MARIN COUNTY
SCHOOL VOLUNTEERS
Cultural Proficiency Training
Cultural Proficiency vs. Cultural Competence
• Cultural proficiency is a paradigm shift from viewing
cultural differences as problematic to learning how to
interact effectively with other cultures
• Cultural competence is the behavior that aligns with
standards that move an organization or an individual
toward culturally proficient interactions
Source: Cultural Proficiency: A Manual for School Leaders,
by Randall B.Lindsey, Kikanza Nuri Robins, and Raymond D. Terrell
Culture and Diversity
Avoid the Negative
• Cultural destructiveness: eliminating other people’s cultures
• Cultural incapacity: believing in the superiority of one’s own
culture and behaving in ways that disempowered another’s
culture
• Cultural blindness: acting as if cultural differences do not
matter or as if there are no differences among and between
cultures
•CULTURALLY PROFICIENCY:TOOLS FOR SCHOOL LEADERS By Kikanza Nuri‐Robins, Delores B.Lindsey, Raymond D.Terrell, and Randall B. Lindsey
Culture and Diversity
• Valuing diversity means accepting and respecting
differences. People come from unique backgrounds, and
their customs, thoughts, ways of communicating, values,
traditions, and institutions vary accordingly. The choices
that individuals make are powerfully affected by culture.
• Cultural experiences influence choices that range from
recreational activities to subjects of study. Even how one
chooses to define family is determined by culture.
How to change the paradigm
Practice
• Think about an experience you had where your
preconceptions about a specific culture made you judge a
person based on you own beliefs.
• Was your judgment fair and certain?
• Why?
• Write your thoughts
And… Why is it so important?
Being competent in cross–cultural
functioning means learning new patterns
of behavior and effectively applying them in
the appropriate settings, allowing us to look
through the cultural lens to better serve
students from diverse populations.
English Language Learners
•More than 4 million elementary and secondary
students in the U.S. are
English-language learners (ELL)
• By 2050 “minority” students will account for
approximately 57 percent of the student population,
largely due to the increase of Latinos and Asians.
•In California, 21.6 % of the students enrolled in
public schools are ELL
•In Marin County, 13.9 % of the students enrolled in
public schools are ELL
English Learners in Public Schools: 2013
Data Source: As cited on kidsdata.org, California Dept. of Education, DataQuest (April 2014).
Students living in poverty
•In 2012, 31 million children each school day
received low-cost or free lunches across the nation.
•Children from families with incomes at or below 130
percent of the poverty level are eligible for free meals.
•Between July, 2013, and June, 2014, 130 percent of
the poverty level is $30,615 for a family of four; 185
percent is $43,568.
•Students participating in the free lunch program 2013:
California = 58%
Marin County = 26%
Student Eligibility to Receive Free or Reduced Price School Meals:
2013
Data Source: As cited on kidsdata.org, California Dept. of Education, Free/Reduced Price Meals Program & CalWORKS
Data Files (Feb. 2014); U.S. Dept. of Education, NCES Digest of Education Statistics (Feb. 2014).
IMPLICATIONS
Video: National Title I Conference
Cortisol and Stress: Brain Research and Learning – Tara Brown
High Expectations and Poverty
A real story from Marin County
By Isaac Cohem
This is also in Marin County
Questions
Remember to use
your cultural proficiency glasses
“Once you have learned how to be sensitive to the students’
distinctive backgrounds, experiences and learning styles, you
will view them this way without the aid of your special
glasses, because the essential elements of cultural
proficiency will serve you as especial glasses for recognizing
each student individual and unique cultural background.”
Source: Delores B. Lindsey, Randall B. Lindsey, Raymond D. Terrell
Essential Elements
• Culturally proficient people may not know all there is to know
about others who are different from them, but they know
how to take advantage of teachable moments, how to ask
questions without offending, and how to create an
environment that is welcoming to diversity and to change.
• Assess Culture
• Value Diversity
• Recognize and celebrate
Source: The Essential Elements of Cultural Proficiency Culturally Proficient: A Manual for School Leaders by Randy Lindsay
MCSV CONTACTS
Pamela Franklin
[email protected]
Melissa Marvan
[email protected]
Anne Kellogg
[email protected]
Mariana Lopez
[email protected]
Karen Bennett
[email protected]
Alicia Hovey
[email protected]
Main Office email [email protected]
Phone: 415.499.5896
www.mcsv.org