Abstract
In recent years, our society has experienced a major renaissance regarding cultural and personal beliefs, which has affected the overall environment and traditions within our current school settings, thus the need for integrating multicultural theoretical practices to ensure success for diverse populations within Pre-K-12 and postsecondary education. According to Guo and Jamal, there is a need for learning environments to embrace diversity and engage in the personification of respect for the views, beliefs, and values of students. This body of work is focused on the identification of barriers surrounding academic achievement for diverse learners in the Pre-K-12 and postsecondary settings and provides useful tools and strategies that educators may use to further support diverse learners.
TopBackground
Today’s learning environment consists of a diverse population of individuals who come from various cultures seeking support in the educational setting. Fruja-Amthor and Roxas (2016) confirm that the United States at present is experiencing a vast transformation in the demographic climate due to the enormous population of immigrants being born and entering the country. Similarly, Aceves and Orosco (2014) corroborates that a great percentage of students currently live within diverse family units and often struggle to succeed in school. Fruja-Amthor and Roxas (2016) further emphasized the importance for educators to incorporate innovative processes within their classrooms to ensure successful outcomes for diverse students. Often diverse learners isolate themselves within the learning environment concerning fear of not being accepted for their learning challenges, language barriers, including cultural and religious differences. Thus, educators at present face an immeasurable amount of challenges to ensure adequate levels of support are provided to the diverse student populations within Pre-K -12 and higher education environments. As a result, the inclusion of multicultural practices which focus on acceptance of community and family differences enhance student success within the school setting. Similarly, multicultural practices within Pre-K -12 and higher education systems assist in providing support for students from diverse cultural backgrounds as well as students with disabilities (Bialka, 2017).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Universal Design for Learning: A framework that establishes equitable opportunities for diverse learners during instruction.
Multicultural Education: Teaching and Learning approach that includes all ethnic groups.
Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT): The process of using information from various cultures to create a learning environment for all learners.
Differentiation: Utilizing different evidence-based strategies to ensure student success.
Diverse Learners: Diverse Learners include children and students of all abilities from racially, ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Postsecondary Education: Schooling beyond secondary grade level; which includes two and four year institutions.