Cultural Competence in Schools (Essay Sample)

Instructions:

Writing Assignment #3 will be a synthesis essay, a format that is sometimes referred to as a literature review.
Organization:
Your synthesis essay should be organized in the following manner:
Introduction: Write one or two paragraphs in which you introduce the reader to your topic.
Body -- the categories into which you are dividing the literature: Divide your sources into a few categories. A suggestion is that you divide them into three to five categories.
Conclusion: Summarize what the literature says on your topic.
Approach:
This semester, you have critiqued an author’s analysis in the critique essay and have critically evaluated several articles in the annotated bibliography. In this assignment you will synthesize the ideas of several authors in a synthesis essay, or literature review.
For your annotated bibliography, you selected a topic based on your interests and, possibly, your major. You constructed a list of 12 references and summarized and critically analyzed them in 150-200 words each.
Through this process, you may have seen patterns in the scholarly literature in the topic on which you conducted research. For example, consider the following examples:
You may have researched studies in criminal justice and found that there are varying opinions on how to respond to criminal behavior among youth.
You may have researched studies in psychology and found that counseling strategies for victims of domestic abuse tend to fall into four categories.
You may have researched graphic communications and discovered that the integration of graphics in business report writing has evolved from the 1970s to the present because of advancements in technology.
You may have researched articles on gerontology and found studies that answered three basic questions on how older adults respond to training for physical performance.
In the synthesis essay, you will focus your research efforts in a particular area, perhaps as a response to what you found while writing the annotated bibliography. You will then conduct more research and synthesize your findings in this synthesis essay.
Please note that the annotated bibliography was the beginning, not the end, of your research. You might decide to disregard several of the articles you analyzed in the critical annotated bibliography because they don’t speak to the specific area on which you have decided to write your synthesis essay. You might select one article that you analyzed in the critical annotated bibliography, look up the articles cited in that article, and “snowball” your research in that way.
In other words, this process is a recursive one. You might find reasons to hone in on and narrow your topic even further after you have written the annotated bibliography.
How to organize the synthesis essay:
When you have focused on your topic, determine how you will divide the literature. In other words, consider the following examples we described above:
You may have researched studies in criminal justice and found that there are varying opinions on how to respond to criminal behavior among youth.
You might divide the paper as follows:
Introduction
Body
Category 1: “A” view on responding to criminal behavior.
Category 2: “B” view on responding to criminal behavior.
Category 3: “C” view on responding to criminal behavior.
Category 4: “D” view on responding to criminal behavior.
Conclusion
You may have researched studies in psychology and found that counseling strategies for victims of domestic abuse tend to fall into four categories.
You might divide the paper as follows:
Introduction
Body
Category 1: “A” counseling strategy for victims of child abuse
Category 2: “B” counseling strategy for victims of child abuse
Category 3: “C” counseling strategy for victims of child abuse
Category 4: “D” counseling strategy for victims of child abuse
Conclusion
You may have researched graphic communications and discovered that the integration of graphics in business report writing has evolved from the 1970s to the present because of advancements in technology.
You might divide the paper as follows:
Introduction
Body
Category 1: graphics in business report writing in the 1970s
Category 2: graphics in business report writing in the 1980s
Category 3: graphics in business report writing in the 1990s
Category 4: graphics in business report writing from 2000 to the present
Conclusion
You may have researched articles on gerontology and found studies that answered three basic questions on how older adults respond to training for physical performance.
You might divide the paper as follows:
Introduction
Body
Question 1
Question 2
Question 3
Conclusion
In order for you to see this concept with a real-life example, you can access a sample synthesis or literature review from a psychology student by clicking here. The student writes her paper on the following topic: Emotional Eating: The Perpetual Cycle of Mood-Food Influence. She divides her literature into the following categories:
Influence of Mood on Eating Behavior
Gender Differences
Influence of Eating Behavior on Later Moods
Chronic Stress Response Network
Notice how she synthesizes and integrates the research into the different categories.
Approach and Requirements
Your synthesis essay, or literature review, should be 2000-2500 words, not including your “references” pages at the end of the review. In other words, the text of the paper should be 2000-2500 words.
In addition your synthesis essay should include at least 10 scholarly sources in the “references” section. As stated above, this means that you may decide not to use all 12 sources that you summarized in your annotated bibliography. You are free to use all 12 of them. However, it is possible that your experience in writing summaries of the 12 sources led you to conclude that a few of them will not be as helpful to your topic as you had originally thought. You may decide not to include such sources in the synthesis essay. This is totally up to you. Moreover, you might find other sources that you would like to include in your synthesis essay that were not included in your annotated bibliography. You may use such sources in your synthesis essay as well.
Some helpful tutorials and guides from UMUC’s Effective Writing Center:
Click here for a tutorial that features two short videos on writing a literature review.
Click here for a tutorial on principles in synthesizing multiple sources.
In synthesizing your research, you are analyzing the topic on which you have conducted research. Click here for a helpful tutorial on analyzing a topic.
Some helpful guides from other universities:
Some very systematic advice from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill can be accessed by clicking here.
Some helpful advice from the University of Wisconsin-Madison can be accessed by clicking here.
The following is a suggested rubric. Your instructor may modify the rubric.
Introduces the synthesis of the literature by identifying the topic in a clear and specific manner.
10
Divides the research into categories
10
Discusses the research in each category with adequate support from the sources, integrating the sources skillfully throughout the paragraphs.
20
Maintains unity among the paragraphs and themes.
10
Maintains coherence among the paragraphs and themes.
10
Employs a fluid writing style and an appropriate vocabulary
10
Follows APA format in both the citations and in the reference list
15
Maintains accurate grammar and punctuation.
15
Total:
100

