MODULE 1- Understanding Diversity

INTRODUCTION

Module 1 introduced you to the

concept of diversity and why teachers should give
importance to diversity. The various sources of learner
diversity in a typical classroom are discussed in this
module. The significance of policies and mandates
supporting the challenges of diversity.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After working through this Module you should

be able to :

a. define diversity and analyze how issues of diversity and equity are addressed in
schools and society.
b. identify and describe the sources of learner diversity
c. discuss the legal, philosophical and theoretical foundations of special needs and
inclusive education.

ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

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 The classroom is a centerpiece of a complicated social arrangement and
daunting challenges for the teacher. Imagine yourself as the teacher of this
class.Read the article below and answer the questions that follows.

A. ANALYSIS

Answer the following questions based from the article read.

a. What types of children does Ms. Madeyn have?

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 b. In what types are the children diverse? Pick two and make a comparison?

c. How would you respond to these children?

d. What will be your greatest challenge if you were Ms. Madelyn

B. ABSTRACTION

Diversity
 Simply means recognizing the group or individual
differences that we see in our students (Eggen &
Kauchack, 2010).

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  It means looking at each student’s unique profile – his biological challenges, his family
patterns, and where he stands on the developmental ladder (Greenspan & Weider, 1998).
 Obviously it is identified with race, gender, age and other physical attributes. It is also
identified by some less obvious characteristics like religious and/or spiritual beliefs and
social orientation.

Having children with different backgrounds and abilities in a single classroom has its
challenges. We need to consider what each child needs to learn and how he or she can learn best.
We need to discover how to get all of the children, no matter what disabilities they have, want to
learn together happily. The most important challenge of a teacher in a diverse educational setting
is to deal with prejudices and discrimination.

Understanding diversity prepares us for:

 new culture paradigm – a mainstream culture that encourages, values and promotes
tolerance for individual differences and inclusion.

Some like to talk about diversity as having two types of dimensions. The dimensions we
cannot control(Inner sphere) and those we can ( outer sphere). First, some states of diversity we
cannot control. We don’t choose our physical abilities. (We’re either born able-bodied or not.)
We don’t choose our sexual orientation. We cannot choose the day we’re born, where we’re born
and to whom (so we cannot control how old we are, our ethnicity or who our parents are).

However, there are dimensions of diversity we might (given the right circumstances) be able
to control: education, religion, geographic location, appearance, trade, marital status etc.

In other words, diversity may include anything and everything that sets us apart, and not only
on the external visible level but also that deeper invisible level where beliefs and values reside.

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 Figure 1.Loden’s Diversity wheel

The above wheel of diversity has been adapted from Marilyn Loden’s Implementing
Diversity. The wheel was created to help ‘initiate conversations about similarities and differences
that cross societal and cultural boundaries.

‘I think diversity discussions are really about understanding our social identities,
acknowledging what is important and learning to integrate into society so that no sub-group feels
excluded or one down,’ Marilyn Loden has been quoted as saying.

SOURCES OF LEARNER DIVERSITY

Learner diversity in a typical classroom can be attributed to culture, gender, language,
socioeconomic status and learning style as shown in Figure 1.

CULTURE
Attitudes and Values
Child-Adult Interaction

SOCIOECONOMIC
STATUS
Basic Needs and GENDER
Experiences Role Identity
Parent Involvement Stereotype Threat
Attitudes and Values
Learner
Diversity

LEARNING STYLE
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Kinesthetic, Tactile Dialect
 Figure 2. Sources of Learner Diversity in a Typical Classroom

