1. The Cultural Proficiency Continuum
ELPS 715
CSUN

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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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……..