Deck 5: Culture and Diversity

Question 1

Which one of the following statements is technically TRUE regarding the term minority group?

A) It is a category composed of people who have biologically transmitted traits.
B) It is a term that refers to a numerical minority compared to the total population.
C) It refers to a group of people who receives unequal or discriminatory treatment.
D) The number of these groups is decreasing slightly in nearly every one of the states.

Answer 1

It is a term that refers to a numerical minority compared to the total population.

Question 2

According to James Banks, to be successful, multicultural education must include all of the following EXCEPT

A) support of the existing culture.
B) creation of supportive learning environments.
C) reduction of prejudice.
D) content integration.

Answer 2

support of the existing culture.

Question 3

Studies of educational discrimination against minority ethnic groups today show that

A) Black and Hispanic students are now entering science fields at close to the same rate as white students.
B) discrimination on the basis of minority and ethnicity has virtually been eliminated.
C) Hispanic and Asian students lose out on opportunities to enter science careers due to lack of interest.
D) There are still fewer opportunities for minority students to enter top-level professions.

Answer 3

There are still fewer opportunities for minority students to enter top-level professions.

Question 4

According to the text, which of Banks' dimensions of multicultural education are people most likely to be familiar with?

A) prejudice reduction
B) content integration
C) the knowledge construction process
D) an equity pedagogy

Question 5

As opposed to the term prejudice, the term discrimination refers to

A) attitudes.
B) beliefs.
C) behavior.
D) feelings.

Question 6

Mr. Kennedy, a middle-class Caucasian teacher, assigns lower grades when evaluating the work of two Aboriginal students in his high-school physics class than he does for comparable work from other students. The most valid interpretation of Mr. Kennedy's behavior is that he appears to

A) be conforming to conventional ethnic values.
B) be demonstrating a laissez-faire personality.
C) have a negative schema regarding Aboriginals.
D) mistrust people who are culturally inferior.

Question 7

Which one of the following student situations is predictive of tracking practices?

A) Andy, who continue to be a low achiever throughout grade school, remains in school after reaching the age of 16.
B) Marie, who was placed in the low reading group in the third grade, is counselled in the eighth grade into home economics instead of beginning algebra.
C) Sylvia, who experienced considerable academic success in elementary school, is admitted to a prestigious university on an athletic scholarship.
D) Vincent, who was accelerated from second to fourth grade because of his outstanding ability test score, had difficulty with social interaction in high school.

Question 8

In applying our knowledge of the differences in mathematical abilities between boys and girls, we should remember that

A) boys have superior mathematical skills compared to girls.
B) boys' skills are limited by their general cognitive abilities.
C) differences are based on averages, not on individual students.
D) girls tend to excel in math story problems compared to boys.

Question 9

Which one of the following students BEST illustrates the concept of learned helplessness as an explanation for failure by low socioeconomic status children?

A) Trina seeks help from her older sister in completing practically all of her homework assignments.
B) Michael decides that he has no chance of passing the seventh grade or getting out of school.
C) Brook never volunteers an answer, but hopes that the teacher will call on her.
D) Josh will only compete against smaller children while playing sports after school.

Question 10

What is the major reason for the development of prejudice?

A) Dislike of certain people or groups
B) Economic competition among different groups
C) Instinctive mistrust of people who are different
D) Learning cultural values

Question 11

Ivan is a male Caucasian of Russian heritage who is living in an upper-middle-class neighbourhood. Knowing this information would give his teacher

A) accurate data about the types of interventions that Ivan needs.
B) motivation for creating a self-fulfilling prophesy.
C) nothing of value for understanding Ivan's needs.
D) some useful information about how Ivan is likely to behave.

Question 12

Differences between males and females in cognitive abilities are

A) attributed more to genetic than environmental factors.
B) considered to be very small and insignificant.
C) reported to be larger today than was the case in earlier studies.
D) small in the past decade but steadily increasing.

Question 13

One way of inoculating students against stereotype threats is to

A) be assertive about defining success as "uncool."
B) believe that intelligence can be improved.
C) disidentify from success in academics.
D) psychologically disengage from success in academics.

Question 14

The cultural-deficit model suggests that immigrant students

A) are higher achieving because of their greater motivation.
B) are just as prepared for school as students who are born in this country.
C) come from an inferior culture that leaves them at a disadvantage.
D) deserve special treatment given the obstacles they have overcome.

