ethnic historical figures who’s values and behaviors are
consistent with American mainstream culture are studied, while individuals
who’ve challenged this view is ignored.
o Ethic additive approach- composed of themes, concepts, points of view, and
individual accomplishments is added to curriculum.
o Transformative approach- there is no one valid way of understanding people,
events, concepts, and themes. There are multiple views, and each has something
of value to offer.
o Decision-making and social action approach- incorporates all components of
previous approaches yet allows students to make decisions and take actions.
 Multicultural programs aim to promote respect for diversity, reduction of ethnocentrism
and stereotypes, improved learning.
 Peer tutoring- teaching of one student by another
 Cooperative learning-students work together in small groups.
o Cooperative learning fosters better understanding among ethnically diverse
students.
 Mastery learning- most students can mater the curriculum.
 Multicultural understanding can be promoted by electronically linking students from
different cultural backgrounds.
 Transition programs focus on a rapid shift to English proficiency.
 Maintenance programs focus on maintaining native-language competence.
 Two-way bilingual education programs feature instruction in both languages.
Amber Mattison

 Bilingual education programs produce moderate learning gains.