Cultural Competence in Schools - 2200 Words

Cultural Competence in Schools (Essay Sample) Content: Cultural Competence in SchoolsNatasha Sebastiani UMUC Cultural competence is used across various fields. It generally refers to ability of a person to interact with other persons from different cultures without prejudice of any manner and achieving professional and personal objectives. This means that for there to be cultural competence, there must be cultural tolerance. Most job requirements include the aspect of cultural competence as a skill one should have if they want to work in a given company (Ramburuth Welch, 2005). This means that it is a crucial skill and the employers are willing to employ based on the best candidates who show they can interact with different persons from the varying cultural groups and achieve maximum output. Given the level of globalization that the world has achieved in the last few decades, most work and personal spaces are rich with cultural differences. It is for this reason, that most of the researchers have deemed it necessary to s tudy the aspect of cultural competence to such great depths (Powell, 2012).However, much of the research that exists dwells mostly on cultural competence at the corporate level. Using the normal search engines and the cultural competence as the key words will unloads thousands of research that have been carried out, explaining the different aspects of cultural competence at the place of work and the various inputs that the management and the staff have to apply to achieve maximum productivity. Very few research papers exist on the aspects of implementing cultural competence at the educational levels. Helping students and teachers together with the entire educational systems integrate cultural competence in the material and policies would bring about sustainable results (Ramburuth Welch, 2005). The corporate spheres would spend less time and resources trying to train their staff on how best to acquire and apply cultural competence in their responsibilities. It would also mean that s tudents would have better chances of seizing job opportunities given their skills level and ability to work anywhere in the world. The benefits to world economies would also be immense as the work force becomes sustainably flexible, while maximizing outputs at minimal inputs (Cooper, Vellurattil, Quià ±ones-Boex, 2014).Thesis statement: Cultural competence should be integrated in the education systems to harness sustainable results at the professional and personal levels. Cultural Differences in Class Schools across the globe are experiencing a wide range of cultural differences subsequent to globalization aspects. As people seek to work and settle down in different places other than their main land, there are bound to be some subsequent implications. School systems, although they have not received the right amount of attention, have also had to deal with the issue of cultural difference at one time or the other. In the United States, schools are experiencing diversity of cultural and ethnic populations in their ranks (Cooper, Vellurattil, Quià ±ones-Boex, 2014).Non-Hispanic whites are expected to top the list with over 40% as a majority of the entire population. Even without the future predictions, the schools are dealing with cultural diversity at quite significant levels. Currently, most schools have more than one race or ethnic group of students. As such, the schools are the best starting point where cultural competence can be achieved for better and more sustainable results in society as a whole.Cultural Diversity Perceptions in SchoolsResearch has revealed that most students regardless of the level of diversity in their schools do not benefit academically or socially. The different perceptions that negatively implicate certain cultures have been adopted in many classrooms. This means that, much like in the general population where racial and ethnic slurs are used to intimidate some of the minority races, this is also heavily borrowed in the schools s ystems (Cooper, Vellurattil, Quià ±ones-Boex, 2014). Lack of cohesion in the public spaces between racial and ethnic groups breeds from the mistrust and the stereotyping engraved in the society.It is common for students of a minority culture or ethnic group to be subjected to bullying on grounds that they are different.In the school ecosystem, differences may at times affect even persons that are from the same ethnic or racial group. As such, regardless of their similarities, persons from the same cultural background may find it difficult to discuss and deliberate on issues they find sensitive to them. This aspect is due to the fact that the different parties may not understand the personal endearment of the topic to the said parties. Stereotyping is one of the problems that affect cultural integration, as it brings out some element of branding that may affect the different cultural values, painting them in a grim light. It is common for students that are different minority groups to report they are being mistreated in school, but parents and teachers have also adopted the racial and ethnic stereotypes. This leaves the students in the background and forces them to conform (Cooper, Vellurattil, Quià ±ones-Boex, 2014). Some of the cultural differences contribute to the poor performance that is shown by some of the students. Where children are raised in different cultural circles, they may find it difficult to integrate with teachers and other students. The same case applies to teachers that are transferred to cultural circles that they are not used to in their professional and personal experiences. Differences in verbal and non verbal communication cues may bring conflicting understanding for both the teachers and the students, there by affecting the performance of either of the parties depending on the severity of the misunderstandings. In an example a child that has been brought up in an Asian or Latin American background, may be seen to avoid the teachers and their responses may seem inadequate. While the American culture advocates eye contact at all levels, the other two do not always do the same. In the Asian and Latin American cultures, looking away while answering a person in authority is considered a gesture of respect (Oxley, 2013). However, a teacher that does not understand the cultural differences between the American mainstream cultures and that of the Asians or the Latin American, may assume that the child is academically proficient. The perceptions by different cultures affect the interaction levels of the different cultures.Benefits of Cultural Competence to students in the Schools Ecosystem Given the level of interest that corporate circles have indicated in all matters of cultural competence, it is certain that immense benefits can also be derived at the schools level when integrated into education. This adoption stands to benefit teachers and students as well as the general public. When students are exposed to the di fferent cultural values, they learn to embrace the richness of diversity in ideas. One of the basic aspects of learning revolves around group work. Within the groups the members bring about different ideas and solutions to the problems beforehand. Where groups apply the aspect of cultural diversity, they become attuned to the diversity that is associated with different cultures. On the contrary, if students participating in group work are affected by the aspect of stereotyping, they will not be open to the different and excellent ideas being floated by the members of the group considered to be inferior. Other than the fact that students in groups benefit from a majority of ideas from the different members, they also help the students from the minority groups to break away from the perceptions of their inability, as dictated by society. This means that the academic performance of the individuals is boosted and cumulatively that of the group and school in its entirety (Oxley, 2013).Al though most school environments are designed to only get students to excel in their academics, there are other crucial aspects that the students pick up. The grading system that is used in academic circles implies that either students are clever or they are having challenges with their academics. However, there are more dimensions to the students learning than the single one that is tested in the exams. With reference to the aforementioned interest of the corporate circles with reference to cultural competence, it is clear that students are not only productive along their academic achievements. Ideally, cultural competence which spans across the social and personal abilities is also part of the achievement that the students make (Oxley, 2013). Having the ability to easily integrate with persons of other communities is much more crucial in the real world than what one scores in a math test. It means that the student is able to apply academic skills in the real world and bring about p roductivity. This is a crucial skill and as indicated earlier, is one of the skills most employers are looking for in their staff over and above the academic achievements.Culturally Competent Teachers Students do not only interact with culturally different students, they also interact with teachers that are from other cultural groups (Lu, Tsai, Tseng, 2014). Teachers are part of the authority in the lives of students and play a great role in integrating cultural competence in the students. As such, for the aspects of cultural competence to work in the schools ecosystems, teachers will have to be at the forefront as they act as guides to the students and the policymakers (Matteliano Stone, 2014).For teachers to become culturally competent, they have to understand that communication is the bottom line. Different cultures have different languages and cues that all have different meanings (Flory, McCaughtry, Mar...