Cultural Sensitivity Training For Teachers with Sudanese Students

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By Chem Chinoda and Kayla Smart

• Cultural Sensitivity Training For Teachers with
  Sudanese Students

University of Alberta EDPY 413
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Cultural Sensitivity Training For Teachers with
Sudanese Students

• It is acknowledged, however, that in times of
  major change or transition, such as immigrating
  to another country, value systems may be
  challenged during the process of acculturation.
• M. Ebbeck and C. Cerna (p 307)

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What is Cultural Awareness ?

• Someone's cultural awareness is their
  understanding of the differences between
  themselves and people from other countries or
  other backgrounds, especially differences in
  attitudes and values Collins English Dictionary

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Cultural Awareness Is

• Communicating with students from a range of
  cultures is an integral part of teaching. The
  development of the teachers cultural awareness
  will add to the effectiveness and ongoing
  learning process.
• The teachers ability to understand and explain
  cultural differences can make an enormous
  difference in facilitating and enhancing
  students learning and communications

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Cultural Awareness

• Cultural awareness becomes central when we
  have to interact with people from other cultures.
  In the classroom the teacher sees , interprets
  and evaluates things in different ways. What is
  considered an appropriate behavior in one culture
  is frequently inappropriate in another one.
  Misunderstandings arise when a teacher uses their
  own meanings to make sense of an ELLs reality.

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Taken from - aidsudan.org/.../cms.page/i/1442/t/N
ashville.htm - July 19,2009
How to develop cultural awareness

• Misinterpretations occur when we lack awareness
  of our own behavioral rules and project them on
  others. Because we tend to lack better knowledge
  of cultural dynamics we assume, instead of
  finding out what a behavior means to the person
  involved, e.g. a straight look into your face is
  regarded as disrespectful in Sudan.

• To facilitate learning, teachers need to
  "accommodate students' background knowledge and
  skills.

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How to develop cultural awareness

• Make an effort to learn about customs, beliefs
  and/or remedies that can help bridge gaps in
  communication to facilitate an understanding.
• Should cultural misunderstandings arise,
  communicate this to all parties involved in the
  classroom environment.
• Teachers should be encouraged to reflect on their
  attitudes and experiences towards language and
  culture and thus hopefully develop a greater
  understanding of different learning styles and
  different cultural expectations.

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How to develop cultural awareness

• Teachers should increase cultural awareness
  means to see both the positive and negative
  aspects of cultural differences. Cultural
  diversity can be a source of problems, in
  particular when there are expectations for
  people to think or act in a similar way.
  Diversity increases the level of complexity and
  confusion and makes agreement difficult to reach.
  
• Make an effort to understand the language
  associated with the cultures or values of the
  (Sudanese) students you have in the classroom.

Taken from - www.dhsthepromise.com/ - July 19,2009
Taken from - www.smh.com.au/.../2005/07/16/1121455
936614.html - July 19,2009
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Cultural Awareness in the Classroom - The
Sudanese

• For many Sudanese youth refugees, adjusting to
  the school environment can be the biggest
  challenge.

Taken on http//crs.org/sudan/new-year-message/
on July 19 2009
Taken from lthttp//blog.lifestreamsinternational.o
rg/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/2_02.jpggt
on July 19 2009
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The Sudanese
- Population 40 million -Religions Sunni Muslim
70 (in north), indigenous beliefs 25, Christian
5 (mostly in south and Khartoum) -Languages
Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse
dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic Trabal
languages such as Dinka. English note program
of "Arabization" in process -Literacy age 15
and over can read and write total population
61.1 male 71.8 female 50.5 (2003 est.)
Taken from lthttp//www.travelblog.org/Africa/Sud
an/fact-ppl-sudan.htmlgt
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Conflict in Sudan

• Sudan, the largest country in Africa, has been
  badly affected by several decades of civil
  conflict.
• The situation in the western Darfur region of
  Sudan has been labeled the worst humanitarian
  crisis in the world today. A conflict between
  rebel forces on the one side, and the Sudanese
  Government and the government-backed Janjaweed
  militia on the other, has left between 10,000 and
  30,000 people dead. An estimated 1.3 million
  civilians have been displaced from their homes.

