Cultural competence is defined as the ability of an individual to live with, understand, interact, and effectively communicate with individuals of diverse cultures. Sun (2015) recommends that teachers should be in a good position to know the difference in the cultural demands of different students to enhance communication with the students and to help the students even better. In the case study, Ms. Lilly, Sen’s teacher, seems to be struggling with the fact he does not report his problems and is a notorious late-comer. However, the teacher fails to identify cultural differences as a key problem that the student is undergoing. Notably, a wide range of cultural beliefs and norms would have made Ms. Lilly make the right decision. Ms. Lilly would have made a better judgment, had she understood the cultures of respect for authority, the priority of family, and peer pressure, as seen in many Asian cultures.
Indian Americans have a greater attachment to their families than any other thing. Loyalty, Unity, and Integrity are the main pillars that are represented by the institution of the Indian family. It is notable that Indian Americans have very large families because they tend to live in extended families. Subsequently, they allocate a lot of time to their family time as well as activities that they do as a, especially businesses (Brown, Dickerson & D’Amico, 2016). What Miss Lilly could have understood the Sen’s tardiness and not just regard it as a habit. Perhaps, this tendency could have been as a result of the fact that Sen had to attend to certain family commitments such as praying together prior to attending his classes. Had Miss Lilly known this, she would have devised a solution to Sen’s issues.
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Collectivism, or what can be referred to as peer pressure, is a common practice by the Indian Americans. This is the belief that people belong in certain groups and ought to look after each other in the expression of their loyalty. In the case, the teacher. Bird (2018) asserts that the collectivist culture in Indian Americans is a virtue taught to them in early stages by parents as well at their religious centers. Miss Lilly identifies the habit of Sen in discussing tests with friends, something which is not allowed by the rules. The fact that the student believes in peer collectivism makes it difficult for him to comprehend the kind of tests given in the class by Miss Lilly. The best available solution for this student would be to give tests that do not demean his culture. For example, the teacher can contemplate giving more group assignments.
Respect for authority is yet another virtue of the Indian culture. Indians value to the persons with authority starts from the family where respect is shown for the elders appearing in a given hierarchy. Age is a common symbol of authority among the Indian culture. Apart from the parents and family elders, the Indians tend to show respect to doctors, farmers, police officers, and teachers, among others. Miss Lilly struggled to understand Sen’s issues because of the high level of respect the student shows towards the teacher. The student, therefore, struggles to express his problems to the teacher. This can be seen in the unsuccessful attempts from Ms. Lilly to speak to Sen, yet he keeps quiet. The teacher ought to use other means of communication to Sen, perhaps assign a few of his peers to get to understand his problem.
In summary, the teacher’s failure to understand Indian culture plays a key role in the student’s issues. Lack of cultural competence in Ms. Lilly is a major reason why she is unable to visualize the problem with her American Indian student.
References
Bird, S. E. (2018). Dressing in feathers: The construction of the Indian in American popular culture . Routledge.
Brown, R. A., Dickerson, D. L., & D’Amico, E. J. (2016). Cultural identity among urban American Indian/Alaska Native youth: Implications for alcohol and drug use. Prevention Science , 17 (7), 852-861.
Sun, C. (2015). The Cultivation of Cross-Cultural Communication Competence in Oral English Teaching Practice. English Language Teaching , 8 (12), 7-10.
