The impact of cultural diversity awareness in schools in South India: A comprehensive study
List of Authors
  • Lubna Ali Mohammed , Mahera Nawaz Vazir

Keyword
  • cultural diversity awareness, schools, South India, impact, inclusive practices, social integration, mixed-methods approach, qualitative research, quantitative research, thematic analysis, surveys, impact, inclusive practices, social integration

Abstract
  • The lack of cultural diversity integration in South Indian schools hinders students' understanding and appreciation of their diverse society. Limited teacher training and insufficient resources further exacerbate this issue. Addressing these challenges is crucial to fostering an inclusive and harmonious learning environment that promotes cross-cultural understanding and combats stereotypes and prejudices. This research aims to investigate the impact of current cultural diversity awareness in schools in South India. In recent years, educational institutions in South India have experienced an increasing presence of students from diverse cultural backgrounds. Understanding the effects of this cultural diversity on overall learning environment, teachers and students is essential for promoting inclusive practices and fostering social integration. Therefore, this study employs a comprehensive mixed-methods approach, integrating qualitative and quantitative methodologies, to examine the implications of cultural diversity awareness in schools and its influence on various stakeholders. The qualitative phase of the research involves focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with school administrators, teachers, students and parents. These interviews aim to capture diverse perspectives and experiences related to cultural diversity within the school setting. Through thematic analysis, emerging themes regarding the impact of cultural diversity awareness on students' academic performance, social development, and cultural competence will be identified. Additionally, the quantitative phase of the research entails surveys distributed among a representative sample of students and teachers. These surveys assess the level of cultural diversity awareness and its perceived impact on classroom dynamics, intercultural interactions and educational outcomes. Statistical analysis is conducted to examine correlations and identify significant associations between cultural diversity awareness and the variables under investigation. This study’s findings contribute to the existing literature on cultural diversity in educational settings, particularly in South India. By exploring the implications of cultural diversity awareness, this research seeks to provide insights into the positive outcomes and challenges associated with diverse school environments. The study outcomes inform educational policies and practices, facilitating the implementation of effective strategies to promote inclusive education and foster social integration among students from different cultural backgrounds.

Reference
  • [1] Othman, Azam, and Norbaiduri Ruslan. "Intercultural communication experiences among students and teachers: implication to in-service teacher professional development." Journal for multicultural education 14, no. 3/4 (2020): 223-238.

    [2] Udeaja, Chika, Claudia Trillo, Kwasi GB Awuah, Busisiwe CN Makore, Dilip A. Patel, Lukman E. Mansuri, and Kumar N. Jha. "Urban heritage conservation and rapid urbanization: Insights from Surat, India." Sustainability 12, no. 6 (2020): 2172.

    [3] Bhesera, Harihara, and Shankar Lal Bika. "Respect to Diversity through Inclusive and Equitable Education: A Review Study."

    [4] Shliakhovchuk, Elena. "After cultural literacy: New models of intercultural competency for life and work in a VUCA world." Educational Review 73, no. 2 (2021): 229-250.

    [5] Yuan, Suwen. "A Study on the Theory and Application of English Teachers’ Cross-Cultural Competence in Private Colleges and Universities in the Context of “Internet+”." Journal of Contemporary Educational Research 6, no. 6 (2022): 79-84.

    [6] Park, Hyun Mi, Parth Patel, Arup Varma, and Akanksha Jaiswal. "The challenges for macro talent management in the mature emerging market of South Korea: A review and research agenda." Thunderbird International Business Review 64, no. 5 (2022): 393-404.

    [7] Taylor, Evi, Patricia Guy-Walls, Patricia Wilkerson, and Rejoice Addae. "The historical perspectives of stereotypes on African-American males." Journal of Human Rights and Social Work 4 (2019): 213-225.

    [8] Meléndez-Luces, Jennifer, and Pilar Couto-Cantero. "Engaging Ethnic-Diverse Students: A Research Based on Culturally Responsive Teaching for Roma-Gypsy Students." Education Sciences 11, no. 11 (2021): 739.

    [9] Juvonen, Jaana, Leah M. Lessard, Ritika Rastogi, Hannah L. Schacter, and Danielle Sayre Smith. "Promoting social inclusion in educational settings: Challenges and opportunities." Educational Psychologist 54, no. 4 (2019): 250-270.

    [10] Kim, Yeji, and Minsik Choi. "Towards critical multicultural teacher education in the midst of ethno-nationalism: Korean pre-service teachers’ international learning experiences." Teaching and Teacher Education 96 (2020): 103155.

    [11] Ezra, Orit, Anat Cohen, Alla Bronshtein, Hagit Gabbay, and Orit Baruth. "Equity factors during the COVID-19 pandemic: Difficulties in emergency remote teaching (ert) through online learning." Education and Information Technologies 26, no. 6 (2021): 7657-7681.

