Module 1: Core Concepts in Cultural...

GENDER, SES, AND MULTICULTURAL DYNAMICS MODULE 1: CORE CONCEPTS IN

CULTURAL COMPETENCE

Module 1: Core Concepts in Cultural

Competence


CULTURAL COMPETENCE

Relevant Statistics on Gender and Minorities in STEM – Trainer Notes

Objectives: To provide data on the underrepresentation of women and minorities in STEM education and careers. To increase awareness of issues affecting female and minority participation in STEM education and careers.

Time: 10 Minutes

Materials: Why is Awareness of Gender Diversity and Multicultural Dynamics in ISE Important? Handout

Directions: Review handout with participants and deliver the following lecturette: There are serious disparities in the current participation of

women, African Americans, Hispanics and American Indians/Alaska Natives in STEM undergraduate courses of study as compared to the percent of the total U.S. population these groups represent. The goal of all STEM equity efforts is to have every group participating at rates that are as representative of the segment of the overall population they represent. While parity will probably never be quite exact, when gaps are as large as they are for women and minorities, questions of systemic barriers must be asked.

Not all systemic barriers to STEM participation are structural. Numerous studies are beginning to show that social messages and stereotypes about science and who can/should be participating in the scientific enterprise are among the strongest impediments to STEM achievement.

Informal science educators and informal science education institutions (ISEs) are especially well-positioned to help breakdown these social stereotypes and assumptions for girls and minorities. The hands-on approach to exploring science ISEs embrace is already recognized as a best practice for engaging youth from underrepresented communities in STEM. ISEs also have the flexibility to access diverse STEM professionals as mentors to youth, and provide parents tools for encouraging their children to be confident science learners.


CULTURAL COMPETENCE

Why is Awareness of Gender Diversity and Multicultural Dynamics in ISE Important?

There is a persistent underrepresentation of women and minorities in STEM.

Despite some gains in STEM achievement in K-12 education and in some STEM careers, women and minorities are still significantly underrepresented in the overall STEM landscape especially in the engineering and technology sectors. Slightly more than 50% of U.S. undergraduate students are women (reflecting parity with the overall population), yet less than 33% received STEM degrees in 2008. The numbers for underrepresented minority groups (African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Alaska Native) are even starker. These groups comprise 30% of the U.S. population and only 17% of STEM undergraduate degrees awarded in 2008.

Gender and racial stereotypes about who can and do pursue STEM careers still exist.

In elementary school about as many girls as boys have positive attitudes toward science. But something else starts happening in elementary school. By second grade, when students (both boys and girls of any racial/ethnic background) are asked to draw a scientist, most portray a white male in a lab coat. The drawings generally show an isolated person with a beaker or test tube. Any woman scientist they draw looks severe and not very happy.

Scientific discourse, teaching, and learning are not culturally neutral.

The scientific enterprise and science concepts are often thought of as culturally neutral, and it is generally accepted that there is also a “science culture,” complete with its own terminology and framework of accepted practices (i.e., the scientific method). This view assumes that the culture of science does not reflect the cultural values that people bring to science. If it is acknowledged that learning is affected by cultural factors (practices, beliefs, language, and values), educators can learn to leverage what “counts” as learning and what types of knowledge are seen as “important” to create relevant and accessible STEM learning experiences for all students.

There is still a persistent belief that developing strategies that support girls and/or students from different cultural backgrounds, “mainstream” students are left behind.

Actually, educators have found that interventions that work to increase girls' and minorities’ interest in STEM also increase such interest among all students in the classroom. When girls and students from minority backgrounds are shown images of scientists of diverse backgrounds and genders, they get a greater sense of possibility about the person they could become, as do boys and children from ethnic backgrounds traditionally represented in STEM careers.


CULTURAL COMPETENCE

Adults can have an impact on girls and minorities’ interest in STEM.

The support of parents and educators has been shown to be crucial to students’ interest in science, technology, engineering and math. Making girls aware of the range of science and engineering careers available and their relevance to society works to attract more women (as well as men) to STEM careers. Parents and educators are also in a position to tell young people what they need to do (in terms of coursework and grades) to put themselves on a path to a STEM career.

References:

Bell, Philip, et.al. Learning Science in Informal Settings: People, Places, and Pursuits. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press, 2009.

