Introduction
The education system and workplace settings are becoming increasingly diverse. Individuals interact with people from other cultures daily; thus, the need to educate ourselves on effective intercultural working relationships to improve outcomes. In the video by the National Education Association (2010), different professors give their perspectives on what cultural competence means for educators. Dr. Sharon Nelson-Barber, the director for Culture & Language at WestEd defines cultural competence in education as, “creating a context that will honour students’ culture, students’ way of looking at the world, their value system.” It is about creating an environment that is safe that will allow students to be who they are. I resonate with Dr. Nelson-Barber’s perspective of cultural competence in that students can only be free and creative when they are in an environment that respects their culture and value system. Educators must equip themselves with personal and interpersonal awareness to understand different bodies of cultural knowledge and master the skills of cross-cultural teaching and culturally responsive teaching. Cultural competence is a rigorous process; it takes place over time and educators must be willing to put in the work.
Personal Philosophy
My personal philosophy of cultural competence is informed by the National Education Association (NEA) five basic cultural competence skills. The five tenets are valuing diversity, being culturally self-aware, knowing dynamics of difference, knowledge of students’ culture and institutionalizing cultural knowledge and diversity. Educators must learn to value diversity by accepting and respecting differences in their students ( Assemi et al., 2007) . Different cultural backgrounds have different customs, ways of communication, traditions and values; and educators should not discriminate against other students because of the culture and values or not treat them as equal as the cultures they are used to.
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Secondly, educators should be culturally self-aware. Self-awareness is the foundation of cultural awareness. Self-awareness involves identifying the underlying cultural assumptions that make us perceive or act in a particular manner towards people from another culture. Cultural competence experts advise people to seek feedback from colleagues or students about their behavior and how they are viewed. It is easy for someone to say that he/she is not a racist, and yet the behavior and beliefs towards other races or cultures say otherwise. Self-awareness is about identifying the patterns of their own behavior so that one can easily predict how his/her behavior will affect others.
Apart from being aware of their behavior, educators must know the student’s culture. Having knowledge of the student’s culture will make it easy to understand why they behave in a particular manner. Lastly, educators have to take the step of institutionalizing cultural knowledge to serve a diverse population better.
Culturally competent curriculum development, assessment, program design, and program evaluation
A culturally competent education system can only be achieved when all the processes, including development, assessment, program design, and evaluation are modified. According to Echeverri et al. (2010), as we continue to make changes to the curriculum, the changes should entail the cultural diversity in society. The system should touch on the issues of cultural diversity, stereotypes, and how to achieve cultural competence. A culturally competent curriculum entail different aspects of different cultures. One of the main challenges of the American curriculum is that it uses the perspective of the dominant group which is always assumed to be right and other perspectives are deemed wrong. A culturally competent curriculum is open to different interpretations, especially for social and historical teachings.
The curriculum development process is classified into the four stages of gathering information, design, building content, and evaluation. Landa & Stevens (2017) suggest the use of Deardorff’s model in curriculum development. The model focuses on how the course content and pedagogical practices in literature will impact the development of cultural competence in students. The model is also interested in how students express their developing cultural competence. When gathering cultural competence information, curriculum developers and teachers should immerse themselves in cultural activities. They should attend workshops and family literacy nights with Latino, African America, Chinese families among others to understand the needs and unique characteristics of each culture. Being a part of a cultural minority will change the perspectives of teachers. The teachers will also have a first-hand experience of the culture through ongoing conversations. A position paper by Mews et al. (2018) on how to link cultural competence with the present curriculum recommend the need for an interdisciplinary approach. Curriculum development should be a holistic process involving a cross-disciplinary aspect and inclusion of social, economic, political and cultural aspects. A holistic approach considers the needs of all cultures. Mews et al. (2018) add that intensive research should accompany the culturally competent curriculum. Research is necessary for continued development and positive changes to the curriculum.
Some of the culturally competent activities include lessons about cultural competence, experiential learning, and a series of discussion with experts among others. There are many websites and teaching plans dedicated to diversity and intercultural learning. Teachers can also use the news and current events to facilitate debate and reflection. There are many stories in social media or local news touching on diversity. Students from different cultural backgrounds have different perspectives on the story because of their difference in values. The students will questions, different perspectives, and solutions towards the issue (Mews et al., 2018). A big part of cultural competence is experiential learning. In a diverse classroom, students come from different backgrounds, and they can share their experiences such as their holidays, food, dressing and customs.
Teacher preparation should help teachers to understand what diversity is and the impacts of diversity to practice. Culturally competent teachers are more likely to meet the needs of all students regardless of their race, nationality, religion, ethnicity, and English language proficiency. Teacher education programs should focus on creating teachers who value diversity, have the capacity for cultural self-awareness, continue to seek new cultural knowledge, and willing to institutionalize a culturally competent service delivery ( Assemi et al., 2007) . The objectives of culturally competent teacher programs are to ensure that teachers in training demonstrate an understanding of diverse cultures and globalization. The training will also help them to identify the benefits and opportunities for globalization and how it will influence their future work and find ways to address the complicated relationship between cultural competency and the education system.
