Diversity and Culture

Definition of Diversity

 from the Latin word “divertere”, which means to Developing Diversity Competence
turn away, separate, and oppose.
- Developing diversity help us move along and begin
to value differences.
 Diversity in humans means differences among
people. It is the uniqueness of each one that is
the root of diversity
a) Awareness
 Recognize differences as diversity
 Collins Dictionary - defines diversity as “the
 Respect the benefits of diverse values
state of being different or varied
and behaviours to people and to the
organization.
 UNESCO (United Nations Educational,
 Have a clear sense of your individual
Scientific and Cultural Organization) - (2017),
culture.
diversity is defined as “people’s differences
 Understand how the culture of your
which may relate to their race, ethnicity, gender,
organization affects those whose
sexual orientation, language, culture, religion,
culture is different.
mental and physical ability, class and immigration
 Recognize the similarities that are
status.”
shared across the “human culture,”
regardless of the differences that
exist.
Dimensions of Diversity

b) Knowledge
 Learn factual information about other
cultures and groups with different
backgrounds.
 Learn a new language.
 Read about cross-gender differences in
communication styles.
 Interview a person from a different
culture to learn about their culture.
 Attend a cultural event, celebration, or
holiday program of a different culture
 Marilyn Loden’s Wheel

c) Skills
What is Culture?  Take personal responsibility for the way
you respond to difference.
- It is the totality of values, beliefs, and behaviors  Make sincere attempts to understand
common to a large group of people. the world from others’ points of view.
- Culture is the behavioral software “that  Develop problem-solving skills.
programs us all.”  Look for ways to work effectively with
 Cultures determines our behaviour and diverse groups of people.
attitudes
 No one is culture free d) Actions/Behaviour
 Most cultural rules are never written  Teach others about cultural
 We interpret other people’s behaviour differences.
through our own cultural software.  Show more patience when working and
interacting with people who have
different learning styles than you.
  Integrate diversity issues as an ongoing
topic in staff meetings at work.

FOUR LAYERS OF DIVERSITY

ABILITY AND DISSABILITY AS A DIMENSION OF
By Lee Gardenswartz and Anita Rowe DIVERSITY

- Lee Gardenswartz and Anita Rowe have been

doing work in diversity arena for more than 50
Ability
years now (since 1977).
- The model was developed in 2003 with older - It refers to the possession of the qualities
versions tracing back to 1991. required to do something; necessary skill or
competence, or power.

1. Level 1: Personality
Disability
o Openness, conscientiousness,
- as the umbrella term for impairments, activity
limitations, and participation restrictions,
referring to the negative aspects of the
interaction between an individual (with a health
condition) and the individual’s contextual factors
(environmental and personal factors).

American Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)

- a person with a disability is a person who has a

physical or mental impairment that substantially
limits one or more major life activity.
- Employers cannot discriminate against a person
with disability and must provide employees with
recognized disabilities with reasonable
accommodations.
extraversion, agreeableness,
neuroticism - A person’s disability makes him or her a unique
individual who is, at times, shunned from places
2. Level 2: Internal Dimensions and activities
o Age, gender, sexual orientation, physical - They have to be acknowledged as part of the
ability, ethnicity, race spectrum of diversity.
- They have to be recognized as human beings who
3. Level 3: External Dimensions should not be discriminated against, but rather
o Geographic location, income, personal understood, accepted, and tolerated.
habits, recreational habits, religion, - Disabilities have to be seen as a natural part of
educational background, work life and a natural part of diversity.
experience, appearance, parental status, - People with disabilities have to be perceived and
marital sex accepted as people with distinct abilities.
- They have to identify themselves as having
4. Level 4: Organizational Dimensions disabilities so that the world can accept them
o Functional level, work content field, and create avenues for them to live.
division/department/unit/group,
seniority, work location, union affiliation,
management status.
 6. Human beings find comfort and trust in
likeness.
o We have a tendency to seek the
company of those most similar to us in a
variety of ways... age, gender, and
ethnicity being just several of many.

