Expanding cross-cultural engagement involves increasing our cultural competency. In this blog, we hope to provide you with some strategies that will add to your self-exploration as you walk on that path, for the naked, unobscured truth is that there is no “arriving” at cultural competency. It’s about the journey and the rich experiences we allow or deny ourselves throughout the course of that expedition. Learning about ourselves and others is never done.
Culture can be defined as a collective of human experiences--the schemas built on the intersection of knowledge, customs, values, and beliefs--which are passed on intergenerationally (Prochaska & Norcross, 2010). This definition helps us to conceptualize culture beyond the concept of race and ethnicity to include factors such as gender sexuality, ability, religion, spirituality, and creative interests and expression (e.g., music, art, writing, etc.).
Cultural competence then “refers to the process by which individuals and systems respond respectfully and effectively to people of all cultures, languages, classes, races, ethnic backgrounds, religions, spiritual traditions, immigration status, and other diversity factors in a manner that recognizes, affirms, and values the worth of individuals, families, and communities, and protects and preserves the dignity of each” (National Association of Social Workers [NASW], 2015, p. 13). It “implies a heightened consciousness [and understanding] of how culturally diverse populations experience their uniqueness and deal with their differences and similarities within a larger social context” (NASW, 2015, p. 10).
Simply stated then, developing cultural competence involves appreciating differences--diving right into the exploration of others’ cultures while remaining open to the possibility that customs which differ from our own are not necessarily better or worse, but simply fall outside the scope of the experiences we’ve grown accustomed to.
Specific to education, cultural competence “involves the [educator’s] ability to acquire knowledge of [the student’s]education-related beliefs, attitudes and practices to improve student achievement (Stith-Williams, 2009, slide 8) and use that knowledge to successfully teach students who come from cultures other than our own” (National Education Association [NEA], 2008).
It is important to understand that cultural competency “is never fully realized, achieved, or completed; it is a lifelong process for [educators] who will always encounter [diversity] and new situations in their [craft]” (NASW, 2015, p. 15).
Why is cultural competence important?
Schenectady City School District serves a highly diverse population. As a matter of fact, district demographics indicate that 74% of our students belong to at least one minority group, 4% of our students are English Language Learners, and 18% of our students are identified with a disability (Schenectady City School District, 2016). That’s a lot of diversity--and those demographic statistics didnot even account for students who identify as members of other diverse groups under protected classes (religion, sex, gender, etc.)!
As our community and our country becomes increasingly diverse, the need for cultural competency is necessary to successfully understand, engage, and educate our students. The National Education Association (NEA) highlights the following as important reasons why educators should be culturally competent:
- Culture plays a critical role in learning
- Cultural competence leads to more effective teaching
- Culturally competent educators are better equipped to reach out to students’ families
- Cultural competence helps address student achievement gaps
- Cultural competence reinforces American and democratic ideals of freedom, justice, equality, equity, and human dignity
- Cultural competence helps educators meet accountability requirements
In addition, culture and the healthy development of a cultural identity helps individuals form healthy self-concepts and self-efficacy as they identify that their cultural differences are valued and accepted, and that they help to enhance their lived experiences rather than negatively contribute to how they are perceived and received in places that have had little exposure to and, perhaps, little tolerance towards diversity (Prochaska & Norcross, 2010).
How do we work towards cultural competence?
As Dr. O’Connor (2020) noted in her blog Best Practices for Increasing Cross-Cultural Competency, The journey of cultural competence involves development of three areas (Newell et al., 2010; Worthington, Soth-McNutt, & Moreno, 2007):
- a personal awareness,
- knowledge of other cultures, and
- application of the skills (i.e., action).
With an understanding that cultural competence is an on-going learning process, rather than a finite set of skills to be acquired, both introspective and extrospective strategies for increasing cultural competence are recommended. In line, with the areas of awareness, knowledge, and practical application, these strategies include increasing awareness about ourselves, our values, and our views, as well as increasing our understanding of other cultures, how others experience their cultures and the intersection between our cultures as we move towards action and reflection through this on-going process.
