MULTICULTURAL STUDENTS IN A CLASSROOM: AN OPPURTUNITY OR A THREAT

BY: SALMA JABEEN MA-ELM COURSE FACULTY: MS SABAHAT KHAN TATARI

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION BEACONHOUSE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY LAHORE

Contents

Abstract Acknowledgement Introduction Problem Statement Purpose and Significance of this research Context Methodology Sample Tools Data collection Data analysis Findings and discussions Reflections Conclusion References

Abstract
This research was aimed at exploring the areas where teachers face difficulty in teaching multicultural students in their classroom. Ten teachers from a private school were taken as the sample for this research and questionnaire technique was used to gather data from the respondents. Data was analyzed in two categories (i.e. qualitative and quantitative).Recommendations was also made at the end.

Acknowledgement
I offer my humblest thanks to Allah Almighty; the most beneficent the merciful whose blessing has enabled me to successfully complete this project in the shortest possible time. I great fully acknowledge the help and assistance provided by our course faculty Ms Sabahat Khan Tatari. I will always cherish her way of teaching and kind behavior. I am equally grateful to the worthy Principal of Oxford High School Islamabad for the amount of trust he has put on me and let me conduct this research at his school. His cooperation and continuous encouragement strengthened me a lot while conducting this research. A vote of thanks goes to the respected teachers of Oxford High School who served as the ultimate source of data for this research .I greatly admire their cooperation and seriousness, shown while filling the questionnaire, which gave this research more weight age and originality. Finally, how can I miss the continuous support of my parents, who were instrumental in bringing this research from an idea to a success. Overall it was an interesting and knowledgeable experience for me, and I hope that it will prove to be helpful in my future endeavors also. Salma Jabeen

Introduction
According to Wikipedia definition, the term multiculturalism generally refers to "a state of racial, cultural, and ethnic diversity within the demographics of a specified place, usually at the scale of an organization such as a school, business, neighborhood, city or nation." (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) When we talk about multiculturalism in schools, it can be taken more as an opportunity rather than a threat. The following writers' experience conveys the same idea. "Many school districts nationwide are experiencing rapid growth in the number of students of color, culturally and linguistically diverse students, and students from low income families. From my work with education leaders in some of these diversity-enhanced school districts, I know they are places of vibrant opportunity--places that call us to meaningful and exciting work."(Gary R. Howard, 2007) Although, multiculturalism in educational organizations offers boundless learning opportunities but not everyone can easily take benefit of it, as it requires great amount of awareness, understanding, planning and patience also. In this research paper, an attempt has been made to cover some of the problematic areas arise in a multicultural educational environment.

Problem statement
Which are the areas where teachers face difficulty in dealing with the culturally diverse students, and how frequently they experience each problem in their classroom.

Purpose and Significance of this research

Since accommodating multicultural students in a classroom is a global issue and the aim of this research is to measure the frequency of some common issues of teachers faced globally in the local context, and moreover to explore other problems unique to the local setting, and most importantly to find some solutions for the most frequently occurring problems.

Context
This action research has been conducted in a private school, located in G-9/1 Islamabad, named as Oxford High School. The school has classes from playgroup to 10th.The total number of students in this school is 265 and the number is 120 at secondary level. The percentage of boys in the school is 30 while rests of the 70% are girls. Students from four different countries i.e. Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Iran are enrolled in this school. The percentage of students from each country is given below: Pakistan Afghanistan Somalia Iran 55% 30% 10% 5%

Methodology Sample
The sample for this research comprised of 10 secondary class teachers teaching different subjects at Oxford High School Islamabad. Seven teachers were female and three were male. As far as the nationality of these teachers is concerned nine teachers were from Pakistan and only one teacher was from Iran.

