As you have learned from your reading and resources this week, culture profoundly affects teaching and learning.  Many aspects of culture contribute to a student’s identity and self-concept and affect the student’s beliefs and values, attitudes and expectations, social relations, language use, and other behaviors. 

For this forum, please choose one (1) of the following to discuss in relation to student achievement: 

• Socioeconomic status
• Ethnicity and race
• Language differences

After you have selected the area that you want to focus on for this forum, please:

• Discuss ways in which the topic you have chosen can influence student achievement.
• Find one (1) journal article from a peer-reviewed journal with a study that has investigated your topic and student achievement (Example:  The effect of socioeconomic status on student achievement).  Provide a link to the study and discuss the findings and whether or not you believe that the findings coincide with what you have learned this week.
• Discuss at least two (2) ways in which educators can “bridge the gap” for students in relation to the topic you have chosen.  Please be thoughtful in your response to this portion of the question.  These suggestions do not have to come from the book and may come from your independent research while searching for your journal article.