Schools can only become models for cultural competency and respect for differences when teacher education programs create teachers who value social justice and equality. Teachers who understand the importance of a culturally competent curriculum use it to help a diverse group of students. Culturally competent teachers have the knowledge, attitudes, and values to promote diversity ( Assemi et al., 2007) . They understand that each new group comes with more challenges, but are willing to collaborate with students, families, and other teachers to understand the culture, customs, and rituals of the new group/ students. Culturally competent teachers acknowledge the difference and uniqueness of each culture while pointing out the similarities that unite them as students.
Assessment
Cultural competence in curriculum development should be accompanied by a competent assessment, program design, and program evaluation. Landa & Stevens (2017) note that assessing a culturally competent classroom is challenging. Many concepts make up cultural competence. Teachers will be assessed on the four concepts of self-awareness, value for diversity, knowledge and institutionalization of cultural competence. For example, effective teaching in a culturally competent classroom involves the use of multiple instructional strategies that take into consideration the difference in cultural and linguistic backgrounds. The teachers should apply principles of differentiated instruction, including theories of learning, language acquisition, and integration of subject matter.
The second tool of assessment is the use of a variety of assessments to monitor and improve instruction. Teachers cannot rely on the old methods of student assessment and evaluation. Instructors have to adjust the standards-based assessment to entail the influence of cultural competence on the acquisition of knowledge and skills. Another assessment measure involves checking whether the teachers have created a safe and productive learning environment for the students. Teachers have to create an appropriate environment to stimulate creativity among all students. The environment should be positive and student-focused and encourage students from different cultures to connect (Landa & Stevens, 2017). This assessment shows that teachers value cultural diversity and are using their knowledge to institutionalize cultural competency in the classroom.
Culturally competent teachers have to plan and adopt a curriculum to meet the diverse needs of the students. The existing strategies/curriculum for teaching diverse classrooms do not come in a one-size-fits-all approach. Teachers have the responsibility to understand the diverse needs of each student and create personalized approaches that ensure all the needs of the students are met. Teachers also have to ensure that all students articulate their learning targets and align the instruction and assessment standards to help the students meet their targets.
Culturally competent teachers should engage in the essential practices of planning standards. Teachers should proactively come up with problem-solving strategies in content areas, whether it is math, language, or science. The problem-solving strategies will encourage students to engage with the content and take on more challenging roles. Teachers are responsible for preparing citizens for a diverse society, and they should encourage students to think from a global perspective in their early stages.
Evaluation
Program assessment makes up a significant part of the evaluation process. Student assessment is an ongoing process whereas evaluation is embedded within the broader institutional system. Evaluation involves the analysis of student performance and experiences across the cohort to continuously improve curriculum effectiveness (Alrqiq et al., 2015). The main form of evaluation is the outcome assessment where student learning outcomes are used to assess the effectiveness of the curriculum and find ways of improving the program.
The standard methods of evaluation pose a challenge in evaluating cultural competence in education. The evaluation process will be used to find out whether students are learning in the right way, and if not, the evaluation process will identify ways of improving the program. The evaluation process is a rich discussion on student learning, pedagogy, and curriculum. Faculty and staff members will engage in a discussion about the learning environment, student needs, educational processes, and the outcomes and impacts of the program.
Gujit (2014) encourages the use of participatory participation or “it takes a village” approach. The approach was suggested a few years ago by the NCLB as one of the initiatives to help failing schools. Participatory evaluation brings together all the stakeholders as part of the cultural competency program. When parents, local community, businesses, and other stakeholders come together to create a cultural experience through food, dance, story-telling, music and art. Participatory evaluation makes schools and teachers accountable as it sets the bar for what cultural competence entails. Additionally, the process brings everyone on board.
Current Issues & Solution
Implementing cultural competence in curriculum development, assessment, program design, and evaluation is challenging. The main challenge is the limited baseline knowledge of the performance of the existing cultural competency programs. Many cultural competence programs exist, but most of them are ineffective. They do not cover the basics or have all the components of what a culturally competent program. Some programs often use teaching a foreign language or having a cultural fair/ day to claim that they have attained cultural or linguistic competence.
The solution lies in creating a holistic cultural program using a participatory approach. Schools or teachers cannot create successful cultural programs on their own without involving the community. There is a need to involve the community and other stakeholders in the beginning to identify essential parameters such as what cultural education will entail, short-term and long-term strategies, implementation, and evaluation.
Another challenge that is related to the first challenge is the difficulty in defining and operationalizing cultural competence. Culture is an abstract concept, and in a highly multi-cultural society, it is challenging to define or achieve cultural competency (Landa & Stevens, 2017). Educators wonder if exercises such as learning about the customs of other cultures or language can be equated to cultural competency among students. This challenge is hard to solve, but educators should focus on teaching students about other cultures to make them acknowledge and respect other cultures. Culturally competent learning is about raising awareness about diversity and learning to appreciate other cultures.
