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ABSTRACT This paper identifies four approaches to cultural diversity that professors at institutions of higher education may take. These are neutrality, similarity, diversity and diversimilarity. The paper identifies the strengths and limitations of each of these approaches, and argues for the diversimilarity approach, using the teaching of the death penalty in the USA to illustrate.
For years, educators and educational policy makers have examined the effect that a professor's operating paradigm has on both content and methodology of course curriculum (Butler & Walter, 1991; Bennett, 1995; Blank, 1998). This article identifies four paradigms that teachers have when dealing with issues of cultural diversity. These are neutrality, similarity, diversity and diversimilarity. Next we illustrate how, depending on the teachers operating paradigm, the topic of the death penalty in the USA could be presented in four distinct ways. Finally, we assess the strengths and weaknesses of each paradigm and argue in favor of the diversimilarity paradigm.
Four Alternative Cultural Diversity Paradigms
There have been several calls for a dual emphasis on cultural similarities and cultural differences (Cortes, 1991; Loden & Rosener, 1991; Ofori-Dankwa, 1996). Building on the competing values framework (Quinn, 1988), we propose that the prevailing paradigm that teachers have will depend on whether they place a high or low emphasis on cultural similarities and cultural differences. This will result in a four-cell typology of paradigms that teachers could have: neutrality, similarity, diversity and diversimilarity (see Fig. 1). Teachers using the neutrality paradigm pay little attention to cultural similarities or differences. The teachers using the similarity paradigm will tend to emphasize how cultures are alike, rather than how they differ. Conversely, teachers utilising the diversity paradigm will place great emphasis on cultural differences, but gives only a nod and a wink to cultural similarities. Finally, the teachers using the diversimilarity paradigm will stress, equally and in appropriate measure, both cultural differences and cultural similarities.
Paradigms affect the actions of individuals, as well as the policies of institutions, although often unconsciously. This is because paradigms entail embedded assumptions and conditions that are perceived as largely internally consistent and accepted by members of a given community. Consequently, an individual's prevailing paradigm will significantly influence the choices they make and how they act (Kuhn, 1970). For example,...