Why might students from culturally diverse backgrounds fail in school? What can teachers do to help culturally diverse students succeed?.
There are many reasons why a student from a culturally diverse background might fail in school. The first one would be that students from racial and ethnic minority groups often cannot relate to their teacher since the majority of them are of Anglo European culture. The second reason would be that when students are not born in this country, they are much more likely to drop out of school. The third reason is societal expectations and realities for these students often contradict eachother. They also might be discriminated against for advanced programs due to race. The fourth reason would be that instructional practices could negatively affect students. Books with cultural opinions can promote stereotypes and leave out important cultural information. Also, teachers who do not allow more small-group interactions can put culturally diverse students at more of a disadvantage. The last reason would be that school policies and organizations could penalize students. Not too many schools offer mentoring programs for diverse culture students to help them get connected to leaders in business, industry, and education.
The most important thing a teacher can do when being challenged with culturally diverse students is to simply listen to families. In addition to making the time to talk to families, Sanchez (1999, pp. 354-357) recommends the following:.
1. Be willing to step outside your comfort zone, going into the community to learn about families.
2. Adopt the unequivocal view that all families are involved in and significant to their children's education, and that schooling is only one source of education.
3. Be willing to examine your own story more deeply.
4. Be willing to challenge stereotypes and reduce prejudice.
5. Be willing to explore the sociocultural context in the lives of families and teachers.