Multicultural Competence: Best Practices for Serving Students, Parents, and Teachers in the 21st Century

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Multicultural Competence Best Practices for
Serving Students, Parents, and Teachers in the
21st Century
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Objectives The LSSP should be able to

• Describe disproportional ethnic representation in
  educational programing
• Describe how characteristics of schools,
  teachers, families, and students influence
  disproportional representation and school success
  
• Describe how improved multicultural sensitivity
  with schools and teachers can improve
  disproportional representation and school success
• List approaches to improving practices in
  consultation and assessment

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Why should we care?

• Diversity of US
• Ethical obligations
• Moral obligations
• Impact on practice

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What is Necessary to be Culturally Competent

• Understanding yourself
• Understanding others
• Understanding the interplay between the two

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Ethnic Representation in Educational Programing

• Academic
• Pre-referral
• Special Education
• Gifted and Talented
• Behavior
• Office referrals
• Disciplinary placement
• Dropout

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Quick Quiz!

• When compared with white students

1. Which group is more likely to be identified as
   MR?
2. Which group is more likely to be identified as
   ED?
3. Which group is more likely to be identified as
   LD?
4. Which group is more likely to participate in GT?
5. Which group is less likely to participate in GT
6. Which group is more likely to participate in free
   tutoring?

1. African American
2. African American
3. Native American
4. Asian Americans
5. African American, Native American and Hispanic
   American
6. AA and Hispanic

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Academic Representation

• Hispanic and AA gt to receive info about free
  tutoring
• Hispanic and AA gt to receive free tutoring
• Children of color gt referral for special
  education assessment.
• Children of color gt in particular settings and
  placements.
• Children of color lt to participate in GT
  curriculum.

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Disciplinary Representation

• African American students gt referrals,
  suspensions, expulsions
• Inequity in discipline for similar offenses
• African American and Hispanic students gt referred
  and placed in DAEPs for discretionary versus
  mandatory reasons.
• Drop rates in order Asians/Pacific Islanders
  Whites lt Blacks lt Hispanics

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Culture-Related Issues Contributing to
Disproportionality and School Failure

• Generally fall in two categories
• Teacher/System related sources
• Family and Community

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• Teacher/System Related Sources of Cultural
  Challenges

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Teacher/System Related Sources

• Use of assessment tools that do not accurately
  measure ability and potential
• Inequity of resources and funds to properly
  address needs
• Minimization of family and community involvement
• Failure to track trends of disproportionality

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Teacher-Related Perceptions and Behavior

• Teachers rarely recognize or acknowledge culture
  as an issue in the classroom
• Research supports differential treatment of
  students based on
• Communication
• Expectations

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Discussion

• What are the behavioral and academic implications
  for these differences in communication and
  expectations?
• What can you do?
• During the pre-referral stage (proactive
  approaches)
• During the referral stage
• Paying attention to verbal and nonverbal
  communication styles
• Understand differences and sources of student
  participation, interest, and how to use these
  differences

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• Family/community-Based Sources of Cultural
  Challenges

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Family/Community-Based Sources

• Low socio-economic status residing in more urban
  areas low parental involvement
• Lower level of parental educational
  attainment/less value placed on education
• Familys marginalized school experiences
• Familys lack of trust of educators and
  educational environments

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Discussion

• What are the behavioral and academic implications
  for children whose families/communities struggle
  with these sources of cultural challenges ?
• What can you do?
• During the pre-referral stage (proactive
  approaches)
• During the referral stage

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• Student-Based Source of Cultural Challenges

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Identity Development

• Identity development affects such constructs as
  motivation, competence, achievement
• Complex concept includes such issues as gender
  and ethnicity

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Ethnic Identity Defined

• Includes two processes
• Integrating ones own beliefs
• Integrating the beliefs of the environment

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Acculturation in Immigrants

• Two Models
• Unidimensional adopt host-culture beliefs and
  values and disregard their own
• Bi-dimensional acculturation occurs on two
  different continua
• More Less
• Host culture
• Native culture

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Acculturation in Immigrants

• Needs of students from ethnic groups differ based
  on longevity in U.S.
• Inverse relationship between high school
  achievement and of years family in US
• Willingness to seek psychological help found to
  be related to level of acculturation1

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Why is Ethnic Identity is Important in the
Context of School?

