Exam 2 Flashcards
Culture
Knowledge, language, values, attitudes, traditions that shape and guide the behavior and beliefs of a group of people
Iceberg metaphor for culture
1/3 visible signs of culture, rest hidden and unknown (visible includes costume, marriage traditions, laws)
Intersectionality
Overlapping, intersecting social identities shaping each of us in unique ways
-Each student shapes uniquely by cultural group memberships (not just one factor or group BUT group membership does not define individual)
Classism
some groups feel as if they are better
SES (socioeconomic status)
Relative standing in society based on income, power, background. Prestige (average that determines where you sit class wise)
upper, middle, working, lower.
Characteristics-income, occupation, education, health, etc.
Effects of teachers negative assumptions in poverty
-Teachers avoid calling on poor children in class
-Set lower standards
-Accept poor work from them
-lower quality educational experience, low academic self-concept, learned helplessness
ethnicity
culture heritage shared by a group of people
* Shared history, homeland, language, traditions, or religion
race
socially constructed category based on appearances, ancestry—shared physical characteristics such a skin color.
Race and ethnicity—both primarily social constructions
Minority Group
group of people who have been socially disadvantaged, discriminated against
-Not always a numerical minority of the population
-African American Minority group=majority population in some areas
Prejudice
Unfair prejudgment about a group of people
* Based on beliefs, emotions, actions—cultural values
* Bias—prejudicial preference or action
* Can be positive or negative (usually negative)
Teachers often unaware of own prejudice
* Affects their expectations of students, interpretations of behaviors
* Can result in offending parents, damaging educational outcomes
* Can cause students to feel less valued, overlooked, excluded
* Leads to path away from programs in science and engineering
* Recognized by very young children
Stereotypes
Schemas that organize what you know, believe =, feel about a group (including prejudiced beliefs)
Discrimination
acting on one’s beliefs/feelings of prejudice
* Unequal treatment towards categories of people
Implicit Biases
things we unconsciously believe because of absorption of the society we line in’s values, beliefs, and stereotypes
Stereotype Threat
fear that you academic performance may confirm a stereotype others hold about you
* Awareness of stereotype, not necessarily belief in stereotype
* Example: stereotype that girls are not good at math; girl feels anxious about solving math in class
- Prevents students from performing their best
- Interferes with attention, working memory, learning in the subject
- Decreases connections to and value of that subject
- Likely contributes to achievement gap
Short and Long Term Impact of Stereotype Threats
Short term: Poor test performance
Long term: Disidentification, feeling less motivated, disconnected.
Gender
Traits, behaviors deemed proper for males/females and how those traits relate to how a person feels about themselves
Sex
Biological differences in males/females specifically in relation to chromosomes and sexual organs
Gender Identity
Sense of self as a male or female: Beliefs one has about gender roles and attributes
Gender Roles
How people behave in gender conforming ways
Sexual Orientation
Gender to whom a person is sexually or emotionally attracted
Gender Schema Theory
Gender as an organizing theme to classify/understand the world
* Shaped by biology, treatment by adults/peers, socialization with toys and play styles
- Awareness of gender differences by age 2
- Begin to believe their sex cannot be changed by age 3
- Initial sense of gender roles by age 4
- Gender schema for clothes, games, behaviors by age 5
Gender Bias
different views of males and females, often favoring one gender over the other
Tv, movies, other media should be screened for gender bias
* Bias of prominence of white male characters
* Biased depiction of women in hypersexualized, underpowered positions
Gender Bias in Teaching
- Boys receive more attention, both positive and negative
- High-achieving White girls receive least teacher attention
- Boys favored in teachers’ perceptions of math competence
- International concern: Boys’ underachievement at schools
Best Solution: Good teaching! NO boy or girl specific teaching strategies
Five Dimensions of Multicultural Education
- Knowledge construction process
- Content integration
- Prejudice reduction
- Empowering school culture and social structure
- Equity pedagogy
Cultural Relevant Pedagogy
Teaching that rests on 3 propositions
1. Students must experience academic success
2. Must develop/maintain their cultural competence
3. Must develop critical consciousness, challenge status quo (critique norms and values)
Steps:
1. Believe in the children; believe all children are capable
2. Provide rigorous instruction and connect it to their life and culture
3. Know your students; help them value excellence
Diversity in Learning Examples
- Hawaiian children thrive in cooperative groups
Cultural values, leaning preferences, that fit your students - Hispanic Americans: Cooperative activities not competition
- African Americans: Visual/global approach over verbal/analytic
- Native Americans: Global, visual; prefer learning privately
Cautions: Questionable nature of learning styles research; danger
Sociolinguistics
Study of formal and informal rules of conversations within cultural groups
* Pragmatics of the classroom-when, where, how to communicate
* Participation structures-rules for how to take part in a given classroom activity
What Teachers can do
* Make clear, explicit communication rules
* Explain, demonstrate appropriate behaviors
* Respond to students with consistency
