Classroom Management for Diverse Populations

By: Brian Culp

As the 21st century has arrived, it is evident that our global society has become more diverse. In order to keep up with the changes in society and the numerous experiences that are brought to educational classes by students, physical educators need to know how to meet the needs of their students. This article, therefore, discusses issues that educators should remember when instructing students from different cultural backgrounds. The scope of this article does not allow for a detailed description of every cultural group that physical educators have the privilege to instruct. Therefore, three groups will be covered: African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans.

It is important to emphasize that these constructs are generalized from scholarship and research compiled over a period of time. Students at all times should be treated as individuals. These descriptions serve as a means of better understanding students in order to maximize their success in physical education programs. Banks (2002), and Irvine and York (1995) warn that there is a responsibility for educators to take into account the complexity of learning styles that are found among all groups of students so that new racial and ethnic stereotypes are not created. The world is growing at a rapid pace with an excess of six billion people inhabiting the planet. This, combined with new methods of communication and transportation, allows people to come in contact with more individuals from diverse backgrounds. Educators must be able to meet the challenge of instructing different individuals from across the globe.

African American

Society in the United States has long been characterized by ignorance about social styles, traditions, and persistent negative media images of African Americans (Schwartz, 2001). Thus, as products of this society, educators may project negative attitudes about African American students and avoid, rather than mentor, them. African American males, in particular, have been the focus of much discussion. Some teachers may try to control African American males more tightly than white students, believing that they are not sufficiently disciplined at home (McCadden, 1998). While classroom misbehavior should not be tolerated, there must be some sort of allowance for differences in communication between these students and the teacher. For example, an African American student may speak out loudly during physical education instruction, interrupting the teacher as he or she is demonstrating a task. Such a display should not be dismissed solely as an attempt by the student to be disruptive. Dandy (1990), Sheets and Gay (1996), and Schwartz (2001) suggest that African American students may also engage in these "challenging behaviors" not as a means by which to disturb the order of the learning environment, but to demonstrate their rebellion against lessons they consider irrelevant, racist, or simplistic, and teachers who perceive them as incapable of achievement.

Watkins, Lewis, and Chou (2001, p. 177) suggest that African American children learn more effectively when learning is "people oriented" as opposed to "object oriented," responding best when they are taught in small groups with a great deal of nurturing interaction between the teacher and the child and the child and his or her peers. They also suggest that sparse activity should be alternated with active learning. Additionally, Coakley (1998) observed that many African American youths have been socialized to believe that participating in certain sports and playing them better than anyone else in the world is part of their biological and cultural destiny. This, along with distorted images of African Americans portrayed by the media and the belief that the teacher or school is "out to get the student," can create a climate by which negative attitudes about learning are formed. Discipline should encourage students to take responsibility for their actions, understand why a behavior change is needed, and commit themselves to change (Schwartz, 2001).

Behavior-change strategies should be student-centered and should include developing individual social skills and self-control strategies (Schwartz, 2001). Schools can also assist by hiring African American educators and training existing staff on issues related to diversity. The physical education teacher needs to ensure that the classroom is a comfortable arena for African American students. Designing a unit on African games and their purpose, highlighting role models, and providing examples of acceptable behavior can assist teachers in this endeavor. The following game is an example activity that physical educators can include in their curriculum to highlight African games.

African Cultural Game:

One-Legged Fight (Survival)

Country: Nigeria

Type: Manipulative

Players: 16 or more players

Age: 10-12
Equipment: None

How to play:

Arrange the players into two equal teams. Each team starts on a line facing their opponent's team, about three meters away. Players on both teams hold their arms across their chest and grasp their own elbows. On a signal, players keep their arms folded and hop on one foot toward their opponents. One or more players on one team try to make an opponent lose his or her balance and touch the other foot to the ground. Once a player loses balance, he or she must return to the end of the line until the end of the game. The winner is the team with the most players who remain standing at the end of the game (Kirchner, 2000, p. 139).

