authentic collaboration with diverse families “ individual consideration is key” dec - new...
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Authentic Collaboration with Diverse Families
“ Individual Consideration is Key”
DEC - New Possibilities Institute
With Focus on F1-F10 especially F8
Burlington , May 1,2014
Susan M. Moore, Professor - Clinical, Director, Clinical Education & Services, SLHS, University of Colorado,
Boulder Clara Pérez- Méndez, President, Puentes Culturales
Families
Learner ObjectivesParticipants will :
Explore concepts of family and culture to better understand similarities and differences within a framework of individual consideration of unique characteristics of each and every family
Review current demographic trends impacting changes in practice with families of young children we serve
Reflect and discuss differing perspectives, expectations, assumptions, common stereotypes and/or biases influencing the development of responsive practices from all to each family. How does this impact our practice? What should we do?
Agenda
Exploring Concepts of Family & Culture
Listening to Family Stories: Video
Exploring Influencing Factors Impacting Our Practice
Implications for Practice
Self Refection
Assumptions: Assumptions: Trust - Information - ChoiceTrust - Information - Choice
Families develop the ability to interact with professionals and advocate for their children only when they:
trust in the responsiveness of the system of supports and services,
are knowledgeable about how this system works, and
have enough information to select the appropriate choices for their child and family.
Definitions of Family
Families are big, extended, nuclear, multigenerational, with one parent, two parents, and grandparents. We live under one roof or many. A family can be temporary as a few weeks, or as permanent as forever, We become part of a family by birth, adoption, marriage, or from a desire for mutual support…
Family
…a family is a creature unto itself, with different values and unique ways of realizing its dreams; together our families become the source of our rich cultural heritage and spiritual diversity…our families create neighborhoods, communities, states, and nations.”
Report from the House Memorial 5 Task Force on Young Children and Families, New Mexico,1990
A Family…
“is a group of people who make an irrational commitment to each other’s wellbeing to the point of making each other crazy.”
U. Bronfenbrenner
OR
“happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close -knit family in another city.”
George Burns
Similarities & Differences
Think about your family: Quickly draw/sketch your family picture
Share your family picture with a partner and identify similarities and differences according to: Race /EthnicityFamily constellation (single parent, nuclear,
extended, etc.)Heritage Languages spoken in your
“family”Beliefs /Values especially about disability
Families
What do all families have in common in terms of a vision for their future?
Love
Health
Friends
Success (as they will define success)
Happiness ( as they will define happiness)
Families: Cultural Diversity
“There exists no generic entity which may be dubbed the Southeast Asian family, the Native American family… each of these categories encompasses numerous cultures, their individual members may share tendencies in some areas and not in others. Individuals and families will be found to lie along different points of their cultural continuum ( from traditional, for example to fully bicultural). These are valid cultural distinctions only in the very broadest sense of the term.”
Anderson & Fenichel, 1989, Zero to Three
Parent Perspective
“To make progress and have a family go in a positive direction, the family has to feel valued… that the information they are sharing is just as important as is the information the professionals are sharing…for the family to feel this is critical to success”
Linda Roan Yager ~ Parent
Family Stories (S. Sanchez,1999)
By listening to family stories we can…
Understand families’ experiences,
Identify family strengths and resilience,
Encourage the establishment of meaningful relationships by understanding the interaction between language and culture in the lives of families, and
Understand that all families are unique and need to be respected for decisions they make.
Understanding Family
“It’s about walking in the shoes of another”
Take the risk ! Exchange shoes with the person next to you. Can you walk in their shoes? Can you understand who they are? Are they the same size? Are they the same style? What do you understand better about who this person is? What they value? What does this tell you about this person next to you?
Learn About Family ~
Several representatives of families from cultures different from the mainstream share their stories with us so we might better understand perspectives from each and every family we might work with in. Let’s listen and be open to similarities and differences that can inform our practice. See questions they are being asked to address on handout. Would having this information change how you or your team might meet their needs or answer their questions in your practice.
Listening to Families
Thank you!
Thank you to these individuals who are willing to share their perspectives and provoke discussion of how we might better understand the relationship of culture and family and how we might better meet their children’s or communities’ needs
Patricia Maycott ~ PEAK Parent Center
Omar Nor ~ Somali Community Center
Yvette Plummer ~ CPRC
Siham Jodeh ~ Interpreter, Translator
Questions: Table Top TalkQuestions: Table Top Talk
What did you hear from parents in terms of meeting their child’s individual needs?
What is challenging or concerning about their stories?
How would your current assessment processes and practices address their needs?
How would your current procedures and practices need to changed to be more responsive to cultural, linguistic, or other differences.
What supports would work for each and every family being seen in your setting? This begs the question … “Does one size fit all?”
Themes
Trust
Communication…Learn from family
Positive reframe about child …Reassurance
Privacy
Shared expectations
Others?