National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering: 2009, NSF 09-305. Arlington, VA: NSF, 2009.

National Science Foundation. Back to School: Five Myths about Girls and Science. Arlington, VA: NSF, 27 Aug. 2007.


CULTURAL COMPETENCE

Creating Common Language – Trainer Notes

Objectives: To introduce core concepts in cultural competence. To uncover some of the hidden meanings in common terminology.

Time: 10-15 Minutes

Materials: Flipchart Marker

Directions: 1. Prior to presentation, write each of the terms on a piece of flipchart paper, leaving space after each term.

2. Explain to participants that one of the reasons conversations about diversity can be so difficult is that we often use the same words to convey different meanings. In this exercise, you will be covering a few core concepts to clarify what we really mean when we’re using these words.

3. Ask the participants to quickly call out what they think each term means, and capture on the flipchart. Note the divergence of meanings from person to person.

4. Review the definitions given on the handouts. 5. Ask participants to review the Golden and Platinum Rules. Has

anyone heard of the Platinum Rule before? What’s the difference?

a. Note that the Platinum Rule is a simplified way to think about cultural competence. Rather than assuming that what I think is right is best, I might wonder what someone else might think is right and how I might be able to do that.

b. An example of the Platinum Rule is respecting different cultures of communication, like returning a bow in greeting to Japanese visitors rather than insisting on a handshake.

Risk Level Low


CULTURAL COMPETENCE

Creating Common Language

Diversity encompasses all those differences that make us unique, including but not limited to race, color, ethnicity, language, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, gender, socio-economic status, age, and physical and mental ability. A diverse group, community or organization is one in which a variety of social and cultural characteristics exist.

Inclusion denotes an environment where each individual member of a diverse group feels valued, is able to fully develop his or her potential and contributes to the organization’s success.

Culture is the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another.

Cultural Competence is a process of lifelong learning. It results in knowledge, skills, behaviors, and attitudes that allow us to work effectively with others from different cultural backgrounds, increases the ability of organizations to maximize the benefits of diversity within their workforces, and improves the services we offer to our various stakeholders.

The Golden Rule:

Treat others as YOU would like to be treated.

The Platinum Rule:

Treat others as THEY would like to be treated.

In other words… Diversity is all those things which make us similar and different. We are more similar than we are different. BUT ‐ the differences matter, especially those that I don’t reflect

directly.

In other words… DIVERSITY either exists or doesn’t. Diversity isn’t what you “DO,” inclusion is!


CULTURAL COMPETENCE

Dimensions of Diversity – Trainer Notes

Objectives: To provide a comprehensive definition for diversity. To emphasize how important it is to look at “others” through their diversity wheel. To understand the various dimensions of diversity beyond race and ethnicity.

Time: 20-30 Minutes

Materials: Flipchart Marker Dimensions of Diversity handout Index cards (5 per participant)

Directions: Small Group Instructions: 1. Provide an overview of the Diversity Wheel:

o This wheel illustrates many of the dimensions of diversity we all embody as individuals. The different levels do not represent levels of importance, but rather the extent to which we have “choice” over how we identify each of the dimensions.

o At the core of each of us is our personality. o The INTERNAL dimensions are those parts of our

identity we’re born into/with. For example, we do not choose which country we’re born in (national origin). People have different opinions on whether individuals have choice over their sexual orientation. Sexual orientation is included as an “internal” dimension, because when you ask people about THEIR sexual orientation, they will say that they were born that way.

o The SECONDARY dimensions are those that we have some agency in choosing, and are generally more changeable over a lifetime. For example, we can choose to change our geographic location during our lives.

o The ERA wheel represents larger world events and history that we experience, creating important reference points in our lives. For example, many of the students today didn’t experience a world with a West and East Germany. They don’t know a world without the internet.

2. Define race as a social construct. Provide the U.S. Census Bureau race classifications, including changes in the last 10


CULTURAL COMPETENCE

years. Race is a concept that divides human in various classifications, often 5 or 6. Genetically, human beings share 99.9% of characteristics, yet “race” continues to be the great divider. Explain that race is an evolving concept. (See Trainer Note)

3. Clarify the differences between race and ethnicity. Ethnicity is related to population sub-groups, includes geographic location, family origins and traditions.