(This game can be used as a concluding activity after a lesson stressing the importance of movement in personal space. A good student role model in this scenario could be chosen from those who consistently remain standing at the end of the game. Teachers highlighting principles of balance, hopping, and movement in space using a peer model aids in fostering a nurturing environment for the class, while keeping students focused on the activity).

Hispanic American
Hispanic Americans demonstrate practices that are similar to many other "non-majority" groups. Showing respect for elders and authority figures by looking at the floor and being silent when in the presence of teachers is taught as proper etiquette by many minorities, yet is considered a sign of disrespect by traditional white America (Norman, 1997). Other differences in the cultural values of Hispanic Americans and "mainstream" America are seen in terms of these students establishing assertive behavior in educational contexts. Norman (1997) notes that many of these cultural differences and conflicting values end up being barriers for, and prevent many Hispanics from succeeding in, their educational and career endeavors. It has become increasingly important to be aware of the needs of Hispanic students as they now make up the largest minority population in the United States, surpassing African Americans.

Physical education teachers must allow for the use of activities that promote diversity in lesson planning for Hispanic students. This type of thinking is in conflict with traditional convergent methods used to teach students. Physical educators should incorporate Hispanic role models into their lessons and use some Spanish words as well as English when giving instructions to facilitate learning. Giving a student confidence by making him or her a peer leader, having him or her demonstrate competence in a task, and incorporating group activities are acceptable ways to foster learning (Brice, 2002;Vasquez, 1990). Hispanic American students should be stimulated so that they feel comfortable in the school setting and make use of the talents that they possess, but are sometimes reluctant to demonstrate.

Native American (American Indian)
Behavioral expectations of Native American students by teachers who are not Native American can cause conflict in the classroom. For example, in the Navajo tradition the role of the student is as a listener not an active, vocal participant. This is based on cultural norms that require students to respect the teacher by listening, not asking questions or responding as many non-Navajo teachers would expect from their students (Rhodes, 1988; Keating,1995). Vasquez (1990, p. 300) states that research done on Native American students indicates an inclination toward the learner being more responsive to inductive learning, nonverbal communication (Pewewardy, 1998), visual learning (John, 1972), learning that presents the details first (Barwell,1981), and also educational achievement by the process of trial-and-error (Kleinfeld, 1975). Cooperative behavior is also regarded as a characteristic of Native American students, with competition being expressed in group contexts as opposed to one-on-one competitions (Lomawaima, 2004, p. 451).

The physical education teacher must be aware of this when teaching a skill. If the child does not seem interested, this should not automatically be attributed to a student's wish to misbehave or not participate. Failure in order to become better and the concept of constructive competition must be stressed by the teacher. Not emphasizing this can place the child at a disadvantage in relation to the rest of the students. As with the groups listed previously, Native American games and activities can be introduced in a unit in order to make the student(s) comfortable in learning. Finally, behavioral expectations must be clearly articulated in order to place the Native American students in a better position to succeed.

Native American Cultural Game (Yupik):
Uhl-ta (RingAround)

Playing area: A large, clear, outdoor space
Number of players: Two equal teams of four or more

Materials: None
How to play:

This is a team race. Players mark start and finish lines, at least 20 or 30 feet apart. Players hold hands and form a circle, facing toward the center. Each team starts entirely behind the starting line. When a starting signal is given, both teams begin to circle around and at the same time move toward the finish line. The first team to completely cross the finish line while still holding hands is the winner (Sierra & Kaminski, 1995, p. 176).

(This cultural game places emphasis on group cooperation by students in order to reach a common goal. The introduction of activities such as this one is encouraged by teachers in physical education to help meet the needs of Native American learners).

Conclusion
Teachers are at a disadvantage if they cannot effectively manage their classroom. Valuable time that can be spent teaching is wasted when classroom management is a problem area. Strategies such as the ones discussed in this article take time to implement, but the time put into such methods can aid teachers and students. Ultimately, the teacher has to decide whether it is worth the time and effort to use these classroom management techniques.

