Dr. James Elsberry
Indiana Wesleyan University

The role and function of public education has changed over the past 40 years. Just as American culture has become more diverse, so has the need for schools to effectively teach and prepare all students for a productive place in society. "The school is . . . expected to provide solutions for society's failures. In other words, the school is not only expected to help students adjust to a society undergoing rapid technological change but also deal with and manage the social, economic, and political changes that have occurred throughout the United States and the world." (Baker, 1994)

However, the sad fact is that schools have not done well in achieving the mission of effectively educating all students. As student populations have become more diverse, learning success has become predictable by race, socioeconomic background, or culture. Educators have been slow to recognize the fact that while students have changed, educational institutions by and large have not -- methods and strategies that once were consistently successful with homogenous student populations are not necessarily successful with heterogeneous ones. Teachers teach in much the same way as always. Curriculums have undergone little substantive change. Classroom instruction is delivered in much the same way as it always has, with little thought given to the effect on student populations.

Definition

The multicultural education movement has grown in reaction to this situation and the need to effectively teach all students, not just the privileged few. However, much confusion exists about the meaning of multiculturalism and its impact on classroom teaching and learning. The concepts of cultural diversity and inclusionary practices are generally well accepted in contemporary classrooms, but a clear definition of what is meant by multicultural education is more elusive. Sleeter and Grant (1994) put the issue into perspective like this:

People mean different things by the term multicultural education. For one thing, they do not always agree on what forms of diversity it addresses. Some people think only about racial or cultural diversity, while others conceptualize gender, social class, and additional forms of diversity. At the same time, many people who discuss gender equity, for example, share concerns similar to those of multicultural education advocates, but virtually ignore race and culture. Still others conceptualize multicultural education in relationship to issues of public policy, such as immigration (e.g. California's Taxpayer's Protection Act) and bilingualism.

For this reason, multicultural education tends to be too restrictive a term for use in the contemporary classroom. Diversity Education is a much more inclusive term since it encompasses all forms of differences that students bring to the classroom. For our purposes, Diversity Education is better defined as:

"curricular and instructional adaptation to conditions arising from student differences that have an effect on the teaching/learning process. These adaptations are focused at the individual, not the group level."

These differences include, but are not limited to racial or cultural diversity, language, gender, social class or socioeconomic status, learning style or intelligence, or physical or mental handicapping condition. Further, since these differences cause students to be motivated by different things, be interested in different things, and learn in different ways, the issue underlying the concept of classroom diversity is managing the classroom in such a way so as to enable all students to become successful learners. These questions should be considered:

• What knowledge, skills, and dispositions are all students expected to acquire?

• What are the ways in which individual students can learn what is expected of them?

• What teaching strategies are best used in specific situations with specific students and groups of students?

• Without lowering expectations, what adaptations in process and product must the teacher make to ensure learning success for all students?

Additional questions that must be asked include "How does a teacher teach such a wide variety of students? What sort of curriculum is taught? Are all students taught the same curriculum? What teaching strategies are used? How are students grouped for instruction, or are they grouped at all? How are they seated? You may find two conflicting images forming in your head -- one depicting how you believe a teacher should teach these students, the other depicting how most teachers really do teach them." (Sleeter & Grant)

In spite of rhetoric to the contrary, schools tend to operate in ways that are favorable to the "haves" rather than the "have nots." This happens for several reasons:

1. We tend to teach as we were taught. The majority of teachers come from white, Anglo-Saxon backgrounds, and were typically were taught by white, Anglo-Saxon teachers. We have internalized those teaching behaviors in part because they were successful with us; we learned and thrived under those teaching methodologies. Since the Anglo-Saxon culture in the predominant one in our society, the teaching methodology that is most compatible with that culture is the one that tends to shape the culture in schools, often to the (unintentional) exclusion of many students from diverse backgrounds. (See "The Pedagogy of Poverty" by Martin Haberman for an excellent discussion of how the predominant pedagogy in America's schools tends to suppress learning in disadvantaged students.)