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Conflict in Sudan
                                                
           Refugees from the Sudanese region
of Darfur rest in the heat of the desert in the
improvised Tine refugee camp.
Taken from-www.dismalworld.com/.../conflict_in_sud
an.php July 20,2009
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Sudanese Youth

• Many Sudanese students have no problems settling
  in their new atmosphere, and thrive in their new
  environment. But many Sudanese struggle in
  dealing with their past traumatic experiences.
• Many children report symptoms of Post-Traumatic
  Stress Syndrome (PTSD). The Sudanese students
  mean score was twice as high as children who have
  experienced only one traumatic event in their
  lifetime (Bates et al. 2005).

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Hopes of a Sudanese Refugee

• When I arrived in the United States in 1984
  as a young refugee woman, I hoped to regain many
  of the things I had lost peace, happiness, and
  community. Instead I found myself torn apart. One
  part of me deeply mourned the loss of my home and
  my culture. Another part of me desperately
  struggled to find a place in this strange New
  World. Julia Duany

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Issues in the Classroom

• Parent Roles and Expectations
• Teacher Roles and Expectations
• Becoming capable readers and Writers of English
• Strategies to use in the classroom
• Classroom challenges (Cultural differences)

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Parents expectations of the Teacher
Taken from lthttp//www.cafod.org.uk/about-us/where
-we-work/sudan/images/sudanese-familygt on July 19
2009
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Parents expectations of the Teacher

• Sudanese parents accustomed to a more communal
  (way) of raising a child. Any adult within the
  community can discipline or reprimand a child.
• The parents believe it is the schools
  responsibility to discipline the child at school.
  We believe teachers are their parents when they
  are at school and we expect teachers to use their
  best judgment when disciplining our children.
  -Walker-Dalhouse and Dalhouse p.331

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Teachers Expectations of the Parents

• The teachers expectations of the parents tend to
  be the same as the other parents. But many
  Sudanese refugee parents have barriers that
  restrict their participation in their childs
  education.
• For example, parents with limited English have
  difficulty helping the child with homework, or
  the parents are working long hours and dont have
  the time. This is felt to be the role of the
  teacher to help with homework. The parents see
  their role as the supporters and providers, not
  as home teachers.

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Teachers Expectations of the Parents

• Many teachers tend to interpret Sudanese parents
  absence from parent teachers meetings as
  indicative of a lack of interest in their
  childrens education. However their absence is
  due to conflicts with work schedules or because
  they have multiple children and cannot physically
  attend all of the conferences. The parents are
  interested their childrens education and
  academic success but have to work hard in order
  to insure their familys survival.
• - Walker-Dalhouse and Dalhouse p.332

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Becoming Capable Readers and Writers of English

• Many Sudanese youth coming to Canada have had
  very little or no previous experience in a formal
  school setting. Because many youth spend years in
  a refugee camp before moving their experience or
  exposure to English can be limited.

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Becoming Capable Readers and Writers of English

• My older brothers went to school in the refugee
  camp and learned some English. But for me I did
  not know any English and I also did not know how
  to write in my own language Dinka. At the camp we
  were in, very few girls went to school. We mainly
  helped with womens work..
• Lisa 17 yr old Sudanese girl living in Edmonton

Taken from http//bbsnews.net/article.php/20070620
172222235 On July 19
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Instructional Practices

• Many Sudanese homes embrace a oral rich culture
  with little print materials for reading. This
  gives many of the students a lack of practice
  materials for learning to read.

Reading materials should be examined before being
assigned to determine their prior knowledge
needed to comprehend the material. Sending home
books or providing written text, can help
supplement the oral language culture found at the
students home.
Taken from http//www.theage.com.au/news/national
/volunteers-help-settler-sudanese-speak-the-word-o
f-hope/2008/05/16/1210765176475.html On July 19
2009.
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Instructional Practices

• Teachers can implement Cooperative Learning
  Activities to encourage informal talk among
  students as a means to practice English. This
  also gives the Sudanese child a chance to connect
  to the curriculum and student culture informally.

Taken From http//web.ceomelb.catholic.edu.au/uplo
ads/director/2006/Sudanese2.jpg 07/19
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Instructional Practices

• Sudanese students felt that teachers
• In a mainstream classroom, teachers needed to
  continually check students for understanding and
  slowing the pace of the classroom can greatly
  help facilitate understanding.
• In an ELL classroom, students felt discussing
  issues of importance to refugee students as a
  means of socializing and sharing culture. In
  addition, an ELL classroom should link content to
  mainstream curriculum so that students do not
  feel like that are missing out or being left
  behind the mainstream students.

