Cultural Proficiency and Accelerating Student Achievement for the 21 st Century 1 Session 3 What and Why of Cultural Proficiency

Session 3 Objectives Define Culture, Cultural Proficiency, and Education That is Multicultural. List the reasons why it is important to become culturally proficient as an educator. Understand what we know about school systems who are successfully closing the achievement gap. Understand the points along the Cultural Proficiency Continuum. Analyze where their school system or school is along the Continuum regarding specific policies or practices. 2

Write a definition for each… Culture Education That is Multicultural Cultural Proficiency 3

C ULTURE M ATTERS Culture is the lens through which we view the world. Culture does not determine ability, but it shapes how it is processed and expressed. Students do not enter schools as empty vessels. 4

Culture is … Elements of Culture 1.Values and beliefs 2.Communication patterns 3.Social relationships a set of learned behaviors, traditions, beliefs, and a way of life created by a group of people. 5

E LEMENTS OF C ULTURE (CONT’D) 4. Diet and food preparation 5. Dress and other body decorations 6. Religion, religious practices 7. Family structure 8. Traditions and customs 9. View of time 10. Recreation, leisure 6

Enduring Understanding: Race and Culture exert a powerful influence on teaching and learning. Essential Questions: 1.How do awareness, knowledge, and understanding of one’s own cultural identity promote effective learning and teaching? 2.How do awareness, knowledge, and understanding of the cultural identity of students promote effective learning and teaching? 3.How can educators establish learning environments that are conscious of race and culture to ensure implementation of culturally relevant instruction? 4.How do educators become culturally proficient? 7 Harford County Public Schools - Office of Equity and Cultural Proficiency

8 Multiculturalism ultimately is a way of thinking. It’s thinking about concepts from different people’s vantage points. It’s recognizing other perspectives, but it’s more than recognition. It’s caring and taking action to make our society more just and more humane. …is a continuous, integrated, multiethnic, multidisciplinary process for educating all students about diversity and commonality. EDUCATION THAT IS MULTICULTURAL… …prepares students to live, learn, interact, and work creatively in an interdependent global society by fostering mutual respect and appreciation. …is a process which is complemented by community and parent involvement in support of multicultural initiatives. Diversity factors include, but are not limited to race, ethnicity, region, religion, gender, language, socio- economic status, age and physical ability.

Cultural proficiency is … A mind set, a way of being, a worldview, a paradigm shift for some. 9

Cultural proficiency is … The use of specific tools for effectively describing, responding to, and planning for issues that emerge in diverse environments. 10

Cultural proficiency is … Policies and practices at the organizational level and values and behaviors of the leader that enable effective cross-cultural interactions among students, teachers, administrators, and community. 11

Inside-Out The goal of cultural proficiency inquiry is viewing change as an “inside-out” process in which one becomes aware of unintended or unconscious decisions, actions, and attitudes that impede the learning of children and youth, and then systematically dismantle the barriers, replacing them with culturally proficient policies, practices, and behaviors. 12

A culturally proficient teacher recognizes what the learner brings to the instructional content and acknowledges those contributions and perspectives in two ways: - How the instructional material is delivered - How the instructor engages with the learners Culturally proficient instructors open the minds and hearts of learners, affirming that differences are not deficits. 13

Created by Dr. Jacqueline Brown March 2001 HCPSS

A number of shifts have taken place in society giving rise to a cultural proficiency imperative: Shifting population demographics Shifting in a world or global economy Shifting the social integration and interaction paradigm Shifting the goal from assimilation to biculturalism 15

ETM Regulation COMAR 13A To accelerate academic achievement To increase cultural proficiency 16

Find your assigned section and summarize its major components to share with other groups:  Curriculum  Instruction  Staff Development  Instructional Resources 17

Report of the Task Force on the Education of Maryland’s African American Males 18 Recommendations 18

Data Collection and Analysis … is critical to raising people’s awareness that we are not serving some of our student groups. Without the data, we can get caught in the “opinion quicksand” and “blame game” and never get on with the business of realigning systems and subsystems so that all students receive the educational opportunities promised to them. For change to be effective, you must begin where you and your school are, not where you want yourself or the school to be. 19

Review and analyze for disproportionality the county data on … MSA HSA 20

Education Access Measures In addition to standardized testing, consider these educational access measures: Student Attendance Student Suspensions Student Dropout and Expulsion Rates Student Enrollment in Special Programs – Remedial Programs – Special Education Programs – Gifted and Talented Programs – Honors and Advanced Placement Courses – Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) and International Baccalaureate (IB) Programs Additional High School Indicators Enrollment and Successful Completion of Algebra I Accumulation of High School Credits Percent of Students Receiving D or E Graduation Rates College Preparation and Entrance Indicators Postgraduate Surveys 21

Reflections on Achievement Conversations How are conversations about learners framed where you work? Do you and your colleagues talk in terms of enabling learners? Does the conversation ever shift to external reasons why they don’t learn (e.g., culture, socioeconomic status, or level of education)? Think back to a time when you were engaged in conversation with colleagues that focused on why learners were not performing well. Was the focus on the time that the learners were not in the classroom (e.g., sociocultural influences), or was the focus on the time spent with the instructors? Do you tend to gravitate to those things over which you have minimal control or influence or to those that are in your sphere of influence? Are you taking control of the situation? 22

