Cultural Sensitivity in the
Classroom

Incorporating Culturally Sensitive Practices in the
Classroom:
 Examining
why it is important.
 How it can be achieved, particularly for English
language learners.
EDPY 413 University of Alberta
Presented by: Sara McMillan, Mike Brennan, &
Amanda Pullishy
What is culture?

“. . . people with common origins, customs
and styles of living, who share a sense of
identity and language. Their common
experiences shape their values, goals,
expectations, beliefs, perceptions and
behavior”
Culture is “all those things that people have
learned to do, believe, value, and enjoy in
their history. . . the ideals, beliefs, skills,
tools, customs, and institutions into which
each member of society is born”
There is your own culture and the culture of
others.
(Department of Developmental Services, 1997, p. 2).

(Sue, 1981, p. 37).

Self-Cultural Awareness
Why do we need to be critically cognizant of our
own culture?

To understand the reasons for our actions and
reactions; based upon the social constructions of our
culture (Department of Developmental Services, 1997, p. 2).


These social constructions can differ from culture to culture.
To realize that the socially acceptable/ unacceptable
social constructions within a culture are ‘natural and
common sense’ to the people in that culture because
they are continuously a part of their way of life; learned
from an early age (Kellner & Durham, 2001, p. 170).
Self-Cultural Awareness Cont…
Why do we need to be critically cognizant of our
own culture?

To ensure we do not take the ‘natural, common
sense’ practices for granted and become or remain
ethnocentric.


“. . . [people have a] tendency to regard one’s own cultural
group as the center of everything and the standard to which all
others are compared” (Department of Developmental Services, 1997, p. 3).
To facilitate increased acceptance of other cultures
by the realization that there are no right or wrong
cultural beliefs (Department of Developmental Services, 1997, p. 4).

Increased willingness to learn cross culturally.

Provides an opportunity to quash unfounded preconceived
notions, stereotypes and prejudices through this education.
Cross-Cultural Awareness
So, why do we need to be critically cognizant of
other people’s culture?

To facilitate awareness and understanding of other
people’s actions and reactions
(Department of Developmental
Services, 1997, p. 4).


Prevents misunderstandings due to a lack of awareness.
To create a climate that is conducive to maximum
teaching and learning; providing their culture is included
in the classroom instruction
(Villegas, 1991, p. 13).

Students not feeling isolated as ‘outsiders’

Affective filter (Krashen) is lowered which promotes further
engagement in the classroom (Nagle & Sanders, 1986, p. 11).
How can we facilitate self-cultural and
cross-cultural awareness?
 Culture
 Can
shock activity
be “ a powerful learning tool”
 Culturally
(Adler, 1987, p. 24).
Responsive Teaching
 Inclusion
of students' cultural references
in all aspects of learning
(Ladson-Billings, 1994).
What are the similarities and
differences between the two
scenarios?

Similarity: there is a cultural difference
between comfort zones in both scenarios.

Difference: there is a language barrier
that impedes understanding of the cultural
difference.
Purpose of Activity

To demonstrate that in order to become
aware of someone else’s culture,
particularly the differences that may cause
tension, we need to have a common
language of expression.
 Written
and/or oral
Conclusion:

Culturally sensitive practices need to be
implemented in the classroom to:
 Create
a climate that is conducive to maximum
learning and teaching for all students.
all students the opportunity to think ‘outside
their box’ with a different set of lenses
(perspective), which will help promote cultural
understanding and awareness.
 Allow
Conclusion Cont…

Yet, this can only be achieved through a
common language, which demonstrates
how language and culture are inextricably
connected
(Brown, 2000, p. 123).

