Eurocentrism in Curriculum and Its Detriment to Cultural Awareness

Some school curricula may hinder students' development of cultural awareness. School is the vessel through which many students get their first glimpse of the world, and bias throughout that voyage can negatively alter students’ development of cultural awareness --- the very skill that schools hope to promote. A Eurocentric approach and overemphasis on Western civilizations and ideals dominates the cultural conversations through their prolific use in “world” courses. When educational discourses point to Western cultures as the epitome of culture in “world” courses, students fail to obtain a true cultural understanding and awareness of the world around them, and they will lack the ability to see each culture as having an equally valid perspective and history in a global context. By incorporating a truly global curriculum, without bias or prejudice, students can deeply appreciate the world outside of their own and become respectful global citizens, recognizing the values and experiences of other countries and groups of people as equally important to the collective development of our global culture. To ameliorate students’ cultural awareness deficit, research shows that culturally responsive teaching and a polycentric perspective is paramount. To support pre-service and existing teachers in meeting the expectations and needs of an increasingly diverse student population, professional development is needed to grow teachers’ confidence and efficacy with culturally responsive curricular materials.