Cultural Competence by Bella Davis

Impacts of Religion, Socioeconomic Status, Gender, Ethnicity, Culture, Etc. on a Child's Development

id083939 — 2025-02-22 20:51:42 UTC

Not all children grow up having the same experiences. Not every child is free from financial burdens, racial prejudices, or sexist hierarchies. Understanding how these things can influence a child's growth can prepare educators to create a safe, inclusive, and productive classroom environment.

The foundation for cultural competence are found in these four categories.

id083939 — 2025-02-22 20:53:17 UTC

Attitude: Valuing Diversity- Open and accepting towards cultural differences. Recognizing the value cultural differences and diversity brings to an educational setting.

Skills: Adapting and Managing Differences- Adapting to cultural needs. Having the ability to recognize, understand, and navigate various cultural perspectives, while respecting individual differences and avoiding biases.

Knowledge: Developing Knowledge- Openness to ask questions and expand view of different cultures.

Awareness: Self-Assessments- Challenging one's own biases and perspective on culture.

Implicit Biases

id083939 — 2025-02-22 20:53:46 UTC

Implicit biases by the American Psychological Association: "Implicit bias, also known as implicit prejudice or implicit attitude, is a negative attitude, of which one is not consciously aware, against a specific social group."

Teachers with Implicit Biases

id083939 — 2025-02-22 20:54:15 UTC

Having implicit biases as a teacher may take away opportunities for students to grow. If a teacher has a prejudice they don't realize they have, they could subconsciously pay less attention to some of their students. These students might get overlooked, and the teacher may minimize their problems.

A student who may be on the receiving end of behavior like this may feel left out, insecure, or overwhelmed from possibly falling behind due to not getting the proper guidance they need from their teacher. It could also affect their relationships with their peers if the teacher does not promote diversity or create a space for collaboration between students.

This article from Maryville University describes the effects of a child's environment and upbringing on their development.

id083939 — 2025-02-23 17:16:21 UTC

Key Takeaways

exclusivity affects a child's self-esteem
social behavior and relationship-building skills are dependent on learned cultural norms
childrens' cultural influences at birth are neutral and develop only through increased socialization

Cultural Competence

id083939 — 2025-02-23 17:39:31 UTC

Cultural competence by the American Psychology Association: "The ability to understand, appreciate and interact with people from cultures or belief systems different from one's own."

Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory

id083939 — 2025-02-23 18:00:42 UTC

Urie Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory can be a helpful tool for understanding the environmental impacts on a child's development. He proposes that development is influenced by interconnected factors starting as close as one's immediate family to societal structures such as culture.

Socioeconomic Status

id083939 — 2025-02-23 18:52:24 UTC

This video highlights the impact of financial status on a child's brain. A study found that children from higher-income families often had healthier brain development, whereas children from low-income families showed delayed brain development. Higher-income families can afford stimulating toys, enrollment in social or educational programs, and diverse experiences that strengthen the brain, allowing them to provide more opportunities for cognitive development. Brain development can certainly impact education and a child's performance in school. A child of more advantage will be better prepared for learning.

Article by Harvard on Race, SES, and Child Development

id083939 — 2025-02-23 19:12:31 UTC

This article highlights some of the ways racial issues influence a child. Prejudice, racism, and discrimination all cause immense stressors to a family of color. It is known that outside stressors affect a child's performance in school. The article also provides insight into the intersections between race, socioeconomic status, and health. People of color, specifically black populations, show a higher likelihood of health problems, chronic illness, and poverty. Typically disadvantaged families are not only dealing with one issue but a combination of issues that will affect a child's overall health, development, confidence, learning capability, and social skills.

id083939 — 2025-02-23 19:20:35 UTC

Key Takeaways

Disparities in the education field still exist and show that minority groups are not afforded the same opportunities or treatment as predominately white student bodies.
Culturally responsive teaching also includes different modes of learning for those with disabilities.
Group collaboration is an important tool.

id083939 — 2025-02-23 19:37:39 UTC

Some key impacts of socio-cultural factors on children in school:

Gender- limits access to a variety of educational pursuits and discourages the kinds of subjects someone should pursue based on sex. Ex: girls being less encouraged to pursue STEM or boys being less encouraged to take home-ec classes.
Ethnicity- language barriers, lack of representation, or feelings of ostracization.

id083939 — 2025-02-23 19:53:35 UTC

Implicit biases are biases one may hold subconsciously or internally. These thoughts or beliefs can influence and manifest into outward actions.

On the other hand, explicit biases are biases held knowingly and can be admitted. They typically lead to more direct acts of prejudice, such as discrimination and hate speech.

id083939 — 2025-02-23 20:05:35 UTC

id083939 — 2025-02-23 20:22:36 UTC

I like this graphic because it includes how one should view behavior within a cultural context. This is one of the most important aspects of cultural competence. Understanding cultures completely and respecting others comes down to understanding what may be a norm in your culture may not be in someone else's culture.

id083939 — 2025-02-24 00:43:56 UTC

"It is impossible to be an expert of knowledge in every culture. Therefore, it is important to admit you are NOT an expert. It is through your willingness to ask questions and listen to others' stories that you demonstrate respect." Caregiving Network, YouTube

Cultural Competence in Education

id083939 — 2025-02-24 22:32:20 UTC

This video outlines some important aspects of being culturally competent as an educator.

Paper on Cultural Competence in Education

id083939 — 2025-02-24 23:04:59 UTC

"Key points include the importance of integrating diverse perspectives, fostering

inclusive practices, and addressing systemic inequities in education."

id083939 — 2025-02-24 23:45:08 UTC

In my future classroom, I will strive to attain as much knowledge as I can on all of my students. I will practice empathy and self-awareness. I will also build rapport with my students and advocate for their education. Harnessing these aspects of cultural competence will hopefully allow me to create a classroom where my students can thrive despite possible disadvantages.

Global Competence Framework

id083939 — 2025-02-24 23:52:04 UTC

This competency framework is one of many that outlines ideas for achieving cultural competence on a global scale. It specifically focuses on what educators can teach students about the world and the differences between people. A framework like this ensures that we are leading future generations to not only benefit from cultural competence but display it themselves.

Implicit Bias and Discipline

id083939 — 2025-02-25 00:09:54 UTC

Notable: Minority students are watched more closely than white students possibly explaining why minority students are more often in disciplinary trouble while wrong behavior by white students gets overlooked. - Yale University Study on Preschool Students

id083939 — 2025-02-25 00:20:43 UTC

This video by NPR explains a study that showed biases by teachers working against black children. In a controlled experiment, black children were expected to display bad behavior even when all children involved exhibited the same behavior. Another experiment showed that black kids receive less empathy from teachers.

Research Paper on Gender Biases

id083939 — 2025-02-25 00:35:52 UTC

This paper brings up topics of gender bias like expectations of female students (mentions of what female students should pursue as a career, clerical and nursing positions), non-inclusive language (using "boy" or "girl" or other feminine and masculine words when describing stereotypical professions), and treatment toward moms vs. dads from teachers (calling home to mothers instead of fathers despite both having jobs).

id083939 — 2025-02-25 00:49:39 UTC

This article describes how children subject to implicit biases have less confidence and self-esteem and receive messages about themselves or others. These messages can internalize and show children who they are expected to be or how they are supposed to act. Implicit biases also perpetuate expected behavior in others, leading children to develop biases of their own.