As the multicultural makeup of the U.S. student population increases, meaningful and effective communication between teachers and families of diverse cultural backgrounds becomes more challenging. Norms and values tend to vary greatly across cultures. So, when considering relationships between teachers and students and parents from different cultures, an awareness of the diverse perspectives, experiences, beliefs, and styles of communication common to other cultures is imperative. Teachers who understand and are more sensitive to these differences will be more successful when communicating with multicultural families.

Furthermore, effective communication between educators and a student and their family is crucial for student success. This is true across the board. However, in the case of multicultural students, it then becomes necessary to examine what effective communication looks like between teachers and parents of different ethnic backgrounds. That way, potential conflicts and misunderstandings can be avoided or at least decreased in degree or in the number of instances.

Often, teachers must take the different cultural values of ethnically diverse students and their families into account when communicating. Of equal importance is the teacher's ability to convey the school's culture to the parents so they understand what is academically and socially expected of their child in the classroom. A mutual cultural understanding between teachers and parents creates an environment where students can more easily learn and thrive.

Specific training in teacher-parent communication, particularly across cultural gaps, is often unavailable.¹ As a result, teachers must take it upon themselves to learn these skills and develop ways to communicate and build trust with multicultural families. This positive relationship and trust can easily translate to better student academic achievement.

This chapter raises awareness about the challenges associated with communication between teachers and families from multiethnic backgrounds and how to overcome them. Utilizing the previously reviewed Inglehart–Welzel axes of cultural values and Geert Hofstede's research on values dimensions, we look at how cultural differences play out in education settings and provide strategies to build stronger relationships between teachers and parents.

KEY DIMENSIONS OF CROSS-CULTURAL VARIATION RELATED TO PARENTS

Effective communication across cultures begins with understanding. Variation in beliefs, values, and behavior from culture to culture can make communication difficult. Understanding the root of many cultural differences can help bridge gaps in communication between teachers and families from multiethnic backgrounds.

As noted earlier, the Inglehart–Welzel work on the World Values Survey looks at variations in cultures along two major axes: traditional versus secular-rational and survival versus self-expression.²

Traditional values include religion, family, nationalism, social conformity, and deference to authority. People from these cultures tend to be socially conservative and reject divorce, suicide, abortion, and euthanasia. The secular-rational dimension does not place rigid importance on religion, family, nationalism, social conformity, and deference to authority. Instead, these populations tend to be socially progressive and more accepting of social liberties.

In the survival group, values are shaped by a history of existential insecurity and strict limits on human autonomy. There is a strong cultural emphasis on physical and economic security. This gives rise to support for authoritarian government and intolerance of sexual and gender freedom. Survival values seem to come from living in a society where survival is not necessarily a given, thus cultural diversity feels threatening. For this reason, people often stick with what is familiar and perceived to be non-threatening: traditional gender and sexual roles and rejection of the other (e.g., LGBTQ, divorce).

The self-expression group has developed in postindustrial societies where existential security and autonomy levels are high. Subjective well-being, autonomy, self-expression, acceptance of diversity, tolerance, and quality of life are central tenets of the value system. People in these societies want to have a say in the laws that govern their lives. Generally, postindustrial societies include conditions where survival is not a concern, so people feel comfortable moving on from traditional beliefs and ways of life to accommodate new and diverse perspectives. In the past several decades, postindustrial societies have seen a massive cultural shift toward equality in terms of gender, sexual orientation, and ethnic others as a result.

Although there are several conservative postindustrial countries and, in the United States, certain traditional political leanings live in a postindustrial society, generally speaking, cultural attitudes are usually strong indicators of one or the other of these group values. For example, societies that place significant value on religion tend to also highly value family, nationalism, and respect for authority. In other words, traditional values often correlate with survival values. On the other hand, an emphasis on secular-rational values tends to correlate with an emphasis on self-expression values.

COLLECTIVISM AND INDIVIDUALISM

Another significant dimension in cross-cultural variation is that of collectivism versus individualism. Collectivist values give priority to the group or the collective over the individual. Individualist values give priority to the individual over the collective. Understanding the common values of collectivist cultures versus individualist cultures can help inform effective communication between teachers and multicultural families.

For example, research suggests that collectivist versus individualist values can predict the priority of the other values. Collectivists tend to be more religious and conservative. They value tradition, conformity, security, and certainty and are less open to change. People in collectivist societies generally do not prioritize their own needs and desires. They subscribe to an interdependent view of the self, where cooperation, connection, and harmony are the priority.

