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Education for diversity: A Canadian Perspective The challenges of diversity elicit a number of concerns as to which is the best educational approach to combat against the stereotypes and racism that minority groups struggle to overcome. Schools are powerful agents of socialization and social control that seek to reflect the values, beliefs, and behaviors of Canadian society. As this is a society characterized by diversity, schools are challenged by the controversy of determining whose values, beliefs and behaviors should be promoted. The challenges that schools face in responding to diversity are numerous, and the approaches to deal with these challenges have evolved from methods to assimilate to methods of inclusivity. Challenges in responding to diversity Historically, the Canadian education system has been grounded in Anglo-conformity, which suppresses the ethnicity of those whose values, beliefs and behaviors did not reflect the British, Anglo-Saxon “norms”. This monocultural approach to public education has been seriously challenged, as schools are required to be more inclusive regarding the cultural and linguistic diversity that shapes Canadian society. Henry argues that this approach has not been successful. According to Henry, “a significant body of evidence…demonstrates that educational institutions have preserved and perpetuated a system of structural inequality based on race” (232). Educators must rise to the challenge of creating an atmosphere that accepts minority groups by adopting antiracist policies into the entire system of education. Educators face many challenges as they attempt to create an atmosphere of acceptance in responding to diversity. If schools are to “pursue policies that support the education of all students for full citizenship in a multiracial/multicultural democracy” (Perry and Fraser, 16), they must seek to overcome the challenges that prevent this ideal from succeeding. The challenges that exist in the education system include the following: curriculum content, teaching practices, and hidden curriculum. These issues must be examined, as they all may contribute to the marginalization of minority students by excluding or minimizing “their experiences, history, and contributions to Canada as a nation (Henry, 117). Curriculum materials, such as textbooks and teaching aids, contribute to the manifestation of racism in subjects “such as history, literature, social studies, geography, and science. The perspectives…and experiences of non-Western cultures are generally ignored in the Eurocentric curriculum” (Henry, 120). Textbooks and other teaching materials often omit “people of colour” (Henry, 121), and “human civilization is portrayed as an evolutionary process, in which Euro-American culture—the Western legal system, democratic forms of government, and a capitalist economy—is considered the ‘best’ culture in the world” (Henry, 120-121). A multicultural and/or antiracist curriculum should be considered for several reasons. It provides alternative points of view relative to information already taught in most educational systems; it provides ethnic minorities with a sense of being inclusive in history, science etc., and it decreases stereotypes, prejudice, bigotry, and racism. The attitudes and value systems of one race and class of people have dictated educational institutions too long. In addition to curriculum materials, teaching practices may also contribute to the manifestation of racism in schools. Perry and Fraser contend that the teacher is the key negotiator between the curriculum and the context of the classroom; they “play the key role in allowing the lives, histories, and cultures of the historically oppressed to critically influence the reconcepulization of knowledge that is represented in the curriculum and the classroom” (19). Subtle forms of racism or marginalization are sometimes found in the ways teachers communicate with minority students—particularly those who struggle with the English language. Teachers need to pay attention to their verbal and nonverbal cues when teaching students who speak differently. Rather than correct mispronunciations (and embarrassing the student) the teacher should simply model the correct English version in their response. It is equally demeaning for a teacher to finish the response of a student who struggles with the English language. It doesn’t take very long before that student chooses to refuse to actively participate in a learning environment. Schools must also caution against complacency and avoid the pitfalls of using books that have always been used, and then discovering that they have been sending a message to their students that only White people exist in their particular subject.
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