Introspective Awareness
The starting point for understanding others and their experiences is to first understand ourselves. As adults we often take this as a given; afterall, haven’t we spent our lives exploring our identities, values, and ethics? We know who we are, right? Right. Maybe? The truth is that self-awareness, much like cultural competence, is also an ongoing process. To truly be connected to ourselves, we need to work at it.
Weigel (2009) argues that “cultural self study occasions remarkable personal awakening and growth” and that “cultural concepts become intensely alive for adults when they are assisted in having an immediate experience of how they themselves function as the vehicles through which culture is expressed.” He further asserts that “self-study promotes learning not only about self but also others, increasing intercultural literacy, curiosity, and skill”. Clay (n.d.) recommends that folks “get started by exploring [their] own historical roots, beliefs and values” and references Dr. Robert Weigl’s eight-step process for a deep (and fun) exploration of who you are.
Extrospective Awareness
Developing extrospective cultural awareness, or an awareness of others’ cultural values and beliefs, can seem intimidating. The important thing to remember is that no one person can be an expert in anyone else’s experience. When you think about it, it makes a whole lot of sense. Afterall, who would you say is an expert on your own experience outside of yourself? So the question still remains: how can you develop your ability to be culturally sensitive to your students needs given the broad range of cultures that we interact with on a daily basis?
The University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business suggest the following ideas you can start with:
- Appreciate differences: A culture is built on more than just food, music, art and clothing. Its foundation includes stories, values and beliefs passed down through generations. Learn to value a culture’s contributions to the greater human story.
- When in doubt, ask: Don’t be afraid to ask questions. You won’t be perceived as less intelligent, as people generally appreciate the interest, and enjoy sharing information about their nation and its culture. By being humble and acknowledging that you’re still learning you may be more likely to gain acceptance in a new culture.
- Smile: You may have heard the saying, “A smile is the same in every language.” Indeed, a smile can be a great ice-breaker and stress reliever. Have a smile ready when facing unexpected challenges and look for the humor in a predicament.
The Hanover brief (2014) on strategies for building cultural competency recommends the following five strategies for teacher self-assessment, which can help expand both introspective and extrospective awareness:
- Engage in reflective thinking and writing;
- Explore personal and family histories;
- Acknowledge membership in different groups;
- Visit or read about successful teachers in diverse settings; and
- Develop an appreciation for diversity.
Click here to access self-assessments that can help you as you engage in the process of introspection.
In order to engage in culturally responsive pedagogy, teachers need to learn about their students’ cultures. According to the brief provided by Hanover Research (2014), learning about our students’ culture will allow us to:
- Match classroom instruction to cultural norms for social interaction to enhance students’ social skill development and problem-solving ability;
- Enhance classroom participation and the development of critical thinking skills by adjusting the wait time for students when asking questions or giving directions;
- Be conscious of and sensitive to cultural shifts that students of diverse cultures must make as they move between home and school
For more ideas, check out these 15 culturally-relevant teaching strategies and examples and these culturally responsive activities.
A strong classroom ecology is reflected in the degree to which students feel that they belong. Positive, inclusive relationships help students to feel physically, socially, and emotionally safe in a classroom setting and allow students to see themselves as critical contributing members of a healthy community. It is important then that teachers establish and maintain standards of behavior that require respectful treatment of all in the classrooms.
Developing a Comprehensive Classroom Management Plan goes a long way in helping teachers to identify strategies and engage in practices that promote positive relationships, consistent classroom routines and safe and expected adult responses to both adaptive and challenging behaviors.
Involve Families and Communities
Establishing effective home-school partnerships can be challenging when there is a disconnect or a distrust of persons and/ or institutions in power. A lack of familiarity with the norms and values between differing cultures can exacerbate this lack of connection. Therefore, a recommended strategy for improving our chances for positively connecting with families would be to approach students and families with cultural humility.
What exactly does it mean to have cultural humility? Having cultural humility simply means that you can appreciate diversity and remain open to others’ experience and expression of cultural practices, even when they are different from your own. This doesn’t mean that you have to endorse practices that may not be reflective of your own cultural values, merely that you remain curious and non-judgemental about those practices as you come across them in your interactions with others.
Moncho (2013) describes cultural humility as one’s “willingness to suspend what you know, or think you know about [students] based on generalizations about their culture” in order to remain open to what the students themselves have determined is their personal expression of their heritage and culture.
