Introduction
A learning institution is where learners from all parts of the world gain knowledge. They have different cultural backgrounds, practices, norms, and values. The element of acceptance of these learners in the institutions determines the level of success, as well as the relationships between each other and their teachers. The primary relationship that determines the student’s wellness in school is their relationship with their educators. Therefore, educators need training on the cultural diversities of the students and how to handle students from different backgrounds.
The primary need for a teacher is professional satisfaction. Lack of professional satisfaction contributed to dropping out of the teaching profession. The teaching environment mainly contributes to professional satisfaction. Dissatisfaction with their job might result in them lashing out at the students, which would demoralize them, leading to low performance in class. (Grant, 2021). Cultural diversity is the leading student characteristic influencing teachers’ career satisfaction levels. Lack of proper knowledge and awareness about the cultural diversity of the children may cause the teachers to feel they are less equipped to meet the needs of the students.
Literature Review
“Elementary School Teachers’ Openness to Cultural Diversity and Professional Satisfaction,” discusses the teacher’s professional satisfaction brought by understanding the cultural diversities of their students (Tardif-Grenier et al., 2022). The journal argues that many teachers drop their profession due to a lack of understanding of students’ cultural diversities. The main reason behind the resignation of 45% of teachers is feeling ill-equipped to deal with multicultural environments (Tardif-Grenier et al., 2022). The journal also debated the openness of teachers towards students of different cultures, highlighting discrimination in classrooms towards children of the majority culture, which is a significant drawback. The journal brings in the idea of assimilating openness to broaden the teacher’s scope to deal with students’ cultural diversities.
To reduce the number of resignations in the teaching profession, Gay authored the third edition of ‘Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice’ in 2018, highlighting the advantage of drawing strength from students’ cultural diversity to influence their performance. The book majorly explains the codependence of education on students and their culture, which influences the success of the other. The multicultural education system is the primary training strategy for educators to understand their cultural needs and their students highlighted in this book (Banks, 2019). The main drawback of this book is the failure of the author to highlight the outcomes of the strategy, its advantages, and disadvantages in order for the institution to consider before implementing the strategy.
In order to understand the strategy of multicultural education proposed by Gay, it’s study would focus on the effects of diversity in culture, race, linguistic, ethnic, and social class, which are increasing in the United States of America (Banks, 2019). The study’s primary focus is to help current and future educators understand the concept of cultural diversity to be more effective when interacting with students in the classroom. Every educator would need skills needed to be effective practitioners when mingling with students (Gay, 2018). However, Banks (2019) should highlight the level of success when the concepts and skills are applied, making them debatable and occasionally unreliable to be implemented in educational institutions.
It is imperative to understand the approaches towards cultural diversity in order to prevent burn-outs towards the children in school, thus the need for multicultural education (Gutentag et al., 2018). A study was carried out through distribution of questionnaires, completed by 136 school teachers on their approaches towards multiculturalism and cultural diversity in their workplaces (Gutentag et al., 2018). The questionnaires also focus on the teacher’s perception of immigrant students, who are the ultimate contributors to cultural diversion in the institutions. The same effects suggested by Banks (2018) were discovered. However, it suggests ways in which cultural diversity is developed, adopted, and engaged rather than how teachers can be taught to deal with the increasing multiculturalism. Therefore, it gives tips on how to improve cultural diversities.
To ensure the success of the multicultural education, the teachers need the necessary support from parents and other administrators (Stunell, 2021). The conclusion is based on interviews with primary school teachers and their classroom attitudes toward cultural diversity. The results examined the possibility of overlooking the positive attitude developed due to intercultural inclusions in primary schools. With proper training, teachers are ready to face the challenges caused by multicultural students in their classrooms (Gay, 2018). The research’s main drawback is that it needs to suggest the main strategies to cope with the highlighted challenges, such as the conflict in the school due to cultural imperialism.
