Cultural Proficiency: Introduction to the Continuum

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Cultural Proficiency Introduction to the
Continuum
Stephanie Graham Los Angeles County Office of
Education [phone]
Graham_Stephanie_at_lacoe.edu
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Session Outcomes

• Review the Cultural Proficiency Framework and the
  4 tools
• Use the Guiding Principles (tool 1)
• to anchor your work with the Continuum (tool
  2)
• Review the purposes and the six levels of the
  Cultural Proficiency Continuum
• Review the paradigmatic shifts along the
  continuum
• Learn how to use the continuum to facilitate
  personal and organizational transformation toward
  Cultural Proficiency.

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The Public Schools We Need
You dont have to go very far into the question
of the role of public schools in a democracy
before discovering that moral purpose is at the
heart of the matter. As the main institution
for fostering social cohesion in an increasingly
diverse society, publicly funded schools must
serve all children, not simply those with the
loudest or most powerful advocates. This means
addressing the cognitive and social needs of all
children, with an emphasis on including those who
may not have been well served in the
past. Michael Fullan, The Moral imperative of
School Leadership, 2003
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So What is Cultural Proficiency

Cultural Proficiency is a set of tools that helps
us lead for Moral Purpose
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Cultural Proficiency A Set of Tools

• -For assessing our progress in meeting the needs
  of our customers
• For articulating and describing our outcomes
• To help us improve the service we give our
  customers and
• close gaps between under-served groups
• -To shape values, policies, and practices at the
  individual and organizational levels that enable
  effective cross cultural interaction and
  communication.

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The Four Tools of Cultural Proficiency

• 1. The Guiding Principles
• Tools to understand the non-negotiable,
  underlying values and assumptions.
• 2. The Continuum
• Tool that gives us language for describing both
  healthy and non-productive policies, practices,
  and behaviors.
• 3. The Essential Elements
• Tools to develop and coach others to develop
  essential standards of behavior for Cultural
  Proficiency.
• 4.  Understanding the Barriers to Change
• Tools to understand and navigate the dynamics of
  cultural status and power, individual
  entitlement, institutional oppression, and to
  provoke alliance for underserved groups.

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1. The Guiding Principles(The foundation upon
which Cultural Proficiency is built)

• Culture is a predominant force.
• Group identity is as important as individual
  identity.
• Diversity within cultures is vast and
  significant.
• Each group has unique cultural needs.
• People are served in varying degrees by the
  dominant culture. (GAPS)

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What are your equity gaps?

• What data (hard, observational or anecdotal) do
  you have or can you collect as evidence that
  people are served to varying degrees by the
  policies and practices of your organization?

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Performance GapsSubgroup API Comparison
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High School Drop-out Rate (111 of 3,293
Students 2006)
Outcomes and Attainment Gaps

• African American 9 9 students
• Asian 1 2 students
• Filipino N/A 1 student
• Hispanic or Latino 46 52
  students
• White (not Hispanic origin) 40  
  44 students
• --------------------------------------------------
  ---------------------
• Socio-economically Disadvantaged 37
  41 students
• English Learners 24 27
  students
• Students with Disabilities 5 6 students

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Students Completing A-G Requirements
Course Enrollment Gaps

• African American 43
• Asian 64
• Filipino 55
• Hispanic or Latino 24
• White (not Hispanic origin) 42

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Rigor and Expectations Gaps
Grade 7 Writing Assignment
Essay on Anne Frank Your essay will consist of
an opening paragraph which introduced the title,
author and general background of the novel.
Your thesis will state specifically what Anne's
overall personality is, and what general
psychological and intellectual changes she
exhibits over the course of the book. You might
organize your essay by grouping psychological and
intellectual changes OR you might choose 3 or 4
characteristics (like friendliness, patience,
optimism, self doubt) and show how she changes in
these areas.
Source Unnamed school district in California,
2002-03 school year.
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Rigor and Expectations Gaps
Grade 7 Writing Assignment

• My Best Friend
• A chore I hate
• A car I want
• My heartthrob

Source Unnamed school district in California,
2002-03 school year.
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Opportunity to Learn Gaps

• The undervaluing and ignoring of students
  cultural experiences, knowledge, learning styles,
  and languages in the teaching process.
• Insufficient or inadequate access to learning
  supports and technology in and beyond the
  classroom.
• Missed learning opportunities because of home
  life disruptions, and/or disproportionate illness
  and absenteeism, disciplinary referrals, hunger,
  transience etc.
• High stakes assessments which are not
  accommodated, cannot accurately measure students
  knowledge or progress and have long term
  negative consequences for some students.

