As classrooms in the United States have become increasingly diverse and multicultural, it’s become more important for teachers to have cultural competency skills. Culturally responsive pedagogy in physical education supports engagement and learning among diverse learners (Weinstein, Curran, & Tomlinson-Clarke, 2003; Weinstein, Tomlinson-Clarke, & Curran, (2004).
Culturally competent physical educators acknowledge the cultural background of their students, advocate for ethnic groups, and make connections between students’ homes and school experiences. Moreover, culturally competent physical educators set high expectations for their students and utilize various teaching strategies to support multiple learning styles (Gay, 2000).
In their behaviors and methods” culturally competent physical educators exhibit an underlying “caring moral.” For example, both caring and culturally competent teachers have high expectations for their students despite cultural differences; they recognize students’ needs and are capable of developing close connections with their students. They create warm, encouraging classroom environments that emphasize learning. In this article I’ll explain how a “caring moral” is the underlying force guiding and supporting cultural competencies among physical education teachers.
Defining Culturally Competent Teaching
Cultural competency has been defined as “the ability to understand and constructively relate to the uniqueness of each [individual] in light of the diverse cultures that influence each person’s perspective” (Stuart, 2004, p. 6). It is the process of striving to become more competent about the values, patterns and nuances of another culture (Reich & Reich, 2006).
In other words, a culturally competent teacher is cognizant of students’ unique needs and recognizes that those needs are related to the student’s culture. But cultural competency in and of itself may not be enough. According to Tervalon and Maurry-Garcia, (1998) cultural humility is equally important.
Cultural humility is a lifelong process of self-reflection and self-critique that involves examining assumptions and beliefs embedded in one’s own worldview. It could be the key to handling the complexity of concretizing the culture of others and avoiding the dangers of stereotyping. Simply put, instead of responding to a set of culturally specific traits, culturally competent teachers engage in a respectful attitude toward diverse viewpoints.
Defining Caring Teaching
Caring is a difficult trait to define, as the perception of caring is impacted by one’s cultural background, the community and one’s life experiences. Another reason why caring is challenging to define particularly when it comes to teaching, is because teachers’ understanding of how caring is best expressed may differ from what students consider caring.
The act of caring is quite personal and should align with the needs of a particular individual. According to Noddings (2005), caring teachers “listen and respond differentially to their students” (p. 19). Examples of behaviors that students often perceive as “caring” include having high expectations, making cultural connections with their subject matter, and taking the time to get to know, recognize and address cultural differences.
Caring and Culturally Competent Behaviors
To be culturally competent people we must first be fully cognizant of our own culture. Recognizing, understanding and appreciating our own culture is a prerequisite to being able to value someone else’s culture. Practice that helps expand cultural knowledge and promote acceptance and respect of cultural differences is a good first step (Cross, Bazron, Dennis, & Isaacs, 1989). However, to be considered a culturally competent person we have to be able to effectively work with people from other cultures. This is a true in education in general and in physical education settings in particular. Caring is integral to cultural competency.
Care Enough to Having High Exceptions:
One practice culturally competent physical educators and caring teachers have in common regardless of cultural differences, is their tendency to hold all students in their classes to high expectations. As reported years ago (Rosenthal & Jacobson, 1968), and expanded on more recently (Tyler & Boelter, 2008), having high expectations helps culturally diverse students succeed.
When teachers have high expectations, students adjust their efforts and persistence accordingly to meet these expectations. Moreover, when teachers have high expectations of their culturally diverse students they silently communicate a powerful message that there individuals are being perceived as intelligent and capable of high performance (Delpit, 1995; Gay, 2002; Siedentop & Tannehill, 2000; Tomlinson, 1999).
Physical education settings, where culturally diverse students are expected to meet daily goals, objectives and national standards similar to their native counterparts, communicate high expectations. High expectations without a support system however, can cause frustration and stress for culturally diverse students (Siedentop &Tannehill, 2000). Providing extra opportunities for practice or peer tutoring can help.
For example, culturally diverse students, just having arrived in the United States, may not possess the skills or knowledge of the traditional games commonly played in a high school physical education setting. Physical educators need to be caring, compassionate and committed to taking the time to teach and provide constructive feedback to culturally diverse students so that they can acquire the skills and knowledge to be effective participants within physical education classes. Simply assuming that culturally diverse students will “pick-up” games by watching other students’ play is an undesirable practice that may devalue the student as an individual and foster alienation.
Care Enough to Make Cultural Connections
Another common behavioral characteristic among caring and culturally competent physical educators is their ability to make connections between their subject matter, teaching strategies, and the students’ culture. Such connections may vary in format. But physical educators who recognize and appreciate cultural diversity can capitalize on the richness that culturally diverse students bring to the gymnasium.
