Culturally Proficient Inquiry

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Culturally Proficient Inquiry

• Stephanie M. Graham
• Cynthia L. Jew
• Randall B. Lindsey

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. . . a high-quality public school system is
essential, not only for parents and guardians who
send their children to these schools but also for
the public good as a whole.
- Fullan, 2003
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Purpose

• To focus our attention on education gaps that
  persist in our schools
• To illustrate applied use of the tools of
  Cultural Proficiency
• To discuss our responsibilities in narrowing
  educational gaps

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What We Know

• The achievement gap is historical
• The achievement gap is quantifiable
• The disparity between student demographic groups
  is also available from qualitative data
• The achievement gap persists in urban, suburban
  and rural schools
• The achievement gap is not just about test scores

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Cultural Proficiency Tools

• Moral framework
• Barriers to Cultural Proficiency are historical
  and current
• Guiding Principles serve as core values to
  overcome barriers
• Ethical practices
• Continuum provides healthy language
• Essential Elements serve as standards

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Barriers to Confronting Gaps

• Unwillingness or failure to acknowledge systemic
  oppression as limitation for current practices
• Unwillingness or failure to recognize role of
  privilege in maintaining current practices
• Unaware that it is we that make change

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Guiding Principles as Core Values

• Culture is a predominant force in peoples and
  schools lives
• People are served in varying degrees by the
  dominant culture
• People have group identities and individual
  identities
• Diversity within cultures is vast and significant
• Each cultural group has unique cultural needs
• The best of both worlds enhances the capacity of
  all

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The Inquiry Approach

• Please refer to Figure 1.1, page 2 of Culturally
  Proficient Inquiry
• In what ways does this graphic represent current
  practice in your school or district?
• In what ways is this graphic different from
  current practice in your school or district?
• What questions does this graphic raise about
  current practice in your school or district?

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Peer Group Model

• Compare one demographic group to all other
  students - e.g., white to non-white students
  African-American to non-African-American
  students or, male to female students
• Use appropriate language development assessment
  for English learners

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Above Below the line Indicators

• Achievement Data are highly visible and
  attainable above the line indicators of student
  success
• Access Data are less visible and attainable
  below the line indicators of barriers to
  student success

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Achievement Data Examples

• Standards-based assessments
• Norm-referenced tests

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Access Data Examples

• Student attendance
• Student suspensions
• Student dropout and expulsion rates
• Student enrollment in special programs - e.g.,
  remedial, special education, honors, gifted and
  talented, AVID
• High school indicators - e.g., completion of
  algebra graduation rates

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Table Talk

• Read pages 57 to 59
• Take notes on your responses to Reflections
• Discuss with colleagues at your table your
  responses, including insights and questions that
  arise for you

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The Continuum - Changing the Conversation

• Unhealthy Language
• Cultural Destructiveness
• Cultural Incapacity
• Cultural Blindness
• Healthy Language
• Cultural Precompetence
• Cultural Competence
• Cultural Proficiency

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Standards for our Practice

• Assessing our knowledge of the cultures in our
  community within our school
• Valuing diversity is reflected in what we say, do
  and develop as policy
• Managing the dynamics of difference to insure
  multiple perspectives
• Adapting our practices to meet the diversity
  within our school and community
• Institutionalizing learning about the culture of
  our school and the community we serve

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Leverage Points for Change

• Curriculum Instruction
• Assessment and Accountability
• Parent and Community Communication and Outreach
• Professional Development
• See page 63

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Rubrics Guide Below the Line Work

• The Essence (or, operational definition) of
  each leverage point applied to the Continuum and
  Essential Elements
• Read and discuss with table partners your
  observations, comments and questions

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Rubrics as Illustrations

• Standards are met at Cultural Competence
• Rubrics guide professional values and behaviors
  as well as institutional policy and practice

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The CI Rubric

• Take a few minutes and scan the Curriculum and
  Instruction rubric
• Respond to the Reflection, page 88
• Engage your table partners in discussion of the
  observations, comments and questions surfacing
  for you

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2 Important Processes

• Initial Steps in the Data Collection Process -
  pages 57 58
• Steps for Conducting the Cultural Proficiency
  Inquiry

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Cultural Proficiency as Advocacy

• Do we have the will
• to educate all children?
• -
  Hilliard, 1991