Question
How can you become more culturally competent?
Answer
Becoming more culturally competent is not a simple process. Here are some points to remember regarding this:
- Employing self-reflective strategies
- Developing cultural awareness to prevent and correct all implicit and explicit biases
- Having a strong understanding of culture and diversity
- Forming strong relationships with parents and families
- Eliminating all discriminatory discipline practices
Early childhood classrooms are far from homogenous, so it is important to develop and refine the skills and attitudes necessary to work effectively with all children and families. This includes children in families that are different from your own. In some cases, you might live in a community where everybody looks, sounds, and seems the same. However, every family has a culture. Do not take for granted that just because everyone looks the same that they are coming with the same cultural values.
Cultural competence is a continual process. The first part of it is about inwardly focusing on self-reflection to support awareness of yourself and your biases. The next stage is to understand the culture of others and to move towards an outward focus. This can help with learning about other cultural influences. When we do this, we take a step towards eliminating discriminatory practices among the children themselves.
This Ask the Expert is an edited excerpt from the course, Opening the Culture Door: Valuing Diversity, presented by Barbara Kaiser, MA.
