CULTURAL DIVERSITYLTURAL DIVERSITY CULT
Managing cultural diversity in schools and colleges T
General Secretary, Association of Translation Companies, on the challenges and benefits of embracing cultural diversity schools .
ty in our
his month, in our first feature, Education Today speaks to Geoffrey Bowden, General Secretary, Association of Translation Companies, on the challenges and benefits of embracing cultural diversity in our schools.
hismonth, in our first feature, Education Today speaks to Geoffrey Bowden,
If effectively embraced, cultural diversity within the UK’s education system has the opportunity to contribute towards a more prosperous and cohesive British society. Language sits at the very heart of this opportunity, not only improving children’s understanding of others and their cultures but also helping to shape the workforce of the future. It is therefore of concern that we have seen such a marked drop in children studying languages over recent years and undoubtedly much more needs to be done at all stages of the UK curriculum to reverse decades of apathy towards the benefits which a multi-lingual society can bring.
Effectively managing cultural diversity within UK schools is becoming increasingly important with recent data* indicating that the proportion of minority ethnic pupils in state-funded schools has risen significantly in the last five years. Almost a third of primary school pupils (30.4 per cent) and more than a qu students (26.6 per c
ent) are now of a minority arter of secondary school
ethnic origin, compared to 26.5 per cent and 22.2 per cent respectively in 2011.
Such diversity has the potential to have a marked impact on our schools. On the plus side greater cultural diversity of children means more students whose capabilities and potential differ from one another. This gives schools the
opportunity to excel in a broader range of areas www
from more traditional academic performance to often unnoticed acts of social inclusion which children can show to fellow pupils in unfamiliar surroundings.
On the reverse however, a more diverse student population can lead to a more
challenging environment where teaching and learning can be compromised by the inability to communicate effectively with students in their own
language.More time and attention also needs to be spent by staff on bridging ethnic and sociocultural differences between stud further diverting focus away from teac Additionally, the mutual trust and resu engagement among students, parents teachers has been shown to be directly proportional to the levels of homogenisation amongst pupils, with improved performance within less diverse groups.
hing. ents,
and lting
So what does this mean for how we manage cultural diversity in education today and beyond? It is predicted that by 2051 ethnic minorities will make-up more than a quarter of the UK
population** so it is clear that apathy is no longer an option.What is required is a proactive approach, with language at its core, which embraces the positive opportunities which a multi-cultural society presents.
Language has the stark ability to cut across gender, age and race. Consider two children from varying cultural backgrounds; are they significantly more likely to understand their beliefs and the subtle nuances of culture if they are able to comprehend
each other, not
the other’s their
language? And then when those children grow into adults are they not more likely to contribute
2 6 www
.education-today.co.uk.co.uk June 2016 2016
language skills of f u And it seems the public services such
towards a more harmonious and socially
accepting society having grown up being able to understand and empathise with each other? Furthermore, investing in the language skills of our children has the potential to positively impact economic prosperity in years to come. It will both strengthen the employment prospects for future generations and in doing so help UK businesses maximise opportunities for international trade (current estimates suggest that poor language skills are costing the UK economy £48 billion a year in lost export sales***), while helping to improve the efficiency and performance of vital as the police force and NHS.
ture generations become s need to improve the
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