• History
• Desegregation awareness of ethnicity thought to
  be cause for lower self-esteem
• School strove to reduce or ignore differences
  among groups
• Research supported that acknowledging and
  honoring differences had positive effects

Those who cannot learn from history are doomed
to repeat it. George Santayana
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Why is Ethnic Identity is Important in the
Context of School?

• Significantly contributes to the understanding of
  risk and resilience.
• May impact
• Health
• Psychological adjustment
• Achievement
• Behavior
• Interpersonal Interactions peer and teacher

Theories and goals of education don't matter a
whit if you don't consider your students to be
human beings. Lou Ann Walker
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African Americans Students Ethnic Identity

• Psychological adjustment
• ? EI associated with ? self-esteem9
• African Americans ? self-esteem than Hispanic,
  White, and Asian students13?
• ?EI development have been found to be and
  indicator of ? levels of depression and positive
  general emotional adjustment16

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African Americans Students Ethnic Identity

• Interpersonal relationships
• Multiculturalism as a coping mechanism
• Academic Achievement
• EI was found to be correlated with GPA
• African American students typically do not rate
  themselves low on intelligence, academic ability
• Some evidence suggests that African American
  children are less likely to link academic
  achievement to self-concept
• Behavior
• EI associated with both externalizing and
  internalizing problems (Unlike white students)
• Positive EI associated with more active coping,
  fewer beliefs supporting aggression, and fewer
  aggressive behaviors

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White Students and Ethnic Identity

• Psychological adjustment
• Positive adjustment (depression, emotional) is
  not as strongly linked to higher level of EI as
  in African Americans, but some relationship does
  exist
• Lower levels of identity do predict difficult
  adjustment
• Similar level of self-esteem with Hispanic
  students, higher than Asian students

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Hispanic Students and Ethnic Identity

• Psychological Adjustment
• Consistent self-esteem with that of White
  students
• Achievement
• Hispanic students rated themselves lowest on
  intelligence

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Asian Students and Ethnic Identity

• Psychological adjustment
• Asian Students found to have the lowest level of
  Self-esteem
• Achievement
• Self-concept connected to academic achievement

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Native Americans Students Ethnic Identity

• Achievement
• Persistence greater for students whos EI was
  more well developed 11
• Psychological Adjustment
• No conclusive relationship found between EI and
  psychological adjustment
• Higher level of EI and Ego development helps
  competence, but intensifies emotional experiences

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Native Americans Students Ethnic Identity

• Behavior
• Impulsive Native American adolescents found to
  have least developed EI and highest level of
  interpersonal vulnerability
• Higher levels of EI associated with lower
  aggression, social problem behavior
• Interpersonal relationships
• Higher levels of EI associated with less peer
  conflict

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• Approaches to Improving Practices in
  Consultation and Assessment

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Approaches

• System-wide
• Identify school factors contributing to
  difficulties
• Enlist diverse multidisciplinary planning teams
• Provide high quality pre-referral services
• Learn culturally appropriate behavior management
  strategies
• Alternative assessment methods
• Diversify curriculum
• Provide Bridge programs

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Approaches Continued...

• Teacher
• Provide culturally appropriate and diverse
  behavior management strategies
• Provide alternative explanations for teacher
  observations
• Encourage cultural self-awareness
• Encourage higher expectations
• Provide concrete information

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Approaches Continued...

• The illiterate of the 21st century will not be
  those who cannot read and write, but those who
  cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. Alvin
  Toffler

• Family and Child
• Set higher standards and provide realistic honest
  feedback
• Emphasis the pragmatic and relevant function of
  education in the lives of specific groups
• Institute practices that embed achievement as
  part of students ethnic identity

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Approaches Continued...

• Do not focus on programs that raise self-esteem1
  as the main outcome
• Encourage the exploration of ethnic identity
• Focus should include both in-group and the
  greater society
• Identify the problem you are attempting to
  intervene on, and correctly link intervention

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Culturally Sensitive vs. Culturally Based Programs

• Culturally based
• Programs or interventions that combine culture,
  history, and core values as agents to encourage
  behavior change
• Culturally Sensitive
• In addition to cultural base, relative
  historical, environmental, and social forces are
  incorporated into the design, implementation, and
  evaluation of materials and programs12

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• Overview of Programs that use Culture to
  Improving Behavior and Achievement

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Culturally Sensitive vs. Culturally Based Programs

• Surface
• Includes external characteristics of culture
• Serves identification purposes
• Improves acceptance of message
• Deep
• Includes more embedded characteristics
• Involves how group members perceive issue
• Implications for the salience of the program for
  groups

