Multicultural Issues

The world is changing rapidly, and most people live in communities where other people from different cultures and religions coexist. Several misconceptions about other cultures are important to address for us to work effectively with preschoolers and families from other nations and cultures. Here are three of the most common misconceptions:

• People from the same country who speak the same language share a common culture. This is not true. For example, while people from Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, and Puerto Rico share a common language; they do not share a common culture. Customs and traditions vary.
  
  
• Families from the same culture share common values. This is another widespread misconception. The values held by people within a cultural group may differ. This is also true of varying generations living in the same household.
  
  
• Many people identify with only one culture. This is also not true. For example, Maria is an active member of a Southern Baptist church. She is originally from Ecuador but married Mohammed, a Muslim from Pakistan. They have two children who are going to school in New York where the family now lives. In another situation, Patrick is of Chinese heritage but does not speak any Chinese. He was born in Jamaica but was raised in Canada. Today he lives in the United States. These individuals cannot be stereotyped as belonging to a particular culture. This is increasingly true throughout the world but especially in the United States.

Based on this information, what guidelines can you invent for working with preschoolers from other cultures?

Suggestions for Working with Parents from Other Cultures

1. Find out as much as you can about the culture but do not generalize.
   
   
2. Be a good listener and look for appropriate ways to communicate with both the parents and the child.
   
   
3. Find out the nature of immigration. For example, a child of Chinese heritage could come from a traditional Chinese family or one that does not speak any Chinese language.

Suggestions for Working with Preschoolers from Other Cultures

1. Adjust your interactions with young children based on their culture. For example:
• In some cultures parents teach their children to look down when their names are called. This indicates respect. In the U.S., most teachers expect a child to look at them when the child's name is called.
• Many U.S. parents value punctuality and believe having their child in your class on time shows respect to you and others in the group, teaches their child responsibility, and demonstrates the importance they as parents place on the event and their child's activities. Many other cultures, even within the U.S. do not value rigid starting and ending times. Be aware that parents may not have bad motives behind being late and that the child has no control over his/her arrival time.
  
  
2. Try to include authentic information about the different cultures represented in the class. This shows respect for every child's heritage.
   
   
3. Be inclusive of all children no matter what culture or background exists in the group.
   
   
4. When speaking about families, find out who each preschooler considers "family." Some will include extended family members.

Practical Applications

1. Make sure preschoolers see persons on teaching pictures and classroom posters who look like them.
   
   
2. Listen carefully when parents and preschoolers speak their names. Practice pronouncing them as correctly as possible and use a child's "real" name, unless requested to do otherwise.
   
   
3. Do not assume that everyone in a group has the same understanding of holiday traditions (i.e., that we thank God and eat turkey at Thanksgiving, that Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus and is a time for hanging stockings and decorating a tree with ornaments and electric lights, that "Happy Birthday" is sung to celebrate birthdays).

Based on these characteristics, how would you adjust your interactions with preschoolers and parents from these broad examples?

______

Adapted by Anita Bice.