For example, when a Japanese family felt wronged by an advisor at a school who they found out later had failed to write a recommendation letter on time for the student to get admitted to a highly sought after summer program, they preferred to keep the harmony and not bring it up to the teacher. They were also worried that confronting the teacher could lead to a backlash against them, or their family would look like one who likes to stir up trouble, which they would feel is a negative image on them.

However, the opposite is not necessarily true for individualists. For example, when a teacher forgot to submit a recommendation letter, a parent embodying more of the individualist values confronted the teacher and explained what happened. The teacher was profusely apologetic and tried to make it up to the family. The actions of the parents could have been because of their personalities more than the cultural values, but as culture does influence individual traits, these respective reactions are not uncommon,

Social organization varies across cultures, particularly in terms of family and authority. Many collectivist cultures view family as the most important aspect of life. The needs of the family are considered more important than the needs of the individual. Child-rearing practices shape the identity of an individual to see oneself through the lens of the family unit first.³ This is true in many collectivist cultures, including Mexico, Korea, China, India, and the Dominican Republic. Loyalty to family is the priority, and thus the opinions and efforts of teachers can be devalued by these families.

This is not the case, generally speaking, in Middle Eastern cultures, as educators are seen as high-ranking authority figures over children. Because of this, Arab parents often expect teachers to be moral, spiritual, and academic role models both in and out of the classroom. This might seem to put a lot of pressure on teachers, but the flip side is that Arab parents enter the relationship with trust and the goal of supporting teachers.⁴ They also tend to participate heavily in their child's education. It is important to keep in mind that different school types and the locations of the schools often cultivate a different perception between parents and teachers.

Another changing factor is the digital age, which is transforming culture globally, and individualistic and collectivistic tendencies are shifting as shown by inconsistent findings when measuring cultural values. Within regions of a country that is largely one or the other may also differ. For example, Native American tribes in the United States may hold collectivist values but support individuality and not individualism. Families adapting traditionally collectivistic or individualistic cultures may also not follow those values rigidly. Teachers should be aware of these nuances.

Furthermore, making broad generalizations about the culture of a family simply because they're from a certain country is not an ideal approach. Understanding cultural tendencies can help teachers communicate better with multicultural families, without overreaching and making assumptions about them. Instead, keeping in mind the cultural tendencies of a student's family can help teachers choose the correct words and cultivate the proper tone of conversations. This is especially true when first getting to know a student and their family.

MAKING USE OF WHAT YOU KNOW

Using this kind of information to modify how teachers communicate with students and parents from family-focused cultures can result in better trust and comfort. For example, Marina worked with a family of Korean immigrants where the eldest sister was perpetually late for her morning class, resulting in a warning notice from the school. When pressed, the eldest sister revealed that she was late because both her parents were working, and she had the responsibility of taking her younger sister to preschool. When this situation was explained fully to the school administration, they worked with her to create an alternative school schedule to have the first period free.

As implied through this example, avoiding an individualistic and accusatory approach is critical when approaching any family, and particularly one from a collectivist background. Taking the family at large into account helps cultivate a meaningful and trusting teacher-parent relationship while addressing the issue at the same time.

Furthermore, when talking with parents, it's helpful to understand cultural influences that affect academic performance. For example, in some cultures, students have been taught to care more about the answer to a problem rather than focusing on the process of how they got it. This type of results-oriented thinking can cause issues in the classroom, where American teachers want students to show their work. However, the students feel frustrated when they provide the correct answer but lose points for not showing their work. Recognizing the discrepancy between ideologies, teachers can explain to these students why showing the work is an important part of the learning process, and doing so gives the teachers opportunities to understand how the student thinks, and gives opportunities for teachers to show students how they can leverage that strength in group projects, as some examples. These responses can also be shared with parents so they can better support this kind of learning at home.

Additionally, some cultures, like Korea, have a hierarchical language system based on age, status, and gender. Sometimes, this could appear like bullying. In one of Marina's cultural fluency classes, she taught the students how to use this language in a way that is not and won't resemble bullying, especially having observed many students get expelled from school because of this misunderstanding. The students lacked mentorship on how not to use the higher status of age onto a younger student properly, so he ordered the younger student around on occasion as his personal servant. On another occasion, there was an actual misunderstanding where the boy called the other hyung (which means “older brother,” a common term to address members even outside the family structure). The teacher, having heard about Korean boys bullying each other, grabbed the older boy and demanded his response to, “Are you bullying this kid?” Both were shocked. The younger one saw the older one as a mentor (sunbae) to him and defended him on his behalf. In another similar instance, a teacher commented about the student's bullying tendency to the parents, which shocked them as they strongly encouraged kindness and respect to others. Such misunderstandings can cause significant unnecessary stress to a family and to the student, and some may feel that they are victims of discrimination.

