Diversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Diversity - Essay Example Cultural competence affirms the individual worth and facilitates in the protection of individual dignity. This process entails certain policies, practices and attitudes that increase the quality of services received by individual (Meidl & Meidl, 2011). Accordingly, all learning institutions must encourage and respect diversity in their learning policies and practices. Mary Beth Klotz (2006) asserts defines a culturally competent school as the one that honors, values and respects diversity in both teaching and learning in order to make the learning meaning and relevant to students with different cultural backgrounds (Marx & Byrnes, 2012). Ethnic diversity Students who experience negative stereotypes tend to have low self-esteem thus struggling with their academic work. Cultural differences affect language processing, social status and perceptual abilities. For instance, African-Americans of all grades experience negative schooling environment. Accordingly, White students account for 5 6 percent of students while African Americans account for 15 percent. English language learners of Latino ethnic background experience the highest dropouts. The rate of school dropout among White students is only 5.2 percent while compared with a high of 17.6 percent among Latinos and 9.3 percent among African American students (Marx & Byrnes, 2012). Teachers modify their approach to teaching depending on the varying perceptions and expectations of the students (Marx & Byrnes, 2012). The teachers must foster positive engagement through encouraging self-esteem in order to promote active participation of all students in the classroom. For students with English language difficulties, the teachers must respect the native language of the child. A cooperative learning strategy will address ethnic diversity through role-playing and encouraging students to work as a group (Marx & Byrnes, 2012). Accordingly, teachers can bridge the ethnic differences through positively talking about the diff erences and persuading the students to refrain from ethnic stereotyping (Marx & Byrnes, 2012). Intellectual challenge like learning disability Students with learning disabilities have low academic outcomes. Accordingly, this category of students has trouble in learning due to low perceptual skills and motor skills (Novak & Bartelheim, 2012). However, numerous pedagogical strategies accommodate students with learning disabilities. The teacher must be aware of the level of learning disability and implement a individual education plan that accommodates the learning needs of the student (Novak & Bartelheim, 2012). One of the strategies entails providing an outline of the course content and enough opportunities for the student to practice. The teacher can also use teamwork and encourage the students to play different roles within the learning group (Novak & Bartelheim, 2012). Culturally relevant pedagogy Teaching and learning in a culturally diverse classroom requires the understanding a nd respect of the cultures (Novak & Bartelheim, 2012). Cultural stereotypes and privileges disadvantage some students thus teachers must build alliances across the cultures in order to eradicate discrimination in learning. The teacher can incorporate issues dealing with ethnic background and culture in order to enable the students appreciate and respect the unique cultural differences (Thurlow, 2005).