Thus, teachers face huge challenges:
 Need
to be aware of the various cultural climates
in the classroom .
 Need to teach the curriculum content and English
target language in a culturally sensitive fashion.
Specific Target Culture: Somalia

The remainder of the presentation will:
 Examine
the educational, religious and political
structure of Somali culture.
 Mention the struggles that Somali children may
face in Canadian schools because of their culture.
 Provide empirically based, culturally sensitive
strategies that will be useful for teachers teaching
Somali English language learners in their
classroom.
"All Somalis know that
gangsterism isn't to brag
about. The kids that I was
growing up with [in Rexdale]
would wear baggy [track] suit
pants, and a little jacket from
Zellers or something, and
they'd walk into school, and
all the cool kids would be
like, 'Ah, man, look at these
Somalis. Yo, you're a punk!'
And the other kid won't say
nothing, but that kid,
probably, has killed fifteen
people.” -K’naan
Somalia
Pop: Approx.
10 million
Located in Horn of Africa
Government: Transitional
Federal Government is
externally recognized, but
holds very little power
Regional and local governing bodies exist
and control various regions of the country.
Republic of Somaliland
 State of Puntland

Civil War in Somalia
Clan-based fiefdoms fighting for power
 No central government
 400 000 died from Violence, Hunger,
Disease
 45% of the population internally displaced
or has fled to other countries
 Country has lost much of its commercial
and farming communities

Civil War: Effects on Education
Suspension of all educational activities
 90% of school buildings completely or
partially destroyed
 All school records lost
 Supplies looted
 Absence of standardized curriculum
 Lack of trained teachers
 Children traumatized by war

Somali Students in Canada
Religion
Racialization
Trauma
Religion




Virtually all Somalis are Sunni Muslims
Strong attachment between Islam and Somali
national identity
To have a Somali identity without Islam in
Canada is difficult, face isolation from Somali
community.
Somalis feel very strongly about allowing
religious practices and accommodating for them
in public schools.
Islam in Canadian Schools
Lack of uniformity in accommodating
religious needs for Somali students (e.g.,
Hijab, Ramadan)
 Physical education, Health/Sex education
conflict with Sharia law
 Islamaphobia
 First-generation immigrants more likely to
oppose secular education system

Racialization
Somali national identity focuses more on
religion and nationality than race
 Often pressured to develop persona of
Afro-Canadian peers
 Somalis racialized as blacks, but identify
as being Muslim
 Important that schools promote awareness
of Somali national identity

Trauma and PTSD
Refugee children often suffer from severe
post-trauma and stress disorders, unlikely
to learn well in traditional school
environment
 Trauma Exposure
 Post-settlement
 Discrimination

Culturally Responsive Teaching
Strategies
1. Involving the Parents
2. Communicating High Expectations
3. Involving and Valuing the First Language
and Culture
4. Examining The Effects of Cultural
Differences
5. Are Student-centred and Constructivist
Adapted from: (Principles for Culturally Responsive Teaching, 2006)
1. Involving the Parents

Translate important documents into the parents’ first language and use a
translator, if necessary, for communicating with parents, especially early on.

Find out about the parents’ experiences and expectations of school
systems, and explain differences in curriculum, discipline, and parental
involvement between Canadian and Somali schools. Ask what they expect
for their child’s experience (Kahin, 1997).

Build a relationship with the parents and let them know that you are on their
side. You can do this through progress reports, meetings, community
events, and home visits if possible (Griffiths, 2002).

Use a parent contract and school contract to show support and to make
expectations explicit. Include explanations for school discipline procedures,
diagnostic exams, curricular requirements, and relevant information that the
parents may be concerned about (Kahin, 1997).
Adapted from: (Principles for Culturally Responsive Teaching, 2006)
2. Communicating High
Expectations

Make your expectations explicit. Show your students
what you want them to accomplish.

Challenge them. Although English language learners
may not be ready for all of the language-dependant
schoolwork of their classmates, find ways to have them
complete the same curricular requirements.

Give specific praise for their accomplishments (Griffiths, 2002).
Adapted from: (Principles for Culturally Responsive Teaching, 2006)
3. Involving and Valuing the First
Language and Culture

Relate curricular materials to issues that are meaningful and
relevant to Somalia, Somali-Canadian communities or cultural
groups. Ways to do this include: thematic units, problem solving
lessons, or project based learning (Principles for Culturally Responsive Teaching, 2006), (Kahin,
1997).

Learn key vocabulary, such as greetings, in the student’s first
language or use the student as a resource for creating classroom
displays and materials with Somali words (Kahin, 1997).