In parts of India, Latin America, Africa, and some Native American societies, tribal culture represents a fairly significant portion of the population. The Indigenous communities of these regions account for hundreds of millions of people. Tribal cultures have unique cultural patterns, so the school culture versus the family culture of the student is likely to contrast greatly. This can cause problems with academics, discipline, and social behavior, which the teacher will have to navigate. Further navigation with the student's family can also be complex, as differing values contribute to different behavior and expectations. Because the family home does not resemble the classroom, student success is usually contingent on teachers bridging that gap.

• India. Tribal communities, of which there are roughly 573, speak their own languages, follow their own unique traditions, and often rely solely on natural resources to live. Most people in these communities are illiterate and resist modern education.⁵
• Latin America. Between Latin America and the Caribbean, roughly 826 Indigenous communities exist, totaling about 58 million people. Of those, only between 1 and 7 million live isolated in rural forest areas, while the rest live in more urban communities. Those isolated in rural areas suffer extremely high levels of poverty, where only around 43% of the population above age 15 has finished primary school.⁶
• Africa. Around 50 million Indigenous people live on the continent of Africa, most of whom are nomadic or partially nomadic with a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. There is a significant education gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Africa. For instance, in Cameroon, only about 1.31% of Indigenous Baka children attend primary school.⁷
• Native Americans. In the United States, there are 574 federally recognized Indigenous Nations, 229 of which are in Alaska. The education gap between Native American students and their non-Native peers has increased over the past decade, with Native students graduating from high school at a rate of less than 50% in some states,⁸ due to both lack of school quality and the difficult socioeconomic factors facing Native families.

As mentioned, tribal cultures often embrace vastly different values than mainstream cultures. For this reason, education for students from some Indigenous tribes and cultures remains challenging. To be successful, collaboration between educators and parents is necessary. In this situation, effective communication begins with systemic changes that take tribal cultures into account when developing teaching methods for this student population. Because tribal cultures have historically been told they are obsolete and lesser-than, a teacher who makes an effort to understand and consider their values and incorporate them into the student's education can go a long way.

Communicating with the parents of students from tribal cultures often requires forethought and sensitivity to be successful. Consider the situation where a Native American student from a tribal culture never participates in class. This might be because it is common in many Native American cultures to learn by observation rather than trial-and-error.

Rather than approach the parent with an accusatory tone, it will likely be more effective to begin the conversation as follows:

Your son has excellent observation skills. His way of learning appears to use observation as the primary component. It would be helpful in my class environment if he could complement his observational skills by adding on some additional learning practices regarding participation. Participating in class discussions will help him become more engaged with the material and may even cement some of the information more firmly in his mind. When students contribute their own ideas to what we're learning, that connection helps them remember the information! Also, his contributions will be beneficial for the whole class, as other students can start thinking about things from his perspective as he shares his ideas.

Saying something along these lines accomplishes several things. First of all, it shows that learning through observation, a behavior he likely learned at home, is also valuable. The teacher does not frame their own style of learning as more valuable. Instead, they situate both together as complementary learning styles. The teacher's explanation also shows they are thinking about how the student will benefit and how the classroom will benefit from his participation. This may allow the parents to see the teacher as a caring resource for their child as well as all students, which can help cultivate a trusting teacher-parent relationship in the long term.

CONSIDERING CULTURAL GAPS

In practice, using cultural background information to inform your communication style with multiethnic families can manifest in many ways. Knowing how to best apply this knowledge depends on the context of the situation.

For example, consider Western individualist cultures and the perception of control. Many people from individualist cultures tend to feel they have a lot of control over their environment, which influences how they feel about goal achievement, physical health, and mental health. This leads to more assertiveness in individual behavior. When you believe you have control over a situation, you place a lot of weight on your actions. Thus, being assertive is a way of maneuvering the experience to fit your goals.

In contrast, collectivist cultures do not have this same cultural ideology. Some students and parents from primarily collectivist cultures tend to believe they don't have control over many situations, as they have been primed to accept an external locus of control. Keeping this difference in mind can help to better navigate conversations with families from more collectivist cultures.

Take, for example, a conversation between a teacher and a parent from Japan (a traditionally collectivist culture) where the student is not performing well academically due to continued distractions from fellow students. If the teacher simply indicates the student is getting a C in the class as a way of saying the student is not performing well academically, that might not frame the situation in a way the parent will be able to understand. They might think the teacher isn't giving adequate instruction, and that is why their child isn't performing well academically, viewing the situation from a more collectivist lens. Instead, a higher probability of success will come from initiating the conversation as follows:

We're currently starting a new unit looking at animal biology, and all the students have individual assignments to dissect frogs. Your daughter has a wonderful rapport with her fellow students and is always very helpful to those who are struggling to understand the material. I have noticed that she can spend a lot of her energies in conversations with others during class time, and it is important to bring this up to you.

