Welcome!

Harmonizing Cultural Diversity for Sensitive Infant Care

Developed by Janet Gonzalez-Mena and Senta Greene. © 2013, WestEd, The Program for Infant/Toddler Care. This document may be reproduced for educational purposes.

Agenda

• Opening Remarks• Session Goals• Climate of Care Agreements • “Thinking in Images”• Definition of Terms• Culturally Responsive Care and Identity

Formation• Child Rearing Practices• Training Strategies and Resources• Harmonizing: Revisiting the Title of the Session• Wrap-up and Evaluation

Harmonizing Cultural Diversity for Sensitive Infant Care

GOALS FOR SESSION

1. Allow participants to experience a session on diversity that goes beneath the surface into deep underlying issues of race, culture, and class

2. Invite participants to critically examine their beliefs, information, and biases to deepen their understanding of cultural competence

3. Increase participants understanding of the critical role that caregivers play in the process of infants’ identity development

4. Explore with participants how stereotypes and belief systems influence each person’s ability to communicate with people different from themselves and work cross racially and cross culturally

5. Explore cultural competency in caregiving practices and how to use a process to communicate around differences

6. Expose participants to a variety of training strategies and materials to help them plan their own workshop

Climate of Care

We each bring our life experiences and different

perspectives to this training session. These differences

provide a wealth of real situations, specific challenges, and

practical strategies in providing services to infants, toddlers,

and their families. This session is a special opportunity to

share and refine our skills in harmonizing cultural diversity

for sensitive infant care.

“Thinking in Images”

Take a moment and reflect on the word culture. Share an image of an object, a symbol, or word that best captures what culture means to you.

Share your response with your neighbor.

Definition of Terms

• Bias • Culture• Cultural Competence• Cultural Empowerment• Culturally Responsive Care • Dominant Group• Ethnicity• Equity• Prejudice• Race• Social Identities• Social Inequity

CHILDHOOD CONDITIONING

1. No human being is born with racist, sexist and other oppressive attitudes.

2. As children, we received messages both overt and subtle that conditioned us to think about people different from ourselves in stereotypical ways.

3. The messages were not necessarily intentional.

4. We got those messages family, friends, from the society-at-large – from TV, from textbooks…

5. Our responses to stereotypes affected how we saw people, felt about them and automatically responded to them.

6. It is possible to get off of automatic, become aware of our reactions and make choices about how to respond.

When the family’s culture is ignored or when infant care teachers react to children who are

culturally different from them as though they are deficient, underdeveloped, or incompetent,

children experience problems in communication, in getting their needs met, and in establishing

relationships.

~ Carol Brunson Day

Culturally Responsive Care and Identity Formation

• Culture is the fundamental building block of identity.• Through cultural learning children gain a feeling of

belonging, a sense of personal history, and security in knowing who they are and where they come from.

• Child care policies influence the quality of emotional messages passed from caregiver to child.

• The child care experience should be in harmony with the culture of the home.

Child Rearing Matrix

Reflections from Your Experience…

• What were some things you noticed during this

experience?

• What do you know now that you didn’t know before?

• What part of this experience was most valuable for you?

• How does this experience further inform your practices

with infants/toddlers and their families?

Every life has a story…

What’s resonating with you?

Cultural Feeding Practices

Image 1:

Cultural Feeding Practices

Image 2:

Cultural Feeding Practices

“Cultural Assumptions”Assumptions are beliefs which are completely accepting

within the group that they do not need to be stated, questioned or defended

Negotiating Cultural Differences and Nuances

Preserving diversity is a survival issue! (for all of us!)

CULTURAL BUMP INSTEAD OF

CULTURAL CONFLICT

What do you want to remember most from what you just heard?

“Checklist for Equity Identity Formation in

Infant-Toddler Programs”

Let’s Think About This Together…

• Find handout “Discussions Regarding Culture and Race

for Trainers”

• Create small groups

• Discuss handout

• Large Group Share back:

What is a highlight or one thing you got out of this

experience with your group?

Planning Your Own Training

Tips, Ideas, and Resources

Tips, Ideas, and Resources

“Harmonizing: Revisiting the Title of the Session”

Wrap-Up, Reflections, and Evaluation

Children see themselves only as they are seen by the adults in their lives. When children see

themselves through culturally responsive eyes, they will see their real power.

~ Carol Brunson Day