Teach Middle East Magazine September 2014 Issue 1 Vol. 2 | Page 15

Sharing Good Practice

CULTURAL SENSITIVITY & THE
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATOR
By Jan L. Jones

A

s classrooms become more
culturally diverse, it is absolutely
essential
that
educators
consider
the
importance
of cultural sensitivity, become more
culturally aware, and continuously
build their cultural knowledge. Not
understanding the unique experiences
and cultural differences of students in
your classroom can lead to unintended
anxiety, miscommunication, and bad
experiences for both the student and the
teacher. In most cases, avoiding cultural
misunderstandings only requires having
an open mind, a willingness to learn, the
ability to learn from your failures, and a
sense of adventure.
In preparation for this article, I came
across several definitions of cultural
sensitivity, cultural awareness and
cultural knowledge. One article that was
most interesting was prepared by an
organisation called Big Sisters in British
Columbia, Canada. I liked their definition
of cultural sensitivity as being the
recognition that cultural differences exist
and that people who care about cultural
sensitivity simply place importance
on the value of this diversity. Cultural
knowledge is described as something
that we might eventually strive for and
includes taking the time to familiarize
one’s self with selected cultural
characteristics, history, values, belief
systems, and behaviours of the members
of another ethic group. While cultural
knowledge might be something that we
strive for, it is simply impossible to know
everything that there is to know about

your students’ cultural backgrounds.
In fact, even within cultures, there are
inconsistencies in beliefs and traditions.
How could you possibly be an expert
on every single tradition or belief as it
relates to your classroom?
My journey as a professor has allowed
me to meet students from many
parts of the world, and it is from those
experiences that I have learned the most.
Even as a travel and tourism professor,
I do not pretend to be a cultural expert. I
absolutely love having a classroom with
students from diverse backgrounds and
always try to le