Your daughter is clearly a student with strong potential and excellent analytical ability. She has the ability to do well in this class, and I would like your assistance in helping her to find ways to focus better during classroom sessions. I know her friendships are very important to her, and I'm glad that she is doing so well socially. However, her grades are starting to slip to a level that is beneath her potential. I am planning on moving the classroom seating to remove some of the distractions for her and wanted to let you know this in advance. Do you have any ideas for how we might work together to support your daughter to do better?

Using this approach can develop a strong relationship with the parent and move the process of student support forward in a positive direction. By initially discussing the broader context of what is occurring in the classroom (rather than focusing directly on the individual), the teacher frames the conversation through collectivist perspectives, putting the parent on more comfortable terrain. Providing actions to be taken by the student, teacher, and parent all helps the parent to see that everyone is working as a team for the solution.

Uncertainty avoidance, or tolerance for things being unpredictable, is another factor to consider when communicating with multiethnic parents. When mapping this dimension onto the survival versus self-expression axis, survivalist cultures tend to be more attuned to avoiding uncertainty. Therefore, providing a predictable learning path may be helpful when communicating with families from these cultures. The more predictability you can provide, the more confidence many parents will have in the educator.

Another common cultural gap is the perception of time. For example, in Mexico, cultural norms regarding time are much different than the ones in the United States. Mexico has a more time-relaxed culture, where people often don't operate on an exact schedule. Time is more fluid. If someone says they will arrive at 10:00 a.m., they might arrive at 10:15 a.m. and not consider themselves late. However, in the United States, a person who arrives 15 minutes after the scheduled time would be considered late in almost all circumstances. Understanding this can be helpful to avoid frustration when meeting with a Mexican family or disciplining a Mexican student.

Gender egalitarianism is a relatively new cultural construct even in the West. Many cultures around the globe don't subscribe to the concept of gender equality, and it's important to consider this when communicating with multiethnic families. This can manifest in many different ways. For example, some cultures have traditionally put more pressure on their sons’ achievement over their daughters. While norms are shifting somewhat, the heightened emphasis on male education remains largely true for many Chinese and Arab families. In these situations, using softer language or tone when discussing issues with a son's academics or behavior both can take some of the weight off of the student as well as help ensure the parents don't feel insulted by the comments.

Many individuals in a “being” or collectivist culture define themselves by their relationship to their community, considering their family line as the principal factor in who they are over the individual self. One Korean student with whom Marina worked closely was expelled from his boarding school for repeated drinking offenses. His main regret was not the impact on his life, but the dishonor he had caused to his family.

Of course, there is fluidity in family identity. In “doing” or individualist cultures, the individual defines themselves by their own accomplishments and earned status. Considering the extent to which a family with a different ethnic background is part of a “being” versus “doing” culture can be helpful in communication. For instance, talking with parents about a student, contextualizing the student as part of their family rather than speaking about them in isolation can make some parents feel more comfortable, trusting, and understood by a teacher. What's more, framing the classroom environment as a “family” can help some students feel more included.

Collectivist cultures have different norms with regard to independence and privacy than individualist cultures. Privacy within the family is not a priority in collectivist cultures. In the context of education, understanding that certain students will have no privacy from their parents can influence the type or subject matter of homework given. Furthermore, a teacher who understands this element of certain cultures is less likely to be caught off guard if parents want especially detailed accounts of class activities and assignments as well as their child's performance and behavior.

Students can develop different learning styles based on what is modeled at home. The majority of Native American communities situate respect for elders as a central component of their culture. For this reason, an observational rather than hands-on style of learning can be more common in Native American students.

Along the same lines, a student who constantly talks out of turn may not realize this is considered misbehavior because of the cultural dynamic at home, where talking over one another is normal. Before addressing an issue with the parents, understanding if a behavior comes from a cultural norm picked up from their family will help to address the situation most effectively. What's more, it may serve as a cue to teachers for how their own cultural values might be influencing the way they teach.

Some cultures highly value formality and privacy, which teachers should consider when communicating with multiethnic families. For example, in Slavic culture, the norm is to be formal, reserved, and private. As such, in communication with Slavic parents, remaining formal, only discussing relevant information about the student, and avoiding personal topics is a general guideline to keep in mind.

