Cultural Competency Diversity Equity and Inclusion Professional Development

Woodson (1990), Orr (1991), Wynter (1994), Pollock (2008), Khalifa, Gooden, & Davis (2016), Moore, Michael & Penick-Parks (2017) and the Race & Pedagogy Institute (2017) have highlighted the long standing, profound, and systemic miseducation within all educational systems, naming the many failures of education, historically and today, and calling for radical transformation of teaching and school environments. Hammond (2014) highlights the importance of shifting from a pedagogy of poverty to a pedagogy of rigor where teachers intentionally plan for awareness, learning partnerships, information processing, and community building. Pollock (2006) notes that educators must engage in race wrestling where they must navigate the two antiracist impulses to treat all people as human beings and as racial group members.

Yosso’s (2005) community cultural wealth model describes the aspirational, familial, social, linguistic, resistant and navigational capital that students, families and communities of color productively utilize to navigate racist and inequitable systems, such as schools. This framework supports educators to engage strength based narratives about students and communities.

Safir & Dugan (2021) focus on gathering street data, as opposed to an overreliance on grades, test scores, and attendance and graduation rates. They highlight the importance of listening to the narratives of students and families, promoting student agency, and utilizing an asset based model to amplify the strengths that students and communities bring to the educational process. This framework supports educators to focus on voices on the margin and to center student experiences and challenges districts to use the lived experiences of students, families, and teachers to meaningfully inform policies. The Transformation Cycle highlights four components of implementation beginning with gathering Street Data (narrative data through interviewing). The four components are 1. Listening with the Mindset of Radical Inclusion, 2. Uncovering with the Mindset of Curiosity 3. Reimagining with the Mindset of Creativity, and 4. Moving with the Mindset of Courage. The purpose of this cycle is to center marginalized voices and obtain personal narratives, transform systems to be more inclusive and conducive to learning by all stakeholders, and to promote agency among students and staff in the system.

In addition to these content objectives we were also informed by literature on professional development, particularly as it pertains to supporting teachers in reflective and equity-centered practice. Given the demographic status of the teaching workforce, with most teachers identifying as White (Ingersoll, Merrill, Stuckey, & Collins, 2018) while the student population becomes increasingly more racially diverse, we were committed to a model that engaged teachers in reflecting on their own positionalities and biases while developing tools for recognizing systemic injustices. For example, Gorski & Dalton’s (2020) research highlights a focus on liberal “personal identity” and “cultural competence reflection” (p. 363) and the lack of critical reflection within teacher education curriculum, in particular reflection that requires “students to examine how their positionalities and inequity complicities relate to power and oppression in the larger society” and prepares “educators to enact justice in and out of schools” (p. 366) and engage in “social transformation reflection” (p. 363). This typology of reflection approaches is one resource for shared interactions among pre-service and in-service teachers within a professional development context. 

Picower (2015) juxtaposes traditional professional development (TPD) with critical professional development (CPD) arguing that professional learning that is focused solely on developing teachers technical or pedagogical skills without attending to the larger socio political context is unlikely to result in disruptions to systems of power. Critical Professional Development, on the other hand, supports participants by providing a context for analyzing the sociopolitical context in which schools are embedded and refining tools for dismantling those systems through collective voice and action. Other scholars working in this tradition have reached similar conclusions – to promote education as a liberatory project, teachers must be engaged in sustained and reflective professional development that makes visible the intersecting ways that power and privilege operate throughout systems (Duncan-Andrade, 2004; Kohli, Picower, Martinez, & Ortiz, 2014). Furthermore, critical professional development draws on professional development traditions that prioritize inquiry and collaboration (Cochran-Smith & Lytle,1999; Little, 2012; McLaughlin & Talbert 2001) as necessary components for teacher learning. 