THE DILEMMA AND CHALLENGE OF DIVERSITY

Dilemma of Diversity
7. It is difficult for people to share power.
- Diverse ways of thinking and doing things bring in o Understanding this last reality helps
creativity and productivity. Innovative thinking clarify why there is sometimes a
and collaboration are encouraged when different backlash associated with diversity from
people work to come up with solutions to people who may believe they will lose in
problems or challenges. this experience.

The Challenge of Diversity

1. Diversity.
o is about each person coming to terms
with his or her attitudes, beliefs, and
experiences about others and gaining
comfort with difference.

2. Diversity goes beyond race and gender.

o The diversity tent is big enough to
include everyone—young and old,
homeless and affluent, immigrant and
native, white and black, rural and urban,
gang member and corporate
professional.

3. No one is the target of blame for current or

past inequities.
o All human beings have been socialized to
behave in certain ways, and all of us are
at times both perpetrators and victims
of discrimination and stereotypes.

4. Human beings are ethnocentric, seeing the

world through their own narrow view and
judging the world by their familiar yardstick.
o This is not bad in itself, but it can be a
source of conflict if other ways of being
are not accommodated and valued.

5. The human species resists changes, continuing

to seek homeostasis.
o This makes the constant adaptation
required by diversity difficult for
people already overwhelmed by
staggering transitions in today’s
communities and organizations.
 List of Possible steps that educators can
Making Schools take to facilitate the much needed
Inclusive societal shift and inform policy:

1. Involve other sectors of society

2. collaborate

3. recognize the shift in roles of teachers

4. include transitions in planning:

CREATING INCLUSIVE CULTURES

STAKEHOLDERS
A. Student Admissions – know first who are those
• These are the teachers, administrators, school learners that needs to be taken care because of
staff, officials, and other workers, the parents their special needs
and their families, the community, the B. Accessibility to utilities and facilities –
government. reducing possible barriers that will make it
harder for children to take part in any activities
• They are important because they play a major C. Supports available to students, parents and
role in “connecting what is being taught in a school personnel
school to its surrounding community” D. Learners accommodation – consider the
equipment and materials that allows all learners
What can stakeholders do to create inclusive cultures
to gain access to complete a task despite of
1. Set the parameters their special needs
for inclusion. E. Exclusionary or discriminatory incidents – there
2. Build key people. must be a specified plan on how to combat
3. Identify and eradicate discrimination
barriers F. Number of bullying cases – implementing some
alternative ways to somehow avoid it as much as
possible.
COMMON BARRIERS TO INCLUSION G. Faculty and Staff Promotion – teachers serve
as an advocate for students with disabilities and
1.Attitudes, values system, misconceptions, and societal special needs.
norms

2. Physical barriers such as lack of buildings, facility,

transportation or road accessibility can literally affect EVOLVING INCLUSIVE PRACTICES
one’s mobility
UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING (UDL)
3. curriculum
- It is the design of instructional materials and
4. lack of teacher training and low teacher efficacy activities to make the content information
accessible to all children.
5. poor language communication

6. lack of funding
ELEMENTS OF UDL
7. lack of policies
A. Multiple means of presentation
8. organization of educational systems B. Multiple means of action and expression
C. Multiple means of engagement
9. too much focus on performance-based standards

UDL PRINCIPLES ADAPTED FROM SALEND (2011)

1. Equitable use
PRODUCING INCLUSIVE POLICIES
2. Flexible use

3. Simple and intuitive use

 4. Perceptible information

5. Tolerance and error

6. Low physical effort

7. Size and space for approach and use

8. Community of Learners

9. Inclusive environment

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION (DI) A. Pre-referral process