There is need to increase the competences of the teachers when it comes to multi-culture. This would aid to their professional development and satisfaction (Romijn et al., 2021). In order to commit to multicultural education, teachers need to have high levels of competency to deal with cultural diversity in institutions. Same as Gay (2018), analysis of the practices teachers need to improve to accommodate the intercultural relationships between the students and them is conclusive of the effects of diversity and ways to neutralize them (Romijn et al., 2021). The main drawback is that the article needs to provide admissible data that the professional development programs are effective since some research assimilated in the study did not work as initially anticipated.
Research was done on student teachers in England in order to understand the inclusion in teacher education (Essex, 2021). Inclusion is the involvement of the school staff to multicultural education (Banks, 2018). The main aim of the research was to get a firm conclusion on the inclusion of teachers in the diversity of the students. It focuses on the new curriculum introduced to schools in England, called inclusion (Essex, 2021). The main focus of inclusion is to study teacher-student education of courses and the discrepancies which need to be eliminated to ensure their success. However, the main disadvantage of the study is that it does not define inclusion and consistent ways of studying the diversity among teachers and students in elementary schools.
The multicultural education discussed by Gay (2018) to teachers need preparations. Therefore, the multicultural teacher education program, its reform efforts, and multicultural education is part of the segments which should be highly understood when training the teachers and other administrators (Grant, 2021). Grant responds to challenges faced by teacher education on multicultural trainers. He also explains how the study is interested in determining the minor undetectable issues about multicultural studies (Grant, 2021). Despite all this, the study needs to include the solutions to the challenges faced by the trainers, as well as the outcome of the training. The teacher education on cultural diversity has yet to be successful, or any evidence of collaboration in the study.
The main cause of cultural diversity in schools is immigration, when children of different nationalities migrate to the country and enroll in schools. Therefore, in order to understand the dimensions of the cultural diversity, teachers and other administrators must study other nationalities (Choi & Mao, 2021). They should focus on the multicultural education adopted worldwide, which helps teachers deal with the increased cultural diversity in learning institutions (Choi & Mao, 2021). The world has agreed that multicultural education assists teachers in being aware of the tactics and strategies to be employed to maintain balance amongst the cultural diversity in schools (Grant, 2021). The study acknowledges that cultural diversity will continue to increase, which encourages educators to take training on multicultural education and school organizational structure (Gutentag et al., 2018). The main drawback of the source is that it needs to include multicultural education strategies, which would help cope with the increasing diversity in the schools.
Finally, for a successful training on the needs of cultural diversity in primary schools, there is need for an outside counsel. This involves research carried out on graduates about their perceptions on cultural diversity, and implications of inclusion of teaches in the training (Doucette et al., 2021). The study also focused on the importance of multicultural education, one of the many training strategies to train teachers on their cultural needs and their students. The research suggested that the data obtained would help future educators with knowledge of inclusivity, cultural awareness, and diversity, which would help them implement the best multicultural education strategies (Grant, 2021). The main setback from the study is that they carried it out on university graduates, who may or may need help understanding the needs of elementary school children.
Organization of Change
Due to the evolution of technology and human innovation, there is a guarantee that primary schools will register significant changes in all dimensions. Therefore, given a chance, the main change that could take place is technological. Technological changes in primary schools involve all extremes, provided that all factors affect all the undertakers in the organization. The first change would be the biometrical registration of all students for security purposes (Essex, 2021). This would include the student availing all details, including cultural backgrounds, where data could be accessed by the teachers in order to know how to handle each child. Another change would be modernizing learning materials in technological devices. A modern learning system would assist in accessing all learning materials online, simply improving the student’s performance.
Another change would be widening the content sources of subjects such as mathematics and Sciences. This is due to new perspectives in the field associated with the wide exposure of information due to technology. Students would be encouraged to invent concepts and new theories in these subjects. This is because they are the main subjects and pillars of the modern education system (Gutentag et al., 2018). In order to increase children’s enthusiasm, there would be school incentives such as information democratization and chase for equity, as well as learning to understand. Today’s children believe that they go to school to get a job, which would change to optimism to go to school in order to come to an informed decision for their future.
