Different communities perceive education in different ways, and therefore, possess diverse aspirations for students from their midst. The current k-12 education system upholds high-quality competency-based education that is inclined towards achieving specific economic goals both for individual students and to the entire country (Lawrence, 2020). The system considers the mere milestone of completing the twelve-years of school as an insufficient result for students. Instead, students who have completed such levels should possess the ability to articulate a vision for their future economic future, and follow a pathway for pursuing their economic visions. Ethnic and Racial Diversity In Learning Institutions The k-12 competency-based education system focusses on availing the economic vision to students from diverse sets of cultural backgrounds (Lawrence, 2020). However, while in pursuit of the economic goals of k-12 economic goals, educational policymakers should prioritize educational equity by increasingly implementing culturally responsive pedagogy. This way, instruction remains diversified enough to be accessed by students from diverse cultures, but also to gear them towards achieving their economic potential.
Within traditional instruction contexts, students from minority cultures potentially experience implicit racial, language, or cultural bias, which leads to their overrepresentation in special education institutions where their needs can rarely be addressed. CRP, on the other hand, promotes the use of asset mindset in instruction, which limits the chances of students from minority cultures to get misidentified for special education (Hutchison & McAlister-Shields, 2020). This helps promote the overarching economic goal of competency-based k-12 education which directs instructors to prioritize lifelong skills such as collaboration, creativity, problem, solving, and advocacy. Ethnic and Racial Diversity In Learning Institutions According to Lawrence (2020), a successful education system should produce students with the life-long skills that enable them to become agents of their own success and leaders that can influence growth and change within their communities. CRP offers an instruction framework that acknowledges and upholds the expectations, values and goals of different communities around the extant curriculum and pedagogy (Roessingh, 2020). CRP also ensures that learners attach their learning processes to their cultures, past experiences, priorities, and issues that affect the course of their lives (Hutchison & McAlister-Shields, 2020). This sense of belonging to a culture not only enables the learning process, but also establishes on students the self-confidence they need to pursue the vision availed by k-12 education system Ethnic and Racial Diversity In Learning Institutions.
Conclusion
Countries are increasingly becoming multicultural, hence the need to consider culturally responsive teaching strategies as a foundational instruction model in diverse educational settings to optimize student’s academic milestones. Ethnic and Racial Diversity In Learning Institutions A broad body of literature recognizes that CRP practices encourage understanding, communication, and critical thinking between learners and their instructors, but also avails education to students from all cultural backgrounds. Ongoing conversations surrounding the current k-12 (competency-based) education system recognize the relevance of the economic vision it seeks to avail to students. However, realizing such goals requires that instructors pay attention to issues of educational equity in such multicultural settings. CRP promises equal opportunity for all students regardless of their cultural backgrounds and offers an opportunity for them to clearly articulate and understand their economic purpose, setting them up to pursuing such purposes. Instructors need to remain vigilant in monitoring the changing needs of students from diverse cultures and offer learning engagements that suit their cultural needs Ethnic and Racial Diversity In Learning Institutions.
References
Hutchison, L., & McAlister-Shields, L. (2020). Culturally Responsive Teaching: Its Application in Higher Education Environments. Education Science, 10(5), 124-135. doi:10.3390/educsci10050124
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