What is culture?
A continuation of the journey…
What is our understanding of the influence of culture in building relationships with families? Diving Deeper
What is Culture?“Everyone has a culture, but often individuals are
not aware of the behaviors, habits, and customs that are culturally based” Hall, 1976
Each of us brings our own culture, values beliefs and experiences to each relationship we build with families…our background and experiences affect everything we do…they provide us a “cultural lens” through which we view how we ourselves raise our children, how we organize our household, how we talk and use language, how we view disability…we need to enlarge our cultural lens to “wide angle” to understand other’s experiences, values, and beliefs and how these influence each and every family.
Another Definition
“Culture can be conceptualized as the specific framework of meanings within which a population, individually and as a group, shapes it life ways… it is an ongoing process, within which individuals are constantly reworking or trying out new ideas and behaviors.” Anderson & Fenichel, 1989, Roberts 1990
The Nature of Culture
Culture is not static: it is dynamic and ever-changing
Culture, language, ethnicity, and race are not the only determinants of one’s values, beliefs, and behaviors
In describing any culture or cultural practice, within group differences are as great as across group differences ….sometimes greater.
Dimensions of culture and ethnicity are typically frames in terms of differences in relation to another group…the majority/mainstream culture
Everyone is the product of one or more cultures and everyone has a culture Lynch & Hanson,2004
Cultural Continuum
Where are you on a cultural continuum in respect to values of: Extended Family ………….. Nuclear FamilyInter-dependence …………..IndividualityNurturance …………………IndependenceTraditional ……………….. .. TechnologyBroad Ownership…………Individual & SpecificDifferentiated Rights………….EqualityHarmony……………………..Control
Lynch & Hanson, 2004
Stages of Cultural Competence
Cultural Awareness involves a providers sensitivity to his or her personal beliefs, values and biases and how they might influence perceptions of a family.
Cultural knowledge involves providers seeking information and knowledge of a family’s cultural world view and expectations.
Cultural skills involve the provider’s ability to intervene in a manner that is culturally sensitive and relevant.
Sue, Ivey & Peterson, 1996
Cultural Competence
“Cultural competence is a term that describes what happens when special knowledge about individuals and groups of people is incorporated into standards, policies, and practices. The process of achieving cultural competence is one that leads not only to an appreciation of families and their unique backgrounds, but also to an increase in the quality and effectiveness of services, producing better outcomes.”
RecognitionandResponse.org , copyright © 2007-2008 National Center for Learning Disabilities, Inc.
Why is cultural competence important?
“Within an early childhood setting, cultural competence means finding ways to infuse knowledge and appreciation of other cultures into daily practice. Very often, early childhood classrooms are filled with students from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, but the unique features of these different cultural communities is not well understood by educators and therefore not well integrated into classroom and school-wide practice. Establishing cultural competence is an ongoing and long-term process that demands enthusiasm and curiosity about other cultures and a willingness to adapt educational practices to mirror the values and special characteristics of children and their families” RTI Action Network
Have a set of values and principles that recognize diversity;
Demonstrate behaviors, attitudes, policies, and structures that enable them to work effectively cross-culturally and value diversity;
Conduct self-assessment to ensure sensitivity to cultural characteristics;
Be committed to manage the "dynamics of difference;”
Learn about and incorporate cultural knowledge into practices, and
Adapt to diversity and the cultural contexts of the communities you serve.
How can you build it?
Danger of Assumptions
“Cultural assumptions are beliefs which are so completely accepted within the group that they do not need to be stated, questioned, or defended .”(Chen, et al, 1998)
CAVEAT ! However, there is danger in assuming that because a family has certain cultural beliefs in common that they can be stereotyped in terms of adhering to all beliefs and patterns associated with their culture.
Additive Attitudes
A sea change is needed so “each and every child and family that comes with a rich
cultural legacy can be understood, respected, and celebrated.”G. Gay, 2002
Impact: The Pérez-Méndez family from Mexico celebrates and lives “la familia,” which translates into family traditions, speaking their native language in their home, learning English as a second language, and maintaining connections with family that respect the “elders,” and four generations of living relatives.
Subtractive AttitudesOften, preserving home language and culture is not a choice given subtractive attitudes towards families who do not speak English fluently or who do not adopt the life ways of the majority of English speaking families in the community.
Impact: The Sanchez family children give up their heritage language and traditions in order to avoid discrimination visited upon the parents while they were growing up. These parents were punished for speaking their language of heritage in public schools and do not want the same experience for their children.
Similarities and Differences What do you know about cross cultural
perspectives about education, life ways, disability? Do you know what questions to ask? Do you know how to ask these questions?
African American, Anglo European American, Asian,
Hispanic Latino, Hmong, Indigenous American Nations
Korean, Somali…
What do you need to know? How will you find out?