Another change which can be implemented is introducing cultural syllabus in the primary school. The primary school age is when children are learning about different dimensions of life. Research says that they can grasp wide knowledge. Therefore, the knowledge and skills instilled should contribute to their being responsible citizens and human beings at large (Gutentag et al., 2018). Therefore, the syllabus should contain a segment for the teachers to teach about cultural skills, perceptions, and values. This gives an opportunity for the students to share their feelings about different cultures. They also use the platform to learn about each other and embrace cultural diversity in order to enhance unity.
There would be a structural change in the hiring protocol for teachers in the primary school. The hiring protocols for primary school teachers can be a little unclear. It could be unfair that the biggest percentage of teachers are from the majority culture. This promotes cultural imperialism, leading to conflicts in the school. The hiring protocol would require a proper cultural background check, as the selected teachers will be a fair distribution of teachers from different cultures. The school should be a neutral ground regardless of the cultural diversity, which would mean that a fair distribution of teachers would neutralize the diversity.
There would be a yearly performance appraisal of the teachers and other administrative staff in all dynamics. The appraisal would help the management monitor the progress of their profession. It would also assist the management to know the strategies to employ in order to deal with the challenges, especially when it comes to multicultural education and cultural diversity (Grant, 2018). In this case, the management lays the foundation for the educators and other administrators to cope with the challenges brought by the diversity among students.
The suggestions and changes to be implemented are sustainable due to the improvement of technology. It also involves matters of student security in the institutions, which is a basic school concern. Every institution looks forward to improving students’ attendance and performance. Any institution can lay strategies to encourage students to attend school and improve their performance (Grant, 2021). Research says that it is the primary role of any learning institution to register good performances, have a standard cultural diversity system, and provide security to their students. Therefore, these changes in primary school education are sustainable. The most significant way to monitor the change is an evaluation is a performance review, which evaluates the progress of the institution.
Need for Training
Training the teachers, administrators, and another adult staff on cultural diversity exposes them to attitudes and practices needed to deal with cultural diversities in their institutions. Teachers are put in a position to maintain neutral grounds when dealing with children from multicultural backgrounds. Training assists the teachers in understanding all the dynamics of a certain culture to identify the response and the interaction strategies with the child (Tardif-Grenier et al., 2022). Elementary school children are in their learning stage, and a child growing up knowing that they were treated differently in school because they came from a different cultural background affects their perception of cultural diversity in social institutions (Tardif-Grenier et al., 2022).
Teachers, administrators, and other adult staff around primary schools should undergo training on cultural diversity. The main purpose of the training is to evaluate their own cultural needs amidst the diversity. Learning institutions have students from different cultures, teachers, administrators, and adult staff from diverse cultural backgrounds (Choi & Mao, 2021). Training promotes the openness of elementary school teachers towards children of diverse cultures, which highly assists in developing teacher-student relationships at all levels. A teacher who understands a child’s cultural values, norms, and practices will offer them the required treatments and permission, unlike a teacher who does not.
Training the entire adult staff in elementary school institutions helps them understand loopholes in the education system, such as a curriculum suitable for students according to their cultural diversity. Primary school is the most basic level of education, which shapes the growth of students. The student grows guided by the curriculum in class, life skills, and extracurricular activities. Life skills are a subject set aside to indulge the students in learning the values and virtues of life (Doucette et al., 2021). Generalizing education only offers a little help to the students. Rather, teaching the children skills according to their own cultures and practices helps them to understand their culture and everyone else’s. Therefore, the training would help the educators develop a syllabus that favors the students’ diverse cultures.
Training Implementation and Sustainability
The first step for training implementation on cultural diversity needs is multicultural study. Multicultural education involves the study of all possible histories, texts, values, beliefs, and perspectives, which an expert in the field facilitates. The institutions invite experts from different cultures to educate the teachers, administrators, and other adult staff in an institution to facilitate the study (Stunell, 2021). The knowledge gained is efficient and applicable to understanding children’s cultural backgrounds and the first step for cultural implementation. Multicultural education also assists the teachers in knowing the needs of their cultures better and is a way to collaborate with other cultures to promote unity in the institution.