Bennett (1990) writes, "As teachers we tend to teach the way we learn best, unless we make a conscious effort to do otherwise. We can, therefore, discover a great deal about our teaching style by analyzing our learning style. Indeed, this is important, for just as students may be negatively affected by learning style mismatches, teachers are often negatively affected by teaching style mismatches."

2. We tend to teach in ways that are compatible with our own learning styles. Each of us has a predominant learning style, and it is natural for us to teach in ways that are compatible with the ways we learn best. Those of us who are visual learners tend to teach in compatible ways; those of us who are kinesthetic or tactile or auditory learners tend to teach in similar ways. It is reasonable to believe that such a correlation should exist. It is also reasonable to assume that we would experience a certain level of discomfort when we stray from those teaching methodologies that are most compatible with our own learning style. Thinking about this issue, A.F. Gregorc (1979) writes, "Teachers whose teaching styles closely approximate their 'major learning preferences' report comfort, ease, and authenticity." Teachers who consistently mismatch their learning and teaching styles "report feelings of awkwardness, lack of efficiency and authenticity, and pain -- mental and physical."

What is not reasonable, then, is focusing on one or two instructional strategies, never ranging into unfamiliar territory because of the discomfort we experience, and thereby ignoring students who learn best in ways that are incompatible with our preferred teaching style.

3. We tend to choose curricula that are familiar to us. Just as we tend to teach as we were taught, so we tend to choose curriculum content and materials that lie well within our "comfort zone." It is not unreasonable to believe that curriculum selection is heavily influenced by culture, tradition, and personal preference of the teacher. These are not necessarily improper choice criteria unless they are used to screen out or otherwise eliminate materials that could be used effectively with diverse student populations. However,

Students learn better if they are able to relate to what is being taught. The same rationale should be used for any student or group of students whose ethnic and cultural backgrounds differ from what has been considered traditional or mainstream in American Society. Schools must teach the basic skills to all children as the first step in helping them develop their capacities. To achieve this first step, curriculum must change. (Baker, 1994)

Selection of curriculum and materials should be dictated by the requirements of the subject area and the needs of students. If both of these conditions are met as an initial condition, teachers have wide latitude to choose suitable curricula.

Implications for the M.Ed. Program

1. Teachers need to know and use a variety of instructional strategies. Since diverse students have diverse learning styles, the effective teacher knows and uses different teaching methodology to help them understand curriculum content. It often happens that a student will be "left in the dark" when taught in a certain way, but will catch on when taught with an alternative instructional strategy. Christine Bennett (1990) effectively illustrates this principle:

Consider three first-grade teachers in one midwestern elementary school as an example. Hoping to evaluate the relative effectiveness of the phonetic, visual, and kinesthetic approaches to reading, each teacher chose one approach. their comparisons of student growth in reading at the end of the year showed no significant differences; thus they concluded that the three approaches were equally effective and that it made little difference which one was selected. These teachers accepted the belief that every class should have some students progressing below, at, and above grade level. Had they examined the program's affect on individual students (especially on the failures) rather than on the class as a whole, they may well have found that the approach does make a difference. Many failing or below grade level readers within each class might have progressed with one or more of the other approaches. In these, as in all first-grade classrooms, different students would have benefited from different kinds of teaching.

Further, all students benefit from seeing material present in a variety of ways. It can make the difference between knowing and understanding as students make connections when they see material presented through multiple teaching strategies. To equalize opportunities for success, it is imperative to use deliberately chosen teaching methods that respond to relevant differences among students. Torrence (1962) writes that

Alert teachers have always been intuitively aware of the fact that when they change their method of teaching that certain children who had appeared to be slow learners or even non-learners became outstanding achievers and some of their former star learners became slow learners. They have also learned that when they change the nature of the test used for assessing achievement, such as from a multiple choice test to one requiring creative applications of knowledge and decision making, the star learners may change position in class ranking markedly.