1. CULTURE – is an important consideration in understanding learner diversity. Think about

the clothes you wear, the music you like, the food you prefer. These and your other family
patterns are all part of your culture.
 Attitudes and Values
When you entered school, you brought with you a set of habits and values learned
from the home and neighborhood. At times they complement or reinforce classroom
practices. Some children bring with them a resistance culture. These are beliefs, values and
behaviors that do not conform to the mainstream. This type of culture can challenge the
management skill of the teacher.
 Child-Adult Interaction
Another cultural dimension that can influence classroom management is the type of
child-adult interaction. Take a look at these two examples of request:
 “Would you like to help clean the room?”
 “Help me clean the room.”
The first statement is indirect and shows a reciprocal or complementary interaction.
You have a choice whether to help or not. On the other hand, the second statement is a
worded command and exerts authority. You have no choice but to help. The type of child-
adult interaction is an important consideration when the teacher desires to establish
compliance behaviors. Some questions to address in understanding how culture impacts on
learning are presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Cultural Considerations Influencing Learning

Dimensions Considerations
Time  How do students perceive time?
 How is timelessness regarded in their culture?
Space  What personal distance do students use in interactions with other
students and with adults?
 How does the culture determine the space allotted to boys and girls?
Dress and Food  How does dress differ for age, gender and social class?
 What clothing and accessories are considered acceptable?
 What foods are typical?
Rituals and  What rituals do the students use to show respect?

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 Ceremonies  What celebrations do students observe and for what reasons?
 How and where do parents expect to be greeted when visiting the
class?
Work  What types of work are students expected to perform, and at what age,
in the home and community?
 To what extent are students expected to work together?
Leisure  What are the purposes for play?
 What typical activities are done for employment in the home and
community?
Gender Roles  What tasks are performed by boys? By girls?
 What expectations do parents and students hold for boys’ and girls’
achievements and how does this differ by subject areas?
Status  What resources (e.g., study area and materials, study assistance from
parents and siblings) are available at home and in the community?
 What power do the parents have to obtain information about the school
and to influence educational choices?
Goals  What kinds of work are considered prestigious or desirable?
 What role does education play in achieving occupational goals?
 What education level do the family and student desire for the student?
Education  What methods for teaching and learning are used in the home (e.g.,
modeling and imitation, didactic stories and proverbs, direct verbal
instruction)?
Communication  What roles do verbal and nonverbal languages play in learning and
teaching?
 What roles do conventions such as silence, questions, rhetorical
questions, and discourse style play in communication?
 What types of literature (e.g., newspaper, books) are used in the home
and in what language(s) are they written?
 How is writing used in the home (e.g., letters, lists, notes) and in what
language(s)?
Interaction  What roles do cooperation and competition play in learning?
 How are children expected to interact with teachers?

2. GENDER – gender differences is another important consideration in understanding diversity.

 Role Identity
We identify roles expected of girls and boys. Thus, we frown when boys play
with dolls or when girls play rough games. We assign Math and Science to the male
domain and the languages to the females. These role identities have resulted to stereotype

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 threats, e.g. girls playing football because they will be called “tomboys” or boys fear to
be seen alone in the company of girls because they will be considered sissies.
 Stereotype Threats
Teachers may unintentionally reinforce gender stereotypes such as assigning
housekeeping tasks to girls and tool-using tasks to boys or give more responsibilities to
boys than girls (UNESCO, 2004). In these ways they may be completely unaware that
they treat boys and girls differently.

3. LANGUAGE
 Dialect
Your dialect can also make you different from the rest. How different is your
speech intonation, pronunciation, and rhythm from your classmates? No matter how hard
you try to imitate a second language speaker, e.g. English, there will always remain a
trace of your mother tongue, the language you grow up with. Language makes a Bisaya
different from a Tagalog or an Ilocano, or any other native.

4. SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS – over time, this has been considered in relation to school
performance and behavior.
 Parent Involvement
Differences in behavior are attributed to the extent parents are involved in their
child’s development.
 Basic Needs and Experiences
It refers on how basic needs are met and the provision of stimulating and
developmentally appropriate experiences.
5. LEARNING STYLE – if we advocate
that every child matters we have also to
pay attention to the differences in the
learning style, motivations and needs of
the students.
 Learning styles
These are the preferences
individuals demonstrate in the ways in
which they concentrate, process,
internalize and retain academic information. If we recognize the learning styles of our
students, we are given opportunities to recognize the learning styles of our students; we
are given opportunities to recognize students and the differences in learning between
them. This recognition helps us create ways for them to become effective learners.

