Culture and Education

Culture affects education in many ways. Learners are not the same even though they might be treated equally by educators across the globe. They vary in different ways from the way they learn whether by cognitive styles, psychologically, intelligence and generally by their styles of learning. The context in which someone grows has a major impact on the way people from the different cultures learn. The success of every student might rely on their beliefs, principles, family background and practices.  This document is going to focus on the

All children feel different and left out if not treated in accordance to who they are regardless of their age, gender, economic status, race, beliefs, abilities etc. on most occasions, they are misinterpreted and misunderstood because of the specific unique nature of their culture and upbringing that locks them out and denies them the opportunity to interact or be accepted in the society in the normal way. It has been observed in public elementary, high schools and colleges that students are treated in uniformity despite their cultural backgrounds. Their differences are ignored and their special needs are not tended to and all students are forced to incorporate themselves in unison with the school’s code and align themselves in harmony to the school’s expectations of them. This creates a difficult time to strategize, keep up the pace, and fully concentrate and achieve the best since even though they are students, they are forced to study the same content and work in the same curriculum on the same schedule. They should also use the same materials for learning and work on the same amount of work.

This kind of equality on uniformity and diversity creates biasness and learning problems since some students are disadvantaged. Teachers should promote cultural infusion in classes to promote student learning styles, group collaboration, modes of reflective learning and the function of non verbal behavior. Some students are visual learners and emphasize on visual strategies and mental representations to process learning. Others learn in groups and encourage teamwork to achieve the best results. The difference in learning styles might create frustration to teachers who misinterpreted the child’s actions e.g., some students think it’s polite culturally to be silent when addressed by an elderly person or a teacher and therefore might be silent even when signaled to speak. Other cultures require students to pay full attention and avoid questions and discussions. Those who do not belong to that society would find it hard to cope.

It has been established that uniformity in classrooms creates a conflict between the traditional beliefs of a student and cultural norms and practices of the school. Diverse learning styles exist but are not adopted by educators. Students learn in different ways whether visually, practically or auditorily among others. Those students denied the opportunity to explore e their style of learning might get frustrated. Those students who are not good with group activities might find it hard to get along with their peers and would rather focus on their individual work. Because on most occasions they feel neglected, ignored or simply left out. The learning process should also create an environment of freedom and calm excitement and most students feel disturbed and devastated when put on a scale and are weighed academically with other students. Emotionally it can create discouragement, stress and fear of failure and bad reputation. Most students want to be wild and free and energetic in learning, but when the issue of uniformity sets in most children feel they are denied their rights and forced to work and conform to an unbearable programmed. Some students would resort to measures like drugs, withdrawal, vandalism and rudeness etc to build up their self esteem or to be accepted and recognized. People from different cultures also have different perceptions of learning with the influence that the culture places on education. Some take it as essential, others take it as a rite and only boys are sent to school. Education is beyond culture and therefore culture should not be a hindrance to education but rather a tool for better education.

In learning, people in a school come from the many different backgrounds. These students should learn how to associate with themselves. To do this, the administrative unit should lead from the front to ensure the other students and those working with them do the same. Culture should be embraced, no matter where one comes from to ensure that this is achieved.