Dana Alexander Multicultural Education Approaches to Student Racial Conflict The majority of education professionals claim that diversity

in the classroom is important, but studies show that few teachers actually implement diversity into their daily classrooms. The problem is that many teachers do not know how to implement diversity into the curriculum, while others try to prevent conflict in the classroom by completely avoiding the topic. The journal, Pedagogical Approaches to Student Racial Conflict in the Classroom describes a study based on how a variety of teachers approach diversity conflicts in their classrooms. The participants in the study consisted of 66 faculty members at a single research university. These faculty members were of all different races including; White, Arabic, African America, Native American, Asian, and Latino. The faculty members were asked general questions regarding the teaching strategies implemented in their classrooms, and then about their personal understandings and experiences with race and racial conflict. The results of the study showed 5 different approaches/ themes to conflict situations about issues of race and ethnicity. The first theme was the not in my classroom approach. The teachers that identified with this theme stated that there was no conflict in their classrooms. The second theme, lets not make a scene: avoidance and minimization, described situations where conflicts arose in the classroom, but the teacher quickly changed the subject and avoided the topic all together. These teachers believe it is best to avoid, trivialize, and minimize diversity conflicts in the classroom before they cause fighting among students, in hopes of keeping the peace. In the third theme, take control: defuse, distract, and divert, faculty members respond to conflict by using authoritative approaches to maintain order and take back their control of the classroom. These teachers do this by moving onto another topic, cutting students discussion off, stopping the conversation all
Commented [1]: NCTE Standard 2.5 -connect to sociocultural/ educational development. Discusses diversity in the classrooms and the conflicts that arise due to race issues. Teachers are taught to accept all students and to praise variety within the classroom, but unfortuntetly, as this journal article states, teachers often fail to do so.

together, or even giving them threatening ultimatums such as , to stay in this class and deal with the issue seriously and without unnecessary conflict, or to choose a different class in the university(Pasque, p. 8). The problem with this approach is that some of these debates are very serious to the students and by cutting them off, the teacher may fail to attend to some students strongly felt concerns. The teacher is putting these students ideas down and belittling them. The fourth theme is, reactive usage: turning overt conflict into a learning opportunity. The faculty in this theme believe that if conflict arises, it becomes a learning opportunity for the students, because they help students explore issues and learn about racial and social meaning. This is a great way to look at conflicts in the classroom because it has the potential to create teachable moments. In the last theme, proactive usage: surfacing underlying and covert conflicts for learning, some faculty members deliberately planned ways to surface anticipated or underlying racial conflicts and proactively engage students in a transformative dialogue aimed at helping them learn from the conflict (Pasque, p. 6). The hope for these targeted discussions is for students to encounter conflict and challenge one another as they explore their values and learn of differing perspectives. The study proved that there is no one correct approach to be used for handling diversity conflicts in the classroom, but it does point out that these topics should not be avoided. When handled poorly or not at all, classroom conflict can distract students from their studies, create emotional distress, surface or sustain poor interpersonal and intergroup relations, and intimidate or silence students (Pasque, p. 13). Diversity conflicts constantly appear in everyday life. They exist not only in the classroom, but also in the work place, in the government, at universities, and even in social settings. Diversity is an issue that America has been dealing with for decades. As a future educator it is important to know how to approach diversity conflicts in the classroom, because

there will be many of them daily. As our countrys diversity rates increase, our classrooms are becoming more diverse as well. There is racial diversity, as well as diversity in religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, SES, etc. It is important for teachers to expand students horizons and allow them to discover their own values and beliefs, while also learning about others. Diversity is an ongoing issue because many people do not know how to act regarding diversity, because they do not have enough information. Unfortunately many people across America have stereotypes about the various types of people, due to their lack of education about the different races, ethnicities, etc. When people know little to nothing about different races, religions, sexual orientations, etc. a sense of confusion becomes apparent and people begin arguing. People stick to what they know and become biased against anything that is not their own. It is so important for teachers to enhance their students knowledge about diversity at a young age, because it is becoming such a huge part of our everyday lives here in America. This article brings up a very scary realization, that teachers all over America are using completely different approaches to teach their students about diversity. Some faculty members are completely avoiding the topic, and even threatening to kick students out of their classroom for discussing diversity, while other teachers are implementing diversity discussions into their everyday classroom. All these different approaches cause confusion for students because they are allowed to discuss diversity in some of their classes, but not others. This study was performed using faculty from one Research University. If this many different approaches are happening in one university alone, then how could conflicts not arise? As a future educator I believe it is extremely important to implement diversity into the classroom every day. America is only becoming more and more diverse as the years go on, and if our youth is not educated about the different races, religions, ethnicities, sexual orientation, etc. at a young age, then we as a country
Commented [2]: NCTE Standard 4.4- promote respect/support for differences. The main purpose of selecting and responding to this journal article was that it touched upon diversity in the classroom and how important it is for teacher to accept and respect their students, reguardless of ethnicity, race, religion, gender, SES, values, beliefs, sexual orientation, etc. Teachers need to be an outlit for students and need to help students feel comfortable in their own skin, as well as respected and appreciated. Diversity in the classroom adds to the dynamic and learning opportunities and it is our job as teachers to embrace our students differences.

are going to have serious problems when our youth grows up. Society deserves to learn about the people around them and their different beliefs and values. If teachers educate students in the classroom about diversity, there will be a better understanding, and a more open approach regarding diversity.
Commented [3]: This artifact aligns with both teaching and creative writing because its a sample of my research and writing that tackles topics important and valuable to teaching. Diversity within the classroom is crucial and can very easily under appreciated. This research has contributed to my personal growth as an educator because it opened my eyes to problems inside and outside the classroom. Teachers are supposed to promote diversity and to accept their students for who they are, but unfortuntely many teachers do not know how to properly do so, or just simply choose not to. This can be detrimental to a students learning if they feel that they are not wanted or welcomed in their class.

Reference Page

Penny A. Pasque, Mark A. Chesler, Jessica Charbeneau, Corissa Carlson, (2013). Pedagogical Approaches to Student Racial Conflict in the Classroom. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. 6 (), pp.16

name of journal: Journal of Diversity in Higher Education 2013 Vol. 6 No. 1, 1-16 name of article "Pedagogical Approaches to Student Racial Conflict in the Classroom" number of pages: 16 pages date of publication: 2013 publisher: National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education