MODULE FOUR:

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MODULE FOUR
Cultural Competency
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Objectives

• Students will
• Define culture.
• Understand and identify their own culture.
• Identify and understand stereotypes and myths
  about cultures.
  
• Understand how important it is to be culturally
  competent (aware and respectful of other
  cultures) when providing volunteer and health
  related service in the community.

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What is culture?
Culture is the shared values, traditions, norms,
customs, arts, history, folklore, and
institutions of a group of people.
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Culture involves three components

• What people think
• What people do
• The materials and products people produce

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Culture is made up of many aspects

• Race Ethnicity
• Hometown Religion
• Experiences Spirituality
• Talents Abilities
• Disabilities Languages

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Culture is individual

• People may share a culture because they live in
  the same town.
  
• However, just because they are the same race, it
  doesnt mean they always have the same religious
  beliefs or educational background.
  
• Also, there can be cultural differences between
  two people who speak the same language and look
  alike, but come from different areas of a
  country.

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Culture is always changing

• Education
• Experience
• Club memberships
• Hobbies or free-time activities
• Religion or spiritual beliefs

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No one has a single culture.
For example, one person may be all of these
things

• A mother
• A Chinese immigrant
• A member of the board of education
• A student
• A member of a basketball team

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Each culture has its own

• Rules
• Beliefs
• Language
• Traditions
• Norms
• Values

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As a volunteer, how can I maintain cultural
competence?

• Know something about your own culture.
• Understand that you will not agree with all other
  cultures.
  
• Understand that it is okay to be different.
• If you do not understand something, ask
  questions!
  
• Be respectful of the culture of others, clients
  and health care workers.

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According to the 2000 U.S. Census Bureau data,
the ethnic/racial breakdown of the population of
the United States is as follows

• 281,421,906 people
• 75.1 Caucasian
• 69.1 Caucasian persons not of Hispanic/Latino
  origin
  
• 12.5 Hispanic or Latino
• 12.3 African American
• 3.6 Asian
• .9 American Indian or Alaska Native
• .1 Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
• 5.5 reporting to some other race
• 2.4 reporting to two or more races

Source U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary
File 3, www.census.gov.
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Language Barriers
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According to the 2000 U.S. Census Bureau,
262,375,152 people speak a language

• Of the total speakers, 215,423,557 speak English
  
  
• 46,951,595 speak a language other than English

Source U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary
File 3, www.census.gov.
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Non-English speakers

• Of the total 46,951,595 non-English speakers
• 28,101,052 speak Spanish
• 2,022,143 speak Chinese
• 1,643,838 speak French
• 706,242 speak Russian
• 614,582 speak Arabic

Source U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary
File 3, www.census.gov.

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There are more than 100 languages designated as
official by governments worldwide. The United
Nations has six official languages

• English French
• Spanish Russian
• Chinese Arabic

Source National Virtual Translation Center
www.NVTR.gov.
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Language statistics worldwide

• Chinese (Mandarin) is the most widely spoken
  language in the world.
  
• English is the second

Source National Virtual Translation Center
www.NVTR.gov.
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Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
No person in the United States shall, on the
ground of race, color or national origin, be
excluded from participation in, be denied the
benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination
under any program or activity receiving Federal
financial assistance.
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Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

• Protects individuals against employment
  discrimination on the basis of race and color,
  national origin, sex, or religion.
  
• Prohibits employers from discriminating against
  individuals because of their religion in hiring,
  firing, and other terms and conditions of
  employment.
• It also requires employers to allow, within
  reason, an employee the time or place to
  practice their religion.

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Remember

• No one culture is the best culture.
• No one culture is the right culture.
• Just because a culture is different does not
  make it wrong.
  
• No one has just one culture.
• Cultures are constantly changing.

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Summary

• No one has a single culture.
• The Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects against
  discrimination of any kind.