PROMOTING MULTICULTURAL COMPETENCE

1. PROMOTING MULTICULTURALCOMPETENCE Tools for Transition Professionals Lauren Lindstrom, Jim Martin, Audrey Trainor DCDT Conference October 18 – 20, 2007

2. LAY OF THE LAND • An intro • Professional development strategies and training tools • Lauren Lindstrom: staff training • Jim Martin: student directed planning & doctoral training program • Audrey Trainor: HRCD activities • Wrap-up/Lessons learned

3. WHAT COLOR IS A ZEBRA ? It is claimed that white people in the US generally consider the zebra to be a white animal with black stripes,most Africans consider it to be a black animal with white stripes. (Berlitz,C.,Native Tongues.New York:Putnam,1982)

4. WHO ARE WE?

5. WHY FOCUS ON DIVERSITY?

6. WHY FOCUS ON DIVERSITY? • Changing demographics in public schools • Need for professional development and staff training • Cultural values influence transition

7. WHAT DO WE MEAN BY DIVERSE? • Youth who are: • African American • Native American Indian • Latino • From low income families • As well as • Youth who speak English as a second language and/or have undocumented or immigrant status.

8. HOW CAN WE PROMOTE MULTICULTURAL COMPETENCE? • Increase awareness and skills of existing transition personnel • Recruit and support development of new professionals from diverse groups • Get involved in advocacy efforts!

9. Diversity Survey Teachers/Admin. Transition Specialists VR Counselors TRAINING NEEDS: General cultural information Strategies for at risk youth Language information Working with immigrant families Community supports STAFF TRAINING TOOLS

10. SELF ASSESSMENT TOOL • Purpose of the instrument • Training activities • Results

11. TRANSITION SCENARIOS • Review scenario • How did you find your own perspective and biases emerging through your discussion and reactions? • What can we learn from this activity?

12. STUDENT DIRECTED TRANSITION PLANNING • Purpose • To increase student involvement in transition planning discussions • U.S. Department of Education grant to develop lessons and research their effectiveness • Infuse best practices for reaching the largest number of students including those who are culturally and linguistically diverse

13. All lessons and associated materials can be found atwww.ok-ahead.org/test/index.html

14. Transition Planning

15. SDTP Lessons

16. Input Circle

17. Student-Directed Summary of Performance Rather than just give SOP when student’s leave: • Use Student-Directed SOP to frame transition plan and place for transition assessment information • Incorporates all transition assessment • Academic, vocational, social, living • Teach students to develop and present own SOP • Provides framework for exit meeting • Information flows into planning document and process

19. Lessons learned…so far • Familiarity with the lessons • Making transition education a priority • Teacher training and experience • Sufficient time for students, teachers, and families to engage the lessons and activities • Determining where to teach SDTP within the curriculum

20. SOONER SCHOLARS • Need to recruit, prepare, graduate, and place African American, Hispanic, and Native American special education teachers into higher education professor positions. • Produce new assistant professors with an advanced understanding of secondary transition and self-determination concepts with a focus of research and teacher prep of students from CLD groups.

21. Shortage of Special Education Faculty • Enrollment in doc programs decreased by 30% past two decades • Insufficient to meet need (Smith, 2003) • About 30% of faculty searches failed due to lack of qualified candidates (Sindelar & Rosenberg, 2003). • 83% of new Ph.D. Caucasian, 7% African American, 6% Hispanic, and 1% Native American

22. Change Across Time • In the 1960’s about 85% of doctoral graduates became higher education faculty members • Today only about 35% go into higher education (Pion, Smith, & Tyler, 2003) • Part-time doctoral students less likely to choose higher ed positions

23. Oklahoma Profile • 11 higher ed programs offer special education licensure • Two did not fill positions due to lack of qualified applicants • Of the 30 or so sped faculty in OK, 5 are African American and 1 is Native American • None focus on transition

24. Need Role Models to Prepare Next Generation of SPED Teachers • Increased numbers of self-determined African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans in leadership positions are needed to counter the disproportional representation of students who are CLD with disabilities in special education, and to address these students’ poor postschool transition outcomes.

25. Traits Related to Going Into Higher Ed • Desire to become college professor • 2 to 5 years teaching experience • Full-time student • Bachelor in special ed • Complete doctoral degree in 4 years or less • Not having to relocate

26. Sooner Scholars Details • Six Sooner Scholars • 4 Native American • 2 African American • Specialized Classes • Transition Seminar • Self-Determination Seminar • Associated Transition and SD Research

27. Sooner Scholar Details • Recruited students nationally • $25,000 annual stipend • Tuition and fee waiver • Conference attendance

28. DOCTORAL TRAINING PROGRAM AT OU SOONER SCHOLARS • ORIGINALLY A DOC STUDENT CONCEPT

29. OUR SPACE If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.  If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.  ~Bishop Desmond Tutu

30. HUMAN RIGHTS AND CULTURAL DIVERSITYCOMMITTEE • Audrey add information (and more slides) here

31. WRAP UP… How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.  ~Anne Frank