Education Essay Sample on Culturally Responsible Family Engagement

Family engagement has become a very important issue that deserves to be given the much attention that it requires because of its significance. Several studies that have been carried out have confirmed that if a family is actively involved in their children's learning, then everyone stands to benefit in the long run. To accomplish this objective, several questions that are yet to be answered have always been asked of the ways to use to ensure that all families are involved in their children's learning process. This is equally the difficulty that is observed in working with families from various cultural settings (Grant & Ray, 2018). As our schools and workplaces become more culturally and even linguistically diverse, engaging all families becomes a significant challenge to tackle. This is because the workplaces have people who, for a long time have been speaking their language and observing their cultures rightly every day. It, therefore, becomes a significant challenge for such a person to change to another culture or language. This is the same problem that has been observed in the schools as children find it difficult to abandon their cultural activities and adopt other cultures. This is why this phenomenon has been described as increasingly becoming a significant challenge to tackle. The purpose of this essay is, therefore, to determine ways that will ensure that cultural parity is achieved through clear statements and measures to attain cultural responsiveness.

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Perspectives Regarding Families and Working With Families

It is worth to note that cultural responsiveness requires more than speaking to achieve cultural responsiveness. In general terms, this problem requires a combined effort of every individual who is ready and willing to make the status of being culturally responsive. By achieving this, there will be massive benefits as it enhances cohesion and peaceful co-existence with one another either in workplace or in the school as it promotes the spirit of unity. Being culturally responsive entails merely a situation whereby people learn from others and respectfully share with others from their cultures and others people's cultures. Being culturally sensitive requires time and some practice to be able to master and observe the various ways in which other people from diverse areas conduct their affairs. Cultural responsiveness also needs one to show commitment as well as engaging in self-evaluation. By practicing, one will be able to know the challenges and through persistence, the practice will help expand the perception of others regarding other diverse cultures.

To help overcome the problem of practicing different religions, firstly it is essential to acknowledge and recognize the fact that they were also born and raised in a culture they did not understand. By primarily identifying this fact, it helps to motivate an individual that they can have the potential of grasping other cultures and making it part of them (Halgunseth, 2009). It is therefore right that it is quite challenging to work with families of diverse cultural origins. This is the same problem that teachers and children go through in the learning environment with different cultures. Appropriate measures should, therefore, be put in place to ensure that people become culturally responsive in the workplaces as well as adopting strategies in schools to enable children to learn other cultures with ease.

Therefore, a culturally responsive family ought to observe that; they build relationships and be present always. It has been found that families who engage in successful programs are on healthy relationships. The process in itself is quite challenging especially if people in the workplace and employers have varied cultural and even linguistic differences. This is the same case where families and the school personnel have dissimilar backgrounds in their cultures it is advised that the best way to start it all is through conversation (Grant & Ray, 2018). To ensure that children grasp the ideas, I would always make sure that I keep their learning in the spotlight especially when asking those questions regarding cultures, sharing and listening. The conversations can be carried out in schools or in the community. Through going into and being available in the students' communities, school administration and teachers help to establish common understanding and respect as well as build relationships.

This could be achieved through organizing neighborhood walks and attending fairs in the streets and other family neighborhood local events. The second observation that families should observe it that they should honor, recognize as well as promote the existing knowledge. Virtually all the families possess the expertise and the readiness to share that knowledge. This can be through acknowledging what families know, by promoting which involves engaging students and other school personnel and through honoring which entails inviting families to share with the school. The family engagement programs send a strong message to them that they matter and that they make up a vital component to the education of their children. Additionally, inviting a linguistically diverse family to share and teach their primary language, they can help in purchasing books used in school as well as assisting in decorating the school facilities and sharing the work of students in the classrooms. The next step that families should engage in is trying to identify and put into use what works for their families. While working with culturally diverse families, it is crucial for one to adjust to the work circumstances. Some families believe that attending events in the schools sounds to them like a cultural mismatch which in reality is far from the truth. This could be because the culture of the school and that of the family are diverse. To be able to help this problem of cultural mismatches, people should re-examine what family engagement entails (Halgunseth, 2009). A school that knows well its family and their cultural beliefs concerning education will find it easier to engage them in non-traditional but culturally responsive ways. The idea about this is for the school to plan with the families a school-based family event that will help bring together all these parties.

Emerging Assumptions

In studying the effects of working with diverse families especially in schools, some fundamental assumptions illustrate realities in schools and societies which cannot be ignored. They include; new strategies should be put in place that will help to encourage the involvement of parents in a culturally diverse background. In doing so, we can unearth and share the problems together as this move will help motivate parents who are shy from attending school because of fear of expressing themselves in a different language. This is because the parents and families joining the school may have different, few or even no experience with primary education. At the same time, they come with expectations which are new and challenges to the school.

The second assumption regarding families and working with families from diverse backgrounds is that meaningful parental involvement helps to enhance the success of the students. It is the parents who know their children more than teachers and therefore are in a better position to tell the needs and capabilities of their children. Moreover, the economic and moral foundations of the country in the future depend on the success of every child present in school today. All the children need to be taught and appropriately prepared for their future life. Virtually all parents want to get involved in their children's education and be supportive. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the school to find out how to welcome and integrate parents into the education process of their children. In addition to the above, it is the responsibility of the school to examine their attitudes towards parents and remove any adverse reaction they could be holding bout the parents. It will have the effect of bringing everyone involved on board to take responsibility and act together for the benefit of the children who are culturally diverse (Grant & Ray, 2018).

To add to the above, another assumption is that to realize reforms in the school; the partnership is critical as no parent would want to see their children frustrated in the learning process. The process of raising children in a culturally diverse area is complicated and needs co-operation from other bodies. Just like an African proverb that alludes that the whole society raises the child, it is true that teachers cannot be left to an entire load of educating the children alone.

How I Will Use the Knowledge and Experience from Course in a Classroom

In relating the contents of the reading to my experience and that of other people, it is true that working in a culturally diverse environment is very difficult. This is encouraged by the fact that every individual thinks that their cultures should be superior to others thereby creating a conflict of interest between parties involved (Grant & Ray, 2018). This problem is also observed in various schools as integrating the mind of children from a culturally diverse environment becomes a significant concern for the teachers. Therefore, while concluding, I would advise that measures that involve the thorough cooperation of the interested parties both at school and at workplaces should be put in place so people can work and children also study in a more comfortable without interference from other cultural practices

References

Grant, K. B., & Ray, J. A. (Eds.). (2018). Home, school, and community collaboration: Culturally responsive family engagement. Sage Publications.

Halgunseth, L. (2009). Family engagement, diverse families, and early childhood education programs: An integrated review of the literature. YC Young Children, 64(5), 56.