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Diversity, Inclusivity & Civility: Developing & Enhancing Students' Cultural Competence Part 2. Tom Brown www.tbrownassociates.com tom@tbrownassociates.com. Reality is perception from our point of view. Our perceptions are reinforced by what we’ve been taught…. Perceptual set.
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Diversity, Inclusivity & Civility:Developing & Enhancing Students' Cultural CompetencePart 2 Tom Brown www.tbrownassociates.comtom@tbrownassociates.com
Reality is perception from our point of view.Our perceptions are reinforced by what we’ve been taught….
Perceptual set Imagine you are witnessing a prehistoric scene in a cave, where a group is gathered around a glowing fire. One of the group picks up a piece of charcoal and goes over to the wall and begins drawing. Suddenly, shapes of animals and humans are drawn, and a new form of human communication begins. Can you see it? For how many of you was the artist a woman?
The U.S. college campus is one of the few places on earth where people from so many diverse backgrounds come together for a common purpose…
Session 1 Why does diversity matter? Does diversity support student learning and development? Why and how? What is cultural competence? Can cultural competence be developed? Addressing Some Diversity Issues Barriers to Engagement
For institutionsTo keep pace in today's complex and competitive global arena, American higher education must retire old notions of educational exclusivity and embrace new models of inclusive excellence.For studentsBy incorporating diverse content, perspectives, and approaches into the curriculum, faculty strengthen scholarship and prepare students for engagement with today's complex world. Diversity matters
It matters for studentsBy incorporating diverse content, perspectives, and approaches into the curriculum, faculty of all disciplines have found both pedagogical and curricular routes that strengthen scholarship and prepare students for engagement with today's complex world.“Teaching Diversity and Democracy Across the Disciplines: Who, What & How, Diversity & Democracy, Fall 2009 Why does diversity matter?
Diverse learning experiences benefit students Diversity has positive effects on students’ cognitive development, satisfaction with the college experience, and leadership abilities. Students who interact with racially and ethnically diverse peers show greater intellectual growth and academic skills. Both in-class and out-of-class interactions and involvement with diverse peers foster critical thinking Benefits and Challenges of Diversity, Eve Fine, 2004
Diversity and Education Diversity capitalizes on the unique experiences and common wisdom of all cultures by providing a fertile ground for contrast and comparison. Provides a view of other peoples so distinct from, yet similar to, ourselves that our own lives and experiences are given new perspective and meaning. Diversity is an enriching and necessary component of the total educational experience. Southern Oregon University
Cross cultural competence Developing an awareness of one's own culture, existence, sensations, thoughts, and environment; Accepting and respecting cultural differences; Resisting judgmental attitudes such as "different is not as good;" and Being open to cultural encounters; Being comfortable with cultural encounters. “The Purnell Model for Cultural Competence” Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Health Summer 2005
Theoretical Model of Cross Cultural Competence* Cognitive Flexibility& Openness allows Willingness to Engage Tolerance of Uncertainty • Specific Competencies • Perspective-taking • Prediction • Interpersonal Skills • Relationship Building Leads to the development Ethnocultural Empathy Self-Efficacy Resulting in Emotional Regulation allows Effectiveness and Success *Ross, Thornson, McDonald, & Arrastia The Development of the Cross–Cultural Competence Inventory, 2009
Developing competence is a process Cultural competence is not acquired quickly or casually, rather it requires an intentional examination of one’s thoughts and behaviors. The first step toward becoming culturally competent is realizing that you probably aren’t. “Cultural Competence in the Biology Classroom” Kimberly Tanner & Deborah Allen, 2007
Cross Cultural Competence includes: Having the capacity to: value diversity conduct self-assessment manage the dynamics of difference acquire and institutionalize cultural knowledge adapt to the diversity and cultural contexts of individuals and communities served.
“Culture” is often viewed in the U.S. as being primarily related to race, ethnicity, and genderHowever, effective diversity/inclusivity programs must also address other kinds of diversity which lead to marginalization and exclusion. Making “Diversity” More Inclusive
Seven kinds of diversity Beverly D. Tatum, 1999 “Otherness” Race/ethnicity Gender Religion Sexual Orientation Socio-economic status Age Physical/Mental Ability “ism” Racism/ethnocentrism Sexism Religious oppression Heterosexism Classism Ageism Ableism
Attention to diversity might even be perceived as divisive and inhibitingcommunity. A strategy to counter the divisive perceptions of diversity is to broaden our definition of diversity, in ways that highlight the intersectionality of race/ethnic, gender, class, religion, sexual orientation, within a framework of marginalization and justice. Marilyn Fernandez, Santa Clara University
Multiple issues Black and ALSO A woman (gender) Atheist (religion) Questioning (Sexual orientation) Low Socio-economic background 45 years old and returning to college (age) Dyslexic (ability)
Developing Cross Cultural CompetenceAddressing Some Diversity Issues Socio-economic status Religion Sexual orientation Race & Ethnicity
People from the same ethnic or racial group are also “diverse” in terms of socio-economic status, education, age, sexual orientation, individual experiences, or disposition. Diversity in Diversity
White students often struggle with strong feelings of guilt when they become aware of the pervasive racism. Even when they feel their own behavior has been nondiscriminatory. These feelings are uncomfortable and can lead white students to resist learning about race and racism. And who can blame them? If learning about racism means seeing oneself as one of the bad guys…. Beverly Tatum, 1994
Don’t ask students to get out of their comfort zone…. Challenge and support them to stretch their comfort zone.
