Culturally Responsive Practices in Early Childhood

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Culturally Responsive Practices in Early Childhood

• Seena M. Skelton, Ph.D. Karen R. Schaeffer,
  Ph.D.
• Consultants Supporting Communities, Schools, and
  Families

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Agenda

• A vision of high achievement for all children
• The influence of culture and the impact of
  cultural diversity in early childhood settings
• The hidden rules and cultural mismatches
• Promoting success for culturally and
  linguistically diverse (CLD) children through
  culturally responsive educational settings.

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Why is there a need for culturally responsive
practices?

• Increase of culturally diverse children and
  families in U.S.
• Hidden rules and cultural differences
• Different knowledge children bring to educational
  settings
• Educators uncertainty of how to best support
  children and families from cultures different
  than their own
• Language and communication differences of some
  families and school personnel
• Achievement gap

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Culturally Diverse Students are

• Less likely to have their
• academic and social needs met
• cultural experience and background validated
• cultural qualities respected or affirmed
• Unless.

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We Value Diversity

• To live joyful interesting lives and to be at
  peace with each other, people must appreciate
  each others differences as well as their
  similarities. Children are learning to do this
  today in family day care, their own homes, and
  everywhere they go.
• Marilyn Lopez, University of Mass.

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We know that

• Students will succeed in schools where they
  feel positive about their own culture and the
  culture of others.
• Cummins 1986

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Hidden Rules
Unspoken cues, habits, and standards for behavior
of a group. Hidden rules exist between and
among various groups including, economic classes,
ethnic groups, families, communities, and
organizations.
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Cultural Mismatch and Hidden Rules
Students Culture Ethnicity SES Family/Community
Norms
School Culture White Middle Class Mainstream Norms
These hidden rules affect behavioral expectations
and communication styles. Sometimes there is a
conflict.
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Differing Funds of Knowledge

• Different preparation. Not lack of preparation.
• Oral tradition vs. Written tradition
• Improvisation vs. standardization
• Multi-tasking vs. single task activity
  completion

• Communication
• direct vs. indirect commands
• authentic vs. inauthentic questions
• high vs. low context
• native language vs. English only

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Developing Cultural Competence is a Process
Awareness
Knowledge
Skill
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A Process for Developing Cultural Competency

• An important aspect of cross cultural
  competence is not so much what we learn about
  other people, but what we learn about ourselves
  and our reactions to other people.
• Dr. Ray Terrell,
• Miami University

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The 3 Rs of Culturally Responsive Education

• Respect
• Responsive
• Relevance

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The Keys to Supporting Culturally Diverse Families

• Awareness
• Information
• Access

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Culturally Diverse Families

• may be unaware if the availability of early
  intervention programs,preschools or Head Start
  Services
• who do not speak English fluently face restricted
  access to materials disseminated by child find
  agencies.

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Agencies Can Demonstrate the 3 Rs by

• Providing public awareness of early intervention
  services in the native language
• Involving community members in planning child
  find programs, in identifying, and referring
  families to seek services
• Recruiting and preparing professionals from the
  diverse cultural groups

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Home Care Providers can Demonstrate the 3 Rs by

• Seeing cultural differences including language
  differences as a resource and not a deficit.
• Encouraging the development and use of the native
  language of young children in their homes.
• Building upon childrens diverse gifts and skills
  and provide young children varied opportunities
  to exhibit these skills.

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Home Care Providers can Demonstrate the 3 Rs by

• Understanding the difference between basic
  interpersonal communication skills and language
  proficiency when learning a new language.
• Actively involving parents and overtly
  demonstrate a respect and value of the home
  culture.
• Incorporating multicultural and non-biased
  instruction, materials, toys in daily activities.

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Home Care Providers can Demonstrate the 3 Rs by

• Validating and affirming childrens language and
  cultural background
• Provide children opportunities to hear and use
  their home language within the EC setting.
• Incorporate the use of childrens home language
  (s) throughout the learning environment.
• Use selected words and phrases of childrens home
  language.

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Home Care Providers can Demonstrate the 3 Rs by

• Providing explicit instruction of pre-academic
  and behavior expectations
• Addressing bias and stereotyping
• Providing clear, consistent, and frequent
  feedback to children about expectations and
  performance standards

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Home Care Providers can Demonstrate the 3 Rs by

• Collaborate with parents and community members
  to guide developmentally appropriate and
  culturally responsive activities.

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Main Points

• Envision high achievement for all children
• Understand culture and the impact of cultural
  diversity in early childhood settings
• Make hidden rules visible
• Provide culturally responsive activities
  environments to promote success