Running head: DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS

Diversity Statements of Informed Beliefs

Naylor, Wes
Instructor: Dr. LueLinda Egbert
EDUC 204W: Families, Communities, and Culture

Statement of Informed Beliefs

Schools in America have some of the most diverse classrooms in the world. The
immigrant population is rapidly growing and will continue to do so. It is becoming more
important for schools and its teachers to become more diverse. All students can learn, so it is up
to the teachers to ensure it happens. Each student has a unique social ecology that needs to be
identified by the teacher and acknowledged in their curriculum. There is no room for
discrimination in the classroom; students experience enough of that outside of school. Each and
every student deserves an equal opportunity to learn and progress at school. I am excited to begin
my career in teaching and use the knowledge Ive gained in this class to be a diverse teacher.
All Students Can Learn
All students have the ability to learn, however each students ability to learn is very
unique. There are many factors that contribute to a students ability to learn. A students
socialization is a major factor in their ability to learn. A students family can influence their

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ability to learn in both positive and negative ways. In order to teach students in the best way
possible teachers need to identify their students learning style, interests, and special needs
(Berns, 2013). Teachers need to be as diverse as possible when creating an education plan for
their students. It is the teachers responsibility to ensure that each student gets an appropriate
education. It is the schools responsibility to ensure that the teachers are performing to their
expectations. This is applied through the accountability of the No Child Left Behind Act
(NCLB) (Berns, 2013).
Theoretical ideas have impacted the way students are being taught today. Theoretical
ideas are great because they give teachers the confidence they need to step out of their comfort
zone. Teachers can use theories on learning to change the way they teach to better suit specific
children. A great theory on learning was developed by Lev Vygotsky known as the zone of
proximal development (ZPD) (Berns, 2013). The zone of proximal development is the space
between what a learner can do independently and what he or she can do while participating with
more capable others (as cited in Berns, 2013). Less capable students can learn more if they are
paired with more capable students. Theories such as ZPD have helped shape the way students are
learning today. Studying theories on how children learn will better equip teachers with ideas and
tools to help students learn.
A students ability to learn is effected by their teachers expectations of them. It has been
proven by many studies that students always perform to their teachers expectations. Students
with low expectations underperform while students with high expectations demonstrate
significant growth. These expectations come from talking with previous teachers, socioeconomic
status, cultural background, gender, personality, physical attractiveness, speech, and handwriting
(as cited in Berns, 2013). Labeling students and expressing your expectations of them can limit
their ability to learn. A very significant and controversial study towards teachers and expectations

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was done by Rosenthal and Jacobson. They gave a class a non-verbal IQ test at the beginning of
the school year. Then gave the teachers a list of random names and told the teachers that they
would be academic bloomers. Later that year they gave another IQ test and found that the
students labeled as bloomers did in fact have a significant score increase on their IQ test (as
cited in Berns, 2013). This proves that all students can learn if the teacher expects them to.
In order to establish positive student expectations the teacher and student must
communicate to create educational goals. Creating clear and achievable goals is a very important
step in meeting outcome expectations. Goals are the stepping stones set by the student and the
teacher to provide direction and set up realistic expectations. Its hard to judge where a student
should be academically by the end of the school year; this is why small goals should be
established to ensure that each student is progressing to the best of their ability. The goals
teachers give students should align and enable them to reach the teachers expectations. Goals do
this by enabling a teacher to reward their students when they reach their goals motivating them to
meet or exceed their expectations.
Students Social Ecology Theory
According to Bronfenbrenner, the social context of individual interactions and
experiences determines the degree to which individuals can develop their abilities and realize
their potentials (as cited in Berns, 2013). His bioecological theory is made up of four basic
structures: the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem which all evolve from
influences of social change known as the chronosystem (Berns, 2013). The microsystem refers
to activities and relationships with significant people in smaller settings such as family, peer
group, school, and community (Berns, 2013). The mesosystem, which was introduced by
Guglielmo Marconi, is the link between two or more microsystems, such as parent teacher
conferences and trick or treating in the neighborhood (Berns, 2013). The exosystem is made up
of outside influences that affect the student even though they dont actively participate with in

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the system (Berns, 2013). The parents work is a major factor in a students exosystem because it
takes time away from the parents ability to properly raise their child. The macrosystem shapes
the culture in which the student grows up in. Religion has a major influence on the lives of many
students. Religious beliefs are so strong in so many cultures that theyve created wars between
religious groups. Edward T. Hall split the macrosystem into two categories. Low-context
macrosystems are oriented towards individuality, competition, progress, rationality, and
practicality (Berns, 2013). High-context macrosystems are oriented towards collectivism,
cooperation, tradition, intuitiveness, and emotions (Berns, 2013). All of the systems of influences
change over the years as technologies develop and change the world around us.
A students social ecology influences his or her interests, motivations, and ability to learn.
Each student will be motivated to learn for different reasons. Their unique family, community,
and culture will want to shape them in a specific way. Learning about a students social
ecological systems will help teachers connect with their students socially to increase their ability
to learn. Students with a single parent or both parents that work probably wont get the help they
need at home to accomplish their homework. Knowing this should change the type and amount
of work a student gets sent home with to ensure success rather than a set up for failure. A
students community or neighborhood is the main setting in which children learn by doing
(Berns, 2013). Many young students that grow up in poverty stricken communities learn poor
habits from observing the people who live there. These students are more likely to demonstrate
aggressive behaviors and drop out of school to follow the people in their community. Growing
up in that same neighborhood can also motivate a student to achieve more to ensure an exit from
that community. A students culture also provides outside influences on their ability to learn
(Berns, 2013). Some cultures thrive on individualism and creativity while others believe in

