Multicultural Practices Betsy Ayankoya & Christina Kasprzak Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute August 2005 What is Developmentally Appropriate Practice? Let audience answer There is no disagreement, all of our Practices should be developmentally appropriate. We have the NAEYC guidelines as part of your materials. The original intent of the guidelines was to refer to all children- and many publications have devoted significant attention to the issues of diversity. In recent years, There are some concerns and questions about : 1 who should make the determination about what is developmentally appropriate 2 on what knowledge, values, and goals, should the determination be made Many of the concerns are rooted in the knowledge that the research that was used to develop the guidelines were conducted on typically developing, Caucasian, middle class, children. Basic social attitudes are a barrier in most areas. In most of the areas of this country education is still “separate but equal” ( this is 50 years after 1954 Brown vs the Board of Education and 1974 PL 94-142 ---99-547; Education of the Handicapped ). Exclusion Reasons : physical accessibility and environment, lack of preparation and training, resistance against integrated programs by parents who fear that the education of their children will be compromised, lack of financial resources for equipment, renovations, and special therapies; availability of self-contained classrooms in some communities.

Culturally Appropriate Practices Age Appropriate: Based on the knowledge of typical development of children Socio-Cultural Appropriateness: Based on knowledge of the cultural and societal environment in which the child and family live What makes our programs and services Culturally Appropriate ? Culturally appropriate practices must take these two – what we know about the developmental age and what we learn about the child And merge them with the knowledge of the cultural group they belong to, Then we can say that our practices are culturally appropriate. Therefore, we make our decisions about how to care for and educate young children with the knowledge of the child's cultural and social context. Many of our children “get into trouble” because they just don’t “act” like the other children. (Two examples: One that looked at culture and one that didn’t: 1)When my son was in preschool – they had a “thanksgiving meal” for the children. One of the children was a vegetarian and everybody knew it so their meal was centered around “vegetable soup”.) 2) When he was in first grade, his teacher called me at least once a week, because he wouldn’t sit in his seat and do his work. When I asked my son, his answer was always “but mommy, I was helping Chas”. So how do we address these issues in our practices. Individually Appropriate: Based on knowledge of individual child’s growth patterns, strengths, interests and experiences

Myths about Multicultural Practices MYTH #1 = Multicultural practices emphasize how other cultures are different from the dominant culture. MYTH #2 = Bilingualism is a liability. MYTH #3 = Multicultural practices are only relevant in environments with children from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. MYTH #4 = Random and sporadic cultural activities make good multicultural practices First let’s look at what we have heard about multicultural practices MYTH#1= Multicultural practices emphasize how other cultures are different from the dominant culture. -Focusing on differences accentuates “we” versus “they” polarity. No culture is better than other. Children need to be aware of the uniqueness of their own culture when presented with information from other cultures. Children should learn about all groups in the same way.    MYTH#2= Bilingualism is a liability. -Studies show that higher levels of bilingualism are associated with higher levels of cognitive attainment and higher academic achievement.

Multicultural Practices 5 Primary Goals of Multicultural Practices To teach children to respect others’ cultures and values as well as their own  To help all children learn to function successfully in a multicultural and multiracial society To develop a positive self-concept in those children who are most affected by racism To help all children experience in positive ways both their differences and their similarities To allow children to experience people of diverse cultures The goals of multicultural education, are to raise children to live in a diverse world where there is acceptance of all. These practices we will be talking about apply not only to the classroom. You can have a multicultural environment in your office/work area, and you can have multicultural materials to take to the child’s home.

Benefits of a Diversity Rich Environment It helps children develop their ideas about themselves and others It creates conditions for the child to initiate conversations about differences It provides adults with a setting for introducing activities about diversity

Getting Started: Exploring Cultures Learn about your own culture -- beliefs, values and attitudes Build partnerships with families   Learn about the culture of the children/families your serve

Getting Started: Assessing Programs Mission, values and beliefs Resources Staffing Environment Family involvement Policies

Getting Started: Assessing Practices Activities Materials/Resources Environment Family involvement Interactions with children/families