    [12] Sturdivant, Toni Denese, and Iliana Alanís. "Teaching through culture: One teacher’s use of culturally relevant practices for African American preschoolers." Journal for Multicultural Education (2019).

    [13] Herrera, Socorro G., Lisa Porter, and Katherine Barko-Alva. Equity in school–parent partnerships: Cultivating community and family trust in culturally diverse classrooms. Teachers College Press, 2020.

    [14] O’Leary, Erin Sanders, Casey Shapiro, Shannon Toma, Hannah Whang Sayson, Marc Levis-Fitzgerald, Tracy Johnson, and Victoria L. Sork. "Creating inclusive classrooms by engaging STEM faculty in culturally responsive teaching workshops." International Journal of STEM education 7 (2020): 1-15.

    [15] Diaz, Tomas, J. Renee Navarro, and Esther H. Chen. "An institutional approach to fostering inclusion and addressing racial bias: implications for diversity in academic medicine." Teaching and learning in medicine 32, no. 1 (2020): 110-116.

    [16] Abacioglu, Ceren Su, Monique Volman, and Agneta H. Fischer. "Teachers’ multicultural attitudes and perspective taking abilities as factors in culturally responsive teaching." British Journal of Educational Psychology 90, no. 3 (2020): 736-752.

    [17] Parkhouse, Hillary, Chu Yi Lu, and Virginia R. Massaro. "Multicultural education professional development: A review of the literature." Review of Educational Research 89, no. 3 (2019): 416-458.

    [18] Hascher, Tina, and Jennifer Waber. "Teacher well-being: A systematic review of the research literature from the year 2000–2019." Educational Research Review 34 (2021): 100411.

    [19] Sahithya, B. R., S. M. Manohari, and Raman Vijaya. "Parenting styles and its impact on children–a cross cultural review with a focus on India." Mental Health, Religion & Culture 22, no. 4 (2019): 357-383.

    [20] Schwarzenthal, Miriam, Maja K. Schachner, Linda P. Juang, and Fons JR Van De Vijver. "Reaping the benefits of cultural diversity: Classroom cultural diversity climate and students’ intercultural competence." European Journal of Social Psychology 50, no. 2 (2020): 323-346.

    [21] Schachner, Maja K. "From equality and inclusion to cultural pluralism–Evolution and effects of cultural diversity perspectives in schools." European Journal of Developmental Psychology 16, no. 1 (2019): 1-17.

    [22] Glock, Sabine, Carrie Kovacs, and Ineke Pit‐ten Cate. "Teachers’ attitudes towards ethnic minority students: Effects of schools’ cultural diversity." British Journal of Educational Psychology 89, no. 4 (2019): 616-634.

    [23] Celeste, Laura, Gülseli Baysu, Karen Phalet, Loes Meeussen, and Judit Kende. "Can school diversity policies reduce belonging and achievement gaps between minority and majority youth? Multiculturalism, colorblindness, and assimilationism assessed." Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 45, no. 11 (2019): 1603-1618.

    [24] Civitillo, Sauro, Linda P. Juang, Marcel Badra, and Maja K. Schachner. "The interplay between culturally responsive teaching, cultural diversity beliefs, and self-reflection: A multiple case study." Teaching and Teacher Education 77 (2019): 341-351.

    [25] Brion, Corinne. "Cultural proficiency: The missing link to student learning." Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership 22, no. 4 (2019): 99-114.

    [26] Harrison-Bernard, Lisa M., Allison C. Augustus-Wallace, Flavia M. Souza-Smith, Fern Tsien, Gregory P. Casey, and Tina P. Gunaldo. "Knowledge gains in a professional development workshop on diversity, equity, inclusion, and implicit bias in academia." Advances in Physiology Education 44, no. 3 (2020): 286-294.

    [27] Carver-Thomas, Desiree, and Linda Darling-Hammond. "The trouble with teacher turnover: How teacher attrition affects students and schools." Education Policy Analysis Archives 27, no. 36 (2019).

    [28] Tupper, Paul, and Caroline Colijn. "COVID-19 in schools: Mitigating classroom clusters in the context of variable transmission." PLoS computational biology 17, no. 7 (2021): e1009120.

    [29] Bromberek-Dyzman, Katarzyna, Rafał Jończyk, Monica Vasileanu, Anabella-Gloria Niculescu-Gorpin, and Halszka Bąk. "Cross-linguistic differences affect emotion and emotion-laden word processing: Evidence from Polish-English and Romanian-English bilinguals." International Journal of Bilingualism 25, no. 5 (2021): 1161-1182.

    [30] Greenwald, Anthony G., Miguel Brendl, Huajian Cai, Dario Cvencek, John F. Dovidio, Malte Friese, Adam Hahn et al. "Best research practices for using the Implicit Association Test." Behavior research methods (2021): 1-20.

