One of the fundamental roles of schooling is to prepare children for the workplace. Read more: https://www.sirpeterbirkett.com/supporting-diverse-and-inclusive-teaching-in-the-classroom

1. The Importance of
Diversity in the Classroom
EDUCATION
Sir Peter
Birkett

2. The Importance of Diversity in the
Classroom
One of the fundamental roles of schooling is to
prepare children for the workplace. As such, it’s
vital that teaching effectively embraces and ad-
dresses the lived realities of working and living
in a diverse learning environment, community
and country.
Promoting Critical Thinking Skills
Scientific American recently published an article that
demonstrated how people are more likely to think
about an issue harder when talking to someone dif-
ferent from themselves. The article also points out
how even the perception of diversity is sufficient to
cause a shift in how we approach an issue.
The development of social awareness is a key
benefit of promoting diversity in the classroom,
helping students to recognize different perspec-
tives and therefore draw stronger conclusions.

3. “
The development
of social awareness
is a key benefit of
promoting diversity in
the classroom, helping
students to recognize
different perspectives
and therefore draw
stronger conclusions.
Improving Academic Outcomes
Diversity in the classroom can positively
impact academic results too by driving up
academic confidence and boosting critical
thinking skills. A report from The Century
Foundation revealed that effectively integrat-
ed schools experienced lower dropout levels
and less misbehaviour and that students from
these schools were more likely to express an
interest in pursuing further education.

4. For more information
about this topic, visit the
blog of Sir Peter Birkett.