Due by 5/19/2017 Diversity in Education K-12

Assignment 3: Research Paper Part 2 – The Literature Review

Due Week 7 and worth 200 points

If you have ever collected coins, stamps, or shoes, you end up with an assortment of items that are similar in topic (e.g., shoes) but also vary a little (some have heals, laces, different colors, and patterns). Building a literature review is similar to a collection in that you have collected articles on your research topic and are going to write about the similarities and differences you found in the articles.  

For this assignment, you will create the second part of your research paper. The literature review should consist of a total of seven to ten (7-10) articles related to your research topic. These articles may include any articles you have previously found throughout this course. You should use the headings below for the sections of your paper. Research topic: Diversity in Education K-12. Educators being more diverse when creating lesson plan & teaching.

Write a three to four (3-4) page paper in which you:

1.       Identify two to three (2-3) common themes in the literature.

2.       Contrast the findings and results of the literature.

3.       Identify gaps in the literature.

4.       Summarize the literature as it relates to your topic.

5.       Include seven to ten (7-10) peer-reviewed quantitative or qualitative articles related to your topic.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

·         Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

·         Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

·         Determine the appropriateness of peer-reviewed literature to support research topics.

·         Use technology and information resources to research issues related to educational research methods.

·         Use quantitative and / or qualitative approaches to create research topics.

·         Analyze research methodologies that support specific research topics.

·         Evaluate components of a research proposal.

·         Write clearly and concisely about educational research methods using proper writing mechanics.

Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic / organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the following rubric.

Diversity in Education K-12

Introduction

In contemporary times, the classroom has become diverse (Cousik, 2015). Further, many education institutions within the country have made significant efforts to promote diversity in their domains. However, it has been noted that attaining such diversity is complicated as there are many challenges that have to be overcome. Many institutions have resorted to identifying, and seeking solutions to these challenges in a bid to incorporate diversity in the classroom and beyond. In seeking ways to promote diversity, there are two areas that are important to attaining desired success; identifying how diversity affects the classroom, and finding ways to promote an inclusive learning environment (Cousik, 2015).

For educators, a diverse classroom necessitates a few changes in the nature of their lesson plans and teaching technique. This work is intended to highlight some of these challenges. To successful do so, it will present the need and advantages of promoting an inclusive environment and present the challenges that can prevent that from happening. Further, it will utilize different resources to provide empirical evidence to the practice. The main reason for promoting inclusive learning environments is based on the benefits that exist, and the opportunities that can be exploited.

Purpose of the Research

The main purpose of this research paper is to promote inclusive learning environments. It focuses on presenting the ways and approaches that educators can adopt to facilitate diversity in their classrooms. The benefits associated with classroom diversity are embedded al through the release paper. However, more emphasis has been paid to the role of educators in the process. It is important to highlight the benefits associated with promoting diversity, and the roles that different stakeholders have to play. This research paper incorporates these benefits and responsibilities in its content. However, the role of educators in this process is more elaborate and significant. As a result, this work mainly focuses on how educators can promote inclusive learning environments.

In trying to promote inclusive teaching, this paper introduces some of the common challenges that educators may face. It presents a number of the current system is structured and the ways educators can overcome of the common challenges.  It also presents other meanings and representations of the current system of learning in order to make room for possible changes. In modern times, educators are required to be cognizant of best practices relating to teaching diverse classrooms. For most part, this requires a shift in the way lessons are planned and how teaching is performed (Fine-davis, 2014). This work highlights these changes.

Problem Statement

Most studies of classroom diversity focus on different forms of marginalization; gender, race, sexual orientation, and social status. Although these form part of diversity, the most perverse form of diversity comes from the fact that learners come from distinct backgrounds, experienced, and cultures (Fine-davis, 2014). As a result of these differences, students and educators have very differing expectations on learning. For instance, there are different assumptions about what typical students should know. In this setup, educators have more incentive to facilitate the best possible learning results.

An inclusive learning environment allows for the best possible outcomes. The role of an educator is essential in promoting diversity. Identifying and thinking though perceptions of difference and how they affect learning will allow for an inclusive class setup (Fine-davis, 2014).

The main problem that the research paper aims to look into is in incorporating specific tips in addressing differences to attain an inclusive learning environment. There are different approaches to promoting an inclusive classroom. These approaches are the focus of the research paper. As situations are different, the specific approaches differ. The main area of focus should hence be to determine the key aspects of teaching that enable and recognize diverse classrooms.

Summary of Literature

The literature used in this research came from different sources.

Boykin (2014) tries to recognize and nurture talents from a culturally-diverse learning environment. He notes that in the recent past, localized formative assessments have been used as major drivers to reform the education section. Further, there has been repeated use of large scale educational assessments to attain the same objective. Boykin cites that there are other important considerations that should be taken into account. Notably, it is important to take account of assessments that do not exclude some learners on the basis that they do not constitute the mainstream of the society. This is cited as one of the major ways education is wasting human talent. Boykin (2014) presents the view that there should be emphasis on assessments for learning as opposed to assessments of learning.

Georgii-Hemming’s (2017) article looks into the role of education and particularly on quality as a source of political activism. The quality of education is a constant concern to politicians as it is viewed as an indication of the future of the country. Georgii-Hemming introduces traditional and philosophical aspects of learning, and discusses how the emphasis on quantitative measures of quality education influences pluralism and diversity in the education system.

Guo (2012) tries to redefine the learning process by presenting the view that the environment is crucial to the process and general development. Specifically, the author focuses on the knowledge that is presented into the learning environment by immigrant parents. The general assumption is that people know information that can be presented to other through learning. In the article, the varying values, language, culture, religion, and educational background of immigrant parents is presented as a haven for knowledge and learning opportunities. Guo (2012) presents such parents as possible avenues to enrich the learning environment.

In the final resource used for the research, Pashby (2014) analysis classroom diversity in Canada. The author intends to present the interesting comparison on how citizenship and diversity are presented to youth and to adult immigrants. The article offers a critical analysis of the extent to which current discourses reflect, revise, or reassert those that were prominent in the past. It is important to understand the role of diversity in learning about citizenships in order to highlight the areas that need improvement. Canada is a very diverse country, and it is important for the education system to take this into account in the way it imparts knowledge and skills.

There are gaps in the literature. To begin with, none of the literature used provided direct information relevant to the research topic. Rather, they contribute to specific areas of the research topic. An action research design will be used in this case. The proposed theory will be that an inclusive classroom is essential for effective learning. The research will try to prove that educators can play a key role in promoting diversity.

References

Boykin, A. W. (2014). Human Diversity, Assessment in Education and the Achievement of

            Excellence and Equity. The Journal of Negro Education, 83(4), 499-521.

Cousik, R. (2015). Cultural and functional diversity in the elementary classroom: strategies for

            teachers. Journal for Multicultural Education, 9(2), 54-67.

Fine-davis, M. (2014). Equality and Diversity in the Classroom: A Comparison of Students' and

Teachers' Attitudes in Six European Countries. Social Indicators Research, 119(3), 1319-1334.

Georgii-Hemming, E. (2017). What is Quality? The Political Debate on Education and its

Implications for Pluralism and Diversity in Music Education. Philosophy of Music Education, 25(1), 67-86.

Guo, Y. (2012). Diversity in Public Education: Acknowledging Immigrant Parent Knowledge.

            Canadian Journal of Education, 35(2), 120-140.

Pashby, K. (2014). Discovering, Recovering, and Covering-up Canada: Tracing Historical

Citizenship Discourses in K–12 and Adult Immigrant Citizenship Education. Canadian Journal of Education, 37(2), 1-26.