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Cultural proficiency

The Journey to Cultural Proficiency is a Sizeable Challenge

By Sarah W. Nelson
August 2007
Demographic shifts are bringing schools more diverse populations. Educators are striving to respond, but many lack the cultural proficiency to address the needs of a diverse student population. Most educational leaders are aware that their districts have a gap in achievement among racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups of students but are unaware that the problem goes beyond achievement test scores. More importantly, they may not understand what steps to take to address the issue. The first step is to assess the extent of the staff ’s cultural awareness. Using the tool described in the summer 2007 JSD (see www.nsdc.org for the previous column), gather data to illustrate that your district is not untouched by this pressing concern. The next step is to convince the district’s

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In each issue of JSD, Sarah W. Nelson, above, and Patricia L. Guerra write about the importance of and strategies for developing cultural awareness in teachers and schools. The columns are available at www.nsdc.org.

For more information See Sarah W. Nelson and Patricia L. Guerra’s column, Cultural Proficiency, on p. 59.

References

Bandura, A. (1982). Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency. American Psychologist, 37(2), 122-147.

Baron, R., Tom, D., & Cooper, H. (1985). Social class, race and teacher expectations. In J.B. Dusek, V.C. Hall, & W.J. Meyer (Eds.), Teacher expectancies (pp.251- 270). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Delpit, L. (1996). Other people’s children: Cultural conflict in the classroom. New York: New Press.

Garcia, S.B. & Dominguez, L. (1997). Cultural con- texts which influence learning and academic performance. Child and adolescent psychiatric clinics of North America, 6(3), 621-655.

Hall, E.T. (1976). Beyond culture. New York: Anchor Books.

Hofstede, G. (2003). Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Love, A. & Kruger, A. C. (2005). Teacher beliefs and student achievement in urban schools serving African- American students. The Journal of Educational Research, 99(2), 87-99.

Lynch, J. (1992). Education for citizenship in a multi- cultural society. New York: Castle.
Pohan, C.A. (1996). Preservice teachers’ beliefs about diversity: Uncovering factors leading to multicultural responsiveness. Equity & Excellence in Education, 29(3), 62-9.

Rist, R.C. (1970, September). Student social class and teacher expectations: The self-fulfilling prophecy in ghetto education. Harvard Educational Review, 40(3), 411-51.

Valencia, R. (1997). The evolution of deficit thinking: Educational thought and practice. London: Taylor & Francis.

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Sarah W. Nelson (swnelson@txstate.edu) is an assistant professor in the Department of Education and Community Leadership and associate director of the International Center for Educational Leadership and Social Change at Texas State University-San Marcos, and co-founder of Transforming Schools for a Multicultural Society (TRANSFORMS).

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