Page 3 - LESSION 20.pmd

Understanding Diversity

Presence of diverse groups in a school provide opportunities for mutual learning,
exploration and celebrations in safe, positive and nurturing environments.
Diversity might also be understood as the collection of characteristics and Notes
uniqueness of members of diverse group. Understanding diversity is important
for engaging with the individuals who may think, act or work differently from
us.

20.2 FACTORS LEADING TO DIVERSITY AND THEIR
IMPLICATIONS IN LEARNING

The large number of different cultures knitted together in such a close and
perfect manner make India’s diversity one of the wonders of the world. Usually,
when people discuss diversity, the conversation focuses on religion and caste.
However, to accurately talk about diversity, especially in the classroom, we need
to consider more factors like:

• Race
• Multilingualism
• Ethnicity
• Gender

• Socio-economic status
• Age
• Level of physical activities
• Religious beliefs
• Learning style

The list above is not exhaustive. Many more factors may be added to it. Let
us now understand how each of these factors generates diversity and also how
it affects the teaching-learning environment in our schools and classrooms.

Race: Race is division of human kind on the basis of physical features like
height, weight, colour of eye, skin etc. as well as also on the basis of social
behaviors, norms, customs and practices. It is a classification system which is
used to categorise humans into distinct populations or groups by anatomical
features related to body structure or physique. These are mostly hereditary,
passed on from parents to their children. These variations are due to geographical,
historical, linguistic, or religious belongingness.

ACTIVITY 20.1

Can you recall having met children of different race from yours? Did you
observe any similarities/differences between them and you?

EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION 187