Diversity in Education.
Learning Resources
Required Readings
Course Text:Bucher, R. D. (2015). Diversity consciousness: Opening our minds to people, cultures, and opportunities(4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
"Developing Diversity Consciousness"
Optional Resources
With these Learning Resources in mind, please proceed to the Content Review.
Diversity Consciousness: Six Areas of Development.
Content Review: Case Studies on Developing Diversity Consciousness
For this week's Content Review assignment, review and respond to a new scenario involving one of the individuals you read about in the case studies from Week 1. You can choose the same individual whom you wrote about in Week 3, or a different one.
Review the case studies presented on pages 121-122 in Chapter 4 of your text, and choose one.
In 2 or 3 paragraphs, respond to the questions provided for your chosen case study, citing concepts from your readings as appropriate.
In addition, add a final paragraph summarizing how you might apply what you learned from the case study to problems you might encounter in your own practice.
Submit this assignment by Day 7 of this week.
Case Study One
Ligua, a part-time college student (plus full-time employee, wife, and mother), is taking a class, "Cultural Diversity," that is required of all education majors. The class examines issues and concepts related to diversity and education, such as cross-cultural communication, teaching tolerance, barriers to achievement, and managing diversity in the classroom. Given her life experiences as a minority and as an immigrant from El Salvador, Ligua feels as if she could teach this course. She understands its value, particularly for students who have led very sheltered lives. For such students, according to Ligua, a semester-long course on diversity is not nearly sufficient.
Questions:
1. Do you think a course dealing with cultural diversity should be a requirement for all education majors? Why?
2. What do you think Ligua might learn from a course such as this?
Case Study Two
Mary is a White social work student who plans to go on for a MS degree and work in a clinical setting. She attends an urban university and enjoys the diversity and energy of city life, but in her free time is actively involved in social activities centered around her Scottish background. She is fascinated by different cultures, but because of her upbringing as well as her fear of being put in an awkward situation, Mary has chosen to socialize primarily with people from cultural backgrounds similar to hers. As an aspiring social worker, she realizes she needs to widen her social circle.
Questions:
1. What are three things Mary can do to develop her diversity consciousness?
2. If she chooses to remain culturally encapsulated outside of work, do you think this will significantly affect her job performance? Explain.
Case Study Three
Michael is a college graduate who identifies himself as African American. He is divorced and the father of a teenage son, Aaron, who attends a private school in the well-to-do suburb where they live. The students at Aaron's school are predominantly White and most come from wealthy families. Michael struggles with this. On one hand, he wants to prepare Aaron to live in the real world; full of prejudice and poverty, a world in which race is an issue. On the other hand, he wants to protect his son from the racial intolerance that Michael feels is still rampant in our society today.
Ideally, Michael would like his son to attend a quality school in a diverse setting. However, he knows of no such school in his area. Michael worries about the consequences of Aaron's isolated existence. He wonders whether Aaron will develop stereotypical notions regarding inner-city minorities. He is wary of Aaron becoming what he calls an "Oreo cookie," Black on the outside and White on the inside. Because of concerns such as these, Michael does what he can to expand Aaron's world. For example, a segment on the news might turn into a mini-lesson on race relations or Black history. In the aftermath of the death of Trayvon Martin, the issue of profiling becomes a lesson on diversity.
Michael is already starting to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of encouraging Aaron to attend a historically Black college. He thinks that this kind of experience might be good for Aaron, although he is not sure.
Questions:
1. Michael expresses the concern that his son's life is culturally isolated or encapsulated. Do you agree? Why?
2. How might Aaron's education influence his diversity consciousness? Outside of school, what might Michael do to help Aaron develop diversity consciousness?
Key Terms
Cultural encapsulation
Media literacy
Socialization