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Foresight Consulting |
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Specializing in Educational Services |
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Summary of Conceptual Framework For CULTURAL COMPETENCE Thelma A. Jackson, Ed.D.
Rapid and unexpected change has become a permanent part of the educational landscape. Adapting to such change has become an integral feature of organizational life. We take change to mean that our ways of doing things will no longer be effective. Our skills and strategies become less relevant, even obsolete. Change requires us to engage in different behavior by acquiring different knowledge and learning different practices, skills and strategies. Successful change is when we are able to go about doing things differently and more effectively. Humans have always had to adapt to changing circumstances. However, what we are faced with now is not just change. We are now dealing with change that is unprecedented in its speed and frequency. If change is about learning, then faster and more frequent change is going to require faster and more frequent learning. Becoming culturally competent is one such change that must take place within our institutions. In today’s racially and culturally diverse society, it has become necessary for all individuals who live, work, and serve in any capacity to be culturally competent. It is becoming a standard to be able to understand and respond effectively to issues of people in a multicultural society. Educators must have the skills, knowledge and attitudes to enable them to respond to needs of people who are of a different culture (Banks, 2001). Culturally competent educators must be able to provide effective services to the students they serve. Cultural competency is defined as “ a set of behaviors, attributes and policies enabling an agency or individuals to work effectively in cross cultural situations”. Cultural competency is critical to the success of effective service delivery in an ever-diverse environment. The respect of an individual’s cultural domains and their experiences is essential to their engagement. It is further defined in terms of commitment, accessibility, and relevance. A commitment that social change is necessary includes acknowledgement that institutional racism exists at all levels of the service delivery system, in policy and in practice.
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CULTURAL COMPETENCE |