Physical education teachers should develop a knowledge base pertaining to the various cultures of their students and use this knowledge in curriculum development and lesson planning. These concepts should also be introduced in teacher education programs as part of the core group of classes that are taken. Physical education has a special function; it has to contribute to desirable social changes by helping teachers develop critical perspectives about society and acquire multicultural competencies in order to respect diversity fully in their classes (Chepyator-Thomson, 2001, p. 278).

In addition, parents, other teachers, and the surrounding community should be pressed to take a larger role in the education of their students.

References
Banks, J. A. (2002). An introduction to multicultural education (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Barwell, J. (1981, March). Strategies for teaching composition to Native Americans. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, Dallas, TX (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 199761).

Brice, A. E. (2002). The Hispanic child: Speech, language, culture and education. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Chepyator-Thomson, J. R. (2001). Curriculum and instruction in primary physical education: A critique and visionary perspective for reform in teacher education. In C. A. Grant & M. L. Gomez (Eds.), Making schooling multicultural (pp. 259-280). Columbus, OH: Merrill.

Coakley, J. J. (1998). Sport in society: Issues and controversies. Boston: Irwin/ McGraw-Hill.

Dandy, E. B. (1990, March). Sensitizing teachers to cultural differences: An AfricanAmerican perspective. Paper presented at the National Dropout Prevention Conference, Nashville, TN (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED323479).

Irvine, J. J., & York, D. E. (1995). Learning styles and culturally diverse students: A literature review. In J.A. Banks & C.A. McGee Banks (Eds.), Handbook of research on multicultural education (pp. 484497). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

John, V. P. (1972). Styles of learning, styles of teaching: Reflections on the education of Native Americans. In C. Cazden, V. John, & D. Hymes (Eds.), Functions of language in the classroom (pp. 331-343). New York: Teachers College Press.

Keating, J. (1995, January). A bicultural approach to teaching science to American Indian students. Retrieved January 15, 2005, from http://www.ed.psu.edu/ci/Journals/ 97pap22.htm.

Kirchner, G. (2000). Children's games from around the world: A collection of time-honored games invented by children from 50 countries (2nd ed). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Kleinfeld, J. S. (1975). Effective teachers of Eskimo and Indian students. School Review (February), 301-44.

Lomawaima, KT. (2004). Educating Native Americans. In J. A. Banks & C. A. McGee Banks (Eds.), Handbook of research on multicultural education (2nd ed.; pp. 451467). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

McCadden, B. M. (1998). Why is Michael always getting timed out? Race, class and disciplining other people's children. In R. E. Butchart & B. McEwan (Eds.), Classroom discipline in American schools: Problems and possibilities for democratic education (pp. 109-134). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Norman, K I. (1997, January). Barriers for Hispanics and Native Americans entering science and mathematics: Cultural dilemmas. Retrieved January 15, 2005 from http:// www.ed.psu.edu/ci/Journals/97pap22.htm. Pewewardy, C. (1998). Fluff and feathers: Treatment of American Indians in the literature classroom. Equity andExcellence in Education, 31(l), 69-76.

Rhodes, R (1988). Holistic teaching and learning for Native American students. Journal ofAmerican Indian Education, 27,21-29.

Schwartz, W. (2001). School practices for equitable discipline of African American students. NewYork: ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED455343).

Sheets, R. H., & Gay, G. (1996, May). Student perceptions of disciplinary conflict in ethnically diverse classrooms. NASSPBulletin, 80(580), 84-94 Sierra, J., & Kaminski, R. (1995). Children's traditional games: Games from 137 countries and cultures. Phoenix: Oryx Press.
Vasquez, J. A. (1990). Teaching to the distinctive traits of minority students. The Clearing House, 63(7), 299-304.

Watkins, W. H., Lewis, J. H., & Chou, V. (2001). Race and education: The roles of history and society in educating African American students. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon

Brian Culp (briculp@yahoo.com) is an assistant professor in the School of Physical Education and Tourism Management at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), Indianapolis, IN.
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