Educational Diversity Chapter 1 Vocab.

Alienation

Estrangement or disconnection from oneself or others

Assimilation

Process by which groups adopt and change the common culture

Canon

The principles, rules, standards, values, or norms that guide a Western European education

Compensatory education

The provision of special services to students who have limited economic or educational advantages

Critical race theory

A critical analysis of race and racism that challenges racial oppression, racial inequities, and white privilege in society

Critical thinking

An effort to see an issue clearly and accurately to judge it fairly without a preset bias

Cultural borders

A boundary between groups based on cultural differences that may limit an individual’s understanding of persons from a different cultural background

Cultural capital

Endowments such as academic competence, language competence, and wealth that provide an advantage to an individual, family, or group

Cultural relativism

The principle that a person’s way of behaving and thinking should be understood by others from that person’s own culture

Culture

Socially transmitted ways of thinking, believing, feeling, and acting within a group that are transmitted from one generation to the next

Cultural pluralism

The maintenance of cultures as parallel and equal to the dominant culture in a society

Curriculum

A sequence of courses offered by educational institutions

Democracy

A government in which power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through elected representatives

Discrimination

The arbitrary denial of the privileges and rewards of society to members of a group

Dispositions

Values, attitudes, and commitments that guide the work of teachers and other school professionals

Dominant group

The cultural group whose values and behaviors have been adopted by most institutions in society, such as schools

Egalitarianism

A belief in social, political, and economic rights and privileges for all people

Enculturation

Process of acquiring the characteristics of a given culture and becoming competent in its language and ways of behaving and learning

Equality

State of being equal in that one cultural group is not inferior or superior to another and that all groups have access to the same benefits of society regardless of their group memberships

Ethnocentrism

View that one’s cultural group is superior to all others

Freedom

Not being unduly hampered or constrained in choice or action by others

Immigration

To enter a country in which one was not born for the purpose of becoming a permanent resident

High poverty school

At least 75% of the students in a shool are eligible for free or reduced price lunch

Individualism

Dominant feature of western culture that stresses the rights, freedom, and importance of the individual over groups

Inequality

Marked distinctions in economic success, educational achievement, educational credentials, and power among groups of people

Involuntary immigrants

Immigrants who did not choose to emigrate from their native countries, but were forced to or conquered by others

Marginalization

Relegation to a position that is not part of the mainstream or accepted by most people

Meritocracy

A system based on the belief that an individual’s achievements are based on their own personal merits and hard work and that the people who achieve at the highest levels deserve the greatest social and financial rewards

Multicultural education

An educational construct that addresses cultural diversity and equity in schools

Multiculturalism

The condition in which different cultural groups can maintain their unique cultural identities while participating equally in the dominant culture

Oppressed Groups

Groups that have limited or no power in society, are subordinate to another group, or have been marginalized or silenced

Others

Cultural groups that are different than our own

Prejudice

Negative attitudes about a group of people

Privilege

Advantages and power over others in society because of one’s socioeconomic status, race, native language, gender, or other group memberships

Proficiencies: Knowledge, skills, or dispositions that students or teachers acquire to meet standards

Racism

The belief that one race has inherent superiority over all others and thereby has the right to dominance

Sexism

The conscious or unconscious belief that men are superior to women that results in behavior and action to maintain the superior, powerful position of males in society and families

Social justice

A philosophy that expects citizens to provide for those persons in society who are not as advantaged as others

Socialization

Process of learning the social norms and expectations of the culture and society

Stereotyped

Application of generalizations, many of which are inaccurate and negative, about a group without consideration of individual differences within the group

Structural assimilation

Assimilation of groups to the point that they share primary relationships, intermarry, and have equality with the dominant group

Students of color

Children and youth who are not racially identified as white

Subcultures

Groups within a society that are connected to cultural group memberships such as gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, religion, exeptionalities, language, and age

Subsocieties

Groups within a society such as punk, gangs, skinheads, or hippies that have developed their own values, attitudes, and behaviors, which are different from the norm and often not acceptable to the dominant cultural group

Values

Qualities or principles that are considered desirable and important

Voluntary immigrants

Immigrants who chose to emigrate from their native countries