NL5-Learner Personalities

The Modern Past: Exclusion to Assimilation

Exclusion: dominant social group maintains sameness by refusing admittance to those who are different

Dimension 1: Material Conditions

Social Class: Schools divided by class

Locale: Little movement & different opportunities in different geographies

Family: Standard nuclear family only accepted norm

Dimension 2: Corporeal Attributes

Race: Racial segregation in schools

Sex & Sexuality: Limited attention paid to dichotomy between male & female. Heterosexuality the only accepted norm

Physical & Mental Abilities: People whose physical or mental abilities deviated from the norm were separated

Age: Clear stages associated with different ages

Dimension 3: Symbolic differences

Culture

Language

Gender: Clearly defined gender roles

Affinity/Persona: Personal Differences should not be discussed at work or school

Assimilation: Creates homogeneous community by asking everyone to conform to same standards to be successful

New Learning: Inclusion

Dimension 1: Material Class

Social Class: Education can work against class inequality

Locale: Increased transience as people move for new opportunities. Globalization creates opportunities for communication & connection

Family: Broader range of family structures gain wider acceptance

Dimension 2: Corporeal Attributes

Age: Learning becomes less tied to specific age milestones and keeping everyone on the same page at the same time

Race: Biology of race may have been discredited, but racism persists, often in less obvious ways

Sex & Sexuality: Sexuality understood as complex. Schools grapple with how to deal with this complexity

Physical & Mental Abilities: Increased interest of providing access & accomodations within education for those with disabilities

Dimension 3: Symbolic Differences

Culture: Homogenization vs, differentiation with globalization

Language: Multilingualism & increased interest in preserving small languages

Gender: Unequal gender relations are in the process of being transformed within a cultural debate about gender roles

Affinity/Persona: Rise of niche markets as individualism is celebrated

More Recent Times: Recognition

Dimension 1: Material Conditions

Social Class: The affluent can afford to send children to expensive schools

Locale: As cities expand, those on the fringe have less access to social resouces

Family: Family structures begin to change, but there is nostalgia for old nuclear family structure

Dimension 2: Corporeal Attributes

Age: More delineation about is appropriate for different ages

Race:

Sex & sexuality: homosexuality beginning to become publicized, but still isolated

Physical & mental abilities: Increased access for those with disabilities

Dimension 3: Symbolic Differences

Culture: Multiculturalism is favored over assimilation

Gender: More attention paid to gender equality

Language: English becomes world language. English only movement vs. bilingual education

Affinity/Persona: Rise of interest in social movements