    [31] Glock, Sabine, and Hannah Kleen. "Implicit and explicit measures of teaching self‐efficacy and their relation to cultural heterogeneity: differences between preservice and in‐service teachers." Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs 19 (2019): 24-35.

    [32] Pit-ten Cate, Ineke M., and Sabine Glock. "Teachers' implicit attitudes toward students from different social groups: A meta-analysis." Frontiers in psychology 10 (2019): 2832.

    [33] Kleen, Hannah, Meike Bonefeld, Sabine Glock, and Oliver Dickhäuser. "Implicit and explicit attitudes toward Turkish students in Germany as a function of teachers’ ethnicity." Social Psychology of Education 22, no. 4 (2019): 883-899.

    [34] Vuletich, Heidi A., Beth Kurtz-Costes, Erin Cooley, and B. Keith Payne. "Math and language gender stereotypes: Age and gender differences in implicit biases and explicit beliefs." PLoS One 15, no. 9 (2020): e0238230.

    [35] Wettstein, Alexander, Gabriel Jenni, Sandra Schneider, Fabienne Kühne, Martin grosse Holtforth, and Roberto La Marca. "Teachers' perception of aggressive student behavior through the lens of chronic worry and resignation, and its association with psychophysiological stress: An observational study." Social Psychology of Education (2023): 1-20.

    [36] Glock, Sabine, Hannah Kleen, and Stefanie Morgenroth. "Stress among teachers: Exploring the role of cultural diversity in schools." The Journal of Experimental Education 87, no. 4 (2019): 696-713.

    [37] Bergen, Nicole, and Ronald Labonté. "“Everything is perfect, and we have no problems”: detecting and limiting social desirability bias in qualitative research." Qualitative health research 30, no. 5 (2020): 783-792.

    [38] Abrajano, Marisa, and R. Michael Alvarez. "Answering questions about race: how racial and ethnic identities influence survey response." American Politics Research 47, no. 2 (2019): 250-274.

    [39] Romijn, Bodine R., Pauline L. Slot, Paul PM Leseman, and Valentina Pagani. "Teachers’ self-efficacy and intercultural classroom practices in diverse classroom contexts: A cross-national comparison." International Journal of Intercultural Relations 79 (2020): 58-70.

    [40] Rezaei, Mojtaba, Vahid Jafari-Sadeghi, and Stefano Bresciani. "What drives the process of knowledge management in a cross-cultural setting: The impact of social capital." European Business Review (2020).

    [41] Cruz, Rebecca A., Sarah Manchanda, Allison R. Firestone, and Janelle E. Rodl. "An examination of teachers’ culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy." Teacher Education and Special Education 43, no. 3 (2020): 197-214.

    [42] Lei, Sut Ieng, and Amy Siu Ian So. "Online teaching and learning experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic–A comparison of teacher and student perceptions." Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education 33, no. 3 (2021): 148-162.

    [43] Kim, Jennifer Y., and Loriann Roberson. "I’m biased and so are you. What should organizations do? A review of organizational implicit-bias training programs." Consulting Psychology Journal 74, no. 1 (2022): 19.

    [44] Ferdous, Most Zannatul, Md Saiful Islam, Md Tajuddin Sikder, Abu Syed Md Mosaddek, Jonathan Adrián Zegarra-Valdivia, and David Gozal. "Knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding COVID-19 outbreak in Bangladesh: An online-based cross-sectional study." PloS one 15, no. 10 (2020): e0239254.

    [45] Christ, Oliver, and Mathias Kauff. "Intergroup contact theory." Social psychology in action: Evidence-based interventions from theory to practice (2019): 145-161.

    [46] McKeown, Shelley, Thia Sagherian-Dickey, Jasmine Kwong, and Jaysan J. Charlesford. "Putting theory into peaceful practice: Insights and reflections on the process of coproducing a school-based intergroup relations intervention with teachers." Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology (2022).

    [47] Pattiwael, Athriyana S. "Literature for Developing Student's Humanity Awareness." In Journal International Seminar on Languages, Literature, Arts, and Education (ISLLAE), vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 79-88. 2019.

    [48] West, Keon. "Testing hypersensitive responses: Ethnic minorities are not more sensitive to microaggressions, they just experience them more frequently." Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 45, no. 11 (2019): 1619-1632.

    [49] Meyer, Melanie S., Yuyang Shen, and Jonathan A. Plucker. "Reducing Excellence Gaps: A Systematic Review of Research on Equity in Advanced Education." Review of Educational Research (2023): 00346543221148461.

    [50] Spatola, Nicolas, and Olga A. Wudarczyk. "Implicit attitudes towards robots predict explicit attitudes, semantic distance between robots and humans, anthropomorphism, and prosocial behavior: From attitudes to human–robot interaction." International Journal of Social Robotics 13 (2021): 1149-1159.