Hispanic/Latino Cultural Scavenger Hunt

Who is considered Hispanic/Latino?

The Census describes Hispanic or Latino ethnicity as "a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race."

The U.S. Hispanic population now stands at over 54.1 million, making them the nation’s second-largest racial or ethnic group. Today Hispanics make up 17% of the U.S.

population, up from 5% in 1970.

Language

Time oriented vs. Relationship Oriented

Relationship Oriented

Role of Food and Eating

Traditionally those in the Hispanic/Latino culture eat on a delayed schedule. Meaning they eat their meals later compared to traditional American times.

Food is a major part of family celebrations including: holidays, birthdays, weddings, quinceaneras or just casual get togethers.

Most traditional meals include the following:

Beans or Rice Peppers or Chiles Tortillas or Chips Meats and Cheeses

Communication Styles

Physical ConnectionsEmotional Connections

Importance of Family, Relationships, and Friends

Patriarchal Families tend to be big and close

Religion/Church plays an important role Frequent family gatherings

Values and norms regarding individualism, independence and conflict.

Beliefs centered around religion.

Catholicism is primary religion.

Men are dominant in the culture.

Family is the most influential factor.

Very close personal relationships. Will make physical contact when talking with others.

Work habits and practices

Many Hispanic families work hard to provide a better life for their families.

Some family members work multiple jobs to ensure their children have what they need.

Many work in agriculture or manual labor.

Mental processes and learning styles

Hispanic learners are more field based learners or group learners.

There is a big difference between male and female learning styles in Hispanic/Latino Cultures.

Female: More social and peer oriented, internally motivated,

Male: Less social, externally motivated, authority oriented

Clothing

Most Americanized Hispanic and Latinos dress like their Anglo peers.

Traditional clothing centers around agricultural heritage, usually very colorful.

Design of Focus Group

Practices to follow during the focus group:

1)Use common terms

2)Conduct focus group as chat or informal conversation

3)Ask focus group where they would like it to occur. The location should be convenient (time and place) for the focus group members.

4)Translate materials ahead of time and ask focus group their prefered use of language

5)Ensure members of the cultural group have similar status so all voices are heard

6)Use visuals as much as possible to aid in understanding of topics discussed

Implementation of Focus Group

1) Introduction: welcome focus group members, personally introduce yourself to each focus group member, explain purpose of meeting in common terms, discuss how focus group works

2) Participant Introduction: Have participants share their names and role in the service/program, when they received the service, and other essential background information to the service/program

3) Introduce barriers to services: Is it accessible to participate in the program? When they call the program do they get an immediate response? Are they able to communicate in their home language? Is there follow up after the services are rendered?

4) Conduct discussion and probe deepening our understanding of the barriers of the program.

5) Suggestions on the ways the program can improve.

6) Debrief and wrap up

Focus Group / Evaluation Scenario Task

Read through the following scenario and identify aspects of the focus group that are culturally competent and not culturally competent for Hispanic/Latino culture.

Normal High School is conducting a focus group to determine the strengths and weaknesses of its academic program for Hispanic/Latino students. The principal, who has already met many of the parents, is a conducting the focus group. She is in her third year as principal and does not speak the home language of the group. It is held at 6pm in the main office conference room. The location is close and easily accessible to the members and bottles of water are available to all the members. The focus group is comprised of a mixture of men and women, some of which are parents of students in the school and others are community members. The principal introduces herself and then explains the purpose of the focus group. Most of the conversation is directed at the principal in response to her questions. The principal is attempting to maintain eye contact and take notes behind her clipboard. When the discussion is over, she thanks the participants for their time and input.