source..

Content:

Cultural Competence in Schools
Natasha Sebastiani
UMUC

Cultural competence is used across various fields. It generally refers to ability of a person to interact with other persons from different cultures without prejudice of any manner and achieving professional and personal objectives. This means that for there to be cultural competence, there must be cultural tolerance. Most job requirements include the aspect of cultural competence as a skill one should have if they want to work in a given company (Ramburuth & Welch, 2005). This means that it is a crucial skill and the employers are willing to employ based on the best candidates who show they can interact with different persons from the varying cultural groups and achieve maximum output. Given the level of globalization that the world has achieved in the last few decades, most work and personal spaces are rich with cultural differences. It is for this reason, that most of the researchers have deemed it necessary to study the aspect of cultural competence to such great depths (Powell, 2012).
However, much of the research that exists dwells mostly on cultural competence at the corporate level. Using the normal search engines and the cultural competence as the key words will unloads thousands of research that have been carried out, explaining the different aspects of cultural competence at the place of work and the various inputs that the management and the staff have to apply to achieve maximum productivity. Very few research papers exist on the aspects of implementing cultural competence at the educational levels. Helping students and teachers together with the entire educational systems integrate cultural competence in the material and policies would bring about sustainable results (Ramburuth & Welch, 2005). The corporate spheres would spend less time and resources trying to train their staff on how best to acquire and apply cultural competence in their responsibilities. It would also mean that students would have better chances of seizing job opportunities given their skills level and ability to work anywhere in the world. The benefits to world economies would also be immense as the work force becomes sustainably flexible, while maximizing outputs at minimal inputs (Cooper, Vellurattil, & Quiñones-Boex, 2014).
Thesis statement: Cultural competence should be integrated in the education systems to harness sustainable results at the professional and personal levels.
Cultural Differences in Class
Schools across the globe are experiencing a wide range of cultural differences subsequent to globalization aspects. As people seek to work and settle down in different places other than their main land, there are bound to be some subsequent implications. School systems, although they have not received the right amount of attention, have also had to deal with the issue of cultural difference at one time or the other. In the United States, schools are experiencing diversity of cultural and ethnic populations in their ranks (Cooper, Vellurattil, & Quiñones-Boex, 2014).
Non-Hispanic whites are expected to top the list with over 40% as a majority of the entire population. Even without the future predictions, the schools are dealing with cultural diversity at quite significant levels. Currently, most schools have more than one race or ethnic group of students. As such, the schools are the best starting point where cultural competence can be achieved for better and more sustainable results in society as a whole.
Cultural Diversity Perceptions in Schools
Research has revealed that most students regardless of the level of diversity in their schools do not benefit academically or socially. The different perceptions that negatively implicate certain cultures have been adopted in many classrooms. This means that, much like in the general population where racial and ethnic slurs are used to intimidate some of the minority races, this is also heavily borrowed in the schools systems (Cooper, Vellurattil, & Quiñones-Boex, 2014). Lack of cohesion in the public spaces between racial and ethnic groups breeds from the mistrust and the stereotyping engraved in the society.It is common for students of a minority culture or ethnic group to be subjected to bullying on grounds that they are different.
In the school ecosystem, differences may at times affect even persons that are from the same ethnic or racial group. As such, regardless of their similarities, persons from the same cultural background may find it difficult to discuss and deliberate on issues they find sensitive to them. This aspect is due to the fact that the different parties may not understand the personal endearment of the topic to the said parties. Stereotyping is one of the problems that affect cultural integration, as it brings out some element of branding that may affect the different cultural values, painting them in a grim light. It is common for students that are different minority groups to report they are being mistreated in school, but parents and teachers have also adopted the racial and ethnic stereotypes. This leaves the students in the background and forces them to conform (Cooper, Vellurattil, & Quiñones-Boex, 2014).