4. Ask participants: What is national origin and what is the difference between national origin and ethnicity?

5. Ask: Who is in the room? A couple of volunteers to share their ethnicity or, national origins.

6. Continue with the secondary and era dimensions. Engage the participants. Divide participants into small groups (3-5 people) Distribute 5 index cards to each participant. Ask participants to quickly identify 5 dimensions that are important for them today (1 per card) in 2 minutes, with no speaking. After 2 minutes, instruct participants to set aside one card. Continue the process until participants are left with only 1 card. Ask them to share with their small group which dimension they were left with and what their initial “deck” looked like. Debrief and Process in Large Group:

What did you discover about yourself and others at your tables from this activity? What did it feel like to shed identities? What was it like to describe yourself in terms of only one dimension of diversity?

Why do you think it is important to understand your own diversity wheel as an informal science educator?

Why is it important to consider multiple dimensions of diversity when working with colleagues and audiences?

Key Points: We all have a diversity wheel The importance of the dimensions of diversity varies from

person to person (they could be similar or different) Some dimensions are dynamic as they change over time. Diversity is race and ethnicity, and much more.


CULTURAL COMPETENCE

Trainer Note Despite scientific data, the belief that human races exist remains unquestionably real and, like any belief held by a large number of people, is significant in itself regardless of its scientific validity. The race concept continues to impact people through its effects on social behavior. For example, the question on race for Census 2000 was different from the one for the 1990 census. In 2000, people were given the option of selecting one or more races to include people who have a multiracial/multiethnic background. The six “races” in the 2000 census included: White; Black or African American; American Indian or Alaskan Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race. More likely, we will continue to hear of changes in the concept of race as recent scientific findings continue to challenge the “traditional” concept of race. Sources: Race: The Power of an Illusion, California Newsreel, 2003. . http://www.euroamerican.org/library/definitions_race.asp. ; Scientific American Magazine, 2002; Race (U.S. Census)

Risk MEDIUM


CULTURAL COMPETENCE

Dimensions of Diversity

Adapted from: Loden, Marily & Rosener, Judy, ”Workforce America! Managing Employee Diversity as a Vital Resource,” McGraw‐Hill Professional Publishing, 1990.

ERA

SECONDARY

INTERNAL

Personality


CULTURAL COMPETENCE

Dimensions of Diversity Case Study – Trainer Notes

Objectives: To provide participants opportunity to explore the importance of considering multiple dimensions of diversity in creating inclusive experiences. To begin to develop strategies for creating culturally competent informal science experiences.

Time: 20 Minutes

Materials: Dimensions of Diversity Case Study handout

Directions: 1. Divide participants into small groups of 5-7. 2. Ask participants to read the case study and discuss in small

groups for 10 minutes. 3. Debrief and Process in Large Group:

a. Pose discussion questions to the group as a whole, asking for each small group to share just a bit of what they discussed together.

b. Note that approaching diversity in multiple dimensions is the first step toward cultural competence.

Risk LOW


CULTURAL COMPETENCE

Dimensions of Diversity Case Study

The WHIZBANG Science Center receives funding from a local funder to increase service to the region’s growing Hispanic population. While WHIZBANG staff is very supportive of this opportunity, this is not the first time the center has tried to outreach to Hispanics. Past attempts have not been fruitful.

The WHIZBANG marketing and education directors decide that the center’s summer science camps for middle school-aged youth are the right vehicle for this outreach. Camps are generally very popular, often with waiting lists. The directors perform a review of the existing marketing materials and strategies for the camps and use the funds to create new marketing materials, replacing current graphics to images that emphasize multicultural campers and translating some of the materials into Spanish.

Marketing materials are distributed through local schools with whom the center already has relationships, the WHIZBANG website, and the various mailing lists the center maintains.

Lily, the WHIZBANG education director checks in on registration progress a few weeks before the camp is to begin. When she sees the numbers, she is pleasantly surprised – registration seems to be tracking with previous offerings. However, when she reviews the participant list, she notices that very few of the registered campers have Hispanic last names and that most of the registrants are the same youth that have attended camps before.

Discussion Questions:

Why do you think few Hispanics signed up for the camp, despite WHIZBANG efforts? What dimensions of diversity did WHIZBANG focus on? Which did they not that might

have made a difference?

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