Cultural Diversity in Rural Communities

EXC 516 Brennon Sapp 2

Multi-cultural Education in Rural America

Many rural communities in the United States have little or no cultural diversity. To these communities cultural diversity is viewed as a phenomenon occurring only in the big city.

The few non-American cultures rural communities experience are in the form of exchange students; these encounters are few and short term. As such, most of rural America has ignored the rest of the rapidly changing country. However, due to educational reform, pressure is now being applied to rural school systems to implement a multi-cultural education. Some educators believe this is unnecessary for rural schools that lack culturally diverse students.

Undeniably, the nation is continuing to increase in diversity. Students of all communities, including rural communities, will attend culturally diverse colleges. They will then live and work in a culturally diverse workforce. Therefore, students in rural America must be prepared for a culturally diverse world.

The United States will become more culturally diverse throughout the early decades of

the next century. Currently, only 30% of the world is white; 33% of the world is Christian;

80% live in poverty and 70% of the world cannot read. Half of the world suffers from

malnutrition. Although U.S. Citizens apprize only 6% of the world population, we retain

50% of the wealth of the world (Schliefer, 1999). Based on these statistics, there are

sufficient reasons for individuals to migrate to the U.S. Recognizing this growing diversity

in our public schools puts a huge responsibility on educators. Students must be exposed to

different cultures and learn to value them.

Many of the problems of modern society can be linked to a lack of appreciation for

diversity. Prejudice ["Irrational generalization about an entire category of people (Woolfolk,

1998)."] and socioeconomic status ["Relative ranking in the society based on income, power, 3 background, and prestige (Woolfolk, 1998)." ] are also factors that can lead to societal problems. A properly administered multi-cultural education, which teaches an appreciation for differences, could help. However, "Some educators still see multi-culturalism as all about boosting achievement of poor, black students (Gallagher, 1998)." A multi-cultural education should improve the quality of all students' education, while simultaneously improving minorities' education as well.

Students in rural communities must be taught to value other cultures. Regardless of their future, they will face a diverse population. As of May 1999, caucasians comprised 82.4 percent of the general population; blacks comprised 12.8 percent; American Indian, Eskimo, and Aleut comprised 0.9 percent; Asian and Pacific Islander comprised 4 percent (U.S.

Census Bureau, 1999). Most rural communities experience much lower percentages.

However, less than a fourth of the population live in rural areas (U.S. Census Bureau, 1999).

We need to prepare students for the diversity they will experience as they leave their rural communities.

The professional communities are increasing in diversity. The percentage of degrees earned by minority students increased steadily between 1970 and 1994 (National Center for

Educational Statistics, 1999). In 1981, minorities comprised 23 percent of the 18-to 29- year-old resident population and earned 11 percent of the bachelor's degrees, 11 percent of master's degrees, and 10 percent of the doctorate degrees. By 1994, minorities comprised 31 percent of the 18-to 29-year-old resident population and earned 17 percent of the bachelor's degrees, 15 percent of master's degrees, and 14 percent of the doctorate degrees. As of 1994, minority students earned 26 percent of medical and 16 percent of law degrees (National

Center for Educational Statistics, 1999). 4

Although most parents desire their children to graduate from college, less than 10 percent of the population actually attends college (U.S. Census Bureau, 1999). Clearly, students in rural communities will encounter a culturally diverse college community. Even students choosing not to attend college will encounter a culturally diverse labor force. As of

April 1999, about 20 percent of the labor force was non-white, about 10 percent were Black, and 9 percent Hispanic (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1999).

To prepare students for a diverse future, they must experience a multi-cultural education. To place multiculturalism into action educators must: teach the perspectives of the mainstream culture, teach the perspectives of other cultures (with the message: they're equally valid to some), and examine similarities and differences between cultures (Hernandez

1989). "For multiculturalism to work it must be infused throughout the curriculum

(Gallagher, 1998)." James Banks in 1994 suggested that multicultural education has five dimensions:

 Content Integration-Using examples and content from a variety of cultures

and groups to illustrate key concepts, principles, generalizations, and theories in

their subject area or discipline.

 The Knowledge Construction Process-Helping students to understand how

the implicit cultural assumptions within a discipline influence the ways that

knowledge is constructed within it.