Some of the cultural differences contribute to the poor performance that is shown by some of the students. Where children are raised in different cultural circles, they may find it difficult to integrate with teachers and other students. The same case applies to teachers that are transferred to cultural circles that they are not used to in their professional and personal experiences. Differences in verbal and non verbal communication cues may bring conflicting understanding for both the teachers and the students, there by affecting the performance of either of the parties depending on the severity of the misunderstandings. In an example a child that has been brought up in an Asian or Latin American background, may be seen to avoid the teachers and their responses may seem inadequate. While the American culture advocates eye contact at all levels, the other two do not always do the same. In the Asian and Latin American cultures, looking away while answering a person in authority is considered a gesture of respect (Oxley, 2013). However, a teacher that does not understand the cultural differences between the American mainstream cultures and that of the Asians or the Latin American, may assume that the child is academically proficient. The perceptions by different cultures affect the interaction levels of the different cultures.
Benefits of Cultural Competence to students in the Schools Ecosystem
Given the level of interest that corporate circles have indicated in all matters of cultural competence, it is certain that immense benefits can also be derived at the schools level when integrated into education. This adoption stands to benefit teachers and students as well as the general public. When students are exposed to the different cultural values, they learn to embrace the richness of diversity in ideas. One of the basic aspects of learning revolves around group work. Within the groups the members bring about different ideas and solutions to the problems beforehand. Where groups apply the aspect of cultural diversity, they become attuned to the diversity that is associated with different cultures. On the contrary, if students participating in group work are affected by the aspect of stereotyping, they will not be open to the different and excellent ideas being floated by the members of the group considered to be inferior. Other than the fact that students in groups benefit from a majority of ideas from the different members, they also help the students from the minority groups to break away from the perceptions of their inability, as dictated by society. This means that the academic performance of the individuals is boosted and cumulatively that of the group and school in its entirety (Oxley, 2013).
Although most school environments are designed to only get students to excel in their academics, there are other crucial aspects that the students pick up. The grading system that is used in academic circles implies that either students are clever or they are having challenges with their academics. However, there are more dimensions to the students’ learning than the single one that is tested in the exams. With reference to the aforementioned interest of the corporate circles with reference to cultural competence, it is clear that students are not only productive along their academic achievements. Ideally, cultural competence which spans across the social and personal abilities is also part of the achievement that the students make (Oxley, 2013). Having the ability to easily integrate with persons of other communities is much more crucial in the real world than what one scores in a math test. It means that the student is able to apply academic skills in the real world and bring about productivity. This is a crucial skill and as indicated earlier, is one of the skills most employers are looking for in their staff over and above the academic achievements.
Culturally Competent Teachers
Students do not only interact with culturally different students, they also interact with teachers that are from other cultural groups (Lu, Tsai, & Tseng, 2014). Teachers are part of the authority in the lives of students and play a great role in integrating cultural competence in the students. As such, for the aspects of cultural competence to work in the schools ecosystems, teachers will have to be at the forefront as they act as guides to the students and the policymakers (Matteliano & Stone, 2014).
For teachers to become culturally competent, they have to understand that communication is the bottom line. Different cultures have different languages and cues that all have different meanings (Flory, McCaughtry, Mar...

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Cultural Competence in Schools (Essay Sample)

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