Cultural diversity | James Kennedy

Necessary primer for teachers
396 pages, ★★★★

This book is an introduction to the level of diversity we should expect in Australian schools. It covers:

Linguistic diversity (ESL and native speakers)
Cultural diversity (including indigenous cultures)
Gender diversity (i.e. girls and boys)
Learning difficulties
Challenging behaviour
Complex communication needs (e.g. inability to speak)
Intellectual disabilities (as different from, and more severe than, learning difficulties)
Sensory impairment
Autism spectrum disorders
“Gifted and Talented” students

This book takes a highly theoretical, academic approach to the above topics. It describes what’s already being done in schools, and illustrates each topic with anecdotes from students’ perspectives but doesn’t directly teach teachers how to adapt their lessons to embrace this diversity. Even though this book was an excellent primer to the topic of diversity, I still need to read more about how to design lessons that cater to a range of learning styles in the classroom from books with a more practical focus. For my mini-project on ADHD, for example, the information in this textbook was far from adequate to make a 5-minute PowerPoint presentation. (Bizarrely, it covers deafness and gender in far more depth.)

That said, it’s one of those books that all teachers should refer to every time we meet a new form of diversity in our teaching career. It’s unlikely we’ll see all of these diversities in our first cohort of students—but it’s likely that we’ll see all of these diversities at some point in our careers. All teachers should have this book on their reference shelf.

At a hefty $79 exc. GST, this book is only worthwhile for teachers or teachers-in-training who will use this book professionally. Highly recommended for teachers. Not recommended for anyone else. ★★★★