Culture and the Classroom

Comparing Teachers’ and Students’ Cultural Variables

By Ludy van Broekhuizen

What is culture? For many, the word conjures exotic foods and colorful festivals. Others immediately picture a night at the opera or hear an orchestra playing classical music. Science and social science have generated definitions of culture as different as they are numerous. Simply put, culture is “the standards for ways of thinking, feeling, acting, and judging, which are learned by a group of people” (Ward Goodenough, Culture, Language and Society, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1971, p. 25).

Today, despite the abundance of multicultural curricula and resources, many people continue to think of culture as food, feasts, and festivals. They “celebrate” student diversity through these very visible elements of culture. It is easy to focus on superficial differences in students’ physical appearance, dress, and accents and overlook significant differences in values and social behavior. And when we look at other cultures, we may not be aware how our own have profoundly influenced our thinking, behavior, and actions.

Students arrive in any given classroom with a wealth of previously acquired knowledge, skills, and experiences. These may be culturally and linguistically similar to the teacher’s. But it’s more likely that students will come to the classroom with a variety of languages and cultures about which the teacher knows little or nothing.

What are the belief systems, values, and “ways of knowing and doing” that guide teachers in the decisions they make, how they teach, and how they structure or organize student learning? By assessing their own cultural frameworks, teachers can better understand and honor culturally diverse students’ learning and communication styles. (For more on how to promote success for linguistically and culturally diverse students in the classroom, see “Culturally Relevant Materials,” p. 5).

The table on page 8 provides examples of cultural variables teachers should consider. Teachers will find that because of their own educational experience, home culture, and other factors, they are more comfortable at one end of the spectrum for these cultural variables than at the other. Use the table to reflect on your classroom and instructional practices, asking yourself the following questions:

  1. Where would I place myself for each cultural variable?
  2. How does each cultural variable affect my teaching and expectations for student behavior?
  3. For which cultural variables do I position myself as I do my students?
  4. How do I differ from my students on other variables? Which ones?
  5. How do our differences affect student learning and behavior in the classroom?

Did you have enough information about your students’ backgrounds, communities, or cultures to position them? If not, here are some ways to find out more about your students’ home cultures:

  • Ask your students directly. They can be excellent translators of culture. Don’t, however, be surprised if they are hesitant or unable to answer questions. They may not know the answers, or they may be reserved about sharing parts of their culture with outsiders or authority figures.
  • Use parent-teacher conferences as an opportunity to learn more about your students’ home cultures. Prepare a few specific questions, but don’t bombard parents with too many. This may be perceived as intrusive or nosy.
  • Be prepared to answer any questions you ask students or parents with regards to your own culture and experiences.
  • Invite parents or other community members to share aspects of their culture during class time. Ask students who share the same cultural heritage to act as assistants during these presentations.
  • Identify cultural organizations representing your students’ cultures. Find out if they have information about students’ cultures and languages.
  • Spend time in the communities where your students live and attend local cultural events. Be open and avoid making assumptions based on cultural stereotypes.
  • Search reference books, the Internet, and other resources to find out a few facts about your students’ countries or communities of origin.

For parents’ concerns on maintaining students’ home cultures, see the sidebar on page 6.


Ludy van Broekhuizen is Associate Director of the Regional Educational Laboratory at PREL.

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Pacific Parents on Maintaining Culture

Marshall Islands Parent:
If we were back in the Marshall Islands, my kids would learn about our culture by example. There, you are almost always in a communal setting, so kids can “pick up” the cultural practices and protocols important for them to know about. But here, we live in nuclear families, so I find that I have to explicitly teach them. I have to prepare my kids for a variety of cultural situations; what to do, where and when to sit, how to speak and conduct themselves, how to show proper respect for chiefs, etc. There are many community events nowadays. And then there are the weddings, birthdays, funerals, church functions, and important Micronesian holidays that we participate in regularly.

Pohnpeian Parent:
The same happens in our family. One day, my son came home and was planning to go directly to his room without greeting our guests. I reminded him to properly greet them. He used a shortened informal greeting (kaselehl) instead of the more formal greeting (kaselehlia). I was a little embarrassed, but the guests understood and I told my son to use the proper form of the word with guests. On our home island, kids know not to interrupt adult conversation, but I notice that my kids are becoming more vocal in that aspect.
Our house is like a village gathering place with lots of kids, extended family, and friends. My children are surrounded by Pohnpeian culture at home. Oftentimes family gatherings are more suitable at our home. The sakau brings us together and we use the time to plan and organize wider community events and activities. Everyone gets involved. It’s interesting how we have adapted to life in Hawai‘i – even the sakau pounding is done differently. We don’t have the nice flat stones to pound the sakau on so we improvise. We even have the powdered form (and we use a blender to mix it). We have a hard time finding hibiscus fibers long enough to strain the sakau, so we add the shorter fibers to the mixture for texture and flavor. Some people use panty hose as a strainer. So you see, we have already adapted.