Four Skills of Cultural Diversity Competence Chapter 2, Skill One: Understanding Culture as Multilevel.

Four Skills of CulturalDiversity Competence

Chapter 2, Skill One:

Understanding Culture as Multilevel

Skill 1: Understand culture as multilevel (contd.)

Definition of Culture: Human Ways of Life

Culture Includes:Ways of thinking and perceiving- Such as values, beliefs and norms-A group’s meaning system-Relates to language use

Ways of doingWays of doing-Such as behaviors, lifeways, customs and -Such as behaviors, lifeways, customs and

material objectsmaterial objects

Skill 1: Understand culture as multilevel (contd.)

The ways of thinking, perceiving and doing of any specific group:

Are learned, shared and generally transmitted to their children’s generation

Influence the thinking and actions of individual members

Skill 1: Understand culture as multilevel (contd.)

Culture has two broad components

1. Culture is subjective and objective:

it is invisible (norms, values,

beliefs, assumptions)

it is visible (patterned behaviors,

customs)

Skill 1: Understand culture as multilevel (contd.)

Culture’s second broad component2. Culture is multilevel and dynamic Culture exists at the

Micro level -personal and interpersonal levelsMeso level – group, mid-level agencies/organizationsMacro level-the institution , whole society level Culture is dynamic because it is continuously shaped and reshaped by policy decisions (at the meso and macro levels) and by our daily decisions (at the micro level)

Skill 1: Understand culture as multilevel (contd.) Aspects of Culture: the following categories are designed as a thinking tool for cultural observation and understanding:

1. History 1. History 2. Social Status Factors3. Social Group Interaction Patterns: Social Group Interaction Patterns:

Intra-group & Inter-groupIntra-group & Inter-group4. Value OrientationsValue Orientations5. Language and Communication: 5. Language and Communication:

Verbal & Non-verbalVerbal & Non-verbal6. Family Life Processes7. Healing Beliefs and Practices8. Religion9. Art and Expressive Forms10. Diet/Food11.Recreation12.Clothes

Aspects of Culture: the following categories are designed as a thinking tool for cultural observation and understanding:

Worksheet # 3, page 29

Purpose: To practice identifying and thinking about Aspects of Culture

Film Analysis

Skill 1: Level One

Culture at the personal level

As individuals grow up, each develops a personal identity, a personal system of meanings which underlie behavior

Skill 1: Level One

Culture at the personal level

One's personal identity is formed through interacting within one's social group (for example, interacting within one's family, neighborhood, school, work).

Skill 1:Level One

Culture at the personal level, contd.

Personal identity changes during one’s lifetime

Ethnicity is one influence on personal identity.

Other influences include age, race, gender, ableness, physical appearance, religion, sexual orientation, and social economic position

Skill 1: Level One ASPECTS OF PERSONAL CULTURE: EXAMPLES

One's personal culture or meaning system is comprised of various aspects, with some aspects being more conscious than others- To name a few:

Verbal Communication -voice loudness and inflection -degree of directness -topics perceived as appropriate for conversation

Nonverbal Communication -one's orientation to space and time -facial expressions -eye contact -use of silence

ValuesFamily Life Processes: Decision-Making Style, Work Habits and BehaviorsReligion: Spiritual Beliefs and PracticesFood and Eating HabitsDress and Appearance

Skill 1: Level OnePersonal Culture Change and Sociocultural Awareness

Different stages of sociocultural awareness surface in the identity change process

Stage 1 Conformity (blindsight)Stage 2 Resistance (no, it can’t be)Stage 3 Redefinition (self-reflection and

practice competencies)Stage 4 New Identity (yes, it can be and this

is what I can do)Stage 5 Diversity Competence (this is the

way it is and this is how to deal with it)

Skill 1: Level One :Culture at the personal level (contd.)

Worksheet # 4, pages 33-34

Experiencing Personal Culture

Purpose: to provide an experience of your personal culture

Skill 1: Level One :Culture at the personal level (contd.)

Worksheet # 5, pages 35-37

Identifying the Aspects of Personal Culture, Part 2

Purpose: to provide an experience of your personal culture

Skill 1: Level Two

Ethnic & Racial Group The term ethnic or culture group refers to the

cultural heritage a group shares that relates to the Aspects of Culture: language, values, family life processes, religion, etc. and their associated beliefs and customs.

The beliefs and customs associated with each Aspect are generally learned from one generation to the next.

Skill 1: Level Two

Ethnic & Racial GroupThe term racial group is also relevant. As a result of historical social developments among groups in the United States, “race” is a 500 year old belief that ascribes differential status to groups of people within the society based on surface physical differences (skin color, eye shape)

Although race is defined, perceived, and believed to be a biological classification of human groups based on heredity and genetic differences, it has no scientific baseHumans are the most homogenous speciesThere is only one race of humans and it is the human race

Skill 1: Level Two Ethnic & Racial Group

Worksheet # 6, pages 39-41

Aspects of culture as applied to an ethnic group

Purpose: to demonstrate an ethnic/culture group’s aspects of culture

Skill 1: Level Three

Mainstream (National) Culture of the USAThe United States society is composed of a mainstream or national culture and many subcultures, such as Irish American, Mexican American, African American, Korean American, Navaho American, Thai American, Samoan American, Filipino American, Luiseno American Mainstream culture, originally based on the core culture of England, is commonly referred to as "dominant" because it is institutionalized in all major organizations and institutions (see Aspects on pages 121-122)

Skill 1: Level Three

Mainstream (National) Culture of the USA

Since the United States is multicultural, all of us are to some extant members of ethnic groups although we may not personally identify with our membership.

Skill 1: Level Three

Mainstream (National) Culture of the USA

Worksheet # 7, pages 43-44

Purpose: to demonstrate an aspect of U.S. Mainstream culture in relation to time orientation (a value and a nonverbal form of communication)

Monochronic and Polychronic Time

Skill 1: Level Three

Mainstream (National) Culture of the USA

Worksheet # 8, pages 45-47

Purpose: to demonstrate aspects of U.S. Mainstream culture.

Skill 1: Level Four

Organization CultureOrganization culture refers to the policies, procedures, programs, and processes that organizations employ. Within each of these organizational policies, procedures, programs and processes we find deeply embedded Aspects of Culture and their beliefs, assumptions, and customary ways of behaving and doing

Skill 1: Level Four

Aspects of Organization and U.S. National Culture

Worksheet # 9, pages 49-51

Purpose: to demonstrate the congruence between aspects of organization culture and U.S. national culture

Skill 1:Level Four

Understanding Aspects of Culture/Ethnicity in an Organization

Worksheet # 10, pages 53-55

Purpose: to demonstrate the need for cultural understanding in daily life (at work, etc.)