California Association of Professors of Educational Administration March 5, 2011

1. Overcoming Barriers and Making the Commitment to Cultural Proficiency: An Inside Out Approach Within Educational Leadership OrganizationsDelores B. Lindsey & Linda K. Purrington California Association of Professors of Educational Administration March 5, 2011

2. Cultural Proficiency is a lens through which to view your work

3. The Tools of Cultural Proficiency • The Barriers • Caveats that assist in responding effectively to resistance to change • The Guiding Principles • Underlying values of the approach • The Continuum • Language for describing both healthy and non-productive policies, practices and individual behaviors • The Essential Elements • Five behavioral standards for measuring, and planning for, growth toward cultural proficiency

4. The Barriers • The presumption of entitlement • Systems of oppression • Unawareness of the need to adapt • Resistance to change The barriers to cultural proficiency are systemic privilege, oppression, and resistance to change

5. Systemic Privilege: The Presumption of Entitlement People with a presumption of entitlement believe that they have acquired personal achievements and societal benefits solely on their own merit and character. They don’t feel a need to release or reorder any societal or organizational perquisites they may have.

6. Resistance to Change: Unawareness of the Need to Adapt • Unawareness of the need to adapt means failing to recognize the need to make personal and organizational changes in response to the diversity of the people with whom one interacts. • People who are unaware often believe that if the others—the newcomers—change or adapt to the environment, there will be no problems.

7. Guiding Principles • Culture is a predominant force • People are served in varying degrees by the dominant culture • Acknowledge group identities • Diversity within cultures is important • Respect unique cultural needs The Guiding Principles are the core values, the foundation upon which the approach is built CBVRSB - Lindsey & Lindsey

8. Guiding Principles, con’t • The best of both worlds enhances the capacity of all • The family, as defined by the culture, is the primary system of support in the education of children • School systems must recognize that marginalized groups have to be at least bicultural ‘Community-centric’ vs ‘School-centric’ • Schools must recognize and adjust to effects of historical oppression - over representation in special education and under representation in gifted programs

9. Reflection and Dialogue Reflection and Dialogue are essential processes for individuals and organizations engaged in a journey toward Cultural Proficiency: • Reflection is the discussion we have with ourselves to understand our values and behaviors • Dialogue is the discussion we have with others to understand their values and behaviors Reflection and Dialogue are fundamental to probing and understanding organizations’ policies and practices

10. In Today’s Challenging Times . . . • Leading is about changing the culture of schools • Leading is about . . . • disturbing the system and • creating conditions for change

11. Culturally Proficient Leaders ask: • What have we done or not done to cause the patterns that persist? • How might we recognize what is going on in order to effectively intervene? • How can we recognize and change our behaviors to get the results we want? • What is it about my thinking and beliefs that might be allowing the results to persist?

12. Leading for learning today means . . . • Developing standards-based instructional educators • Understanding high stakes accountability and responsibility • Engaging the community in new and different ways • Understanding change as ‘process’ focused on outcomes for all students

13. Essential Elements for Cultural Competence • Assess Culture • Value Diversity • Manage the Dynamics of Difference • Adapt to Diversity • Institutionalize Cultural Knowledge The Essential Elements of cultural proficiency provide the standards for individual behavior and organizational practices

14. Reflection • How comfortable are you with your knowledge of Cultural Proficiency? • What questions do you have? • What more do you want to learn about the tools of Cultural Proficiency? • How do you see the tools of Cultural Proficiency helping you and members of your school community narrow and close educational gaps that matter?

15. CAPEA1=Directed Towards Expectations, 2=Approaches Expectations, 3=Meets Expectations, 4= Exemplifies Expectations • Assessment of Cultural Knowledge • Value for Diversity • Ability to Manage the Dynamics of Difference • Adaptability to Diversity • Ability to Institutionalize Cultural Knowledge • 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 • 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

16. Other Cultures The world in which you were born is just one model of reality. Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you: They are unique manifestations of the human spirit Wade Davis, Anthropologist

17. References • Lindsey, Randall B., Nuri Robins, Kikanza, & Terrell, Raymond D. (2009). Cultural Proficiency: A Manual for School Leaders, 3rd Ed., Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. • Lindsey, Delores B., Jungwirth, Linda D., Pahl, Jarvis V.N.C., & Lindsey, Randall B. (2009). Culturally Proficient Learning Communities: Confronting Inequities Through Collaborative Curiosity, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.