Attend Somali community events, if possible, and talk about them
with the students.
Adapted from: (Principles for Culturally Responsive Teaching, 2006)
4. Examining the Effects of
Cultural Differences

Teach and talk to students about diversity, not just multiple
perspectives or cultural differences, but different needs, learning
styles, strengths, and skills, e.g.: fair does not always mean equal
(McLoughlin & Oliver 2000), (Griffiths, 2002).

Provide different forms of support:

Peer support: buddy system - students are assigned an academically
strong Canadian partner to do a variety of tasks together such as
studying, homework, school orientation, etc. (Biman & Trickett, 2001).

Academic and language support: students are assigned a partner in
another grade, or meet with a caring adult such as an aide, coach,
counsellor, other teacher, or administrator who can give them extra
academic support (Biman & Trickett, 2001), (Griffiths, 2002).
Adapted from: (Principles for Culturally Responsive Teaching, 2006)
5. Student-centred and
Constructivist Strategies

Use cooperative learning in class, especially for new
material.

Use strategic grouping to maximize cooperative learning.

Use formative assessment to decide whether or not
students are familiar with concepts before assigning
independent work.

Provide various options for completing an assignment.
Adapted from: (Principles for Culturally Responsive Teaching, 2006)
Other Teaching Strategies for
Somali students

Providing Opportunities for Healing

Avoiding Racialization

Accommodating Religious Practices
Adapted from: (Kahin, 1997), (Griffiths,2002)
Providing Opportunities for Healing:
Refugee Students

Do not assume anything about how much students want to talk
about their experiences: let them decide for themselves. One way to
give students this opportunity is through journaling exercises (Biman &
Trickett, 2001).

Be prepared if students want to talk about traumatic experiences: Be
or find "someone objective, yet caring, to talk to". It is important that
students have a resource that is actually at the school. Teachers
may benefit from consultations with mental health professionals (Biman
& Trickett, 2001).

Create a classroom environment that is structured and explain all
rules and expectations to your students. Not only can this make
students feel safe, it allows them to focus on developing language
and social skills instead of struggling with unfamiliar classroom
procedures (Principles for Culturally Responsive Teaching, 2006).
Avoiding Racialization

Do not include “race” in any way as a criteria for
grouping strategies.

Do not assume that Somali students will identify
with other African students or even other Somali
students
(Biman & Trickett, 2001).

Learn as much as you can about individual
students to give them the best support and avoid
stereotypes or over-generalized information
(Principles
for Culturally Responsive Teaching, 2006).
Accommodating Religious
Practices

Be flexible with dress code expectations, including clothing for physical education.

Do not assign work that requires physical contact between genders, even in the
classroom.

Respect Islamic prayer times by excusing children from class during these times and
direct them to a space where they can pray.

Direct Islamic students to a private place where they can wash before or after prayer.

Be prepared to direct fasting students to a place where they can spend their lunch
hour.

Recognize significant Islamic calendar dates in the same way that you recognize
calendar dates for other religious or cultural holidays.
(Kahin, 1997), (Griffiths, 2002)
In Closing...