Teachers who are sensitive to the needs of individuals teach in different ways so that all students will learn effectively.

2. Curriculum must be diversified to take advantage of student differences. Motivation for learning in enhanced when new concepts are placed in the context of what is already known. If students are consistently presented with curricula that is unfamiliar to them or presents no understandable point of reference, they will quickly decide that the material is irrelevant or too difficult and will detach themselves from the learning process. If, however, materials are carefully chosen that builds on the backgrounds and interests of students, they will come to see the curriculum as relevant and meaningful and will begin to integrate the new learning into their frameworks of understanding.

3. Teachers must become comfortable with sharing power in the classroom. One of the characteristics of the "old pedagogy" was the retaining of tight control by the teacher over curriculum and instruction, and therefore of the ways in which students were able to learn. Classrooms in which students were all doing the same thing at the same time were easy to control, but under that system, it was easy to confuse classroom control with student learning (either consciously or unconsciously). Students who were "shut out" by the old pedagogy were too often compliant and learned to play the game to get along in the classroom. Since compliant behavior was valued in the old system, it was often accepted as a substitute for learning, and students were passed through to the next grade without reaching acceptable levels of achievement.

The "new pedagogy" requires that all students be successful in attaining learning outcomes, yet

(e)quity in the classroom will require alternative ways of learning, often simultaneously. Yet many of us are uncomfortable with what feels like creeping chaos in the classroom, which seems easier to manage when students are all doing the same activity. Although individuals or small groups often are allowed to progress at their own rate or read at their own level, we rarely let students learn in different ways. Those who continue to teach diverse groups of learners in nonflexible classrooms must not be lulled into complacency by the fact that some students are learning. Perhaps many are. If they can adjust, teachers ask, why can't everyone else? (Bennett, 1990)

Teachers who are accustomed to retaining absolute control in the classroom might be surprised to learn that as they begin to share power and more students become successful learners, the classroom actually becomes easier, not harder to control.

Summary

It will not be an easy task, but with resolve and intention teachers will become more skillful in the knowledge and application of Diversity Education. The process will be facilitated if the following guidelines are adhered to:

• Know our own teaching and learning styles.
• Determine how far we can stray from these strengths and preferences and still be comfortable.
• Begin with a few students, those who are having difficulty in our classes.
• Know the learning style patterns that seem to characterize various ethnic groups.
• Build classroom flexibility slowly, adding one new strategy at a time.
• Use all modes (visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic) when teaching concepts and skills. (Bennett, 1990)
• Begin to use inclusive practices in the selection and delivery of curriculum.
• Share power and control with students in the classroom in appropriate ways.

The goal of Diversity Education is to help each student become a successful learner; to make its possible for every individual to become a motivated, eager learner who finds joy and fulfillment in school and willingly accepts new challenges. Too optimistic, you say? But why shouldn't the expectations we hold for some of our children be the expectations we hold for all of our children? Why should some of them be relegated to second-class status simply because of the way we organize educational experiences, often for the benefit of the adults in the system?

If it is the right thing to do, and if it will benefit students, then it is incumbent upon all of us to make the changes that will result in success for all individuals. We owe it to our profession, to our students, and ultimately to ourselves.

References

Baker, G.C . (1994). Planning and organizing for multicultural instruction. 2nd ed. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.

Bennett, C.I. (1990). Comprehensive multicultural education: Theory and practice. 2nd ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Gregorc, A.F. (1979). Learning/Teaching styles, in Student learning styles: Diagnosing and prescribing programs. Reston, VA: National Association of Secondary School Principals, p. 24.

Haberman, M. (December 1991). The pedagogy of poverty. Phi Delta Kappan, pp. 290-294.

Sleeter, C.E., and C.A. Grant (1994). Making choices for multicultural education: Five approaches to race, class, and gender. New York: Merrill.

Torrence, P . (September, 1962). Cultural discontinuities and the development of originality of thinking. Exceptional Children, pp. 2-3.