Becoming a More Culturally Responsive CampusAllison GreenApril 6, 2017

Word association:

What words come to mind when you think “cultural responsiveness” or “cultural competence”?

Cultural competence scholarship largely comes from the fields of…

• Healthcare• Early childhood and K-12 education• Social/human services

In higher education….

“[T]he education of racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse students should connect in-school learning to out-of-school living; promote educational equity and excellence; create community among individuals from different cultural, social, and ethnic backgrounds; and develop students’ agency, efficacy, and empowerment.”-- Geneva Gay, Professor of Education, University of Washington

Highline’s definitionsOur Education Department defines cultural responsiveness as "the will and skill to create authentic and effective relationships.”

Highline education instructor Patricia McDonald diagramming the definition of cultural responsiveness on a whiteboard.

For the campus overall…

The ability to deliver services, teach, advise, make policy decisions, and manage people and processes by taking into account cultural differences and issues of equity.

Culturally Responsive Campus Project

CR Campus Project

History of our project

2011-2012 -- Taskforce develops the Framework for Cultural Responsiveness

Campus experts: faculty in ESL, sociology, education, English and other areas; director of multicultural services; others with long-term commitment to diversity and equity work.

Framework

• Know yourself• Know your students• Know your practice

-- Gary Howard, We Can’t Teach What We Don’t Know: White Teachers, Multiracial Schools

Know YourselfHow confident are you that you can…

Articulate your social identities (e.g., race, gender, and socio-economic position) and how they have privileged and/or marginalized you.

A. I’m totally confident that I can do this.

B. I’m somewhat confident but need to learn more.

C. I’m not entirely sure what this entails; I would need more information.

D. Right now, I can’t do this.

Know Your StudentsHow confident are you that you can…

Describe what your students’ interests are and what skills they bring to your college.

A. I’m totally confident that I can do this.

B. I’m somewhat confident but need to learn more.

C. I’m not entirely sure what this entails; I would need more information.

D. Right now, I can’t do this.

Know Your PracticeHow confident are you that you can….

Explain to students how to navigate college operations, advocate for themselves, and critically analyze the higher education system.

A. I’m totally confident that I can do this.

B. I’m somewhat confident but need to learn more.

C. I’m not entirely sure what this entails; I would need more information.

D. Right now, I can’t do this.

2014-16

Assisted by a State Board faculty/staff learning community grant, over 30 faculty and staff developed Canvas modules.

Project outcomes

• Develop a shared understanding of vocabulary and key concepts relevant to cultural responsiveness and a set of practical tools for implementing it.

• Articulate our individual and departmental roles in addressing the elements of Highline’s mission and core themes related to diversity and equity.

• Explore present and historical influences on ourselves, our students, our colleagues, and our community.

Modules

Tips for Developing a Project Like this on Your Campus

1. Gather the experts on your campus.

•A small group may be ideal to start – 8-10?• Include both faculty and staff

2. Create a framework for cultural responsiveness to guide discussions.

Think of it as a set of outcomes:A culturally responsive faculty/staff member is able to…..

3. Get feedback from stakeholders throughout the process:

• focus groups with students, staff, faculty• one-on-one discussions/interviews with

campus experts•mini-workshops at meetings – gather data

on index cards

4. Delegate cultural responsiveness modules to teams.

Hold quarterly meetings for “show-and-tell” and problem solving.

5. Institutionalize the project.

Who will continue to maintain/update the modules, coordinate workshops, publicize them, work one-on-one with faculty and staff, etc.?

2016-17 Institutionalization at Highline• Five credits course release per quarter for CR

coordinator

• CR Conversations series – 2 per quarter

• Workshops/presentations for departments

• Meetings with individual faculty/staff

• Workshops during Professional Development Day

• Development of discipline-specific bibliographies

Questions?

Bibliography

Gay, Geneva. Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Practice & Research. Teachers College Press, 2000.

Howard, Gary. We Can’t Teach What We Don’t Know: White Teachers, Multiracial Schools. Teachers College Press, 2006.