Citations

• Cochran-Smith, M., & Lytle, S. L. (1999). Chapter 8: Relationships of knowledge and practice: Teacher learning in communities. Review of research in education, 24(1), 249-305.
• Duncan‐Andrade*, J. M. (2004). Toward teacher development for the urban in urban teaching. Teaching Education, 15(4), 339-350
• Gorski, P. C., & Dalton, K. (2020). Striving for critical reflection in multicultural and social justice teacher education: Introducing a typology of reflection approaches. Journal of Teacher Education, 71 (3). 357-368.
• Ingersoll, R. M., Merrill, E., Stuckey, D., & Collins, G. (2018). Seven trends: The transformation of the teaching force–updated October 2018.
• Hammond, Z. (2014). Culturally responsive teaching and the brain: Promoting authentic engagement and rigor among culturally and linguistically diverse students. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
• Horn, I. S. (2010). Teaching replays, teaching rehearsals, and re-visions of practice: Learning from colleagues in a mathematics teacher community. Teachers College Record, 112(1), 225-259.
• Khalifa, M. A., Gooden, M. A., & Davis, J. E. (2016). Culturally responsive school leadership: A synthesis of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 86 (4), 1272-1311.
• Kohli, R., Picower, B., Martinez, A. N., & Ortiz, N. (2015). Critical professional development: Centering the social justice needs of teachers. The International Journal of Critical Pedagogy, 6(2).
• Little, J. W. (2012). Professional community and professional development in the learning-centered school. In Teacher learning that matters (pp. 42-64). Routledge.
• McLaughlin, M. W., & Talbert, J. E. (2001). Professional communities and the work of high school teaching. University of Chicago Press. 
• Moore, E., Michael, A., & Penick-Parks, M.W. (2017). The guide for white women who teach black boys. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
• Orr, D. (1991). What is education for?: Six myths about the foundations of modern education, and six new principles to replace them. IN CONTEXT: A Quarterly of Humane Sustainable Culture. Retrieved from: https://www.eeob.iastate.edu/classes/EEOB-590A/marshcourse/V.5/V.5a%20What%20Is%20Education%20For.htm
• Picower, B. (2015). Nothing about us without us: Teacher-driven critical professional development. Radical Pedagogy, 12(1), 1-26.
• Pollock, M. (2008). Everyday antiracism: Getting real about race in school. New York: The New Press.
• Pollock, M. (2006). “Everyday Antiracism in Education.” American Anthropological Association. http://www.understandingrace.org/resources/pdf/rethinking/pollock.pdf
• Race & Pedagogy Institute. (2017). Call for proposals: Radically re-imagining the project of justice: Narratives of rupture, resilience, and liberation. https://www.pugetsound.edu/files/resources/call-for-proposals-2018-rpnc.pdf
• Safir, S. & Dugan, J. (2021). Street data: A next-generation model for equity, pedagogy, and school transformation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
• White, T., Woodward, B., Graham, D., Milner, H. R., Howard, T. (2020). Education policy and Black Teachers: Perspectives on Race, Policy, and Teacher Diversity. Journal of Teacher Education, 71 (4), 449-463.
• Woodson, C. (1990). The mis-education of the Negro (1st Africa World Press ed.). Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press.
• Wynter, S. (1994). “No humans involved”: An open letter to my colleagues. In Forum N.H.I.: Knowledge on Trial, 1 (1). 42-71.
• Yosso, T. J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race Ethnicity and Education 8 (1), 69–91.

The mission of the Race & Pedagogy Institute is to educate students and teachers at all levels to think critically about race, to cultivate terms and practices for societal transformation, and to act to eliminate racism. Join Race & Pedagogy Community Partners and University of Puget Sound faculty for three sessions to develop frameworks and the orientation to critically evaluate institutional culture and curriculum material including course texts and teacher guide materials to ensure that they effectively address questions of equity and cultural responsiveness.

Learning Objectives

• Participants will:
  • name and critically interrogate their beliefs related to racial identity and racism
  • state at least one anti-racist action they might take in their professional and/or personal life
  • analyze and re-envision instructional practices using an anti-racist stance 

During Year 1 of the grant we hosted six virtual 1.5 hour professional development sessions. We decided to hold them three weeks in a row to build focused engagement and learning at a time when educators in K-12 and higher education systems were still navigating the significant impacts of the pandemic.

