Educational Psychology

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Educational Psychology

Cultural Mismatches in Educational Psychology

The textbook speaks of a cultural "mismatch" that may interfere with a student's ability to succeed in a traditional classroom. Describe the types of mismatches that might occur related to each of these traditional educational practices:

a. The daily school time schedule

b. The use of Standard English

c. Whole-class question-answer sessions

d. Classroom competition

A

Many people regulate their lives by the clock: Being on time to appointments, social engagements, and the dinner table is important. This emphasis on punctuality is not characteristic of all cultures, however; for example, many Hispanic and Native American communities don't observe strict schedules and timelines. Not surprisingly, children form these communities may be chronically late for school and have difficulty understanding the need for school tasks to be completed within a certain time frame.

To succeed in mainstream Western society, students eventually need to learn punctuality. At the same time, we must recognize that not all of our students will be especially concerned about clock time when they first enter our classrooms. Certainly we should expect students to arrive at class on time and to turn