Diversity  Awareness  

A  Training  Module    

Prepared  by  

Lillie  M.  Fears,  PhD  Jonesboro,  Arkansas  

     

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this presentation may be reproduced, duplicated, given away, transmitted or resold in any form without written prior permission from the author. © Lillie M. Fears, PhD 2014

Diversity Awareness Education  

This  training  module  is  designed  to  s@mulate,  guide,  and  inspire  you  to  think  about  diversity  awareness  in  every  part  of  the  work  that  you  do  at  Arkansas  Early  Learning.  

 The  module  consists  of  the  following  four  sec@ons:    Part  One:    Introduc@on/Overview    Part  Two:    The  Defini@on  of  Diversity    Part  Three:    Understanding  Culture  and  Its  Impact  on  the  Job    Part  Four:    Dealing  with  Prejudice  and  Stereotypes    

Part  One:    Introduc9on/Overview    

   

Introduc9on/Overview  

 •  Diversity  awareness  is  a  long  process.  Therefore,  you  will  not  learn  all  that  you  need  to  know  about  diversity  in  this  one  module.  

 •  The  module  in  no  way  contains  all  of  the  answers  to  ques@ons  about  diversity.  In  fact,  you  already  possess  some  of  the  answers  to  those  ques@ons.    

•  Just  try  to  remember  that  each  of  us  constantly  is  learning  about  each  other.    

Introduc@on/Overview    

 We  can  all  stand  to  gain  from  diversity  awareness  educa@on    and  training.    As  the  early  childhood  educa9on  classroom  becomes  more  diverse  and  the  workforce  becomes  more  diverse,  valuing  diversity  soars  to  the  top  as  a  cri@cal  issue  for  today’s  businesses  and  organiza@ons.        

Introduc@on/Overview  

–  Today,  when  it  comes  to  diversity,  we  have  more  to  consider  than  just  people  of  different  ethnic  groups,  gender,  culture,  and  language.  

–  We  also  have  to  learn  to  deal  effec@vely  with  people  of  different  ages,  abili@es,  religious  backgrounds,  and  sexual  orienta@ons.  

Introduc@on/Overview  

•  Today’s  work  force  includes  people  from  various  ethnic  groups,  cultures,  races,  genders,  ages,  religions,  sexual  orienta@ons,  etc.  

•  From  1950  to  2007,  the  racial  makeup  of  the  U.S.  changed  significantly.  

•  In  1950,  there  were  nine  white  people  for  every  one  person  from  a  tradi@onally  underrepresented  group  (e.g.,  African  American,  Asian  American,  La@no/Hispanic,  Na@ve  American).  

Introduc@on/Overview  –  In  2007,  for  Americans  younger  

than  40,  there  were  fewer  than  one-­‐and-­‐a-­‐half  white  people  for  every  one  person  from  a  tradi@onally  underrepresented  group.  

–  According  to  the  U.S.  Census  Bureau,  in  2013,  the  white  popula@on  in  the  U.S.  was  77.7%.  

–  By  2016,    the  white  popula@on  in  the  U.S.  is  expected  to  drop  to  less  than  50%.  

 

 Part  Two:      

 The  Defini9on  of  Diversity  

This section of the module looks at some

of the ways that we define Diversity.

Let’s  look  at  some  of  those  defini9ons.  

Diversity is: w  Different w  Individuals w  Valuing w  Each other w  Regardless of w  Skin w  Intellect w  Talents or w  Years  

Diversity  is…  

w DIVERSITY is inclusion. w DIVERSITY is an asset. w DIVERSITY is appreciation. w DIVERSITY is opportunity.

Finally….  

w Race, ethnic group, age, gender, nationality, class, education, politics, religion, birth order, culture, birth place, residence (urban, suburban, rural), income, sexual orientation, height, language, weight, marital status, disability, hearing, etc., are all part of DIVERSITY.

   

Part  Three:        

Understanding  Culture                                                                                    and  How  it  can  Impact  one’s  Job  

 

•  This section is intended to help individuals begin to understand and deal with differences in cultural programming that impact behavior and attitudes on the job.

First,  let’s  look  at  the  meaning  of  culture.  

•  The  Concise  Columbia  Encyclopedia  defines  culture  as  “a  way  of  life  of  a  given  society,  passed  down  from  one  genera6on  to  the  next  through  learning  and  experience.”  

•  From  reading  this  defini@on,  we  know  that  culture  is  complex.  

Culture  also….    

–  Impacts  every  aspect  of  life,  from  the  way  people  behave  toward  one  another  to  their  rela@onship  with  the  natural  environment.  

And      •  It  includes  beliefs  and  values,  as  well  as  assump9ons  and  its  values.  

Culture  also  maders  in  our  classrooms  

•  In  many  places,  most  of  the  teachers  in  the  educa@on  profession  are  white,  middle-­‐class,  monolingual-­‐English  speakers.    

•  However,  this  profile  does  not  always  match  the  students  in  the  classroom.      

•  In  many  places,  the  children  in  our  classes  do  not  look  the  teachers.      

Culture  maders  in  our  classrooms  •  In  order  to  effec@vely  reach  the  children  in  our  classrooms,  teachers  must  reach  out  to  them  in  ways  that  are  culturally  appropriate.    