Life Ways Activity: Continuity?
What were the key messages you received growing up in your family of origin about:
Early education and care
Family
Differences/diversity?
New comers?
People with disabilities?
Have your key messages changed? What will you pass on to your children?
Dynamic Nature of Culture
Selected examples … Has it changed?
“Babies should cry… it is good for their lungs”~ Aunt Fanny
“Mother’s should stay home to care for their babies…she is too young to go to school…She’s only three years old” ~ Grandpa
“Don’t tell anyone…keep it in the family” ~ My mother
“They don’t belong here…they change the neighborhood” ~ My father
“Don’t stare at that child”~Your aunt
“Those” poor children should be in special settings. ~ ?
Change over time…
“The context, [of a family story or of a culture], is not a stagnant environment or a set of experiences frozen in time. Changes in environment and increased knowledge of how systems work are two factors that cause sociohistorical context as well as the person living within that context to change.”
Leistgna & Woodrum, 1996 quoted in Sanchez, 1999.
Moving Beyond Stereotypes
“ All families, in fact, vary greatly in the degree in which their beliefs and practices are representative of a particular culture, language group, religious group, or country of origin.”
Eva Thorpe, 1997
Assimilation… Acculturation… & Marginalization…Continuum of Cultural Identification
Assimilation is when identified groups give up their culture and adopt the mainstream values and beliefs of the mainstream culture “mainstreamers”…
Assimilation can be forced ( e.g. American government & American Indians), or a reaction to fear of discrimination and prejudice for many immigrant populations, or a choice by those wanting to adopt the life ways of the majority culture
Acculturation
Described as a process from those who hold fast to their traditional life ways and beliefs to those who not only operate primarily with the dominant culture, but adopt the standard values of the mainstream culture…Families may move about on this continuum ….often associated with choice (bicultural) to maintain aspects of cultural identity while adopting aspects of the mainstream or dominant culture.
Marginalization
Culturally marginal individuals are those individuals who essentially follow their own way and do not identify with any particular cultural group . In some instances rejecting their culture of heritage but not accepting the vales life ways of the mainstream, and thus are considered marginalized from society
Factors of Influence
SUPPORTSUPPORTeducation
Implications for Practice
Does this information about families and culture change our understanding of individual consideration?
What can we do the same and what can we do differently to meet family needs?
What are the factors of influence we recognize in our own practice? Are we family-centered?
Family Centered Practices
“Family-centered practices are characterized by beliefs and practices that treat families with dignity and respect; practices that are individualized, flexible, and responsive to family situations; information sharing so that families can make informed decisions; family choice regarding any number of aspects of program practices and intervention options; parent-professional collaboration and partnerships…
Family Centered Practices
…as a context for family-program relations; and the active involvement of families in mobilization of resources and supports necessary for them to care for and rear their children in ways that produces optimal child, parent, and family benefits.”
C. Dunst et al., 2008
Family Centered Practice
“The implementation of family centered practice often seems like an elusive goal, even when working with populations matching our own backgrounds, but is further complicated when working with culturally and linguistically diverse populations whose views and language are different from our own” Sanchez, 1999
How does this apply in our currentcontext or a changing world?
Macro vs. Micro View
Changing Demographics
Our Changing World: Macro
The rate of growth of DLLs in the school systems has been dramatic over the past decade, with some Southern states experiencing 300 to 400 percent increases. In some parts of the country, more than 50 percent of the preschool population comes from non-English-speaking homes.
Linda M. Espinosa, 2009.
Who are these children?Students who immigrated before kindergarten
U.S.-born children of immigrants (native-born) 76% of DLLs in grades K-856% of DLLs in grades 9-12
(Batalova, Fix, and Murray, 2007)
By 2015, second generation children of immigrants are expected to be 30% of the school-aged population.
What’s happened in Vermont?
(U.S. Department of Education, NCELA, 2007)
Growth
Vermont
Most Common Languagesof Dual Language Learners…What about your community?
Poverty and/or Language Difference as a factor…
What do we know about the impacts of poverty on young children? (Hart & Risley, 1995)
What do we know about children whose first language is other than English? (Kohnert, 2008; Espinoza, 2011, CLASP, 2005, Genesse, 2010; Castro & Espinoza, 2011)
Micro View: A SAMPLE COUNTY THOUGHT TO BE AFFLUENT
An estimated nearly one in five children under age 5 (18.2%) were below poverty in 2010, almost double the rate in 2000. Hispanic children under age 18 were more than 3 times as likely to be in poverty as were non-Hispanic children in 2010 (35.65% compared to 10.8%)
WHAT ARE THE STATISTICS IN YOUR WORLD?
Paradigm Shift: Does attitude make a difference?