Fall 2021            Spring 2022
October 21, 2021        February 10, 2022
October 28, 2021        February 17, 2022
November 4, 2021        February 24, 2022

In addition we hosted a Day of Culturally Responsive Learning and Healing on June 23, 2022 which was attended by 50 middle and high school students and 150 educators.Sessions for students included topics such as Financial Literacy, Environmental Science, Culture, Arts, and Communication, and Educational and Career Planning. Sessions for educators included topics such as Reflecting on Practice to Unlearn Racism and to Develop Anti-Racist Teaching Practices, Using Artists’ Books and Zines to foster Healing Conversations, The Anti-Racist Pause, and Building a Mindfulness Toolbox.

The mission of the Race & Pedagogy Institute is to educate students and teachers at all levels to think critically about race, to cultivate terms and practices for societal transformation, and to act to eliminate racism. In these sessions and online modules we will engage the Cultural Competency Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (CCDEI) Standards for Educators. These standards are organized into four domains:

1. Understanding Self and Others
2. Student, Family, and Community Engagement
3. Learning Partnerships
4. Leading for Educational Equity.

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will engage in equity and culturally responsive conversations relating to public education and school district climate and culture.

2. Participants will name strategies and action steps to implement inclusive practices to promote a positive culture, climate, and academic achievement.

During Year 2 of the grant we hosted four virtual 1.5 hour professional development sessions and we created four online learning modules aligned with the CCDEI standards for educators. We decided to alternate synchronous professional development sessions with asynchronous learning modules to foster learning and engagement across the school year.
 

In addition, we hosted a Youth Leadership Summit for 135 middle and high school students on March 13, 2023. Sessions focused on topics such as Financial Literacy, Food Insecurity, Safe Social Media, Diversity Equity and Inclusive School Practices, Grading, and Rigorous and Advanced Learning

On June 10, 2023 we hosted an Equity Summit for educators at the University of Puget Sound

Professional development sessions have focused on topics and questions such as:

• Building relational capacity and community: How can I create a safe space to hear others’ stories? How can stories build community-centered engagement? How can unpacking my own story positively impact my own learning and the learning of others in my school/classroom community?
• Using community data to inform instructional and school planning: What strategies have I tried to gather community data? What challenges have I experienced or do I envision? What recommendations do I have to strengthen student, family, and community engagement in the district?
• Fostering student agency: What ideas do you have about making your practice and/or school a place where students feel a greater sense of agency? How can/do I create opportunities and remove barriers to ensure each and every student experiences the full benefit of public education?

Per our goal, we deepened connections across the K-12 and higher education systems (Tacoma Public Schools, Vibrant Schools of Puget Sound, the MAT program, the Race & Pedagogy Institute). We have stretched to make these connections in the midst of a global pandemic when strain on the K-12 and higher education systems has been very pronounced.

The workshops and modules enhanced and supported the work of building and sustaining a districtwide culture of inclusiveness and cultural competence to improve student academic achievement and BIPOC employee retention.

What did you learn from the project?
What were the outputs and outcomes?
What did you learn that cannot be measured?

We have learned the importance of creating professional development sessions that honor educators’ professionalism and are intellectually stimulating to deepen educators' thinking about their practice and school and district climate. We have developed a number of important practices to foster authentic engagement and that make visible for participants our teaching and facilitation choices. Below we briefly describe these practices.

We use a consistent participation routine where participants are invited to 1) respond to an entry question, 2) reflect on community agreements, 3) respond to a land acknowledgement, 4) individually read texts selected for the day, 5) discuss framing questions in breakout groups, and 6) share final reflection as a whole group. We engage participants in a range of interactive experiences (e.g., writing in the chat box, sharing a theme in the discussion, using breakout groups for discussion centered on problems of practice).
 

We intentionally invite participants to:

• Interrogate language and consider alternative framings and/or the pros and cons of different language framings. For example, discussing the pros and cons of using terms like “Norms” versus “Community Agreements.” 
• Take time to discuss the purposes of what we are doing. Why are we doing a land acknowledgement? What purpose does it serve? Why are we discussing community agreements? What purpose do they serve?
• Make their teaching practice public with other educators for shared critical discussion by sharing narratives about their practices as an educator and the joys and challenges they are experiencing.
• Read brief texts and frameworks aligned with district goals to build a common language and to deepen learning.
• Articulate an action step.