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Culturally Sensitive vs. Culturally Based Programs

• Culturally Sensitive, Deep Structure programs
• Incorporate core beliefs and values of a group
• Incorporate culture in both how they are
  developed and in the content of the program
• Focus on the needs and strengths of the
  population they serve

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Programs

• Resolving Conflict Creatively Program
• K-12 program in social and emotional learning
• Involves multiple support areas
• Results demonstrate significant social and
  academic improvement

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Programs

• Project Aim
• Focus on reducing risk behaviors by increasing
  interest in development as an adult
• Fosters interest in a positive future self by
  including and discussing cultural models
• Results indicated reduction in at-risk sexual
  behavior

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Programs

• School-to-Jobs Program
• Focus is on self-concept, school bonding,
  performance
• Research indicates significant improvements in
  all areas for program participants

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References

• Identity References
• 1. Chung, R. H. G., Bryan, S. K, Abreu, J. M.
  (2004). Asian American
• multidimensional acculturation scale
  Development, factor analysis, reliability,
• and validity.  Cultural Diversity Ethnic
  Minority Psychology, 10, 66-80.
• 2. Demmert, W. G. (2005). The influences of
  culture on learning and assessment among
• Native American students.  Learning Disabilities
  Research Practice, 20, 16-23.
• 3. French, S. E., Kim, T. E., Pillado, O
  (2006). Ethnic identity, social group membership,
  and youth violence. In N. Guerra, E.P. Smith
  (Eds.) Preventing youth violence in a
  multicultural society. (pp. 47-73) Washington,
  DC American Psychological Association.
• 4. Fusick, L. B., Wendy C. (2004). Counseling
  at-risk Afro-American youth An
• examination of contemporary issues and effective
  school-based strategies. Professional School
  Counseling, 8, 109-115.
• 5. Guerra N., Smith, E.P. (Eds.) Preventing
  youth violence in a multicultural society.
  Washington, DC American Psychological
  Association.
• 6. Holcomb-McCoy, C. (2005). Ethnic identity
  development in early adolescence
• Implications and recommendations for middle
  school counselors. Professional School
  Counseling, 9
• 7. Peterson, R. L., Ishii-Jordan, S. (1994).
  Multicultural issues in the education of
• students with behavioral disorders. Cambridge,
  Massachusetts Brookline Books.
• 8. Pizarro, M., (2005). Chicanas and Chicanos in
  school racial profiling, identity battles,
• and empowerment / Marcos Pizarro. Austin
  University of Texas Press.
• 9. Phinney, J. S. (1992). The multigroup ethnic
  identity measure A new scale for use
• with diverse groups. Journal of Adolescent
  Research, 7(2), 156-176.

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References

• 10. Nelson, C. M., Leone, P. E., Rutherford, R.
  B. (2004). Youth delinquency
• Prevention and intervention. In Rutherford, R.
  B., Quinn, M. M., Mathur, S. R.
• Handbook of research in emotional and behavioral
  disorders. Pp. 282-301. New
• York Guilford Press.   
• 11. Newman, D. (2005). Ego development and ethnic
  identity formation in rural
• American Indian adolescents. Child Development,
  76, 734-746.
• 12. Resnicow, K., Soler, R., Braithwaite, R. L.
  (2000). Cultural sensitivity in substance
• use prevention. Journal of Community Psychology,
  28, 271-290.
• 13. Roth, B. M. (2005). Self-Esteem, ethnicity,
  and academic performance among American children.
  In C.L. Frisby, C. R. Reynolds (Eds.),
  Comprehensive handbook of multicultural school
  psychology (pp.557-610).
• 14. Umaata-Taylor., A. J. (2005). The Ethnic
  Identity Scale. In, What do children need
• to flourish Conceptualizing and measuring
  indicators of positive development.
• Series Title The Search Institute series on
  developmentally attentive community
• and society. (pp75-91).
• 15. Wigfield, A., Wagner, A. L. (2005).
  Competence, motivation, and identity
• development during adolescence. Handbook of
  competence and motivation. Pp.
• 222-239
• 16. Yasui, M., Dorham, C. L., Dishion, T. J.
  (2004).  Ethnic identity and psychological
• adjustment A validity analysis for European
  American and African American adolescents.
  Journal of Adolescent Research, 19, 807- 825.