Promoting the “notion of cultural diversity” in grade XII students in a government college Sukkur, Sindh
Date of Award
2013
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Master of Education (M. Ed.)
Department
Professional Development Centre, Karachi
Abstract
As Pakistan is becoming a more culturally and ethnically diverse nation, public schools, colleges and universities are alongside becoming more diverse as well. According to National Curriculum for Civics (2009), one of the basic aims of the Civic education is to inculcate in students values of peaceful co-existence with all citizens of the country and all countries of the world. Unfortunately, the scenario of Pakistani classrooms, in particular, the Civics Education classroom does not meet the diverse cultural needs of the students. Thus, there is a serious mismatch between the outcomes of curriculum and the planning and implementation of teaching and learning experiences. In order to explore how cultural diversity can be promoted among higher secondary students, a small scale action research was conducted. Two cycles of action research were conducted within the framework of action research in grade XII of a public college of Sindh, Pakistan. The participants of the study were four focused students of grade-XII and subject teacher of Civics. The whole college context was studied to gain understanding of what was going on. The researcher followed the steps of planning, implementation, observation and reflections. Data were gathered through interviews of the participant teacher, classroom observations, documents analysis, field notes and reflective journals. The ongoing analysis continued side by side with data collection. The data reveal that cultural diversity among students from higher secondary public school level can be developed by orienting them to the fundamental concepts of diversity, creating appreciation for unique and positive qualities of oneself, the other and our different cultures, and also discussing the problems that arise due to cultural discrimination. Different pedagogies which involve reflection on and expression of personal and collective experiences and scenarios used for critical thinking can be beneficial for inculcating the above mentioned concepts and attitudes in students. Based on the findings some implications and recommendations are put forward in the concluding chapter.
Recommended Citation
Malik, K. (2013). Promoting the “notion of cultural diversity” in grade XII students in a government college Sukkur, Sindh (Unpublished master's dissertation). Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.