It’s not personal As a white, male, nondisabled, middle class heterosexual, I do know that in some ways these words are about me… But in equally important ways the words are not about me because they name something larger than me, something I didn’t create or invent but that was passed on to me as a legacy of being born into this society. Johnson 2006
White Identity Development: A stage model Contact stage: denial of racism and/or obliviousness to White privilege Disintegration stage: disorientation, guilt, and anxiety as the realities of racism break through Reintegration stage: re-embrace the ideology of the normative White group Pseudo-independent stage: Acknowledgement of others’ racism without self-analysis with regard to their own socialized racism. Immersion/Emersion: Search for accurate information about race and a deeper understanding of their own racist socializations. Autonomy: cognitively complex and flexible, avoid life options participation in racial oppression, capacity to relinquish White privilege. Janet Helms, 1992
Identity Development Autonomy The autonomous person is humanistic and involved in activism regarding many forms of oppression (e.g., fighting sexism, ageism, homophobia).
Most of us will find that we are both dominant and targeted at the same time [but] the targeted identities hold our attention and the dominant identities go unexamined We assume the targeted identity to be the primary cause of all oppression, forgetting other distortions around difference, some of which we are ourselves practicing. “Age, Race, Class & Sex: Women Defining Difference Audre Lord, 1995
Dominant and Targeted Gay + White + Male (gender) + Christian (religion) + Professional (Socio-economic Status + 35 years old (age) + No disabilities
Diversity and inclusivity are about understanding…not necessarily agreeing.
Understanding cultural difference doesn’t make the difference go away.However, the person who understands how difference causes communication to break down can take the initiative to try and make the communication work.You Just Don’t UnderstandDr. Deborah Tannen, 2000
Session 2 Developing cultural competence: Understanding terms Exploring culture, cultural assumptions, and the development of bias Creating inclusive campuses and culturally competent teaching Cognitive & emotional barriers to success: Stereotype Threat DiversityInclusivityCivility Assessing cultural competence
Defining & Understanding Terms Nationality The status of belonging to a particular nation by origin, birth, or naturalization. Ethnic Group A sizable group of people sharing a common and distinctive racial, national, religious, linguistic, or cultural heritage.
Defining & Understanding Terms RaceA human population distinguished as a more or less distinct group by genetically transmitted physical characteristics.
Racial characteristics are only minor variations among people groups. Racial characteristics (e.g., skin color, eye shape, hair texture) account for 0.012 percent of human biological variation. Susan Cameron & Susan Macias Wycoff Journal of Counseling & Development, 1998
No scientific basis for race? Race was invented in the 18th Century Race and racism have always been connected “Racial” traits are culturally determined The Social Construction of Race David Schweingruber, April 2005 http://www.public.iastate.edu/~s2005.soc.134/134lecture33(apr04).pdf
No scientific basis for race? The belief that a classification based on skin color and other skin-deep properties like body shape or hair style maps onto meaningful, important biological kinds—isa pseudo-biological concept that has been used to justify and rationalize the unequal treatment of groups of people by others. Social Construction and the Concept of Race Edouard Machery and Luc Faucher, 2004
Science suggests the differences that set us apart are not racial, they are more likely to be cultural.
The only reason people think differences are major is because we’ve been brought up in a culture that has taught us to see differences this way.
Diversity is not the problem The “problem” emerges because we live in a world that encourages people to use differences to include or exclude, reward or punish, credit or discredit, elevate, or oppress, value or devalue, leave alone or harass…. Johnson, 2006
Cultures differ from one another in the ways they view the world—worldviews.Culture is learned. You are not born with culture.
Cultural Encounter Exercise Culture A Your culture requires you to speak loudly and to stand very close to people when you are talking. It is polite to shake hands with every new person you meet. It is a sign of respect to look people in the eyes. It is very important to touch people every now and then while talking to them—usually by placing a hand on their shoulders, or touching their arms.
Cultural Encounter Exercise Culture B Your culture requires you to speak softly and be at least three feet away from people when you are talking. It is improper for men and women to shake hands with people of the opposite sex. It is rude to look people in the eyes while speaking. It is improper for strangers to touch each other, and you must try to avoid bodily contact at all costs.
Cultural Encounter Exercise Divide students into Culture A and Culture B Give them a few minutes to read and practice their group’s culture Ask the two cultures to interact for several minutes and observe what happens Stop the exercise and ask the groups to describe their thoughts, feelings and beliefs about the other group Note the judgments, assumptions, descriptions that emerge
Culture is learned first in the family, then in school, then in the community and other social organizations such as the church. Purnell, 2005
It is hard to recognize your own culture and cultural assumptions because they are so pervasive and dominant.