DIVERSITY IN THE SPECIAL EDUCATION SETTING

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 The classroom of children with special needs is a natural setting of diverse needs and
characteristics.
Aside from the sources mentioned previously their individual differences can be
explained in terms of the following according to Greenspan & Weider, 1998:
1. how the child reacts to sensations, processes information, plans actions, and
sequences behavior and thought.
2. the level of functional emotional, social and intellectual capacities
3. typical and necessary interaction patterns
4. family patterns

The implications for understanding learner diversity are reflected in the provisions of
legal mandates and policies spelled out by the Constitution. Department of Education and other
agencies particularly, the UNESCO.
 Education Act of 1982 and 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, Art.
XIV, Sec. 5, par. 5
 mandates that all people regardless of sex, age, creed, socioeconomic status, physical and
mental condition, social and ethnic origin, political and other affiliations should be given
access to quality education in line with the national goals and conductive to their full
development.
The Global Movement for Education for All (1990) and Salamanca Statement and
Framework for Action (1994)
 was strongly reaffirmed by the latter in its principles and policy ensuring the right to
education for everyone regardless of individual differences.
The Philippine in a significant conference and in the Dakar Framework 2000
 inspire the Philippine Education for All 2015 National Action Plan
Philippine Education Act for All 2015 National Action Plan
 include in its goals a strong declaration to provide basic quality
education for all and eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education
(Philippines EFA 2015, Goal 1 and 5, 2005).

Republic Act 7277, otherwise known as

Magna Carta for Disabled Persons enacted in
July 19991 and approved in 1995 affirms the
full participation and total integration of
persons with disabilities into the mainstream
of our society. It symbolizes independence
and respect for them. As citizen, they must
also be given equal opportunities to develop

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their skills and potentials. Likewise, they must be afforded equal access to the basic services
extended by the government.

DEPED ORDER 72, S. 2009 – No Child Left Behind Policy

 DepEd addresses the right of the children with special needs within the regular or
“inclusive setting”.
 Inclusive Education embraces the philosophy of accepting all children in the
school community.
Components:
1. Child Find
2. Assessment
3. Program Option
4. Curricular Modification
5. Parental Involvement
Each of these developments seeks to responds to DepEd’s vision for Filipino children,
both typical or with special needs, for a discrimination-free quality education. It is difficult to
establish a visible demarcation line between the sources of diversity among typical learners and
those with special needs. As human beings, there can always be bad day and good days. They
make mistakes, they mess up. You can observe this situation not only in children with disabilities
but also among children with gifts and talents. These situations make you understand better their
developmental needs, strengths and weaknesses so you can plan individual interventions that are
more manageable on your part.

REFERENCES

Capell, B (2015). Explorations into Diversity at Inter and Intra Organizational Levels (Doctoral

Dissertation) Retrieved 9 April 2019 from https://tesisenred.net/handle/10803/313043

Danocup B.(2010) Classroom Management: Preparing Special Education Teachers. Lorimar Publishing.

Child and Youth Welfacre Code ,P.D. No. 603,s. 1974,UN Conventions on the Right of Persons with
Disabilities

Lou, K & Dean, B (2010) Global Diversity Puts New Spin on Loden’s Diversity Wheel. Retrieved 9 April
2019 from: http://www.loden.com/Web_Stuff/Articles_-_Videos_-_Survey/Entries/
2010/9/3_Global_Diversity_Puts_New_Spin_on_Lodens_Diversity_Wheel.html

 
Lou, K & Dean, B (2010) Global Diversity Puts New Spin on Loden’s Diversity Wheel.

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Danocup B. O (2010) Classroom Management: Preparing Special Education Teachers. Lorimar
Publishing.
https://www.google.com/search?q=magna+carta+for+disabled+persons&tbm=isch&

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