WHAT
IS CULTURAL COMPETENCE?
Cultural competence is a set of congruent behaviors,
attitudes, and policies that come together in a system or
agency or among professionals that enable effective interactions
in a cross-cultural framework.
--Cross,
et al, 1989
The population of the world is shifting and changin g
dramatically; demographic predictions state that by 2050
white people will no longer be the majority in the United
States. Health, social and human service practitioners
of today are faced with patients from many different cultural
backgrounds hosting a multitude of different needs. Delivering
cutting edge workshops and trainings that promote the acquisition
of the knowledge, awareness and skills sets required to work
effectively with diverse populations is a primary goal of
THE CONVERGENCE CENTER.
Experts in the field of cultural competency site five
essential elements that contribute to an agency’s ability
to become more culturally competent:
- Valuing diversity
- Having the willingness to pursue a cultural self-assessment
- Being conscious of the dynamics inherent when cultures
interact
- Having institutionalized culture knowledge
- Having developed adaptations to service delivery
reflecting an understanding of cultural diversity.
These five elements should be manifested at every
level of an organization including policy-making,
administration, and staff practices. Further, these
elements should be reflected in the attitudes, structures,
policies and services of the organization.
The Convergence
Center approaches the practice
and implementation of cultural competence from a solid and
unique perspective, which acknowledges its complex, systemic
nature. Our training model is built on the foundation
of Social Justice; we believe that a primary ingredient
for achieving cultural competency is the willingness to acknowledge
that oppression is institutionalized, and that awareness of
one’s own cultural identity and values is at the core
of becoming culturally competent.
Self awareness,
which leads to self understanding of how cultural conditioning
influences our beliefs about human behavior, values, communication,
and biases, is an aspect of our approach to training.
We place culture within the context of an interwoven network
of relationships and we place particular emphasis around defining
and creating awareness around power dynamics that exist with
each interaction.
Our training modules focus on deconstruction of the “isms” that
every service provider holds (overtly and covertly) and must
manage, in order to be effective in the delivery of social/human
services. We believe that to create socially just
cultural competence is through:
1) self awareness, 2)
self-analysis, and 3) community partnership. |
