Enhancing the Teachers’ Management of Diversity in the Algerian Tertiary Education

Abstract

Free education in Algeria made learning accessible to a big number of students from different backgrounds. Heterogeneous classes with many differences were then constituted. This study aims at finding out the nature of these differences and how teachers cope with them. A study was conducted at the department of English language at El.Oued university in Algeria. A structured interview was administered to a number of ten teachers so as to elicit information about the components of the English language class diversity and how to overcome any sort of inconveniences. Results reveal that teachers classified the differences encountered into two main categories. The first category consists in the variation of the students’ prior knowledge of English. It is asymmetric since they enroll in the English language classes coming from both literary and scientific streams. The second category includes social differences caused by having two categories of students: those who are devoting their full time to study and those who are studying and exercising some part time jobs simultaneously. Concerning the strategies adopted by teachers to manage the differences, they stated that the unequal prior knowledge of English can influence the comprehension of the lessons. However, this can be solved by prescribing extra assignments to students or by varying the approaches of teaching so as to fit the majority of students. As for the problems caused by the social differences, teachers asserted that the hybrid mode of teaching made the online courses the best reinforcement of the in- presence lessons.