Cultural Diversity and its Implications on Schools: A Sociological Perspective

This paper discusses the concept of cultural diversity and its implications on schools and other learning environments from a sociological perspective. It explores how cultural beliefs and behavioral patterns vary among cultures and the challenges faced by low-income cultural and linguistic minority students. The paper also examines the role of social class in relation to cultural diversity and language. Additionally, it discusses the importance of multicultural education in promoting transformative social change and creating an integrated environment for change.

Running head: SOCIOLOGY
SOCIOLOGY
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Introduction
The concept of culture has been regarded to be amongst the most extensively used ideas
in the field of sociology. By and large, culture has been used to be counterpart to greater aspects
of mind such as literature, work of art, music and painting. However, in sociological perspective,
culture surpasses these activities. According to Tröster, Mehra and van Knippenberg (2014)
cultural beliefs are identified as one of the aspects which vary among cultures. Suitable forms of
behavioural patterns tend to vary extensively from culture to culture and typically contrast with
what individuals from Western societies consider to be ordinary. For example, in modern
Western societies, children below the age of eighteen are considered to be underage for marriage
(Banks, 2015). However on the other hand, in some cultures, marriages are approved between
children below the age of eighteen which has further been accepted by several societies not
legally but culturally. The paper will aim to understand the issues of cultural diversity and its
implications on schools and other learning environments to sociological perspective.
Discussion
Conflict theorists have analyzed social structure as intrinsically weakened and unequal
primarily restricted by power discrepancies which are related to issues such as class, gender,
ethnicity and age. Williams and Vannini (2016) have stated that as per conflict theory culture has
been perceived as reinforcing issues of privilege for certain groups reliant on race, ethnicity, sex
and social class. For example, women typically struggle for attaining equivalent position in the
society which has been primarily dominated by men. On the other hand, aged citizens encounter
such challenges to protect their authorities, privileges regarding healthcare services in addition to
their liberty from the younger generation of lawmakers. Furthermore, symbolic interactionism
has been regarded as a sociological perspective which has shown immense concern with face to

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face or interpersonal dealings between members of the society (Pinxten & Lievens, 2014).
According to symbolic interactionism culture tends to be maintained by approaches through
which individuals interact and the way individuals comprehend each other’s cultural patterns and
activities. Pham and Tran (2015) have stated that according to symbolic interactionism human
interactions have been regarded as a continuous process of deriving interpretations of other
cultural patterns which is where the term symbolic comes into significance.
Carter and Fuller (2015) have argued that diversity primarily symbolize power as it tends
to provide openness to a broader range of prospects as well as perspectives on societal issues and
challenges. However, in the context of learning institutions such as schools, it has been observed
that social capital of a school contributes to its cultural diversity or multicultural capital by the
means of intentional use of schools’ respect in addition to the founding of strong as well as weak
multicultural linkages in order to aid and support multicultural education. At this juncture to
understand the challenges related to the educational quality faced by low income cultural and
linguistic minority students it is imperative to realize the ways in which social class relates to
cultural diversity and language (Williams & Vannini, 2016). Pham and Tran (2015) have
mentioned that Bordieu’s cultural capital has been highly vital to enlighten the issues related to
cultural diversity and its implications on students and teaching. The theory of cultural capital has
claimed that each status group in the society has urbanized certain distinguishing cultural
practices which have led to the diversification in cultural patterns. These culturally principal
groups with their significant ways of responding talking and deploying the cultural resources
obtainable to them have resulted to a wide gap between several cultural groups in the society.
Fuller (2014) has noted that children and families belonging to other cultural groups are
of diverse levels of social status hierarchy are likely to have convenience to other form of

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resources in order to deal with education services. According to Pham and Tran (2015) schools
have been recognised as driving force that hold up transformative social change in education
communities in order to support culturally as well as linguistically diverse nations. Several critics
dealing with traditional sociological perspectives towards multicultural education have noted that
the basic ‘visitor’ approaches of teaching ‘others’ have been seldom transformative. On the other
hand Banks (2015) has found that even though interracial dealings have resulted to improved
race relations along with reduced levels of prejudices, there has been an insignificant amount of
attention towards the aspects which results to the integrated environment of creating change.
Comprehensive studies of Tröster, Mehra and van Knippenberg (2014) have noted that
interculturalists in Australia have articulated identical concerns with inter objective target culture
instead of focusing on creating inter subjective identities.
Sustainability of cultural and ethnic pluralism in addition to challenges of diversity has
indicated to the apprehensions linked to cultural distinctiveness. Such diversity has been
typically associated with the extent to which individuals view aspects of cultural diversity.
Studies conducted by Williams andVannini (2016) have found that Australians tend to perceive
the management of Australian multiculturalism in order to entail the exclusion of groups which
fail to position them or show incompetence to be attuned with the Australian cultural patterns.
There has been observed certain perceived restrictions towards multiculturalism or cultural
diversity and the degree to which cultural diversity can produce value and be profitable to the
country. Pinxten and Lievens (2014) have cited an example related to the settlement of diverse
cultural groups contributing to cultural diversity which can further be maintained on the
condition that particular cultural traits such as language must be adopted for successful
amalgamation into mainstream existence such as receiving educational services and

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employment. These attitudes tend to exhibit a weakened and underdeveloped multicultural
society whereby successful accomplishment of policy and approaches of perceiving Australia as
a culturally diverse nation will require additional developments (Dean, 2016).
Conclusion
Hence to conclude culture has been recognised as a social comfort. As a result similar
identical cultural patterns with others tend to openly define societies. It is imperative to note that
without diversification of cultural patterns it will be unattainable for nations to function and
coexist suitably. Thus culture has been conserved through transmission of one generation to the
following and further developed through processes of cultural dissemination, breakthrough as
well as modernization.

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