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collectivism (Berns, 2013). Understanding a students cultural background provides insight into
their interests and motivations to learn.
Discrimination and Learning
It is important to use the knowledge of each students cultural background to develop a
diverse curriculum. While using a teacher-directed curriculum it is up to the teacher to provide
the materials necessary to create a diverse lesson (Berns, 2013). While using a learner-directed
curriculum the lesson will naturally be more diverse, because the students ethnic and cultural
backgrounds will show through their intrinsic motivations (Berns, 2013). Allowing freedom of
choice in their projects encourages a diverse atmosphere in which the students will learn from
their peers about their unique backgrounds. American schools have the most diverse classrooms
in the world. Teachers need to use this to their advantage by allowing each student to
demonstrate their own unique culture through their class work.
Cultures mix together in different ways depending on the ideology and philosophy of the
culture. One form of mixture is called cultural assimilation, which is the process whereby a
minority culture group takes on the characteristics of the majority cultural group (Berns, 2013).
The goal of this process is to maintain one culture among all citizens; to force new diverse
cultures into forgetting their culture and ethnic values and taking on new values. The melting
pot is the idea that society should socialize diverse groups to blend into a common culture
(Berns, 2013). Blending cultures together allows groups to maintain their values while creating
new ones together with a different culture. Cultural pluralism on the other hand is based on a
mutual respect of various cultures in order to coexist together in harmony (Berns, 2013). Schools
and its teachers have a major influence on how cultures mix together. Most American schools
model cultural assimilation by requiring the use of the English language and teaching our
countries main political views and cultural values. Schools now are trying to stop cultural
assimilation by becoming more diverse and taking on the melting pot theory.

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Cultures have two main orientations, individualistic or collectivistic. Individualistic

cultures emphasize individual fulfillment and choice while collectivistic cultures emphasize
interdependent relations, social responsibilities, and the well-being of the group (Berns, 2013).
Students growing up in an individualistic culture usually demonstrate success in individualized
goal structures; working on specific skills and knowledge acquisition alone without the aid of
peers (Berns, 2013). Students from a collectivistic culture usually do better within cooperative
goal structures; working with peers on problem-solving and creative tasks. Teachers can use a
students cultural background to create a curriculum that the student will succeed in (Berns,
2013).
Equitable Education for all Students
Many students grow up in families that arent ideal to say the least. Students with
divorced parents lose a positive model of cooperation between the parents. This may impact their
ability to work together with peers and create unrealistic expectations of future mates. Students
with dual-income families usually dont get the attention or the help they need from their time
constrained parents. This lack of time and attention can create poor cognitive development due to
the lack of help and possibly motivation to learn. Martin Seligman presented evidence explaining
that, students facing discrimination can demonstrate poor development due to outside influences,
causing them to develop learned helplessness (as cited in Berns, 2013). Students living in
poverty have to fight the odds more than most. Many students that live in poverty develop
numerous bad habits from the older people in their community. Most lack motivation to succeed
in school due to learned helplessness, poor role models, and a need to work to survive at a young
age. Students growing up in poor diverse situations need extra help from their teachers to
succeed.
Educating students who are dealing with major disadvantages require extra thought and
attention from teachers. I will provide a stable and consistent environment for them to learn in. I

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will be a positive role model to show them how adults are expected to behave. I will create a
warm and welcoming atmosphere that fosters a since of safety and comfort. I will develop a
diverse curriculum that allows students to be creative and show their cultural heritage and values.
I will work with each student to set up clear and achievable goals to set them up for success.
All students have the ability to learn. It is up to the education professionals to ensure each
student gets the education they deserve. All students are unique and come from different ethnic
and cultural backgrounds. Knowing and understanding each students background will create a
connection between the teacher and the student making the learning process easier. Teachers
must be fair and give each student an equal opportunity to learn without prejudice, labeling, or
preset expectations. Teachers must place high expectations on all of their students set up through
clear and achievable goals. Students should be allowed to show their unique cultural heritage and
coexist with each other. Some students face major disadvantages brought on by outside factors, it
is the teachers responsibility to help these students fight through the odds that are against them.
Creating a diverse curriculum and keeping students motivated to learn is very important,
especially to the minority groups. Giving each and every student an equal opportunity to learn is
the responsibility of our schools and its teachers.

References
Berns, R. (2013). Child, Family, School, Community: Socialization and Support (9th ed.).
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.