I must begin with a disclaimer that cultural competence and awareness is a passion of mine and is an area that I’m focusing on for my dissertation. I could write hundreds of pages on action steps that school leaders need to take and how to make it a priority for the entire school community; however, I will do my best to be concise. School leaders need to address the following items when working to develop cultural competence and social justice in their schools: first, assess their own biases and patterns of discrimination, second, gain an understanding of critical race theories in regard to how people learn and the impact of race, power, cultural capital, poverty, disability, ethnicity, gender, age, language, and other factors of learning, then, assess the organization of the school, next, analyze school policies and procedures, and also, actively increase community involvement and engagement in the process.
First, leaders must assess their own attitudes and beliefs about themselves and others and then confront biases. Educators are natural “helpers” who generally love “all students.” However, we must break down this one-size-fits-all mindset and really start to look at the world around us. We can do this by engaging in reflective thinking and writing. For example the diversity self-assessment is a great first
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I appreciated the article, “Addressing Diversity in Schools,” statement “when the tools of instruction are incompatible with, or worse marginalize, the students’ cultural experience, a disconnect with schools is likely.” We cannot ignore that social issues do not play a role in education and the daily lives of our students. We must actively work to understand what it is and what it means for our schools. We should acknowledge our students and staff’s differences as well as their commonalities, and validate cultural identities by our actions and
Richards, H., V., Brown, A., F., Forde, T., B. (2006). Addressing diversity in schools: culturally responsive pedagogy. Retreived March 30th 2014from http://www.nccrest.org/Briefs/Diversity_Brief.pdf
“Cultural competence is the ability to engage in actions or create conditions that maximize the optimal development of client and client systems” (Sue & Sue, 2013, p. 49). Multicultural competence includes a counselor to be aware of his or her biases, knowledge of the culture they are evaluating, and skills to evaluate a client with various backgrounds (Sue & Sue, 2013). Client assessment involves gathering information pertaining to the client’s condition. Making a culturally responsive diagnosis involves using the DSM-IV-TR axis (Hays, 2008). Following the axis backwards is ideal to discovering the client’s diagnosis, understanding the client’s ADDRESSING outline will help to come to a closer resolution for a diagnosis.
Cultural competence has to do with one’s culture. Culture affects among other factors, how children are raised, how families communicate, what is considered normal or abnormal, ways of coping with issues, the way we dress, when and where we seek medical treatment, and so forth. I should know because I come from a very cultural home where it is considered bad to talk to a male doctor about anything gynecological.
1- Why is cultural and linguistic competence an essential component in the work towards addressing and eliminating health disparities?
...do not adequately prepare pre-service teachers to promote diversity, differences and acceptance in the classroom. Unless future and new teachers are provided with additional preparation and guidance as well as support from their administration to address political, racial and gender issues, there will remain a fear of doing so and students will continue to miss those learning opportunities related to controversial issues. Counts (2013) “ If the schools are to be really effective, they must become centers for the building, and not merely for the contemplation, or our civilization. This does not mean that we should endeavor to promote particular reforms through the educational system. We should, however, give to our children a vision of the possibilities which lie ahead and endeavor to enlist their loyalties and enthusiasms in the realization of the vision.” (p. 48)
knowingly broke the law by entering the country illegally. Another concern is that it encourages future flow of illegal immigration into the United States.
Cultural competencies are the area I need to most improve. What works best for me is, to assess the patient of a different nationally first if working day shift or last if working night shift, which depends of their acuity. What I have learned in that Hispanic men view pain as a sign of weakness, so patient education is very important. Iranian men are very family oriented, you will find generations of men at the male patient bedside, so early assessment and medication administration is very important, because every on will have different questions as it relates to what you are doing to the patient as his nurse.
Diversity among students including differences in culture, language and socioeconomic stance is not a new trend. The difference, however, is that today, the school system realizes that all students, including those who differ in some way from the "average" student, or those “at-risk” must be provided with an equal, opportune education (Morris, 1991).
when I become a social worker I feel that I will be able to accept my
What daily demonstrations lend themselves to the development of stronger relationships with regards to being culturally competent?
Cultural proficiency is seeing the difference and responding effectively in a variety of environments. Learning about organizational and individual culture, in which one can effectively interact in a variety of cultural environments (p. 3). In simple terms in which educators are not only able to effectively work with diverse populations, but also believe that diversity adds positive value to the educational enterprise (Landa, 2011, p. 12).
Diversity in classrooms can open student’s minds to all the world has to offer. At times diversity and understanding of culture, deviant experiences and perspectives can be difficult to fulfill, but with appropriate strategies and resources, it can lead students to gain a high level of respect for those unlike them, preferably from a judgmental and prejudiced view. Diversity has a broad range of spectrums. Students from all across the continent; students from political refugees, indigenous Americans, and immigrants bring their cultural and linguistic skills to American classrooms. Students not only bring their cultural and linguistic skills, but they bring their ethnicity, talents, and skills.
The world is currently undergoing a cultural change, and we live in an increasingly diverse society. This change is not only affect the people in the community but also affect the way education is viewed. Teaching diversity in the classroom and focusing multicultural activities in the programs can help improve positive social behavior in children. There is no question that the education must be prepared to embrace the diversity and to teach an increasingly diverse population of young children.
The concepts included in providing a more diverse, multicultural education are requiring teachers to review their own issues and prejudices while expanding their knowledge of the many cultures that make up the classroom. These efforts help the educator recognize the various individual and cultural differences of each student, as well as gain an understanding on how these differences impact the learning process. The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon individual and cultural difference research and why diverse students struggle to succeed in school. Furthermore, I will share some instructional approaches I could implement in the classroom to accommodate diverse students. Finally, I will discuss the responsibility of educators in addressing the issue of how our o...
In conducting her research, the author understood that she needed to describe key issues of culturally diverse students, recommend a curriculum approach to address the issues, and discuss the challenges and benefits expected. In reading Cultural and Linguistic Diversity: Issues in Education (2010), s...