The Cultural Proficiency Continuum ELPS 715 CSUN

Six Points of the Continuum Cultural Destructiveness Cultural  Blindness Cultural  Competence Cultural Incapacity Cultural Precompetence Cultural Proficiency

Cultural Destructiveness See the difference, stomp it out! Any policy, practice or behavior that eliminates other people’s culture Extreme Examples: enslaving African people, westward expansion impacting First Nation peoples, ethnic cleansings, holocausts Other: English only policies, BIA schooling practices, dress policies targeting ethnic groups, tracking and segregation programs

Cultural Incapacity See the difference, make it wrong! Practices that show extreme bias and belief in the superiority of the dominant group Belief in the inferiority of subordinate groups Limited opportunities, “learned helplessness” Examples: Oriental Exclusion Acts, Jim Crow laws, hiring practices, tokenism, not holding accountability for members of minority groups

Cultural Blindness See the difference, act like you don’t Belief that color & culture make no difference and that all people are the same. Typical goal of a diversity program. The values and beliefs of the dominant culture are thought to be universally applicable and beneficial. Intention is to avoid discrimination by avoiding making an issue of any differences among students- “well-intentioned fairness” However, some culturally blind educators view students’ cultural differences as indications of disobedience or non-compliance Examples: teaching that Lincoln is a hero to all African Americans and Cinco de Mayo is a holiday for all Spanish-speaking countries

Cultural Precompetence See the difference, respond inadequately Awareness of limitations of one’s inter-cultural interactions Engaging effectively and actively with cultures other than own culture Aware that they don’t know enough about other cultures Examples: Food fairs, Soul Food Day, Cinco de Mayo Day, single goal orientation

Cultural Competence Schools & educators accept and respect differences, attend to the dynamics of difference Continuously assess their own cultural knowledge & beliefs Adapt belief systems, policies, practices Incorporate culturally appropriate behavior in performance appraisals

Cultural Proficiency Know how to learn about other cultures, functions effectively in other cultures. Has clear sense of his/her culture and self-awareness to discern what may be offensive to others Adds to the knowledge base of culturally proficient practices through research and new approaches Advocate for culturally proficient practices in all arenas

Summary The Continuum provides language for describing values/behaviors of individuals and policies/practices of the organization Use the Continuum to discuss specific diversity issues in your organization or when someone’s behavior is inappropriate The Continuum provides a perspective for examining policies, practices and procedures of the school by giving reference points in history or current situations

Summary (cont’d) The Continuum can be useful as a tool to assess one’s growth or the organization's growth toward Cultural Proficiency- it can help you identify where you are currently and where you would like to be……..