Tools
The instrument or technique applied to get the opinion of the respondents in this research was questionnaire method. The questionnaire was self designed which comprised of 13 closed ended questions and only one open ended question. The first thirteen questions were about the common difficulties globally faced by teachers teaching multicultural students. Respondents were asked to read the statements and choose one response for each from the five given responses. The five given responses which were same for all the thirteen questions are given below which were meant to measure the frequency of each

problem experienced by different teachers. Seldom Occasionally Often Frequently Always

At the end one open ended question was given where the respondents were asked to mention other areas which they might experience in their classroom but not included in the questionnaire.

Data Collection
The questionnaire was distributed personally among the chosen sample and a little briefing about the purpose of the research was given .Furthermore, the respondents were asked to imagine their classroom setting and give honest opinion. It was also been requested to return the questionnaire as soon as they were completed.

Data Analysis
After collecting data from the respondents, data was analyzed in two steps. First thirteen questions which were close ended in nature were scored while the last question which was open ended was analyzed separately. Before scoring the responses, numbers were assigned to each response as shown in the below given table: 1 Seldom 2 Occasionally 3 Often 4 Frequently 5 Always

Responses of each respondent on every item were marked and than the obtained scores on thirteen items were summated. Subjects experience was assumed to be reflected by the scores one has obtained overall the items. If the obtained scores of a respondent was higher, than the frequency of problems one has experienced was also considered as higher, and if the scores were low than the frequency of the problems faced was also considered low. The obtained scores of each respondent on the thirteen close ended questions is shown in the below given table and chart. Respondents 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7

Scores

23

29

31

38

37

24

35

16

24

34

Table 1.1

40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Chart 1.1 Respondents Scores

Furthermore, to get the scores on each item separately, the responses of each subject on every single statement were summated. Same procedure was applied here also for the scoring procedure (i.e. if the scores are higher than it means that the problem occurs frequently and vice versa) The summated scores on each statement are shown in table and chart 1.2 given below: Questions Scores 1 24 2 15 3 24 4 23 5 26 6 8 7 26 8 19 9 33 10 23 11 19 12 24 13 16

Table 1.2

35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Chart1.2 Questions Scores

Findings and Discussions

After data being analyzed, it became evident that which are the areas where teachers face most difficulty in dealing with the culturally diverse students in their classrooms. From the Table and Graph 1.2, it has been found that statement#9 which was Difficulty in understanding each students background has been highly rated, which means that, most of the teachers face difficulty in understanding every students background in their classroom. Likewise statement#5 and 7 which were Difficulty in dealing with a range of interests and Difficulty in explaining cultural themes were second highly rated items. Thirdly statement#1, 3 and 12 were rated highly, which were Difficulty in communication/language problem, Difficulty in maintaining discipline, and Difficulty in fulfilling students expectations. Than comes statement# 4and 10 which were Difficulty in creating harmony among the students, and Difficulty in handling class discussions or debates. Finally, the statements which came in the category of lowest ranking were Statement#6 which was Difficulty in making classroom more interactive, than staetment#13 which

was Difficulty in motivating students to take more interest in their studies, and the statement with the lowest score was Difficulty in choosing an appropriate teaching methodology. As mentioned earlier, that the last question being asked from the respondents was open ended, where respondents were asked to write down those difficulties which they might experience but not included in the questionnaire. As a response to this question, almost all the respondents have written that teaching multicultural students is not an easy job, as it requires lots of experience and patience too. There were some other responses which were worth considerable. For example one respondent has mentioned that Initially it seems difficult to teach a class with multicultural students, but as the time passes the understanding level of teacher and students increases and everything goes fine. Yet another respondent has wrote that Bringing multicultural students to one focal point seems impossible because each individual carries a whole set of ideas and beliefs with themselves and most of the time they are reluctant to accept others. The response of Urdu teacher was also of a great significance, as she wrote that Its difficult to understand students who are not Urdu speakers, as they cant pronounce Urdu words properly and rarely get what the teacher wants to convey. Consequently there are chances of misunderstanding between teacher and students Similarly, teacher of Pakistan-studies reported that she face difficulty in motivating students who are immigrants to Pakistan, because they show least interest in the subject especially the history portion, because they dont feel the same way for Pakistan as the native students do. Finally, the respected principal has expressed his strong belief by saying that The whole concept of successful teaching revolves around the teacher ONLY, if the teacher has got the tact and experience, than he/she can make students feel at ease and comfort in a short period of time. Hence where there is a will there is a way also.

