Awareness of Cultural Issues While Advising

1. Awareness of Cultural Issues While Advising Presented by: Sheema K. Majiduddin, Ed.M. Counseling and Career Services Edison Hall 100

2. History • Founded in 1966 by NJ Dept of High Ed • From the beginning to the mid-late 70s 90-95% of the student body were primarily… • White • The rest of the student population Approx 5-10% of the student body was… • African American

3. A Changing Nation

4. MCC Application Form • Used for state and federal reports. • Reports put together by institution. • Enrollment Report Racial/Ethnic Group • Hispanic of any race • Black or African American • American Indian or Alaska Native • Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander • Asian • White • Two or more races

5. MCC Ethnic Breakdown MCC Office of Institutional Research • Spring 2007 • 40.2% - White • 19.5% - Hispanic • 15.6% - Asian • 10.4% - Black • 0.2% - Amer. Indian • 14.1% - Unknown • Fall 2006 • 40.3% - White • 17.7% - Hispanic • 15.1% - Asian • 9.5% - Black • 0.2% - Amer. Indian • 17.2% - Unknown Enrollment Report

6. MCC Ethnic Breakdown • Fall 2006 and Spring 2007: Enrollment Report

7. Ethnic Beings • How students identify themselves • The role it has on advising Blaine Harding, Colorado State University

8. Wilsonisms Domestics vs. Imports Domestics Sense of belongingness May be bi-lingual or English may be the dominant language May be experiencing cultural schizophrenia while attempting to juggle two sets of cultural expectations May be the first in the entire family to attend college Or May the first to attend college in US Imports Sense of displacement, loss of community, Families may be split—part in the homeland and part here Go from being majority to minority may be experiencing fear/anxiety and some degree of culture shock English is NOT the dominant language

9. Communication style differences Asian Americans And Hispanics Whites African Amer. American Indians 1. Speak loud/fast to control listener 2. Greater eye contact when listening 3. Head nods, nonverbal markers 4. Quick responding 5. Objective, task oriented • 1. Speak softly • 2. Avoidance of eye • contact when • listening or specking • to high-status • persons • 3. Similar rules • 4. Mild delay • 5. Low-keyed, indirect 1. Speak with affect 2. Direct eye contact (prolonged) when speaking, but less when listening 3. Interrupt (turn taking) when can 4. Quicker responding 5. Affective, emotional, interpersonal 1. Speak softly/slower 2. Indirect gaze when listening or speaking 3. Interject less; seldom offer encouraging communication 4. Delayed auditory (silence) 5. Manner of expression, low-keyed, indirect Counseling the Culturally Different: Sue & Sue, 2002

10. Communication Styles of Cultural Groups Rosado, Luis A. (2005) Cross-cultural Communications: A Latino Perspective.AE-Extra. January. Available online. [URL:<http://asstudents.unco.edu/students/AE-Extra/2005/1/Art-1.html>. Created: 8 December 2004. Updated: 28 January 2005. Accessed: 9 July 2007.]

11. The Advising Relationship • Approaching students as “just individuals” (i.e. ignoring their cultural identities), or • Approaching students as though their cultural identities were necessarily the most salient aspect of their current challenge (i.e. ignoring their individual identities) • Miss the complexity of the whole student • Personal experiences as advisors Aaron H. Carlstrom, Kansas State University

12. Stereotypes/Over-simplifying • Cultural identity is made up of a myriad of aspects • While we can learn something from generalizations about cultures, we must not allow these generalizations to cause us to stereotype or over-simplify our ideas about others. • Video clip Leigh Cunningham, Kansas State University

13. Self-Awareness • How have you benefited from your racial or ethnic status? • How are you seeking to broaden your experiences and knowledge of different multicultural groups? • Have you considered what it may feel like to be ‘the only’ in a rather large setting? • Do you know how it feels to be ‘appointed’ the representative of your race because you are ‘the only’ in a setting? • How are you going to continue to understand yourself as a racial or ethnic being in society? • Are you consistently seeking knowledge about multicultural affairs? Cornelius K. Gilbert, University of Wisconsin

14. Listening Empathically • Assuming differences allows us to hear from the other’s point of view Aaron H. Carlstrom, Kansas State University

15. Focusing on Meaning • Did we understand what the student meant to communicate • Did we communicate what we meant for the student to understand • Meaning is based on interpretation of other’s behavior (verbal & nonverbal) and interpretation is often culturally bound. Aaron H. Carlstrom: Kansas State University

16. How to guard against misinterpretation • Do not assume sameness. • What we think of as normal or human behavior may only be cultural. • Familiar behaviors may have different meanings. • Do not assume that what we meant is what was understood. • Do not assume that what we understood is what was meant. • We do not have to like or accept “different” behavior, but we may find it helpful to understand where it comes from. • Most people do behave rationally; we just have to discover the rationale. (Although it is important to keep in mind that a preference for rationality can be a culturally bound preference). Storti, Craig (1994). Cross-Cultural dialogues: 74 brief encounters with cultural difference. Intercultural Press.

17. Exploring Competence • Exploring one’s own competence is an ongoing process • Questions to ask yourself Aaron H. Carlstrom: Kansas State University

18. Exploring Competence • What cultural ground do I share with this student? • What cultural differences do I acknowledge, respect, and welcome? • What cultural differences do I fear, resist, dismiss, or minimize? How do I manage these differences during the advising session? • Do I behave or think differently with this student than I do with other students? • How comfortable am I, as a person of culture, with this student? • Do I view the student as expert of his/her own cultural experiences? • Do I attend to the use of language in the advising meeting to make sure terms have a shared understanding? • Do I inquire, in a culturally appropriate way, if what I am saying is useful to the student? • Do I check to see if I am reading nonverbal cues correctly? • Do I check to see if my cultural perceptions are accurate? Plummer, Deborah, L. (1995). The therapist as gatekeeper in multicultural counseling: Understanding ourselves as persons of culture. Journal of Psychological Practice, 1, 30-35.