Deficit Model: “closing the achievement gap,” “children at risk,” “students who are
failing,”“drop outs”
Versus
Strengths-Based Paradigm Shift: Children who come
to school are rich in cultural legacy and are viewed as competent learners
G. Gay, 2005
More than Language
Bilingualism: Research tells us….
Advantages : cognitive, socioeconomic, educational
Myths: Does not cause language delay
What about self-identity, self esteem, and connections with family?
Shift to Prevention: Another influencing factor…
“Waiting to fail” versus recognition of a learning challenge with responses that may ameliorate or prevent the occurrence of failure.
RtI/R&R in Pre-K makes sense! How do we implement in a family centered, culturally responsive way?
Multi-tiered Framework
Focus Points: Do we agree?
Use research and evidence-based interventions based upon intervention hierarchy or tiered approach
Assess competently which includes gathering information from multiple sources, ongoing progress monitoring, and use of assessment data to inform We can successfully teach children with diverse cultural, linguistic, and learning characteristics if we…
Intervene early…distinguishing between language differences vs. language challenges… All ELLs may need support
Initiate practices that are family-centered, culturally competent, and individualized
instruction
Implications for PracticeImplications for Practice
Would you agree?
Each Parent and family benefits from:
Respectful and trusting relationships with providers based upon individual consideration
Meaningful engagement in all aspects of the assessment process and educational planning for their children
Implications for Practice (cont.)Implications for Practice (cont.)
Educators and specialists who understand cultural differences ( life ways, beliefs, expectations of education, differences in child rearing practices, language differences, concepts of assimilation and acculturation, marginalization) are better prepared to address unique characteristics of families they work with.
Educators and specialists that understand patterns of 2nd language acquisition, influencing factors, patterns of children internationally adopted and who can distinguish language differences from disorders are also better prepared to meet the needs of children and families.
Continued…
Educators and specialists who share information regarding current research about bilingualism
Educators and specialists who listen to and consider all background variables
Educators and specialists who adopt non-biased or anti-biased assessment practices
Educators and specialists who link authentic assessments to intervention as needed yet also provide information about community resources
What Can I Do Personally to What Can I Do Personally to Become More Culturally Become More Culturally Responsive?Responsive?
Examine you own culture, beliefs, values and bias A Cultural Journey Lynch & Hanson, 3th edition,2004
Learn about other beliefs, life ways, values and history of those from cultures different from your own. Move outside of your comfort zone.
Avoid assumptions and stereotypes and focus on individualization through development of skilled dialogue http://www.naeyc.org/membercontent/using-skilled-dialogue
from I. Barrera, L. Kramer, and D. MacPherson. Skilled Dialogue for Responding to Cultural Diversity in Early Childhood, Second edition. Copyright © 2012 by Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., Inc. Baltimore.
What else can I do?
Learn from cultural mediators and from families by listening to family stories Beyond Words www.landlockedfilms.com
Adopt “ethnographic” interviewing strategies(Westby et al, 2003 www.ashaleader.com ) & Individualized Planning of Assessments: Pathways, A Child & Family Journey, UCB. www.slhs.colorado.edu
Read “working with culturally and lingusitcally diverse families” from RTI Action network www.rtinetwork.org/learn/diversityculturalcompetence
Individual Consideration in a Context of Difference
What else?What else?Recognize barriers to communication, cultural
dilemmas and advocate for and effectively use cultural mediators, interpreters and translators Beyond Words, www.landlockedfilms.com or come tomorrow afternoon
Maintain relationships with families using culturally competent, relevant, and meaningful Skilled Dialogue and go to the 3rd space in a context of anchored understanding…Barrera et al, 2012.
Visit www.puentesculturales.com and read chapters and articles by Moore & Pérez-Méndez
Parting Words: Building Relationships of Trust
“What they need… they need to know about our culture… how we raise our kids… what we do when they are sick… when they are with adults… when they eat, and when they go to school. They need to learn how we think and feel as a family about our kids.” Maria Sandoval ~ Parent
Develop Shared Expectations
Understand Family From Their Understand Family From Their PerspectivePerspective
Consider:
Prior negative experience
Impacts of disproportionate representation in special education
Moving beyond stereotypes about family participation
Cultural conflicts based on expectation discrepancies and experience
Fear of discrimination and prejudice
Consider their Experience
Again, It’s About Individual Again, It’s About Individual ConsiderationConsideration
“All families, in fact, vary greatly in the degree in which their beliefs and practices are representative of a particular culture, language group, religious group, or country of origin.”
Eva Thorp, 1997
Questions? Concerns? Discussion?
It’s in Every One of Us!
Please complete your evaluation of todays work and have a productive day tomorrow!
Thank you!
Human ResourcesClara Pérez-Méndez
Puentes Culturales
www.puentesculturales.com
303-459-4529
Susan M. Moore
University of Colorado at Boulder