Reasons for the Gap From independent research of Hale, Hilliard, Kuykendall Teaching and learning in our schools are often incongruent with the learning style of students at risk. The lack of trust between schools and home/community has a negative impact on student achievement. Students have just begun to understand their own culture when they have to enter school and function in a learning environment that does not reflect their culture. Institutional racism has a strong subliminal effect on the aspirations and academic success of low achieving students. In schools with high percentages of African-American and poor students, there is a tendency for high mobility of the professional staff. Sometimes, teachers unintentionally convey lower expectations for minority and low-income students. African-American students tend to reject the “goods” offered by our schools, citing, “It is not about us.” African-American students often exhibit belligerent behavior towards school in which they feel excluded. Linguistic differences interfere with reading and learning. 23

Equity vs. Equality 24

25 Equality: All individuals receive equal treatment. Equity: Everyone gets what he/she needs in order to reach the same goals.

Critical Factors Necessary to Close the Racial Achievement Gap Passion – the level of connectedness educators bring to anti-racism work and to district, school, or classroom equity transformation. One’s passion must be strong enough to overwhelm institutional inertia, resistance against change, and the system’s resilience or its desire to maintain the status quo. Practice – the essential individual and institutional actions taken to effectively educate every student to his or her full potential. One must gain knowledge and use research-based practices which are effective with students of color. Persistence – the willingness of a school system to “stick with it” despite slow results, political pressure, new ideas, and systemic inertia or resistance to change. A persistent school system institutionalizes real school change with effective leadership, classroom implementation, and community partnerships. 26

W HAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT SYSTEMS WHO ARE CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP ? They make NO EXCUSES. Everybody takes RESPONSIBILITY for student learning. They do not leave anything about TEACHING and LEARNING to chance. They know that GOOD TEACHERS matter more than anything else. 27

28 An inclusive school is one in which everyone belongs, is accepted, supports, and is supported by, his or her peers and other members of the school community in the course of having his or her educational needs met. In an effective, inclusive school, staff members, students, and parents … Believe that all children belong as part of the school community Emphasize learning for all students Provide equal opportunities for all students Equally value all persons View each person as a unique individual Learn from and about people with diverse characteristics Work together in a problem solving organization Share the responsibility for all students

Self Reflection Please complete the Cultural Proficiency Receptivity Scale 29

The Cultural Proficiency Tools The Continuum –Language for describing both healthy and non-productive policies, practices and individual behaviors The Essential Elements – Behavioral standards for measuring and planning for growth toward cultural proficiency The Guiding Principles –Underlying values of the approach The Barriers –Caveats that assist in responding effectively to resistance to change 30

31 The Conceptual Framework for Culturally Proficient Practices

See the difference, make it wrong. See the difference, stomp it out. See the difference, understand the difference that difference makes. See the difference, act as if you don’t. See the difference, respond inadequately. See the difference, respond positively and affirmatively. Cultural Incapacity Cultural Destructiveness Cultural Blindness Cultural Precompetence Cultural Competence Cultural Proficiency Cultural Incapacity Cultural Destructiveness Cultural Blindness Cultural Precompetence Cultural Competence Cultural Proficiency Cultural Proficiency Continuum 32

Cultural Destructiveness Examples Genocide or Ethnocide Shun/Avoid certain curriculum topics 33 Using one’s power to eliminate the culture of another. “See the difference; stomp it out.”

Cultural Incapacity “See the difference; make it wrong.” 34 Believing in the superiority of one’s own culture and behaving in ways that disempower another’s culture. Examples Lowered expectations Expecting “others” to change: My way or the highway.

Examples Discomfort in noting difference Beliefs/actions that assume world is fair and achievement is based on merit Acting as if cultural differences do not matter or as if there are not differences among/between cultures. “See the difference; act like you don’t.” Cultural Blindness 35

Cultural Pre-Comp etence “See the difference; respond to it inappropriately.” Recognizing the limitations of one’s skills or an organization's practices when interacting with other cultural groups. Examples Delegate diversity work to others, to a committee Quick fix, packaged short-term programs 36

Examples Advocacy On-going education of self and others Interacting with others using the five essential elements of cultural proficiency as the standard for behavior and practice. “See the difference; understand the difference that difference makes.” Cultural Competence 37

Examples Interdependence Personal change and transformation Esteem culture; knowing how to learn about organizational culture; interacting effectively in a variety of cultural groups. “See the difference; respond positively. Engage and adapt.” Cultural Proficiency 38

Using the Cultural Proficiency Continuum definitions, categorize the quotes along the Continuum. 39

The School System Policies Your School 40

“What Ought to Be…” … listening… requires not only open eyes and ears, but open hearts and minds. We do not really see through our eyes or hear through our ears, but through our beliefs... -Lisa Delpit 41

“What Ought to Be…” It is not easy, but it is the only way to learn what it might feel like to be someone else and the only way to start the dialogue. -Lisa Delpit 42

Embracing Diversity Embracing diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. It means understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing our individual differences. These can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies. It is the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. It is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual. 43

Respond by your reflection on where you are personally on the Continuum and how you might change your beliefs or practices to move further along the Continuum. 44

45 Closing Thought …. People fail to get along because they fear each other. They fear each other because they don’t know each other. They don’t know each other because they haven’t properly communicated with each other. - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Let us, as educators, break this cycle, and foster understanding and harmony among all people of our world.