•  Some@mes  this  will  require  examining  the  cultural  assump@ons  and  stereotypes  that  one  brings  to  the  classroom  which  may,  in  turn,    interfere  with  the  way  one  relates  to  a  child.      

We  also  must  be  aware  that  cultures  can  some@mes  clash  in  the  workplace.    

•  Here’s  an  example:    Some  cultures  value  harmony  and  balance  and  believe  in  saving  face.      Result:    Fear  of  embarrassment  or  humilia@on  would  be  of  great  concern  to  a  worker  who  comes  from  this  type  of    ethnic  background.  Therefore,  this  person’s  cultural  background  could  manifest  itself  in  workplace  behaviors  such  as  a  hesita@on  to  take  the  ini@a@ve  or  to  try  out  a  new  procedure.  

 

The  Meaning  of  Culture    

The  more  you  know  

and  understand  

about  your  own  

culture  and  other  

cultures,  the  beder  

you  can  address  the  

issues  that  arise.    

     

Part  Four:        

Dealing  with  Prejudice  and  Stereotypes    

– This section is intended to increase awareness about prejudice and stereotypes and to help individuals admit, come to terms with, and take steps to get beyond personal biases and limiting assumptions about others.

What  is  Stereotyping?  

•  Stereotyping  happens  when  a  person  generalizes  too  much  simply  because  the  person  does  not  have  the  facts,  has  limited  personal  experience,  or  is  working  with  distorted  informa@on  (Harris  &  Myers,  1996).  

Have  you  ever  heard  any                                                                  of  these  stereotypes?  

1.  White  people  can’t  dance.  

2.  Black  people  love  to  eat  fried  chicken.  

3.  Asians  are  good  at  math.  

4.  La@no  people  don’t  buy  car  insurance.  

 And  the  list  goes  on………………..  

Following  are  some  important  truths  to  remember  about  stereotypes:    

•  First,  stereotypes  can  be  defined  as  fixed,  inflexible  no@ons  about  a  group.  

•  Stereotypes,  whether  posi@ve  or  nega@ve,  are  the  heart  of  prejudice.    

•  Stereotypes  block  the  ability  to  think  about  people  as  individuals.  

•  Many  stereotypical  generaliza@ons  are  based  on  misconcep@ons  and  errors  in  judgment  (Harris  &  Myers,  1996).  

Prejudice  is  similar  to  Stereotyping  

•  Prejudice,  oien  nega@ve,  causes  suspicion  and  intolerance,  and  frequently  brings  out  irra@onal  behavior  (Harris  &  Myers,  1996).  

•  Prejudice  involves  an  unreasonable  bias  or  an  opinion  formed  before  the  facts  are  known.  

•  Prejudice,  oien  nega@ve,  causes  suspicion  and  intolerance,  and  frequently  brings  out  irra@onal  behavior  (Harris  &  Myers,  1996).  

•  Prejudice    can  easily  damage  interpersonal  rela@ons  and  can  cause  communica@on  breakdown  among  people  from  different  cultures.  

Here’s  how  you  can  begin  to  counter  Prejudice  and  stereotyping....  

•  It  is  important  to  recognize  prejudices  and  not  let  them  get  in  the  way  of  building  team  rela@onships  across  cultures.  

•  People  who  recognize  them  for  what  they  are  have  taken  the  first  step  towards  overcoming  them.  

•  It  may  take  longer  to  overcome  certain  prejudices,  but  it  can  be  done.  

The  following  short  video  sheds  addi@onal  light  on  the  importance  of  Celebra9ng  Diversity  in  Educa9on.    It  is  3:30  minutes  long.  Please  stay  around  aier  it  ends  for  some  final  thoughts  on  diversity  awareness.        You  may  start  the  video  by  logging  on  here:    hPp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeBscQTqiw    

Here  are  some  final  thoughts  •  Following  are  some  strategies  one  should  consider  if  she  or  he  

wishes  to  help  improve  diversity  in  an  organiza@on  or  workplace.  

•  1.    Do  what  you  can  to  embrace  diversity.  

•  2.    Make  it  a  point  to  get  to  know  a  person  (or  parent)  from  another  culture,  ethnic  group,  gender,  sexual  orienta@on,  etc.  

•  3.    Make  it  a  point  to  get  to  know  someone  (or  parent)  from  your  own  culture  a  lidle  beder.    

 •  4.  Don’t  give  up  when/if  you  make  a  cultural  mis-­‐step  or  when  you  

offend  someone  uninten@onally.    

•  5.    Understand  that  even  those  of  us  who  are  supposed  to  be  “good”  at  diversity  or  “much  beder”  than  others  some@mes  commit  cultural  mis-­‐steps  or  offenses  toward  other  people.    

•  6.  Acknowledge  the  mis-­‐step  to  the  person  whom  you  have  offended.      

•  7.    If  you  have  been  offended  by  someone  from  another  culture  or  race,  be  willing  to  accept  an  apology,  and  try  to  view  it  as  a  teachable  moment.  

•  8.    Finally,  remember  that  diversity  awareness  training  is  a  long  process,  and  no  one  knows  how  to  do  everything  perfectly  all  of  the  @me.  

 

•  Thank  you  for  par-cipa-ng  in                                                                          this  training  module.