 Equity Pedagogy-Matching teaching styles to students' learning styles in order

to facilitate the academic achievement of students from diverse racial, cultural,

and social-class groups. 5

 Prejudice Reduction-Identifying the characteristics of students' racial attitudes

and determining how teaching can modify them.

 An Empowering School Culture and Social Structure-Examining group and

labeling practices, sports participation, and the interaction of the staff and the

students across ethnic and racial lines to create a school culture that empowers

students from all groups.

(Woolfolk, 1998) (Gallagher, 1998)

These are similar to the "Curriculum Guidelines for Multicultural Education" set by the NCSS

Task Force on Ethnic Studies Curriculum Guidelines, and adopted by the NCSS board of directors in 1991.

Banks' ideas are acceptable goals, but they are not specific to the classroom setting. A culturally compatible classroom is necessary to meet such goals. A culturally compatible classroom is a classroom in which procedures, rules, grouping strategies, attitudes, and teaching methods do not cause conflicts with the student's culturally influenced ways of learning and interacting. The following are guidelines for creating a culturally compatible classroom:

 Experiment with different grouping arrangements to encourage social harmony

and cooperation.

 Provide a range of ways to learn material to accommodate a range of learning

styles.

 Teach classroom procedures directly, even ways of doing things that you think

everyone will already know.

 Learn the meaning of different behaviors for your students. 6

 Emphasize meaning in teaching.

 Get to know the customs, traditions, and values of your students.

 Help students detect racist and sexist messages.

(Woolfolk, 1998)

James Banks, a University of Washington professor of education and an expert on multi-cultural education, was quoted as saying, “multi-cultural education represents more than adding a few topics to the curriculum (Gallagher, 1998).” As Snachez states,

"Multiculturalism belongs within the framework of the existing curriculum." Educators tend to tack multi-culturalism onto the school calendar by introducing cultural heros or holidays.

"Reducing multi-culturalism to such celebrations, or even displaying inclusive photos or posters around the school, may make educators feel good. But such facile attempts rarely help students respect diversity (Gallagher, 1998)." We must go beyond a trivializing, tourist curriculum; diverse curricula are more than holidays, special months, food and costumes.

Teachers often add a cross-cultural unit or lesson into their existing lessons. This usually fails to be an integral part of the curriculum. However, this may serve as an icebreaker and such a step is almost always necessary for educators to ease into a multicultural curriculum

(Sanchez, 1996).

None of the previously mentioned methods require the attendance of Blacks, Hispanics or any other ethnical groups in the school population. Certainly, the presence of cultural diversity within a school will facilitate active learning. Elsie Smith states in Exceptional

Children: An Introduction to Special Education: “Each individual is like all other people, like some other people, and like no other person (Heward, 1996).” This is true in every community in the world. Multi-culturalism is about teaching students to appreciate and value 7 differences. Although some rural schools lack a non-white population, the individuals differ as much as students in any school. "By exposing our students to other cultures, we help them learn about other people's lifestyles and values. This awareness in turn may alter negative, stereotypic thinking, reduce intolerance, and promote cooperation (Sanchez, 1996)." A multi-cultural education will better prepare students for their future. 8

References:

Bureau of Labor Statistics. 1999. World Wide Web: http://stat.bls.gov

Gallagher, J. 1998. Multiculturalism at a crossroads. The Education Digest (April): 22-28.

Hernandez, H. 1989. Multicultural Education. Columbus, Ohio: Merrill.

Heward, W. L. 1996. Exceptional children: An introduction to special education. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.

MOSAICA for AmeriCorps. 1998. Chapter 11: Diversity and multiculturalism.

National Center for Educational Statistics. 1999. Degrees conferred by sex and race. World Wide Web: http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=19.

Sanchez, T. R. 1996. Multiculturalism: Practical considerations for curricular change. The Clearing House. (January/February): 171-173.

Schliefer, J. 1999. Summary of the world. Western Kentucky University. Bowling Green, (February 3).

U.S. Census Bureau. 1999. World Wide Web: http://www.census.gov

Woolfolk, A. E. 1998. Educational psychology Allyn and Bacon