The use of culturally humility leads to effective, culturally-sensitive communication. Using this approach when connecting with families whose cultural norms and values may differ from the eurocentric norms so much a part of mainstream society in the United States can help educators to reduce the power differential and increase the trust and rapport needed in order to effectively partner with families and ensure student success.
Teaching Tolerance recommends that you consider the following strategies for culturally-sensitive communication and effectively engagement with families:
- Assume good intentions, and approach all families as partners who want the best for their children.
- Invite parents or guardians to share knowledge about their students’ lives, interests, hopes and struggles.
- Invite parents or guardians to share information about family cultures and traditions.
- Recognize and respect differences in family structures.
- Recognize the role that identity and background may play in shaping relationships between teachers and families.
- Bring a sense of self-reflectiveness and cultural humility to all conversations and interactions.
- View linguistic, cultural and family diversity as strengths.
Maybe you will find there are things you need or want to work through. Maybe not. The point is to find a balance that does not devalue your own or others’ cultural experiences but finds a way for them to coexist non-judgmentally. The beauty in this is that we can choose to keep or change our values, feelings, and beliefs as we learn and grow throughout our lifetimes. We don’t necessarily have to inherently change who we are in order to appreciate others.
https://www.tolerance.org/classroom-resources/lessons
The Diversity Toolkit
https://msw.usc.edu/mswusc-blog/diversity-workshop-guide-to-discussing-identity-power-and-privilege/
Resource Guide of Activities Focused on Diversity https://www.uh.edu/cdi/diversity_education/resources/activities/pdf/diversity%20activities-resource-guide.pdf
Group Activities Intended to help develop Cultural Competence
https://community.astc.org/ccli/resources-for-action/group-activities
Exploring Privilege
https://edge.psu.edu/workshops/mc/power/page_04.shtml
Online Resources for Culturally Responsive Teachers from the NEA
http://www.nea.org/archive/16723.htm
References
Bisk Education on behalf of the University of Notre Dame (2017). Developing Your Cultural Awareness. Retrieved May 15, 2017, fromhttps://www.notredameonline.com/resources/intercultural-management/developing-your-cultural-awareness/#.WRnah0UrIdU
Family and Community Engagement. (n.d.). Retrieved January 24, 2020, from https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/publications/critical-practices-for-antibias-education/family-and-community-engagement
Gray, S. (2014, February 27). 5 Ways to Create a Culturally Responsive Classroom. Retrieved May 15, 2017, fromhttps://blog.nationalequityproject.org/2012/08/22/5-ways-to-create-a-culturally-responsive-classroom/
Metropolitan Center for Urban Education. (2008). Culturally responsive classroom management strategies (New York State Education Department, contract #007052). Retrieved February 14, 2017, fromhttp://steinhardt.nyu.edu/scmsAdmin/uploads/005/121/Culturally%20Responsive%20Classroom%20Mgmt%20Strat2.pdf
Miranda, A.H. (2014). Best practices in increasing cross-cultural competency, In P.L. Harrison & A. Thomas (Eds.), Best Practices in School Psychology (pp.9-19), Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.
Moncho, C. (2013, August 10) Cultural humility, part I: What is cultural humility? Message posted tohttps://thesocialworkpractitioner.com/2013/08/19/cultural-humility-part-i-what-is-cultural-humility/
National Association of Social Workers. (2015). Standards and indicators for cultural competence in social work practice. Retrieved April 6, 2017, fromhttps://www.socialworkers.org/practice/standards/NASWCulturalStandardsIndicators2006.pdf
National Education Association. (2008). Promoting educators’ cultural competence to better serve culturally diverse students (PB13). Retrieved February 14, 2017 fromhttp://www.nea.org/assets/docs/PB13_CulturalCompetence08.pdf
Rimm-Kaufman, S.E. & Chiu, Y.I. (2007). Promoting social and academic competence in the classroom: an intervention study examining the contribution of the responsive classroom approach. Psychology in the Schools, 44(4), 397-413. Doi: 10.1002/pits.20231
Weigl, R.C. (2009). Intercultural competence through cultural self-study: a strategy for adult learners. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 33(4), 346-360. doi: 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2009.04.004