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Diversity in the Classroom
Abstract
It is important to appreciate how the battle between multiculturalist and individualist theories of education ahs shaped the pedagogical advice that some institutions of higher learning now give their instructors. In an important sense, that advice invites college and university teachers to pursue conflicting, irreconcilable goals in their teaching. By examining a particular North American example of such advice, I try to explain why the understandable attempt to accommodate both multiculturalism and individualism in the classroom inevitably makes for incoherent pedagogy.
... There is research conducted that focuses on diversity in the classroom (see for example, Maitzen 1997) and more particularly in the second language classroom (see for example, Liu & Nelson, 2017). As Maitzen (1997) discusses the battle between multiculturalist and individualist theories of education, he asserts that the "attempt to accommodate both multiculturalism and individualism in the classroom inevitably makes for incoherent pedagogy" (293). ...
... There is research conducted that focuses on diversity in the classroom (see for example, Maitzen 1997) and more particularly in the second language classroom (see for example, Liu & Nelson, 2017). As Maitzen (1997) discusses the battle between multiculturalist and individualist theories of education, he asserts that the "attempt to accommodate both multiculturalism and individualism in the classroom inevitably makes for incoherent pedagogy" (293). Drawing upon the Assistant Director of the Office of Equal Opportunities at Cornell University, Maitzen argues that "we should look on diversity not as something negative or even neutral, but as something positive and valuable" (294). ...
The present study aims to explore in what ways teachers at upper secondary level work in a diverse classroom with particular focus on the students’ heterogeneous knowledge of the English language. This heterogeneity, the participants experience, is primarily caused by the discrepancy between those students who use English to a great extent outside the classroom through, for example, frequently playing computer games, and those students who do not use the English language at all outside a school context. In order to explore this aim, a pilot study was conducted where five teachers at upper secondary level were interviewed. The results show that this heterogeneity is their most challenging part of working as English teachers today. It thus adds to other factors, such as, multiculturalism, multilingualism, difficulties with reading and writing etc. and makes it an even more difficult task for teachers to support every student’s individualised learning. The results further show that despite the teachers’ attempts to differentiate the English education, there is a lack of, and need for, strategies that are useful to support an individualised learning in a heterogeneous classroom.
... There is research conducted that focuses on diversity in the classroom (see for example, Maitzen 1997) and more particularly in the second language classroom (see for example, Liu & Nelson, 2017). As Maitzen (1997) discusses the battle between multiculturalist and individualist theories of education, he asserts that the "attempt to accommodate both multiculturalism and individualism in the classroom inevitably makes for incoherent pedagogy" (293). Drawing upon the Assistant Director of the Office of Equal Opportunities at Cornell University, Maitzen argues that "we should look on diversity not as something negative or even neutral, but as something positive and valuable" (294). ...
Role-play is a useful pedagogic tool because it involves active participation and facilitates various ways of expression. However, role-play has received less attention as a research method. We have used researcher-initiated role-play with subsequent focus group interview in a study of adolescents’ conceptions about food messages. In this paper we will use our experiences from this em-pirical study to describe and evaluate the use of researcher-initiated role-play with subsequent focus group interview as a method for data collection. In our empirical study the participants chose and played role characters representing agents they think convey food messages to them in their everyday life. They planned, bought, cooked and ate the food, and after that they participated in a focus group interview. Our experience is that this method enables participants to be active throughout the research process. They influence how the role-play proceeds, which diverts the control from the researcher to the participants and reduces the power hierarchy. Furthermore, this method promotes reflection among the participants. Both because they are acting in roles and because they are confronted with interaction with authentic food. In our study this contrib-uted to a rich data material. Therefore, we consider this method to be a prom-ising research method for studies concerning everyday practices.
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was not only the preacher of a new religion and the leader of a new community but also an effective teacher, a passionate supporter of learning, and a pioneer of modern education. Islam is a revealed and knowledge-based religion that promotes learning and in which every person regardless of caste, class, color, and gender is obliged to get an education. The early Muslims were passionate about education as they were influenced by Prophet Muhammad's outstanding teaching methods and tactics. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) used every tool and approach available to transmit knowledge to people. The methods and strategies used by the Holy Prophet and the early Muslims in their academic endeavors are examined in this study. This paper explores Hadith literature on instructional methods and proposes a dynamic synthesis of Islamic pedagogical principles, particularly prophetic precepts, with academic ideas of modern education. Such synthesis is compatible with the manifestations of Prophetic precepts spanning Muslim history, and it would provide an explicit Islamic pedagogical framework for teachers, many of whom are from quite diverse educational systems. The research aims to study instructional techniques employed by Holy Prophet (PBUH) in order to promote a modern education system.
While second language teachers may have been slow to recognize the depth of diversity in their classrooms, they (unlike their peers in general education) have never been able to avoid diversity. Indeed, diversity is the only constant feature of the ESL classroom. Because of its importance, L2 specialists have actively attempted not only to discover and
describe all of the different ways in which L2 students bring diversity to the classroom
but also to find best teaching practices to effectively address all of the diversities
identified.
Prominent ethical and policy issues such as affirmative action and female enrollment in science and engineering revolve around the idea that diversity is good. However, a precise definition is seldom provided. I show that diversity may be construed as a factual description, a craving for symmetry, an intrinsic good, an instrumental good, a symptom, or a side effect. These acceptions differ vastly in their nature and properties. Some are deeply mistaken and some others cannot lead to concrete policies. It is thus necessary to clarify what one means by 'diversity.' It may be a neutral description of a given state; but this is insufficient to act. The idea that there should be the same representation in a specific context as in the overall population is both puzzling and arbitrary. Diversity as intrinsic good is a mere opinion, which cannot be concretely applied; moreover, the most commonly invoked forms of diversity (sexual and racial) are not intrinsically good. On the other hand, diversity as instrumental good can be evaluated empirically and can give rise to policies, but these may be very weak. Finally, symptoms and side effects are not actually about diversity. I consider the example of female enrollment in science and engineering, interpreting the various arguments found in the literature in light of this polysemy.