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Reflections
Successfully teaching students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds especially students from historically marginalized groups involves more than just applying specialized teaching techniques. It demands a new way of looking at teaching that is grounded in an understanding of the role of culture and language in learning.(Villegas and Lucas, 2002) The following six salient qualities which according to Villegas and Lucas, 2002 can serve as a coherent framework for professional development initiatives in schools seeking to respond effectively to an increasingly diverse student population. are recommended: 1. Understanding how learners construct knowledge (e.g. family makeup, immigration history, favorite activities, concerns and strengths etc) 2. Learning about Students lives (prior knowledge of and experience with specific topics in the curriculum) 3. Being socio-culturally conscious (Looking beyond individual students and families to understand inequities in society) 4. Holding affirming views about diversity (Seeing each student as a capable learner and treat each student as a unique individual and not compare him/her with others) 5. Using appropriate instructional strategies (Embedding new ideas and skills in projects that are meaningful to the students) 6. advocating for all students (Understanding that teaching is an ethical activity, and teachers have an ethical obligation to help all students learn) Approaching a students education in these culturally and linguistically responsive ways rather than emphasizing deficits -has the potential to truly engage all students in learning, both in school and beyond.(A.M.Villegas and Tamara Lucas, 2002)

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Conclusion
From this research it became evident that teachers teaching multicultural students face various difficulties in their classrooms, which affects the efficiency level of teachers as well as the academic achievement of students. To minimize the frequency of the difficulties teachers face, it has been recommended that schools must train the teachers to effectively and efficiently handle the classes with multicultural students. "Rapidly changing demographics demand that we engage in a vigorous, ongoing, and systematic process of professional development to prepare all educators in the school to function effectively in a highly diverse environment."(G.R.Howard, 2007)

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References
Gary R.Howard (2007).As Diversity Grows, So Must We. Educational

Leadership/March 2007.Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Villegas.A.M, Lucas.T, (2007).The Culturally Responsive teacher. Educational Leadership/March 2007. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

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Questionnaire
Dear Respondents Kindly fill in the questionnaire below. This has been designed to conduct action research as part of my course requirement for Educational Leadership and Management Profile Name: Nationality: Gender: Subject you teach:

Here are some of the common problems, teachers face globally in dealing culturally diverse students in their classrooms. Please provide responses for the items given below. The last question is open ended. Kindly specify the problems you have experienced that might not be included in this questionnaire. Please try not to leave any question unanswered. Note that there is no right or wrong answer.

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1. Difficulty in communication/language problem seldom Occasionally Often Frequently Always

2. Difficulty in choosing an appropriate teaching methodology seldom Occasionally Often Frequently Always

3. Difficulty in maintaining discipline seldom Occasionally Often Frequently Always

4. Difficulty in creating harmony among the students seldom Occasionally Often Frequently Always

5. Difficulty in dealing with a range of interests seldom Occasionally Often Frequently Always

6. Difficulty in making class more interactive seldom Occasionally Often Frequently Always

7. Difficulty in explaining cultural themes seldom Occasionally Often Frequently Always

8. Difficulty in gaining trust of students seldom Occasionally Often Frequently Always

9. Difficulty in understanding each students background seldom Occasionally Often Frequently Always

10. Difficulty in handling class discussions or debates

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seldom

Occasionally

Often

Frequently

Always

11. Difficulty in conducting group activities seldom Occasionally Often Frequently Always

12. Difficulty in fulfilling students expectation seldom Occasionally Often Frequently Always

13. Difficulty in motivating students to take more interest in their studies seldom Occasionally Often Frequently Always

14. Please write down other problems you might have experienced which are not mentioned in the questionnaire ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

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