Cultural Diversity Paper

1398 Words3 Pages

The potential impact of CBE on the traditionally undeserved. The principles of CBE arose from attempts to improve education as a whole; reflecting changes in society, understandings in psychology and the changing needs of the nation (Tuxworth, 1989; Hodge, 2007). Its major features; curriculum parsed into performance-defined competencies and freedom from time constraints on learning, represent a powerful shift in the delivery of public education. And while it is lauded as a best practice for all learners it is critical that CBE demonstrate its ability to improve the quality of education for students who are presently underserved by the public education system. Statistical improvement is not sufficient. Improving the educational output for …show more content…

Actual practice more closely reflects an assimilation model, where cultural diversity is tolerated but subjugated to the norms and mores of the larger culture. In some cases assimilation practices are in play which some view as tantamount to cultural extinction (Hollins, 2013). Consensus within the educational community is on a vision of cultural plurality. The sociopolitical nature of this perspective, means that some will view the implementation of best practice as a type of political activism. This opens educational practice to legitimate democratic social and political pressure and thus to change. It is the position of this paper that the outcomes linked to a cultural plurality model represent the best interests of the individual students, the communities and society as a whole. For the duration of this work the expression, inclusion and exploration of non-dominant cultures will be accepted as best

Open Document