Question 15

According to research evidence, which of the following statements about gender differences is TRUE?

A) Females are more likely than males to initiate comments in college classes.
B) Gender differences in social and cognitive abilities are large.
C) Teachers tend to interact more with boys than with girls.
D) Textbooks today tend to be free of gender stereotypes.

Question 16

Ricardo Garcia (1991) compares culture to a(n)

A) melting pot.
B) mosaic.
C) iceberg.
D) rainbow.

Question 17

Mark decides that he doesn't want to be like the "rich kids who sell themselves out to the system." Accordingly, he prides himself on not learning what the school is trying to teach. Which of the following concepts best characterizes his behaviour?

A) Academic anti-socialization
B) Learned helplessness
C) Resistance culture
D) Tracking

Question 18

Which one of the following quotations MOST clearly represents the concept of stereotyping?

A) "Boys should line up to the right and girls to the left."
B) "If he's one of your friends, tell him not to apply."
C) "Matthew just doesn't seem interested in spelling."
D) "People from that region just aren't ambitious."

Question 19

The rules and traditions that guide the behaviour of a group comprise its

A) culture.
B) ethnic heritage.
C) racial identity.
D) social status.

Question 20

Researchers generally believe that differences between ethnic groups in cognitive abilities occur primarily as a result of

A) biases inherent in most standardized tests.
B) different experiences in and out of school.
C) different levels of motivation among the groups.
D) natural abilities of the various groups.

Question 21

Hamid had to leave his home country for Canada as his family feared their safety. Hamid would be considered a(n)

A) immigrant.
B) refugee.
C) vacationer.
D) transient worker.

Question 22

Nikolas is an eleventh grader who came to Canada from Russia with his parents one year ago. He has gradually developed his fluency in the English language, but he continues to have some difficulty using English during classroom activities. What should Nikolas' teacher do to help him with his English language acquisition?

A) Encourage Nikolas to use English in the classroom and save his Russian for use at home.
B) Promote Nikolas' bilingualism in both Russian and English.
C) Refer Nikolas to the English-as-a-Second-Language program in the local school.
D) Respond positively to Nikolas only when he makes accurate attempts with English.

Question 23

Kate is able to thrive in school in spite of difficulty circumstances that might otherwise threaten her development. She would be considered

A) an exception.
B) a resilient child.
C) a member of a visible minority.
D) a survivor of the system.

Question 24

Which of the following is NOT and aspect of the "relationship strand"?

A) caring teacher-student relationships
B) effective peer relations
C) effective home-school relationships
D) effective community supports

Question 25

Scott, who is a grade 12 student and a native English speaker, is starting to learn French. According to the text, which activity will likely be the most difficulty for him to successfully engage in?

A) watching a television program in French
B) having a conversation in French with his friend Richard
C) reading a history book written in French
D) listening to the news on a French radio station

Question 26

According Doll and her colleagues (2005), teachers can do the following to create resilient classrooms:

A) increase class size so that students can build up a tolerance to challenging circumstances.
B) set the learning goals for the students.
C) promote self-agency and connect relationships.
D) focus mostly on test scores so that students can experience academic self-efficacy.

Question 27

Resilience children not only survive in difficult times, they also

A) are less likely to need social or emotional support.
B) lack strong family support systems.
C) maintain a positive outlook even though they lack confidence in their own abilities.
D) thrive in spite of the difficult circumstances.

Question 28

Participation structures in the classroom would generally dictate

A) grading policies, including alternative assessments as well as paper-pencil tests.
B) the student-teacher ratio in classrooms as well as extra-curricular activities.
C) whether the primary teaching method is lecture-recitation or discussion.
D) when it is appropriate to talk to another student as well as in response to the teacher.

Question 29

Which of the following is NOT a dimension of classrooms described by Roland Tharp (1989)?

A) Social Organization
B) Teaching Styles
C) Cultural Values
D) Sociolinguistics

Question 30

Ling notices that in Canadian classrooms it is important to raise your hand if you have a question when the teacher is speaking. This is most clearly an example of

A) cultural awareness.
B) pragmatics.
C) self-agency.
D) culturally relevant pedagogy.