Using purposeful language in conversations with parents is another decision teachers can make to create a positive relationship with multiethnic families. For example, parents from family-focused, collectivist cultures might appreciate a teacher addressing an achievement or issue with their child in the context of the family. Saying something like, “The family should be proud,” or “This is something the family will need to consider moving forward,” can be more effective at getting a message across than addressing the achievement or issue as the child's individual success or failure. On the flip side, being aware of the level of shame avoidance for families can be helpful when handling negative instances. For many Japanese families, hearing about a student's misbehaviors would be seen as a reason for familial shame to an extent that hinders fruitful communication. To mitigate the potential negative impact in these situations, educators can use more collectivist language about students in general misbehaving or allude to the difficulties faced by a teacher when students are not fully attentive. For example, a teacher could say, “Some students have had challenges in —, and what I'd advise those families that they appreciated and worked well for the student was —.” This can also be used for students who may have learning difficulties.

COMMON DISCREPANCIES IN CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES

People's behavior is influenced by their culture. What might be considered polite in one culture easily could be construed as rude in another. Making note of some of these differences can help teachers navigate conversations with multicultural families. Below are some common discrepancies in cultural perspectives.

• Eye contact. In some cultures, eye contact indicates engagement and attention, and a lack of eye contact can be interpreted as disrespect. However, in many East Asian cultures, avoiding eye contact can be a way to demonstrate your acceptance of the implied hierarchy.
• Directness in communication. Some cultures find directness to indicate respect, and in other cultures it is the opposite, where being direct can be considered rude or a violation of boundaries. These differences can be apparent immediately when conversing with traditional Indian families, who mince few words in their assessment of their children, as opposed to traditional Chinese families, who may tend to be extremely circumspect.
• Role of teachers. Some cultures regard teachers as an automatic authority, whereas in others, teachers are supposed to earn the family's respect. This can be seen in the level of respect immediately afforded to teachers by many East Asian families, as opposed to families from a White American background, who may see teaching as a less attractive profession.
• Physical space and boundaries. Standing close to someone can either be a sign of trust or a violation of personal space, depending on the culture. For Latin American families, close personal contact is a loose norm, and casual touches on greetings are usually acceptable, if not necessarily expected. For families from Middle Eastern backgrounds, meanwhile, maintaining physical distance between opposite genders is of paramount importance. While many families will be forgiving of unintentional blunders, a little forethought can go a long way.

SUMMARY

Teachers who put in the effort to understand different cultures can directly translate to more seamless and effective communication with multiethnic families. A person's cultural background often influences their ideology and behavior, so a teacher who can see these potential differences is better able to engage in effective and meaningful conversation with parents.

That being said, having cultural information about an ethnic group or nationality does not provide a one-size-fits-all template for teacher-parent communication. Every family is unique, and it is impossible to know if or how much their cultural background applies to their actual ideology and behavior. Understanding various cultural norms can bridge some cultural gaps, but teachers should never use stereotypes and generalizations to make blanket assumptions about a family.

INTERACTIVE SELF-PRACTICE EXERCISES

1. Select three elements in the following list and research what are some common characteristics of the cultural dimensions, and which countries and ethnicities have traditionally adopted these values.
   1. Include an example of individualism and collectivism.
   2. Survival and self-expression.
   3. Traditional and secular-rational values.
   4. Masculinity-femininity.
   5. Power distance.
   6. Uncertainty avoidance.
   7. Indulgence-restraint.
2. Select one norm you were brought up with. Dig into what events (both familial and cultural) originated to make up this norm.
   1. Now, consider your opinions, values, customs, and behaviors and link them to norms in your culture.
   2. Note both the similarities and differences.
   3. What are some of your attributes/ideas that are aligned with your culture?
   4. What are some that are not?

EFFECTIVE CONVERSATIONAL POINTS

1. Consider the different traditional cultural norms of collectivist and individualist cultures.
   1. What factors do you think influence how accurate those norms will be reflected in a family? Consider things like wealth, whether they're from an urban or rural area, etc.
2. What role do you think technology, social media, and digital globalization play in influencing cultural values and norms? How do you see traditional cultural norms shifting in the coming generations because of the internet? In what ways is the internet causing global culture to bypass regional culture in younger generations? Is this positive or negative? Analyzing these ideas might make accidental stereotyping less common. (You also might ask the same question using different cross-cultural dimensions as well.)
3. Interacting with students and their families from another culture, what are some of the initial things you can do to get to know them?
   1. For example, do you think having both the student and a parent fill out a questionnaire about their cultural and religious background, expectations, availability (for parents), and home language would help foster a positive relationship between teacher and parent?
   2. Why would something like this be helpful? Why might it not be a good idea?