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Reflection

• I can describe ways that some groups are served
  well and some are marginalized by the dominant
  cultures in society.
• I can describe ways that some groups are served
  well and some are marginalized by dominant
  cultural groups in my organization?

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2. Cultural Proficiency Continuum

• helps us understand and describe how some groups
  are under-served and some groups are well served
  in schools and in society.
• We can use the continuum to help us gather more
  data about our gaps and to push us toward
  desired Culturally Proficient values, polices,
  practices and behaviors.

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Cultural Proficiency Continuum

• While the four tools of Cultural Proficiency
  flesh-out our understanding of the model, the
  CULTURAL PROFICIENCY CONTINUUM is the skeleton
  which upholds the framework.

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The Continuum

• There are six points along the cultural
  proficiency continuum that indicate unique ways
  of perceiving and responding to differences.

• Cultural destructiveness
• Cultural incapacity
• Cultural blindness
• Cultural pre-competence
• Cultural competence
• Cultural proficiency

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Cultural Destructiveness

• See the difference stomp it out
• Eliminating or denigrating other peoples
  culture or aspects of culture.
• Examples
• Genocide or Ethnocide
• Exclusion laws
• No support for differences that impact
  performance / success
• Please! You cannot act Black at this school.
• If we could only get rid of those trailer park
  kids our scores would be higher.
• My kids do group work like Hispanics dig a
  ditch One works while the others stand around
  and watch.

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Cultural Incapacity

• See the difference make it wrong
• Believing in the superiority of ones own culture
  and behaving in ways that disempower anothers
  culture
• Examples
• Disproportionate allocation of resources to
  certain groups
• Lowered expectations Blaming the others for
  lack of success
• Expecting others to change or get-over it
• These kids cant handle a regular classroom Put
  them somewhere else until they are ready to
  learn in this classroom.
• The law says the Christmas tree is not a
  religious symbol, so we are justified in putting
  one in the front office, even though some
  students/parents are not Christian.
• Why do you think those kids are low? Their
  parents dont care about education.

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Cultural Blindness

• See the difference act like you dont
• Acting as if cultural differences do not matter
  or as if there are no differences between/among
  cultures
• Examples
• Discomfort in noting difference
• Beliefs/actions that assume world is fair and
  achievement
• is based on merit
• I dont see color in any of my kids I treat all
  kids the same.
• Every child can achieve achieve success. They
  just need to take advantages of the
  opportunities available.
• We should focus on how we are the same, not how
  we are different.

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Cultural Precompetence

• See the difference respond to it inappropriately
  or inconsistently
• Recognizing the limitations of ones skills or an
  organizations practices when interacting with
  other cultural groups
• Examples
• Delegate diversity work to others, a committee,
  people of color
• Quick fix, packaged short-term programs
• Making curriculum accommodations once in awhile
  for some groups but not others
• Roberto, we have assigned you to work with the
  Latino parent committee.
• February is coming up soon, what should we do
  for Black History Month?

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Cultural Competence

• See the difference understand the difference
  that difference makes
• Interacting with others using the five essential
  elements of cultural proficiency as the standard
  for behavior and practice
• Examples
• Advocacy for under-served groups
• On-going education of self and others
• Supporting, modeling and taking risks in support
  of under-served groups
• The honors students don't need all of these
  resources as much as as our underperforming
  African American and Latino students who
  continually get less of everything. I am here to
  to whatever it takes to help the students most in
  need.
• I see you are frustrated about teaching our kids
  from diverse backgrounds, but your frustration
  simply has not been my experience. May I share?
  