We have learned the importance of slowing down, and not rushing through material, to intentionally build community and engagement. While it takes time to discuss teaching choices, to explore language choices, to ask questions, and to explore purposes, doing this intentionally invites educators into dialogue and into the professional learning community. In addition, it honors their voices and experiences. It also resists the framework for traditional professional development that often simplifies teaching and learning into a series of practices. We offer space for educators to explore questions and to come to their own ideas and actions and acknowledge that there are no easy answers to problems of practice.

We have experienced the benefits of having a professional development leadership team that embodies diverse representation - including different racial, gender, sexual orientation identities and institutional affiliations. 
We have also learned the importance of listening very carefully to participant comments and exit slip feedback, and using those themes to inform the planning for the follow session and to inform opening remarks so that we can narrate connections between each session. For example, remarking, “Last time we heard . . .  so in this session . . .” so that we narrate the arc of the sessions over time.

We have noted that the mode and pedagogy we have used with educators in a virtual professional development space has been highly engaging, with strong participation and contributions from adult learners. We have sustained these learning opportunities over two years in the context of a global pandemic. Educators have expressed appreciation for the learning space and have identified a number of action steps they plan to take, including:

• Being intentional with language
• Guiding students to reflect upon and question situations using multiple lens/perspectives rather than relying on a single story.
• Focusing on intentionally inviting more student perspective and background knowledge.
• Finding books and materials that reflect students’ cultures and creating spaces where students can share about themselves, their families, experiences, traditions and culture.
• Listening, learning from, and actively participating in community listening sessions.
• Practicing shared decision-making.
• Asking questions such as: How did my students respond to this unit/lesson/text? What voices are not here?
• Bringing resources in the modules into equity work at their schools for discussion with other educators.
   

This manuscript describes key practices we have implemented to facilitate authentic and engaging professional development sessions focused on fostering educational equity through reflection, responsiveness, and relationships.

Our district partner Tacoma Public Schools plans to continue to build agency among stakeholders, students, and staff by focusing on the four domains of agency: Identity, Belonging, Mastery, and Efficacy (Saffir & Dugan, 2021). Part of the ongoing work to transform district practices relies on helping students, staff, and community to cultivate their agency and build the capacity to sustain the work of anti-racist and culturally responsive pedagogy leading to academic success for ALL students. The work of cultivating the system must be shared. Therefore, the Districtwide Advisory Board that oversees various components of work within the system will continue efforts to bring student and community voice to the forefront through the various foci of work, including Teaching & Learning, Human Resources, Whole Child, and Enrichment. Each District Director will oversee a lead team of people who work collaboratively with a committee of people to transform outcomes for our district Strategic Plan Goals from an anti-racist lens. Tacoma Public Schools has applied for a College Sparx grant to help offset some of the cost to compensate the work of building more supports, professional development, and draw community voice.

During the 2023-2024 academic year Tacoma Public Schools will continue to support school leaders and district equity leaders to utilize the materials in the online modules to support education reflection and action and systemic change. The goal is to continue to build organizational capacity and a critical mass of educators committed to equity work and the challenge of sustaining equity work over time. Critical models of professional development rely on sustained teacher collaboration so that groups of teachers can engage in deep reflective work and gain momentum to take collective action to improve the educational system for students, families, and the community.
We will continue to collaborate to create a seamless partnership and equity through the following ongoing activities:

• Provide equity professional development with the School Principals and other instructional leaders via synchronous training, asynchronous modules, monthly equity questions, and meetings with district Equity design team members.
• Utilize scholarship to ground professional learning to build knowledge and capacity to lead the work, including: Culturally Responsive Teaching & the Brain (Zarettta Hammond), Street Data (Saffir & Dugan), Reclaiming the Multicultural Roots of U.S. Curriculum (Au, Brown, & Calderon), Cultivating Genius (Gholdy Muhammad), Culturally Responsive Teaching-Theory, Research, and Practice (Geneva Gay), Culturally Responsive Education in the Classroom (Adyemi Stembridge).
• Support the creation, implementation, and data collection for student voice and equity plans.
• Host Youth Leadership Team and Youth Summit focused on Academic Equity and Access.
• Organize and supervise youth equity activities and field trips that promote identity-based learning.
• Write school equity goals/plan progress at the end of each semester.
• Host a culminating Equity Summit at the end of each year, incorporating learned strategies and opportunities to gain feedback on further necessary work.