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Issues of Culture in the Classroom

• Cultural and language barriers can create
  situations where misunderstandings and hurt
  feelings can occur, both for the students and the
  teacher.
• A frequent misunderstanding has to do with eye
  contact. Like many cultures, for a Sudanese to
  make eye contact with an elder is a sign of
  disrespect. While in Western culture, a lack of
  eye contact is seen as a sign of disrespect.

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Issues of Culture

• Many teachers do no understand that eye
  contact with someone older than you, can cause a
  lot of discomfort for me. Some teachers do not
  like it when we look down, but that is just what
  I was taught at home. Lisa
• Because many teachers interpret this as a sign
  of disrespect, students can get reprimanded for
  this cultural misunderstanding.

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Issues of Culture

• Even though I came here when I was six, I still
  feel uncomfortable sometimes speaking in class.
  Here we are suppose to give answers in class, and
  at home we rarely speak when elders are around
  unless they are our parents. Lisa
• Teachers can perceive this unwillingness to speak
  in class, as a lack of interest or knowledge. But
  many students feel uncomfortable volunteering
  answers or answering questions in front of the
  whole class.

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Issues of Culture

• Teachers should be aware of these common
  misconceptions within their classroom, and
  encourage students to participate in classroom
  activities. Perhaps cooperative learning
  techniques in small peer groups can encourage the
  students participation.
• Teachers should never force a child to speak out
  in class, or participate in activities than can
  create anxiety for the student. Because of the
  traumatic stress many student have suffered, the
  potential for emotional factors to affect their
  classroom participation increases with anxiety.
• Walker-Dalhouse and Dalhouse (2009)

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Issues of Culture

• Community support for refugees is essential for
  academic success. Traditional classes and
  counselling sessions were ineffective in
  addressing the struggle of students to adjust to
  Western culture.
• Group education and social support programs offer
  support and group settings, which give youth a
  more communal support system similar to Sudanese
  culture (Bates et al. 2005).

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We leave you with this quote, minority students
achieved at high levels when they worked with
teachers who expected tem to succeed and provided
a safe and warm environment in which to learn
(Larkins-Strathy LaRocco. 2007 p3) In
conclusion acquiring cultural sensitivity and
knowledge about cultural differences requires
focused development of skills to communicate with
students from diverse cultures this is a process
developed through professional training and
experience.
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References

• Bates, L., Baird, D., Johnson, D., Lee, R.,
  Luster, T., Rehagen, C. (2005) Sudanese Refugee
  Youth in Foster Care The Lost Boys in America.
• Child Welfare League of America. 84(5) 631-648 .
  Retrieved July 10, 2008, from ERIC database.
• Bulgak, A. (Personal Communication, July 16,
  2007)
• Darfur Australia Network . Background to the
  conflict. http//www.darfuraustralia.org/darfur/ba
  ckground
• Retrieved July 19, 2009
• DISMAL WORLD Snapshots from the not-so-happy
  globe http//www.dismalworld.com/disputes/conflict
  _in_sudan.php
• Retrieved July 20, 2009
• Duany, Julia (1998. Learning from the Survivors.
  The South Sudanese Lens, South Sudanese Friends
  International, Inc. (SSFI),
• Bloomington, Indiana. USA. Vol. 6, Issue 2.
• Ebbeck, M. Cerna, C. (2007) A Study of Child
  Rearing Practices Amongst Selected, Sudanese
  Families in South Australia Implications for
  Child Care Service Selection. Early Childhood
  Education Journal, 34(5), 307-314. Retrieved July
  11, 2008, from ERIC database.
• Harty, H. Hassan, H. (1983) Student Control
  Ideology and the Science Classroom Environment in
  Urban Secondary Schools of Sudan. Journal of
  Research Science Teaching. 20(9), 851-859.
  Retrieved July 10, 2008, from ERIC database.
• Larkins, B LaRocco, D. (2007) Teachers as
  Caring Classroom Leaders A Case Study of
  Practices that Encourage the Hearts of Students.
  Presented at 39th annual New England Educational
  Research Organization Conference. Retrieved on
  February 20 2009 from ERIC database.