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Cultural Proficiency

• See the difference respond positively.
• engage and adapt monitor for closing gaps
• Esteem culture Know how to learn about ones
• own and the organizations culture(s) Interact
• effectively comfortably in a variety of
  cultural
• groups
• Examples
• Interdependence
• Personal change and transformation
• New friends and relationships
• Alliance for groups other than ones own
• Especially as African American stakeholders, we
  need to be allies in support of the needs of the
• English Learners and their parents.
• I really cant teach my students well if I
  dont understand and confront how I, myself,
  might be
• under-serving them. Just because I dont intend
  to under-serve them, doesnt mean I dont

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Sticky Activity -Applying the Cultural
Proficiency Continuum to our work

• Materials needed 3 x 3 or 3 x 5 post-its 6
  pieces of chart paper,each headed with one of the
  levels of the continuum.
• Procedure Facilitator reviews each of the first
  three levels of the continuum, pausing after each
  overview to give individuals or teams an
  opportunity to record examples of that level.
  Participants post their stickies. Facilitator
  repeats the process for the second three levels,
  allowing participants to post their stickies when
  the overview is complete. Facilitator may use
  this prompt Think of something that you have
  actually heard or witnessed during your
  professional tenure that sounds like this level
  of the continuum.
• Discussion Any number of discussion questions
  will help participants debrief this activity.
  Possible prompts What was easy or hard about
  doing this activity? What stands out for you
  as you look at this continuum with all of your
  contributions? To what extent are some of the
  practices on these stickies still occurring in
  classrooms, schools or in your district?

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Continuum Self Assessment Activity

• From Culturally Proficient Coaching by Lindsey,
  Martinez and Lindsey
• Cultural Destructiveness - I can describe how
  cultures that are different from mine are
  negated, disparaged or restricted by
• Cultural Incapacity - I can describe how my
  cultural values and beliefs can be elevated and
  how cultures that are different from mine can be
  suppressed by
• Cultural Blindness - I can describe how I
  might/do act to not recognize or acknowledge
  differences among cultures by

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Continuum-Self Assessment Activity

• From Culturally Proficient Coaching by Lindsey,
  Martinez and Lindsey
• Cultural Precompetence - I can describe how my
  lack of knowledge, experience, and understanding
  of others culture(s) limits my ability to
  interact with or serve people whose culture(s)
  are different from mine by
• Cultural Competence - I can describe how I use
  the essential elements as standards for adapting
  my behavior by
• Cultural Proficiency - I can describe my
  constructive experiences and the ways I show my
  advocacy in a variety of cultural settings by

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Insights about the Cultural Proficiency Continuum
Downward Spiral Conversation
Pre-Competence
Proficiency
Incapacity
Competence
Destructiveness
Blindness
Upward Spiral Conversation
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Changing Paradigms
TO TRANSFORMATION
FOR EQUITY Pre-competence, Competence,
Proficiency Respect and seek differences
and seek to understand them Focus on the
self and ones and responsibility to
serve the needs of others Anticipate,
manage, leverage, facilitate
conflict Adapt to difference Ensure access
to opportunity and support for success
Demographic data sought and used to inform
policy and practice which are integrated
across the system

• FROM
• TOLERANCE FOR DIVERSITY
• Destructiveness, Incapacity, Blindness
• Seek and value tolerance, commonalty and
  similarity
• Focus on them, their differences, deficits
  and need to assimilate or acculturate
• Prevent, mitigate, avoid cultural dissonance
  and conflict
• Expect others to change Ensure
  access/opportunity but not support
• Demographics viewed as a challenge Ad-hoc
  policies, practices may be developed

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3. The 5 Essential Elements Transforming
Standards of Behavior

• VALUE difference more than commonalty.
• ASSESS aspects of cultural identity to understand
  gaps. (Ours and others Group membership and
  group status.)
• LEVERAGE and manage the dynamics of conflict.
• USE cultural knowledge to change, adapt to and
  develop the self and/or the organization to
  better serve others.
• ENGAGE others on the journey and integrate and
  institutionalize Cultural Proficiency into our
  every day behaviors, work and work policies.
  Across the system integration (curriculum,
  instruction, assessment, professional
  development, recruitment and hiring,
  parent/community engagement).

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4. Understanding Barriers to Cultural
Proficiency

• Educational Equity and Social Justice require
  individuals who have a sense of their own agentry
  as well as a sense of social responsibility
  toward and with others and the society as a whole.

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Understanding our Role in Oppression

• While oppression is reproduced in the
  institutions and structures of society,
  individuals and the groups of which they are
  members also play a role in its operation and
  maintenance.

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Social/Cultural Group Membership

• A group of people who share a range
• of physical, cultural, or social characteristics
  within one of the categories of social/cultural
  identity.

