WEEK 5 ( 2 FEB 2017 )

Roles and Implications of Sociocultural

Diversity to the Education System in
Malaysia
Roles and implications of Sociocultural diversity in following
aspects:
- Students
- Teachers
- School
- Curriculum
Concept of Socio Cultural Diversity in the
School Community
1. Demographic Characteristic – culture, ethnicity,
language, age, gender, social class, religion
2. Personal characteristics- age, gender,
communication style, economic background,
personality
3. Abilities and skills – social and technical
(Johnson & Johnson, 2009)
Our discussion:-
■ However, for the purpose of our discussion, we shall
confine “socio cultural diversity” as ‘race, social
class, ability, different learning styles and conditions,
ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion
and other dimensions that make up the identity of the
individual student and its impact on his / her learning
experience” (E- forum Discussion Paper, 2011).

■ Comment on this
Issues in a diverse socio cultural classroom
■ Malaysian society – diverse socio cultural groups
- variety of religious and cultural practices among the different races.
- The composition of the Malaysian population is reflected in most of the Malaysian
schools –great challenges to the school administrators
- Why do these challenges need to be taken seriously?
- To ensure students from the diverse social background and practising unique learning
styles are not marginalised in the T- L process

- The issues involved in dealing with such students are;

- Tolerance, respect, conflicts, attitude and understanding.
- Cooperation of administrators and PTA is much needed
Stop and reflect:
■ Based on your experience as a student, discuss the issues
among the diverse socio cultural groups of students in the
classroom
■ http://www.padu.edu.my/meb
■ Pay close attention to:
■ ASPIRATION # 4
■ An education system that promotes shared values and
experiences by encouraging students to embrace diversity.
Creating a culture friendly classroom atmosphere
■ Teach with dedication and professionalism without
differentiating the students’ races or social classes.
– equal treatment.
■ Allow students to mingle freely – variety in
groupings to enable better interaction and
understanding . T – L activities must be able to
inculcate mutual trust among pupils’
■ Use a variety of teaching methods in line with
students’ level of achievement and interest. For eg:
■ Contd

■ …..cooperative learning strategies which

encourage students’ interaction thereby giving
opportunities from diverse socio cultural and
ethnic groups to discuss and work together
during the T – L process
■ Arouse their mind by giving them motivation,
smile, humour and praises besides telling them
the appropriate things that they need to do
without nagging.
■ Encourage students from the diverse socio
cultural groups to work together as a team
in order to narrow the gap between
students from different socio cultural
backgrounds. Avoid punishments as this
will affect the student teacher relationships
and decrease the students’ interest in the T –
L process.
■ Show respect to all students irrespective of their
social and cultural background and encourage
students to learn to respect each other. Teachers
should also encourage mutual respect among
students during T – L process so as to prevent
undesirable behaviours such as quarrels and
racial sentiment between students from diverse
social backgrounds.
■ Encourage the use of a common language ,that is the
official language during the T - L process.
■ Activities to improve the students’ language must be
carried out so that the students’ level of language
proficiency will increase and this will help students to
achieve socio cultural maturity and encourage better
communication among students from diverse social
groups. Effective communication can develop close
mutual cultural relationship among students.
■ A teacher should be a role model for students
from diverse socio cultural groups to emulate
and serve as a good example in the classroom.
■ Teachers should also learn to understand the
students language and other cultural practices in
order to earn students’ respect. Teachers should
have patience, persistence and determination in
shaping students’ behavior which may not
happen in a week or two, but will take a longer
time.
Ways to create a cultural friendly school community

■ Make it compulsory for all students of diverse groups

regardless of social class to become members of various
societies. Societies established must be able to fulfill the
needs and interest of the students from diverse social groups.
■ Encourage students from all socio – cultural background to
participate in all societies in order to create a positive social
integration among students from the same socio – cultural
group to be members of the same society to avoid prejudices
against other races.
■ Formation of working committees should ensure
the participation of students , teachers and
support staff from diverse socio cultural groups
so that they can work together and learn to
understand and respect each other. The process
of racial socialization regardless of religious
affiliation should be expanded so that the
formation of team spirit and unity can be
encouraged
■ Encourage all members of the school community
from the diverse socio cultural groups to use a
common language, that is the official language to
avoid misunderstanding among each other. This
can enhance a more positive interaction and
enable members of diverse socio – cultural
groups to communicate with each other , thus
narrowing the gap between members of the
diverse socio cultural groups.
 Tutorial work

■ Discuss issues faced by dive classroom. Suggest practical ways

of diverse socio cultural groups of students in handling these
issues.
■ Cite examples from your school experiences

■ Disuss some implications of socio cultural diversity in the

T – L process