Cultural tendencies impact the way children participate in

education. There are different expectations about “normal” school

behavior for students from individualist and collectivist cultures. Take a

moment to think about what teachers who lack knowledge about culture 【M1】_________

might interpret the behavior of a child from a collectivist culture. These

differences may cause educators inaccurately judge students from some 【M2】_________

cultures as poorly behaved or disrespectful. In addition, because cultural

differences are hard to perceive, students may find them reprimanded by 【M3】_________

teachers but fail to understand what they did that caused concern.

The influence of culture in beliefs about education, the value of 【M4】_________

education, and participation styles cannot be overestimated. Many

Asian students, for example, tend to be quiet in class, and using eye 【M5】_________

contact with teachers is considered inappropriate for many of these

children. In contrast, most European American children are taught to

value active classroom discussion and to look teachers directly in the eyes 【M6】_________

to show respect, while their teachers view students’ participation as a

signal of engagement and competence. 【M7】_________

Another contrast involves the role of Hispanic parents in education.

Parents from some Hispanic cultures tend to regard teachers as experts

and will often refer to them in educational decision making. In contrast, 【M8】_________

European American parents are often more actively involved in their

children’s classrooms, are visible in the classrooms, or volunteer and

assist teachers. These cultural differences in value and belief may cause

educators to make accurate judgments regarding the value that 【M9】_________

non-European American families place on education. While it is

important to keep in the mind that different cultural groups tend to 【M10】________

follow particular language and interaction styles, there is tremendous

variability within cultural groups.

【M2】