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Cultural Membership and the Role We Play in
Oppression

• Social/Cultural Identity

• Social/Cultural Status

Individuals are privileged or oppressed on the
basis of social/cultural group IDENTITY and
STATUS.
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Common Social/Cultural Groups
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Social/Cultural Group Identities
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Social/Cultural Group Identity

• For each of the social/cultural identity
  categories listed on the next page, please
  indicate your specific group membership in the
  membership column.

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Social/Cultural Group Identity
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Social/Cultural Group Identity
Discuss with a partner What questions were
raised for you in trying to identify your
social/cultural identity and group membership?
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Social/Cultural Group Status
What do you notice about how social/cultural
groups are arranged in the next slide? What do
the groups in each column have in common?
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Social/Cultural Groups Identity
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Social/Cultural Group Status

• Some groups and individual are victims or targets
  of injustice and oppression, and other groups and
  individuals are agents who reap the benefits of
  illegitimate privilege by virtue of their social
  group membership.

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Target

• Member of social identity group(s) that is/are
  disenfranchised, exploited, and victimized in a
  variety of ways by agents (oppressors) and
  agents' systems and institutions.
• Adams, Bell, and Griffen. Teaching for Diversity
  and Social Justice,1997

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Agent

• Member of a dominant social group(s), privileged
  by birth or acquisition, who knowingly or
  unknowingly exploit(s) and reap(s) unfair
  advantage over members of target groups.
• Adams, Bell, and Griffen. Teaching for Diversity
  and Social Justice, 1997

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TARGET
AGENT
?
?
EMPOWERED
ALLY

T
ARGET
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Social/Cultural Group Status
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Cultural Group Status and Role in Oppression
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Multiple Identities

• Many people are likely to have both agent and
  target identities, adding another level of
  complexity to our attempt to understand the
  dynamics of cultural power.
• Adams, Bell, and Griffen. Teaching for Diversity
  and Social Justice, 1997

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Social/Cultural Group Status

For each of YOUR social/cultural identity group
memberships listed on the next page, indicate
whether you are a target or an agent of
discrimination for that particular group.
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Cultural Group Membership Status Profile
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Social/Cultural Group Profile - Identity
Status
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Aspects of My Cultural Identity
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Aspects of My Cultural Status
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Cultural Identity Profile Questions

• 1. For which membership groups it is easy for you
  to identify your status? For which membership
  groups is it more difficult for you to identify
  your status?
• 2. When you look at your overall profile, what
  surprises you?
• Which cultural membership groups are you most
  aware of on a daily basis? Which are you least
  aware of?
• Which aspect of your cultural group identity and
  status would you like to learn more about?

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Ally

• A member of the agent group who rejects the
  dominant ideology and takes action against
  oppression out of a belief that eliminating
  oppression will benefit both agent and targets.
• Adams, Bell, and Griffen. Teaching for Diversity
  and Social Justice, 1997

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Cultural Identity Profile - From Agent to Ally

• Who are the identifiable targets on your campus?
  What are they targets of? What does it look like
  when they are being targeted?
• 2. Who (what) are the obvious and subtle agents
  of discrimination on your campus? What does this
  agentry look/feel/sound like?
• What are some ways that you can demonstrate
  alliance for targeted individuals and groups?
  How can you challenge other agents to become
  allies?
• What are some ways you can teach alliance for
  targeted individuals and groups?

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Pushing and Pulling to the Right Side of the
Cultural Proficiency Continuum
Trying to provoke movement ( our own or
others) from the left side to the right side of
the continuum requires us and others to have a
Moral Purpose, a vision for societal and
educational equity. Such a vision pulls us to the
right side of the continuum. Understanding the
role we play in perpetuating societal and
educational inequity and our desire to shift
from agents to allies pushes us there.
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The Burning Platform

• But first people need to understand that the
  conditions that fuel the many educational gaps
  faced by too many children has created an
  untenable situation.
• As citizens in a democracy we should be
  outraged.
• We are standing on a platform of outcomes that
  are most undemocratic and immoral.
• This is our burning platform.

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The Burning Platform

• Jumping off the burning platform is an
  individual choice.
• You cant push people off the platform, but you
  can use the tools of Cultural Proficiency,
  especially the Continuum, to raise their
  consciousness that it is indeed a burning
  platform, and that they are in danger of being
  consumed by their own complacency.

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How might you use knowledge or insights gained
today to deepen your work with Cultural
Proficiency?