Cultural Competence:

• Is an ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures & deliver culturally appropriate services

• Is a set of behaviors, attitudes and policies are present in a system, agency, or among professionals enabling effective work in cross-cultural situations

• Requires 4 cognitive components:

  • Awareness. Awareness is consciousness of one’s personal reactions to people who are different, ‘my worldview as influenced by my own position’ – ‘what are my biases and prejudices?’.

  • Attitude. Emphasizes the difference between training that increases awareness of cultural bias and beliefs, in general and training that has participants carefully examine their own beliefs and values about cultural differences.

  • Knowledge. Our values and beliefs about equality may be inconsistent with our behaviors, and we may be unaware of it – what is my knowledge about other cultural groups and their power?

  • Skills. Focuses on practicing cultural competence with an intentional commitment to lifelong learning and the development of cross-cultural skills.

• A developmental process (for individuals, systems and organizations) that evolves over time as one moves across the cultural competence continuum

• Requires considerable effort to develop, as well as searching for role models, and spending as much time as possible with other people who share a passion for cultural competence

 

Please check out the following resources to learn more about cultural competence:

 

Articles & Books:

Mercedes Martin & Billy E. Vaughn (2007). Strategic Diversity & Inclusion Management magazine, pp. 31–36. DTUI Publications Division: San Francisco, CA.

Nine-Curt, Carmen Judith. (1984) Non-verbal Communication in Puerto Rico. Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Melanie Tervalon and Jann Murray-Garcia. (1998). Cultural humility versus cultural competence. Journal of Health Care for the Poor

McGowan, Thomas (2011). Interpretive competence. Unpublished

Lum, Doman. (2010). Culturally competent practice: A framework for understanding diverse groups and social justice. Cengage Learning Publishing

 

Websites:

• Wikipedia (England)  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_competence

• Colorado Office of Health Disparities   www.cdphe.state.co.us/ohd/glossary.html

• Diversity Training University International (DTUI) http://www.dtui.com/

• EDCHANGE  http://www.edchange.org/ (this is a great resources with teaching ideas and articles)

• http://www.tolerance.org  (this is also a great resource with teaching ideas, a free e-newsletter or magazine and a great Facebook page)

• Teaching a People’s History from the Zinn Education Project - http://zinnedproject.org/posts/12353 (features 10 lesson plans)

• Yes Magazine – Maps That Stretch the Mind - maps that focus on understanding social justice and inclusion

 

Files:

• Twenty Things I Can Do to Be a Better Multicultural Educator

• Cultural Definitions

• Ten Commitments of a Multicultural Educator

• Cultural Competence Presentation 2011

• Respecting All Families

• Do’s and Don’ts with Parents