Education

i
ssues in
different cu
ltures
PRESENTER
:
T P Mastera
t MDA I.

Education issues in different

cultures
o ...Education is not the learning of many facts but

the training of the mind to think.

Albert Einstein

Diversity Issues in Education

vThe world is a rich and diverse place full of

interesting cultures and people.

v Europe, Canada and US is a multiethnic and

multicultural society where people live and learn to

treat each other with fairness and respect.

Diversity Issues in Education

vThe 21st Century global concept of organizations

includes educational institutions.

vUS organizations and educational institutions are

affected with the paradigm shift to multiculturalism.

vWhile respecting the values of diversity of the market

that every one operates within.

Education
vJohn Dewey, a American philosopher and

educational reformer, whose ideas are

extensive and influential in education, in his
publication Education As a Necessity of
Life (1916) wrote that:
v Education is primarily a transmission
through communication and that
communication is a process of sharing
experience till it becomes a common
possession.

Education
The broad phases of education:
Formal Education

- Public Education
Informal Education
- Family education
- Religious and moral education
- Informal education historically began
with the Greeks and Romans before western
education

Public Education
Classification:

- Elementary Education
- Secondary Education
- Post Secondary or Higher Education

Post Secondary Education

v

Formal types:

1.

General Education
Vocational Education
Graduate and Education

2.
3.

The American System of

Higher Education
vDistinctive Characteristics:
1. Autonomy
2. Competition
3. Responsiveness

(means paying attention to students, faculty,

alumni, Foundation, corporation and government)

-Derek Bok, 1986

Examples of some US
Educational institutions Goals
1.
2.
3.
4.

Developing effective communication

Strengthen problem solving capacities
Improve analytical abilities
Develop awareness and understanding of the
contemporary world

The American Educational

Institution
vComprises of:

The Anglo Saxon Whites, African Americans,

Hispanics and American Indians and Asian

Americans etc.

Every race shares each others racial and ethnic

groups diversity in colleges/ universities.

However race is one of the most volatile and

divisive issues in American higher education.

Diversity In Education
vDespite the European and English heritage,

American colleges and universities were

shaped by the North American, geographic,
political, social and religious conditions.
-Seldon,1960

Diversity In Education
vDespite Americas long tradition of being the

melting pot, multicultural appreciation and

global citizenship remain as foreign concepts in
many US colleges and universities.
vThe nations growing changes in demographics

have propelled the need to understand diversity

and its related issues in education.

Multiculturalism
vMulticulturalism has been a center of the

national debate and a challenge on campuses

as well as in public-school curricula.

v Beyond political correctness, a working

definition of multiculturalism begins with the

recognition that the US cultural heritage does
not begin and end only with intellectual products
of the western Europe. (Marable,1995)

Multiculturalism
vThe debate therefore across the academy

concerning Multiculturalism relates to the proper

approach to the teaching of different cultures,
ethnicity and gender issues, and their integration
within core curricula.

Multiculturalism and
Education
The cultural foundation of the United States draw

much of their creativity and originality from African,

Latino, American Indian and Asian elements.
(Marable, 1995)

International Education
Issues
The issues of education in industrialized

countries has been how to establish greater

formal equality of opportunity for all.
Designing an inclusive educational system

that makes provision for individual

differences - called diversity is a challenge.

Diverse Issues in Education

v Prevalent issues:
Increasing cost of post secondary education
Inadequate funding for education
Inequalities of educational opportunity
Faculty Issues
Quality education
The Multiculturalism factor
The stereotypical portrayal of minorities -

educational qualifications

Issues Key findings

vThe Morrill Act of 1890, closely followed by Plessy

vs Ferguson six years later encouraged states to

create the dual systems of public higher education.

vThe record of efforts to achieve equal educational

opportunity brought into existence Title VI

enforcement of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The
level of participation in colleges and universities has
not been proportional for black, Hispanic, and
American Indian students who do gain admission to
traditionally Anglo, four-year institutions.

Racial Dilemma in Education

v The race is one of the most divisive issues

The racial situation manifest itself in many ways,

from incidents of prejudice on campuses to policy
decision concerning affirmative action to debates on
the introduction of multicultural elements in the
curriculum.

Examples are prevalent in the students

admission process to law schools and colleges.

The Faculty Issues

vAs the number of non whites attending

institutions of higher education increases,

most colleges and universities are committed
to increasing the minority representation of
their faculties.

v Such efforts reClect in part the commitment

by the institutions to expand opportunities for

minority scholars.

Funding of minority institutions

v Currently, minorities are concentrated in institutions

with the fewest resources and they are less likely to

graduate or transfer than their majority colleagues.

vThe education system that many minority attend are

not properly funded and often times under funded.

Initiatives
vInclusive excellence as
a focus on student intellectual and social

development,
a purposeful development and utilization of
organizational resources directed at student
learning,
attention to the cultural differences that
learners bring to the educational experience
that enhance educational enterprise.

Conclusion

v The theoretical framework of the issues as broadly

discussed revealed the prevalent practices of the

twenty Cirst century education especially in higher
education.

Thank you!