Diversity in the Education System

Diversity in the Education System

Despite the initial uncertainty within the education system, schooling is increasingly becoming globalized. The need to have schools that are centred around cultural diversity has led the education systems across the country to be conceptualized from the outlook of national identity founded on the grounds of one language and culture (Hardy & Woodcock, 2015). The current literature in the field has shown that the school culture and school climate directly affect the academic performance of the students. The rising incidences of inequality in the access to quality education based on cultural differences among students have necessitated stakeholders in the education sector to develop viable and effective programs that reflect, celebrate and recognize the role cultural diversity plays in enhancing student’s academic performance.

Today, the United States Education system is organized around a cultural diversity foundation whereby learning, instructions and assessments implicitly and explicitly disseminate a substantial amount of information to students. Hardy & Woodcock (2015) states that within curriculums at all levels of learning, there is evidence of the constant efforts by education participants, including teachers, to foster a learning environment that eliminate cultural barriers. The cultural diversity of students, teachers and staff plays a vital role in influencing their intellectual personality, strength, and productivity. The diversity of race, gender, experience, culture, ethnicity, and religion enhances cohesiveness, synergy, and collaboration among students. In essence, diversity within the education setting increases the students’ cultural, academic, and intellectual environment since it fosters problem-solving, innovation, creativity, effective communication as well as reduced anxiety among the students.

Significantly, ethnic and racial experiences and identities are critical factors that expose the students to a broad spectrum of approaches, ideas, and perspectives to understand the world. This implies that the lack of ethnic and racial diversity within the education system can potentially make it challenging to provide the students with quality education (Richards et al., 2017). Due to the complexity of the diversity concern, education officials need to recognize the idea that promoting diversity and inclusion within the education systems requires the need to confront the belief that increasing inclusion and diversity among the students is likely to decrease academic standards.

In a bid to contribute to the academic, cultural and intellectual environment for students in learning centres across the education system, it is increasingly becoming necessary for government officials and education administrators to develop a diversity and inclusion plan that would advocate for and support transformational change across institutions (Richards et al., 2017). Considerably, making the education programs effective would require education administrators to design objectives that include engaging all the stakeholders in the education sector in meaningful dialogues and actions that would lead to introspection and change towards diversity.

Secondly, the programs should focus on weaving the tenets of inclusion and diversity into all aspects of the student’s academic and cultural lives. Moreover, the diversity and inclusion plan should serve a crucial role in identifying the impediments to creating an inclusive and diverse intellectual, cultural, and academic environment (Hardy & Woodcock, 2015). On the contrary, a diverse education system functions as a mechanism to offer students a rich and dynamic outlook of the intellectual environment. In attempts to serve the current and future students’ student population, it will be a prerequisite to involve stakeholders at various levels of college governance and teaching. Consequently, this will enhance intellectual, cultural, and academic diversity by exposing the students to a variety of ideas and scholarly perspectives that are drawn from a broad spectrum of life and cultural experiences.

A recent study by Jian (2018) aimed at comparing cultural diversity of learning styles between China and the United States revealed that diversity in the education systems directly influences students performance. Diverse environments allow students to work better, enhance relationships and improve their concentration, hence pushing themselves towards academic excellence. Similarly, having students from different backgrounds enhances collaboration and teamwork amongst the students. This develops a culture that nurtures creativity in addition to bettering education since the students with differing perspectives on specific subjects collaborate effectively in creating viable solutions (Jian, 2018). Following the recognition of the importance of diversity within the education system, education leaders and administrators are helping students to understand and appreciate that they are equal, despite their diverse backgrounds. In simple terms, the fundamental tenets of diversity uphold that, every student is the same, and hence they should be treated with respect.

In conclusion, among the sectors in which cultural diversity has had a profound effect over the last decade in education. Never before have schools been culturally neutral centres. Diversity in the education system has proved to be an effective mechanism in offering students a rich and dynamic outlook of the intellectual environment. Nonetheless, despite the government and education stakeholders to implement policies and programs that foster cultural diversity, some teaching practices and school curriculums continue to exclude students from diverse backgrounds. Therefore, education administrators and leaders must develop a diversity and inclusion plan that would advocate for and support transformational change across institutions.