Abstract
Adult educators internationally are being asked to transform the pressures of cultural diversity in their classrooms into opportunities for all learners in the Information Age. Good teachers not only convey a body of knowledge to their students, but they are also aware of how to convey that knowledge by connecting their own experiences with their students’ experiences of the world. Only by the instructor understanding and respecting the students’ language, culture, and knowledge will students be able to achieve optimal academic success to build their future. The challenge today for all adult educators is to develop a personal action plan for cultural competence that helps to ensure their classrooms are grounded on respect for cultural diversity and academic achievement for all.
TopBackground
Adult educators must first begin with a working definition of culture and understand all of the various dimensions of culture when establishing a cultural knowledge base. One definition states “culture is an integrated pattern of human behavior which includes but is not limited to—thought, communication, languages, beliefs, values, practices, customs, courtesies, rituals, manners of interacting, roles, relationships, and expected behaviors of an ethnic group or social groups whose members are uniquely identifiable by that pattern of human behavior” (Gilbert, Goode, & Dunne, 2007, p.14). “Culture is a system of collectively held values, beliefs, and practices of a group which guides decisions and actions in patterned and recurrent ways. It encompasses the organization of thinking, feeling, believing, valuing and behaving collectively that differentiates one group from another. Values and beliefs often function on an unconscious level” (Goode, Stockalingam, Bronheim, Brown, & Jones, 2004, p. 14).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Andragogy: The practice of helping adults learn to distinguish it from pedagogy
Ethnocentrism: When an individual insists on their culture as the only correct way to understand the world.
Culturally Responsive Teaching: Using the cultural characteristics, experiences, and perspectives of ethnically diverse students as conduits for teaching them more effectively.
Culture: A culture is defined as a group or community that shares common experiences that shape the way they understand the world.
Lifelong Learning: An education without a start and a finish.
Globalization: A process by which the people of the world are unified into a single society and function together.
Cultural Competence: A developmental process where individuals demonstrate an acceptance and respect for cultural differences.
Information Age: A form of culture where electronics joins members of diverse cultural backgrounds together.
Cultural Awareness: Becoming more aware of how aspects of our culture have shaped our beliefs and behaviors
Cultural Assimilation: The blending of two previously distinct groups into one
Acculturation: Incorporate parts of a culture different from our own.