1) The Opportunities and Teacher Challenges To Overcome Inequality in Educational Opportunities

1) THE OPPORTUNITIES AND TEACHER CHALLENGES TO OVERCOME INEQUALITY IN

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Malaysia is a country that rich in its multicultural population. The blend of beliefs, religions,
cultures, languages, literatures and public opinions are the foundations that build the
harmonious and stability among the people (Noriati Rashid, Boon). In Malaysian context with
cultural diversity in the classroom demands teachers to adapt their knowledge, skills and
attitudes to the challenges that emerge in these diverse contexts, so that the learning of all
students in their classes is stimulated. Teachers in culturally diverse classrooms must have
awareness of the special needs of students from different cultures and know how to apply
specific teaching strategies and inter-personal cues to create a positive classroom atmosphere
and to cater to the needs of diverse students. This is related with culturally responsive teaching
where it is about using cultural knowledge, prior experiences and performance styles of diverse
students to make learning more appropriate and effective to them. (Gay, 2000) Thus, some
methods and techniques will be highlighted in subsequent paragraphs implementing culture
friendly classroom environment.

2.0 Social Class

The first point that was stressed by the speaker is about social class. According to the
speaker, social class is related to the position of a group of people. This group can be
considered as one of the individuals who have the same position in terms of politics, power,
wealth, income, dignity, work or relationships with the sources of production. Paul B. Horton and
Chester L. Hunt (1992), social mobility can be construed as a motion to move from one social
class. Those are usually employed as officials or have their own business. Poor people are only
working as farmers and fishermen. They usually practice traditional occupations for selfsufficiency. Some parents also want their children to inherit the job of pursuing the family
tradition of the city and left the village.
The rise in the number of children in poverty has contributed to making our nation's classrooms
more diverse than ever before. This, indeed, makes both teaching and learning more
challenging. This issue can remain a challenge for teachers, as opposed to becoming a
problem, if focus is placed on student learning as opposed to teaching.
Teachers need to be tuned in to the culture of poverty and be sensitive to the vast array of
needs that children of poverty bring to the classroom. Social contexts have a significant impact
on the development of children. The social world of school operates by different rules or norms
than the social world these children live in. Focus should be placed on finding a harmonious
relationship between the cultural values of students and values emphasized in school.
Considering that so many different cultures are represented in our society, we often encounter
students who belong to more than one cultural group. They may be poor in addition to being
non-English speaking or of an ethnic/racial/religious minority group (Bowman, 1994; Marlowe
and Page, 1999).
As teachers, these aspects of poverty make planning and preparation is absolutely critical.
Content needs to be related in varying ways to meet the needs of the diverse students in the
classroom. We have to consider the cultural values of these children as we arrange their
learning. Constructivism is a key concept in that it respects student differences and allows
students to use their own prior knowledge and experiences to make connections and learn. It
affords students the opportunity to become active learners by questioning, hypothesizing and
drawing conclusions based on their individual learning experiences. If there is limited foundation
for children to draw upon, we need to help them develop a base of knowledge and experiences
so they have somewhere to start.
By providing emotional support, modeling, and other forms of scaffolding, teachers can help
students use their strengths, skills, and knowledge to develop and learn (Marlowe and Page,
1999). Learning experiences and problem solving based on real-life problems can help them
deal with some of the issues they may be faced with in their lives. Learning by doing gives
students the opportunity to be active and imaginative problem solvers (Bassey, 1996). Thus,
diversity actually presents us with a chance to enhance the quality of education for all our
students and provide them with a variety of opportunities to develop into productive citizens. As
our schools and nation become more diverse, the need for understanding and acceptance of
differences becomes more important. Our challenge is to provide children with an effective
multicultural education that will foster awareness, respect, and acceptance.
3.0 Disable Students