Training majorly involves teaching and evaluation. Evaluation is a basic way of monitoring an employee’s performance after a certain training process. In this case, evaluation assists the trainers in knowing the knowledge levels of the teachers on multicultural education. It might contain a series of monitored activities, such as class sections, to monitor the improvement of the teacher-student interaction in class (Gay, 2018). It could also include a series of quizzes to evaluate the grasp of certain concepts and explanations. These evaluations help the trainers monitor the educators’ progress in the training process. Those who do not show progress or improvement can be demoted or forced to retake the process.
The implementation of training processes involves strategies such as employee willingness and the availability of the institution’s resources to invest in the training for it is sustainable. The training is enough to improve the student-teacher relationship in an institution. It also enhances equality among the students, where the minority do not feel discriminated against (Romijn et al., 2021). The training also helps teachers understand unique students and their cultural practices. Accepting each student with different backgrounds leads to a sustained harmonious community in the institution, with no fights or conflicts over cultural indifferences.
Conclusion
Cultural diversity continues to grow in primary schools due to demographics and immigration. The teachers and other adult staff are mandated to promote cultural equality in the institutions. The primary function of an institution is to instill values and perceptive which uphold equal treatment of students. The knowledge gained from training assists the teachers in gaining professional satisfaction, self-esteem, and good student-teacher relationships. All students feel accepted as the teachers treat them with the dignity they deserve. A good student-teacher relationship improves the student’s performance and the institution’s unity. The increasing rate of cultural diversity is inevitable. Therefore, teachers need the skills and knowledge to deal with challenged brought by the multicultural system of education. Finding ways to handle students from different cultural background will encourage them to grow up in an environment where they feel valued and considered.
Takeaways
- Cultural diversity in institutions continues to increase due to several factors, such as immigration and overpopulation.
- The evolution of technology and human innovation can change the organization’s structure and functioning.
- Training primary school teachers help them to come up with practices and attitudes on how to deal with cultural diversities in their institution.
- Training teachers and other administrative staff also help them to evaluate and know more about their culture.
- The training process mainly involves multicultural education by experts or trainees.
- After the training, the teachers are assessed or evaluated to determine their progress in the evaluation process.
References
Banks, J.A. (2017). Diversity and citizenship education in multicultural nations. In: Cha, YK., Gundara, J., Ham, SH., Lee, M. (eds) Multicultural education in global perspectives. Springer, Singapore. Web.
Choi, S., & Mao, X. (2021). Teacher autonomy for improving teacher self-efficacy in multicultural classrooms: A cross-national study of professional development in multicultural education. International Journal of Educational Research, 105, 101711. Web.
Doucette, B., Sanabria, A., Sheplak, A., & Aydin, H. (2021). The perceptions of culturally diverse graduate students on multicultural education: Implication for inclusion and diversity awareness in higher education. European Journal of Educational Research, 10(3), 1259-1273. Web.
Essex, J., Alexiadou, N., & Zwozdiak-Myers, P. (2019). Understanding inclusion in teacher education – a view from student teachers in England. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 25(12), 1425-1442. Web.
Gay, G. (2018). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice (3rd ed.). Teachers College Press.
Grant, C. A. (2021). The multicultural preparation of US teachers: Some hard truths. Inequality and Teacher Education, 41-57. Web.
Gutentag, T., Horenczyk, G., & Tatar, M. (2018). Teachers’ approaches toward cultural diversity predict diversity-related burnout and self-efficacy. Journal of Teacher Education, 69(4), 408-419. Web.
Romijn, B. R., Slot, P. L., & Leseman, P. P. (2021). Increasing teachers’ intercultural competences in teacher preparation programs and through professional development: A review. Teaching and Teacher Education, 98, 103236. Web.
Stunell, K. (2020). Supporting student-teachers in the multicultural classroom. European Journal of Teacher Education, 44(2), 217-233. Web.
Tardif-Grenier, K., Goulet, M., Archambault, I., & McAndrew, M. (2022). Elementary school teachers’ openness to cultural diversity and professional satisfaction. Journal of Education, 002205742211013. Web.