A culturally-valued curriculum (Chartock, 2010), which involves a curriculum content that relates to students’ lives and cultural social norms, is an example of how such connections can be accomplished (McCarty, Lynch, Wallace, & Benally, 1991).
Teachers should consider incorporating activities, dances and games from cultures represented in the community and in the student body into the school curriculum. Parents or other family members can be invited and can be part of the culturally-valued curriculum (Chartock, 2010). This inclusion adds relevancy and meaningfulness to the learning experience of culturally diverse students.
At the same time, such practices offer opportunities for all students to be engaged in discussions about culturally based values and the beliefs of others. It exposes students to various languages while embracing and celebrating the wealth culturally diverse students and their families bring to the school.
For culturally diverse students, posting simple phases such as “thank you,” “hello” and “goodbye” in their own language in the gymnasium fosters a sense of belonging, respect, acceptance and being welcomed and valued as member of the class. Another example of inclusion might be to dedicate a week or month to a particular culture and during that time have students and teachers greet each other in that particular language.
Culturally-based games or posting of interesting facts about the particular culture in the gymnasium or around the school can initiate discussions among students. This can create opportunities for collaboration with other disciplines making them multidisciplinary and meaningful educational experiences.
However, it’s important to be cautious about perceiving culturally diverse students as the “ambassadors” of their culture of origin. Culturally diverse students could be asked to share – if they want – their experiences growing up in their particular culture, but they should not be put in a position where they are justifying or “defending” misconceptions and stereotypes.
Moreover, students should not be expected to discuss the values of whole regions (e.g. asking a French – European student to justify why Europeans do this or don’t do that). Drawing from personal experiences, as a Cypriot-European person living in the USA for more that 20 years, I can attest that such incidents happen quite often.
Care Enough to Know, Recognize and Address Cultural Difference
A variety of teaching strategies that provide a safe and caring learning environment have been linked to students’ engagement and academic success, regardless of race or ethnicity (Banks, 1994; Nieto, 1999; Tomlinson, 1999). In other words, when students feel emotionally supported they are more likely to stay in school and be successful.
Culturally competent physical educators, who function under the caring moral, tend to create such safe and caring learning environments for their students. With the increased number of culturally diverse students in America’s schools however, even culturally competent physical educators can easily feel overwhelmed faced with the challenge of becoming cognizant of the nuances of many different cultures. This where cultural humility becomes an important skill.
For example, having an open mindset and dedicating time to develop meaningful interactions with culturally diverse students, really getting to know them as individuals rather than as representatives of their culture, is an easy and effective strategy of heightening culturally awareness (Constantinou, 2015) and reflecting cultural humility. Who better than the students themselves to identify their cultural needs?
Knowing in general, that Asian and Muslim students might need to wear clothing that covers their whole body might align with cultural competency; however, acting on the assumption that all Asian and Muslim students would want or need to wear such clothing would be reinforcing stereotypes and not treating the students as individuals.
Having a flexible policy (Dresser, 2005) about what students are allowed to wear in the gymnasium might not reflect knowledge of any particular culture but it could have the same desirable result of making all students feel comfortable and welcome in the gymnasium. In other words, not knowing every nuance of every single culture isn’t a drawback as long as physical educators practice cultural humility, have an open mindset, and are approachable, friendly and compassionate with students regardless of their backgrounds.
An authentic, non-judgmental interest in cultural differences and diverse students’ unique needs helps students feel welcome and valued.
Conclusion
Culturally diverse students are a reality in our gymnasiums. Physical education by its nature involves hand gestures, body language, personal space patterns, physical body contact and dress code (Young & Sternod, 2011). Such elements in any culture have a great potential of misunderstanding and misinterpretation, making cultural differences more pronounced in physical education settings. Consequently, cultural competency, a caring moral, and cultural humility among physical educators are vital skills.
Many behaviors and teaching methods utilized by culturally competent physical educators overlap with those of caring teachers and reflect cultural humility. Having high expectations, making connections between subject matter and student culture (Chartock, 2010; Gay, 2002; Ladson-Billings, 1995; Nieto, 1999) and being aware of, recognizing, and addressing cultural differences are a few common threads shared by caring and culturally competent physical educators.
We all need to remember that cultural competency entails more than just cultural awareness (Banks & Banks 2005; Constantinou, 2015; Tervalon & Maurry-Garcia, (1998)). Characteristics such as flexibility, approachability, friendliness and compassion are very powerful teacher qualities, reflecting cultural humility while addressing all students’ needs regardless of culture (Weinstein, 2002). When a caring moral guides physical educator’s teaching behaviors, the complexity of cultural diversity can be effectively deciphered and addressed. Thus, students’ cultural identity cannot only be retained but also celebrated.
References
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