Question 31

Results of research on approaches to learning have suggested that Native Canadians favour skills in

A) reading.
B) mathematics.
C) analytic reasoning.
D) spatial tasks.

Question 32

Anderson and Gunderson's (1997) research on cultural beliefs about learning to read and write among Chinese-, Iranian-, and Indo-Canadian parents showed that they

A) hold different views about literacy development than those favoured by elementary teachers.
B) believe that adult standards should be significantly relaxed for young children.
C) believe that invented spellings are a useful step on the path to literacy.
D) understand that individual differences in learning are only moderate predictors of success in school.

Question 33

Your ability to make choices, set goals and follow through is best captured by the term:

A) resilience.
B) academic self-efficacy.
C) behavioural self-control.
D) academic self-determination.

Question 34

Which of the following is a research-based characteristic of schools that successfully serve diverse groups of students?

A) High expectations for student achievement
B) Emphasis on extra-curricular activities
C) Infrequent evaluations of student progress
D) Focus on formative assessment

Question 35

Over the past decade, an explanation offered for the growing gap between the reading of students in poverty versus students from wealthier homes is due to

A) increased television viewing among students with lower SES.
B) more attention paid to wealthier students by their teachers.
C) more positive role models available among students of higher SES.
D) children from poorer homes losing ground over the summer.

Question 36

An important cultural difference regarding First Nations students suggests which of these teaching practices is most appropriate?

A) Focus on motivation first.
B) Try to have learning activities where visual-motor and spatial skills are used.
C) Employ monolingual educational strategies.
D) Try to make students at least semi-lingual in their second language.

Question 37

Which of the following findings is true of Okagaki's research in Hawaiian classrooms?

A) Cooperative group work positively impacted student learning and participation.
B) Individualized instruction positively impacted student learning and participation.
C) Students did not wish to be placed in groups with the opposite sex.
D) Parents were most critical of teacher's employing an emergent model of reading.

Question 38

Which student is most likely to succeed academically?

A) Susannah, an Italian-Canadian, who lives in an elite community in West Vancouver
B) Jill, a Caucasian, who lives in an urban low-income townhome in Sudbury
C) Charles, a First Nations student, who lives on a middle-class farm in Manitoba
D) Thomas, a Greek Canadian, who lives in a middle-class suburban apartment building in Calgary

Question 39

Which of the following illustrations is characteristic of a culturally compatible classroom?

A) Mr. Buhr regularly demonstrated the correct procedures for borrowing school materials during his homeroom period.
B) Mr. Denver gave each biology student the same laboratory worksheet in order to determine what misconceptions in handling a microscope could be identified.
C) Ms. Hayes assigned an article on euthanasia for her social studies class to read prior to their exam, although the topic had not been discussed.
D) Ms. Rosen organized her English class into homogeneous groups during small group discussions.

Question 40

Research on bilingual education shows that teaching some subjects in a students' native (non-English or non-French) language

A) helps students achieve in those subject areas.
B) retards their development of English.
C) depresses self-esteem.
D) has negative effects on reading comprehension.

Question 41

Barry was forced to learn biology for a semester in Italy. The instruction took place entirely in Italian, his second language. According to some psychologists, this approach is likely to lead Barry to be

A) bilingual.
B) unilingual.
C) semilingual.
D) experiencing code-switching.

Question 42

The number of minority-group students in Canada has been increasing steadily over the years.

Question 43

Which of the following is true of race?

A) Characterized by a common nationality
B) Used as a label for a group that receives unequal treatment
C) Used to capture a group considered a "minority" within the greater population
D) Describes a group with shared biological traits that are self-defining by the people of the group.

Question 44

The best description of the use of tracking is that it occurs when

A) low-ability and high-ability classes are created at a particular grade level.
B) low-ability and high-ability groups are created within particular classes.
C) low-ability students are matched with high-ability partners in a homogeneous class.
D) special education programs that monitor the progress of each student are developed and used.

Question 45

Segregation was declared illegal by the Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka ruling.

Question 46

Which of the following is NOT a type of family-school-community partnership described by Joyce Epstein (1995)?

A) Peer Partnerships
B) Decision-Marking Partnerships
C) Volunteering
D) Learning At Home

Question 47

Among Banks' dimensions of multicultural education, prejudice reduction is the dimension most people are familiar with.