Cultural bias/ discrimination will affect the success of cultural competence in development, assessment, program design and evaluation. Cultural bias is a form of ethnocentrism characterized by the tendency to judge people from other cultures using a different world view. Cultural bias comes with assumptions and stereotypes about other cultures, and it goes against the spirit of diversity. Many claims to be knowledgeable about other cultures and yet they rely on bias and stereotypes in their communication and decisions regarding them. Without proper cultural competence training, educators are more likely to rely on the cultural bias when coming up with cultural competence programs and lessons. The solution to this challenge lies in improving self-awareness and cultural knowledge among educators. Educators should engage in in-depth self-awareness to identify their views regarding other cultures. They should engage in personal reflection to identify their biases and assumptions. Another way to challenge cultural bias is through engaging with individuals from other cultures and seeking their opinions about biases and assumptions other people make about them.
Teacher training plays a vital role in the implementation of a culturally competent curriculum. Teacher training and professional development should offer opportunities for teachers to improve their cultural competency skills. Teacher programs in college should have a unit on cultural competence in teaching so that teachers will learn that it is as crucial as other units. Teachers are more likely to implement a culturally competent program when they have all the knowledge from a college education, teacher induction, and support from the administration and school district. Well-trained teachers have an idea of how to meet the diverse needs of the students through research and engaging with the students rather than relying on their assumptions. The teachers will also work on identifying their biases and learning about other cultures over the years. Cultural competence programs can only succeed with support from the administration and the district.
In Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Freire (2009) complains that the traditional teacher-student relationship is oppressive. He compares the relationship to that of “banking education” was the teacher is in control, and students are passive followers. Teachers deposit information to the student while the students receive. Freire is describing a dominant form of learning, which will prove challenging in cultural competence learning. The teacher cannot assume authority when teaching about other cultures. There are many cases where teachers have gotten it wrong by using their assumptions/ stereotypes to teach about other cultures. There have been cases where teachers wear “blackface” during Black history month to teach students about black slavery experiences. Thus, the current approach to learning will be one of the biggest challenges to cultural competence in development, assessment, and evaluation.
One of the solutions to the challenges is discussed in detail by Freire (2009). Freire encourages teachers and schools to work in a community. Working as a community makes it easy to understand each other’s lives while generating objects for the study. A teacher who regularly interacts with the Latino community is more likely to create the right lesson plan about Latino culture capturing all the essential things about the culture. Freire (2009) adds that teachers should use pictures, audio, interviews, texts and other forms of media to engage with students in active learning. Freire (2009) concludes with the four pro-dialogue techniques of cooperation, unity for liberation, organization, and cultural synthesis as the solutions to the oppressive curriculum.
Future Needs
As the 21st-century students become citizens of the world, educators have a responsibility to prepare them well. The culturally competent curriculum prepares them for healthy relationships, successful communication, and limitless possibilities. Achieving a culturally competent curriculum requires continuous improvement and teacher education. Teacher education programs should expose teachers to what cross-cultural training entails from an early stage and the developmental stages for an effective program.
The long-term success for cultural competency relies on the best practices and the adoption of a practical philosophy for cultural competence. The philosophy is made up of the components of self-awareness, value for diversity, cultural knowledge, and institutionalizing cultural knowledge. The program’s success also relies on the ability to involve the community, students, other teachers, administration and the district. Cultural competence in education takes more than coordinated work and research, and it can only be achieved when students get to experience different cultures on their own so that they can appreciate them.
References
Alrqiq, H. M., Scott, T. E., & Mascarenhas, A. K. (2015). Evaluating a cultural competency curriculum: changes in dental students’ perceived awareness, knowledge, and skills. Journal of dental education , 79 (9), 1009-1015.
Assemi, M., Mutha, S., & Hudmon, K. S. (2007). Evaluation of a train-the-trainer program for cultural competence. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education , 71 (6), 110.
Echeverri, M., Brookover, C., & Kennedy, K. (2010). Nine constructs of cultural competence for curriculum development. American journal of pharmaceutical education , 74 (10), 181.
Freire, P. (2009). Pedagogy of the oppressed (30th anniversary ed.). New York, NY: Continuum. Available free at https://libcom.org$CANVAS_COURSE_REFERENCE$/files A classic first published in 1971, and foundational to the perspective that education is the key factor in social justice.
Landa, M. S., & Stephens, G. (2017). Promoting Cultural Competence in Preservice Teacher Education through Children's Literature: An Exemplary Case Study. Issues in Teacher Education , 26 (1), 53-71.
Mews, C., Schuster, S., Vajda, C., Lindtner-Rudolph, H., Schmidt, L. E., Bösner, S., & Gestmann, M. (2018). Cultural Competence and Global Health: Perspectives for Medical Education–Position paper of the GMA Committee on Cultural Competence and Global Health. GMS journal for medical education , 35 (3).
National Education Association. (2010). Cultural competence: What does it mean for educators? [Video file]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/U42MApeXi9w
Neurokultur. (2013, June 20). Cultural competence – A key competence of the 21st century [Video file]. Retrieved from: Cultural Competence - A key competence of the 21st century (Links to an external site.)
