WestEd.org Infant & Toddler Group Care Culturally Responsive Care

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Infant & Toddler Group Care

Culturally Responsive Care

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Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

• Examine your own cultural beliefs.

• Describe the key elements and benefits of providing culturally responsive care.

• Identify strategies to increase cultural responsiveness in your program.

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What Culturally Responsive Care Does:• Provides the child comfort and familiarity.

• Supports the values of the family.

• Program practices are extensions of home practices.

• Builds a child’s confidence, competence, and connections.

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Small Group Discussion:

• How do you learn about the cultural beliefs and child rearing practices of the families as they enter your program?

• What do you know about the cultures of the families you serve now?

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Essential Connections:Key 1 – Provide Cultural

Consistency

Essential Connections: Ten Keys to Culturally Sensitive Child Care, 1993.

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Small Group Discussion:

1. How does our program provide cultural consistency?

• Caregiving Routines

• Interactions

• Environment

2.What needs to be improved?

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Essential ConnectionsKey 3 – Create Small Groups

Essential Connections: Ten Keys to Culturally Sensitive Child Care, 1993.

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Teaching Team Discussion:

• How many children are assigned to your teaching team?

• Write the names of all the children in the group and then list all the “family’s cultural beliefs and values” that you know.

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Essential Connections: Key 4 – Use Home Language

Essential Connections: Ten Keys to Culturally Sensitive Child Care, 1993.

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Small Group Discussion: Use of Home Language

• Are there children in your program with home languages other than English? If so, what languages?

• Do you or other staff speak these languages?

• How do you support the child in their primary language?

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Essential Connections:Key 5 – Make Environment

Relevant

Essential Connections: Ten Keys to Culturally Sensitive Child Care, 1993.

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Activity 1.1B: Help infants and toddlers, while they are in the program, feel the presence of

their family

With a partner, complete:

Step 1: Adapt the physical environment

Step 2: Adapt interactions

Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Program Guidelines: The Workbook, California Department of Education , 2009

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Essential Connections: Summary of the First 5 Keys

Essential Connections: Ten Keys to Culturally Sensitive Child Care, 1993.

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Supporting Family Relationships• Relationships with family members are infants’ and toddlers’ first and most influential relationships.

• Effective programs provide ways for each child to feel the presence of his or her family members, even in their absence.

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Revisit the Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

• Examine your own cultural beliefs.

• Describe the key elements and benefits of providing culturally responsive care.

• Identify strategies to increase cultural responsiveness in your program.

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Reading for next time:

Prior to the next session, be sure to read the article Developing Culturally Responsive Caregiving Practices: Acknowledge, Ask and Adapt by Louise Derman-Sparks.

We will be using this information in the next session and we won’t have time to read the full article in class.

THANKS!!