It is important for teachers to remember to:
 Be
self- and cross-culturally aware.
 Realize and understand the struggles that students
from other cultures may face in Canadian schools.
 Ensure that teaching strategies employed in the
classroom are culturally sensitive and are based
upon the needs of the students.
Resources for Edmonton Teachers
Bredin Institute
Suite 500, Capital Place
9707-110 Street
Phone: (780) 425-3730
Catholic Social Services
Language Assessment, Referral and
Counselling Centre (LARCC)
10709 - 105 Street
Phone: (780) 424 - 3545
Website:
www.catholicsocialservices.ab.ca/services
immigration.asp
Edmonton Immigrant Services
Association
Suite 201, 10720-113 Street
Phone: (780) 474-8445
Website: http://eisa-edmonton.org/
Edmonton Mennonite Centre for
Newcomers
Suite 101, 10010-107A Avenue
Phone: (780) 424-7709
Website: www.emcn.ab.ca
Millwoods Welcome Centre for
Immigrants
Suite 355, Tower II
Millbourne Shopping Mall
Millwoods Road & 38 Avenue
Phone: (780) 462-6924
Website: www.mwci-edmonton.net
The Somali Canadian Cultural
Society of Edmonton (SCCSE).
13160 – 127 Street.
(Old Wellington School)
Phone: (780) 441-9878
Website: http://www.somaliedmonton.com
References
Abdi, A. (1998). Education in Somalia: History, destruction, and calls for reconstruction. Comparative Education 34(3). Retrieved
November 11, 2008, from ERIC database.
Adler, P. S. (1987). Culture shock and the cross-cultural learning experience. In Lousie F. Luce and Elise C. Smith (Eds.), Toward Internationalism
(2nd ed.) (p. 24). Cambridge, Mass: Newbury House Publishers.
Bennaars, G. A., Huda, S., & Mwangi, D. (1996). The Somalia country case study. Mid-Decade Review of Progress towards Education for All.
Retrieved November 11, 2008, from
http://www.eric.ed.gov.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/17/25/c3.pdf
Bigelow, M. (2008). Somali adolescents’ negotiation of religious and racial bias in and out of school. Theory Into Practice, 47(1), 27-34.
Biman, D., & Trickett, E. J. (2001). Somali refugee youth in Maryland: Needs assessment. The Maryland Office for New Americans and Maryland
Department of Human Resources. Retrieved October 15 from http://www.dhr.state.md.us/mona/pdf/somali.pdf
Brisk, M. E., & Harrington, M. M. (2000). Literacy and bilingualism: A handbook for all teachers. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Brown, H. D. (2000). Principles of language learning and teaching (4th ed). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Regents.
Collet, B. A. (2007). Islam, national identity and public secondary education: Perspectives from the Somali diaspora in Toronto, Canada. In Race,
Ethnicity and Education, 10(2), 131-155.
References
Department of Developmental Services. (1997). How to be culturally responsive. Retrieved November 12, 2008, from
http://www.dds.ca.gov/Publications/docs/Culturally_Responsive.pdf
Ellis, H. B., MacDonald, H. Z., Lincoln, A. K., & Cabral, H. J. (2008) Mental health of Somali adolescent refugees: The role of trauma, stress,
and perceived discrimination. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76(2), 184-193.
Griffiths, D. (2002). Somali and Kurdish refugees in London, London: Ashgate Press
Kahin, M. (1997). Educating Somali children in Britain, London: Trentham Books.
Kellner, D. M., & Durham, M. G. Media and cultural studies: Keyworks. Retrieved November 11, 2008, from
http://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=FuB5qABkKU8C&oi=fnd&pg=PA166&dq=natural+common+sense+culture&ots=x4O3PHj_gs
&sig=1bN9np1V1gSsbYeDfC2fjzK22xU#PPA170,M1
Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The dreamkeepers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishing Co.
McLoughlin, C., & Oliver, R. (2000). Designing learning environments for cultural
inclusivity: A case study of the indigenous online learning at tertiary level. Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 16(1), 58-72.
Nagle, S. J., & Sanders, S. L. (1986). Comprehension theory and second language pedagogy. Tesol Quarterly, 20 (1). Retrieved November 12,
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Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory at Brown University (LAB). (2002). The diversity kit: An introductory resource for social
change in education. Providence, RI: Brown University. Available: http://www.alliance.brown.edu/tdl/diversitykit.shtml
References
Principles for Culturally Responsive Teaching. (2006). Teaching Diverse Learners Web Site. Retrieved October 15, 2008 from
http://www.alliance.brown.edu/tdl/
Putnam, D. B., & Noor, M. C. (1993) The Somalis: Their history and culture. Retrieved November 11, 2008, from
http://www.eric.ed.gov.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/13/7a/1f.pdf
Sue, D. (1981). Counseling the culturally different: Theory and practice. New York: Wiley.
Villegas, A. M. (1991). Culturally responsive pedagogy for the 1990s and beyond. Trends and Issues Paper No. 6. Retrieved November 12,
2008, from http://eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/23/5f/b7.pdf
Presented By:
Sara McMillan
 Mike Brennan
 Amanda Pullishy
