Students' families and culture are a major influence on the motivation and engagement students exhibit in their learning. Explicit cultural influences are the stated customs and rules that are easily identifiable, while implicit cultural influences are not as recognizable but often drive behavior. How can explicit culture and implicit culture each affect student engagement, motivation, and attitude toward education? What can a teacher do to support culture in the classroom as it relates to engagement and motivation?
Sample Answer
Both explicit and implicit cultural influences from students' families and backgrounds significantly impact their learning by shaping their fundamental beliefs about education, success, and social interaction.
Impact of Explicit and Implicit Culture on Students
Explicit Cultural Influences
Explicit culture refers to the observable, stated, and easily identifiable elements of a group's practices, such as spoken rules, language, dress, customs, and overt values.
Teacher Strategies to Support Culture, Engagement, and Motivation
A teacher must adopt a Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) approach that bridges the cultural gap between the school's dominant culture and the student's home culture, making the learning environment empowering and meaningful.
Acknowledge and Address Implicit Bias:
Strategy: Engage in self-reflection (e.g., journaling, affinity groups) to identify one's own implicit biases regarding student behavior and capability (e.g., misinterpreting quietness as disinterest, or assertive questioning as defiance).
Impact: This prevents the teacher from adopting a "deficit view" of the student and promotes empathic communication, which is foundational to building trust and increasing student motivation.
Make Explicit Culture Visible and Validated:
Strategy: Integrate students' explicit culture into the curriculum and classroom decor. This includes using texts, media, history, and current events that reflect students' backgrounds and contributions.