The second point that was stressed by the speaker is about learning disabled students.
Learning disabled students are those who demonstrate a significant discrepancy, which is not
the result of some other handicap, between academic achievement and intellectual abilities in
one or more of the areas of oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic
reading skills, reading comprehension, mathematical calculation, mathematics reasoning, or
spelling.
Teaching learning disabled youngsters will present teachers with some unique and distinctive
challenges. Not only will these students demand more of teachers time and patience; so, too,
will they require specialized instructional strategies in a structured environment that supports
and enhances their learning potential. It is important to remember that learning disabled
students are not students who are incapacitated or unable to learn; rather, they need
differentiated instruction tailored to their distinctive learning abilities.
To make the disable students to learn better, teachers should use appropriate strategies like,
provide oral instruction for students with reading disabilities, present tests and reading materials
in an oral format so the assessment is not unduly influenced by lack of reading ability and
provide learning disabled students with frequent progress checks. Let them know how well they
are progressing toward an individual or class goal. Moreover, give immediate feedback to
learning disabled students. They need to see quickly the relationship between what was taught
and what was learned. Make activities concise and short, whenever possible. Long, drawn-out
projects are particularly frustrating for a learning disabled child.
Learning disabled students need and should get lots of specific praise. Instead of just saying,
You did well, or I like your work, be sure a teacher should provide specific praising comments
that link the activity directly with the recognition; for example, I was particularly pleased by the
way in which you organized the rock collection for Karin and Miranda. When necessary,
teachers need to plan to repeat instructions or offer information in both written and verbal
formats. Again, it is vitally necessary that learning disabled children utilize as many of their
sensory modalities as possible. In addition, teachers also can encourage cooperative learning
activities (see Teaching with Cooperative Learning) when possible. Invite students of varying
abilities to work together on a specific project or toward a common goal. Create an atmosphere
in which a true community of learners is facilitated and enhanced.
4.0 Standard of education among the Orang Asli people.

The third point that was stressed by the speaker is about the standard of education
among the Orang Asli people. The standard of education among the Orang Asli people as an
indigenous ethnic in Malaysia is still at a low level. The majority of the Orang Asli people receive
formal education only at the primary level. However, there is a significant trend where the
majority of students who completed their primary education will drop out from secondary school.
Hence, only two percent have been successful in advancing their higher education in tertiary
institutions. Such problems are commonly associated with several factors, including students
attitudes, awareness among parents about education, local culture, school leadership, school
environment, and problems related to the teaching and learning process.
The teaching and learning process involves communication between teachers and students.
Failure in communication will distrupt the learning process, lessons will be less effective and
teachers will be unsuccessful in attracting students to follow their lessons. Some of the students
said they could not understand the lesson delivered by the teacher as they did not understand
the language used. The majority of teachers are Malays who are unable to speak the Temiar
language to deliver their lessons. This situation has caused a number of students, particularly
students in level one (from year one to year three in primary education) to not understand what
is being taught.
Orang Asli children need quality teachers who can make lessons interesting and meaningful for
them and school administrators whose vision and foresight can help build a positive culture and
climate for the school. Apart from that, there are also teachers who have high expectation on the
Orang Asli students to easily adapt with the mainstream system. Hence, they focus on and use
the same teaching approaches as those in the mainstream system. This approach is not in line
with the views of the teaching and educational experts that teachers teaching approach must be
appropriate to the status, ability and students level of thinking.
The challenge pertaining to the education of these children is developing thinking skills. There is
a tendency for teachers to resort to drilling to ensuring that their students remember what
theyve learned. However, this rote-learning technique does not help students understand what
theyve learned in order to transfer their learning to other situations. Thus, the T&L process in
the classroom needs to encourage the participation of students in activities, which can enhance
their thinking skills.
5.0 Conclusion
In conclusion, teacher needs to know how to apply specific teaching strategies and interpersonal cues to create a positive classroom atmosphere and to cater to the needs of diverse
students where that is the requirement in building culture friendly environment. As our country
continues to exhibit great diversity, the need for understanding and accepting the differences
among all people has never been more important. Thus, the challenge for educators is to
present an effective multicultural education foundation by means of which all children can learn
to accept others. The goal of multicultural education is not only to teach children about other
groups or countries. It is also to help children become accustomed to the idea that there are
many lifestyles, languages, cultures, and points of view. The purpose of multicultural curriculum
is to attach positive feelings to multicultural experiences so that each child will feel included and
valued, and will feel friendly and respectful toward people from other ethnic and cultural groups.

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1) THE OPPORTUNITIES AND TEACHER CHALLENGES TO OVERCOME INEQUALITY IN

2.0 Social Class

3.0 Disable Students

4.0 Standard of education among the Orang Asli people.

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