Question 48

Which of the following is NOT a proposition on which cultural relevant pedagogy rests?

A) Students must experience academic success.
B) Students must develop/maintain their cultural competence.
C) Students must interact with cultural role models.
D) Students must develop a critical consciousness to challenge the status quo.

Question 49

People are members of groups, not members of cultures.

Question 50

Research has documented that there is only one way to provide multicultural education that is more effective than others.

Question 51

A good way to inoculate students again stereotype threat is to

A) instil a belief that intelligence can be improved.
B) foster cultural sensitivity.
C) expose students to new ways of learning.
D) expose students to students of different cultures.

Question 52

The pragmatics of a classroom involves different activity rules that are called participation structures.

Question 53

Cindy is feeling anxiety because she did poorly on her math test. She worries that her teacher might not be surprised that she did poorly since "Asians are better in math." Cindy is White. This is an example of

A) learned helplessness.
B) a stereotype threat.
C) confirmation bias.
D) racism.

Question 54

Socioeconomic status (SES) is positively correlated with school achievement.

Question 55

In applying guidelines to avoid gender bias in teaching, we should remember that

A) boys have superior mathematical skills compared to girls.
B) we should encourage boys to enrol in home economics classes.
C) we should use gender-free language as much as possible.
D) girls tend to excel in math story problems compared to boys.

Question 56

Which of the following is a myth about bilingual students?

A) Learning a second language takes little time and effort.
B) It takes great effort and attention to maintain high-level skills in both languages.
C) Children must be tested in both languages to determine language disorders.
D) Children need to use both languages in many contexts.

Question 57

In order to experience the positive effects of teaching in a single-sex classroom on student learning, which of the following demanding conditions must be met?

A) Reinforce positive gender stereotypes of the group you are teaching.
B) Realize that there are no boy- or girl-specific teaching strategies (Good teaching is good teaching).
C) Create out of class opportunities for boys and girls to interact socially.
D) Bring in role models of the opposite sex as guest speakers to your class whenever possible.

Question 58

Resilient children typically have parents who are supportive but have low expectations of their success.

Question 59

David knows exactly when he should take part in a certain classroom activity. David has an understanding of the classroom's participation structures.

Question 60

The assumption underlying the notion of the Canadian mosaic is inclusion.

Question 61

Intelligence can be defined differently in different cultures.

Question 62

The overt rejection of middle-class values by low-SES students is referred to as a ________ culture.

Question 63

One effective orientation for improving the school achievement of low-income students is tracking.

Question 64

The commonly used index of wealth, power and influence is _________.

Question 65

People who are inadequate speakers of both their native language and their second language are called ________.

Question 66

Culturally Relevant Pedagogy involves the use of culturally based materials to develop and maintain students' cultural competence.

Question 67

One explanation for the lower achievement of low-SES students is that they experience _______ in which they are assigned to "low-ability" or "general" classes.

Question 68

The aim of Canada to be a multicultural society is to be a __________ as opposed to a melting pot.

Question 69

Aboriginal communities have increasingly moved towards full responsibility for the education of their children in their communities.

Question 70

A group of people who are discriminated against by the dominate culture is called a(n) ________ group by sociologists.

Question 71

A group of people who share common biological traits that are seen as self-defining is referred to as _________.

Question 72

Discrimination implies treating some individuals an unequal because of the minority group they belong to.

Question 73

According to James Banks, the notion that all, regardless of race or background, should have equal opportunities to learn in school is directly supported by the _________ education movement.

Question 74

Having extra resources outside of school, such as a home computer and books, seems to have the biggest impact on achievement during the summer months, when schools are closed.

Question 75

Poverty during a child's preschool years appears to have the greatest negative impact.

Question 76

In Banks' dimensions of multicultural education, many people are only familiar with the dimension of ___________.

Question 77

The knowledge, rules, traditions, and attitudes that guide behaviour in a particular group of people represent the ________ of that group.

Question 78

Prejudice is exclusively a personality trait.

Question 79

Technically, the term "minority group" refers to a group of people who are smaller in number than the dominant or "majority" group.

Question 80

Believing that all people from a particular country are friendly would be an example of prejudice that could be considered positive.