- A preventative approach intended to address
• refers to a systematic approach to planning
struggling student’s academic or behavioral
curriculum and instruction for academically
challenges in the classroom.
diverse learners.
* Recognition of
• To ensure engaged, successful, and flourishing
potential problems
learners, teaching and learning experiences need
Initial identification • Parent or Teacher
to be designed in a way that provide
observation
opportunities for students to learn and
• Review of school
demonstrate their understanding in varied ways.
records, classroom
Determination of • Small-group instruction
teaching • Direct instruction
How is the classroom managed during differentiated areas and strategies
learning? Implementation of • Additional in-class or
3. Assign roles during small group activities/instruction to teaching after-school support
ensure accountability and a positive learning environment; programs • Modification of
classroom environment
a. Facilitator and behavior
• Modification of
b. Recorder
instruction to address
c. Timekeeper potential needs
Evaluation of teaching • Determine
d. Summarizer program effectiveness of
e. Presenter programs on
learning and behavior
f. Errand

g. Monitor
B. Assessment
- The process of collecting information about a
child’s strength and needs.

Methods of assessment

a. Tests – school psychologist

b. Norm-referenced test – standardized
assessment that compare a child
performance
c. Criterion-referenced test – compare a
child performance based on established
standards and competencies
d. Informal assessment – more authentic
and primarily used to describe
performance and inform instruction
e. Authentic assessment – provide
students opportunity to apply knowledge
and skills meaningfully
 4. The Social Model

C. Placement 5. Rights-based Model and Twin Track Approach

- A general education classroom is the least
restrictive environment for a child with
additional needs. Topic B: What is Special Needs Education? Why
Inclusion?

It is a set of educational programs or services specially

designed to meet the unique needs of learners with
D. Accommodations disabilities that cannot be sufficiently met using
- Supports provided to students to help gain full traditional educational programs or techniques.
access content and instruction

1. Presentation Accommodation Topic C: The 2023 Agenda

Specialized presentation for those with sensory
impairments Philippine Laws for PWDs (Pangalangan & Litong, 2014)

● BP 344 (1983) – Accessibility Law

2. Response Accommodation
Variety of ways to complete assignments & ● RA 7277 (1992) – Magna Carta for Disabled
performance task Persons

● Administrative Order 35 (2002) – National

3. Setting Accommodations
Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation (NPDR
Changes in the location or conditions
Week) every 3rd week of July

4. Scheduling Accommodations ● RA 9442 (2007) – Amendment of RA 7277

Changing time allotment (Privileges to PWDs)

● Guidelines in the Admission of Students with

E. Parent Involvement Disabilities in Higher Education and Post-
o Home-school communication Secondary Institutions in the Philippines.
o Parent-teacher conference
● NCDA Administrative Oder no. 001, s. 2008 –
o Written communication
Guidelines on the issuance of PWD ID cards
o Digital communication
relative to RA 9442.
o Home-school contracts
● RA 10070 (2010) – Amendment of RA 7277
(Implementation of Programs and Services for
PWDs in every province, city, and municipality –
PDAO Law)

● Proclamation No. 688, s. 2013 – Declaring the

Period of 2013-2022 as the Philippine Decade of
“Make the Right Real” for PWDs

● RA 10524 (2013) – Amendment of RA 7277

(Expanding the Positions Reserved for PWDs

ADRESSING DIVERSITY THROUGH THE YEARS: ● RA 10754 (2016) – An Act Expanding the
SPECIAL AND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION Benefits and Privileges of PWDs

● Civil Service Commission MC NO.20, s.2017

express lanes for PDWs in all commercial and
Topic A: Models of Disability
government establishments
1. The Moral/Religious Model
● RA 11228 – Amendment of RA 7277 – All PWDs
2. The Biomedical/Individual Model shall be automatically covered by the National
Health Insurance Program (NHIP) of the
3. The Functional/Rehabilitation Model PhilHealth and that the PhilHealth shall develop
exclusive packages for PWDs that will address
their specific health and development needs.