A Youth Leader's Guide to Building Cultural Competence [PDF]

Getting to Know the Young People in Your Program

The third step to building cultural competence has two parts:

1. getting to know the young people in your program as individuals and not as representatives of their cultural group; and
2. learning about their cultures.

As a caring adult who works with youth, you already know how important it is to become acquainted with the unique personalities of each young person in your program. You know that every teenager has his or her own likes, dislikes, experiences, sense of humor, ambitions, attention span, skills, personal style and family situations. A big part of the fun of working with a group of young people is getting to know them as individuals and working with the diversity hey bring to the group.

As you focus on building cultural competence, be sure that you continue to view the young people in your program as individuals. Beware of the temptation to quickly explain behavior as the result of culture. "Any knowledge gained about members of a particular group must be balanced with the view that each person is also a unique individual."¹⁴ Nor should you expect any individual young person to be the ambassador for their racial or ethnic group or to be able to explain the group's entire range of cultural beliefs. Always be ready for surprises: just when you think you have learned a "fact" about a cultural group's beliefs or attitudes, a young person's behavior or attitude will directly contradict it!

Lastly, remember that the terms Asian-American, Latino/Latina, African-American, European-American and Native American are imprecise and mask a broad spectrum of cultural diversity. The continent of Asia contains numerous countries ranging from Sri Lanka to Korea. Latinos/Latinas draw their ancestral heritage from Europe, Central and South America and may be descendents of Europeans, tribal Indians, Africans or a combination. European-Americans have cultural roots in many different countries in both Western and Eastern Europe, as well as from places where Europeans settled through history. African-Americans have ancestral roots among the numerous countries of Africa, as well as in the Caribbean and South and Central America. There are over 300 Native American tribes, each with its own set of beliefs and traditions. Differences among regions within countries of family origin add to the diversity in large cultural groups. Allow the young people you are working with to define themselves for you.

Keeping these cautions in mind, listen to the young people in your group. Start paying attention to cultural issues having an impact on young people in your group. Keep in mind the very same questions listed in Section One. If you have difficulty answering many of those questions for all teens in your program, you know that you have a lot of interesting learning to do. Tips are listed below for how you can increase your knowledge about any cultural group.

Focusing on Economic and Sexuality Issues

Research indicates that the sexual behaviors that put young people at risk for HIV/AIDS and unwanted pregnancy are often tied to what teens see in their future. Those visions are often linked to economic realities in their lives. Therefore, you will want to pay particular attention to topics related to economics and sexuality may include:

• the young people's and the family's level of acculturation;
• economic status and opportunities for their families;
• whether teenage sexual activity and parenthood is common and what your young people think about these issues;
• the availability of low- or no-cost contraception, including condoms;
• the availability of community resources for medical, housing and other assistance for people with HIV infection and AIDS.

Learning About Cultural Backgrounds

There are two dozen or more Latino/Latina cultures in the U.S. Over 30 cultural groups make up "Asian-Americans." The variety of European ethnic groups is large. Black America is made up of descendants of Africans brought to the United States during slavery as well as more recent immigrants from a host of Caribbean and African countries. Close to 300 tribes makes up the Native American population. Lesbian, gay and bisexual people are represented in all of those populations.

There is obviously no way for you to learn in depth about every one of these groups. Do not be overwhelmed by the task of learning about cultural backgrounds. Instead, break the task down and set reasonable expectations for yourself. Bear in mind that some of what you read, see, hear or experience might reinforce stereotypes. In that case, keep an open mind and continue questioning the basis for your perceptions and beliefs.

Focus your efforts on learning about those groups represented right now by teens in your program. Accept that you cannot know everything about another culture and never will. Instead, figure out what is most important to know about the specific cultures from which your program participants come. Working on HIV/AIDS prevention, you already know that you will want to concentrate on cultural beliefs, attitudes and behaviors about sexuality, gender roles, communication, health, families and children.

Further Steps in Learning About Differences in Race, Ethnicity and Sexual Orientation

1. Encourage those different from you to be open and honest about issues related to their culture and be similarly open and honest about issues related to yours.
1. Ask if they mind sharing/talking with you about these issues.
2. Do not expect someone to summarize their entire cultural experience in five minutes.
3. Respect how difficult it can be to share private thoughts and experiences with "outsiders."
4. Be able to listen without becoming defensive.
5. Be willing to share your thoughts, experiences and cultural background as well.
6. Do not think that even a series of good conversations with just one person is enough; "the key to understanding a particular group lies in an appreciation of the wide diversity of individual experiences."¹⁵
2. Read additional sources.
1. Start with the bibliography in this resource.
2. Go to a library and ask a librarian for help. Check out the sociology, anthropology and history sections. Read magazines and newspapers targeted to particular communities you want to learn about.
3. Ask young people, your friends and colleagues for recommendations for novels and non-fiction books written by members of their cultural group.
3. Explore different parts of your town or city.
4. Join, or work with, interracial/multicultural organizations. Volunteer to do political work on issues that affect people of color or gay/lesbian/bisexual people in your area.
5. Expand your own friendship networks. Invite someone of a different race, ethnicity or sexual orientation in your office to join your for lunch. Strike up conversations. Do not be afraid to reach out. If possible, visit the homes of the young people in your program in order to get to know their parents and other family members.
6. Learn another language. It is like having another window onto the world and it allows you to think in different ways.
7. Participate in cultural traditions or community activities.
• Go to ethnic festivals and eat in ethnic restaurants.
• Attend gay/lesbian/bisexual pride parades (held in June every year in many cities).
• Visit a house of worship or go to a religious service if outsiders are welcome.
• Attend a lecture or rally on a topic important to those you want to learn about.
• Go to see any movie in a theater popular with those you are trying to learn about; variations in audience reactions to the same film can be fascinating.
• Ask the young people in your program, your colleagues and friends to suggest other appropriate activities.
• Organize an ethnic pride festival in your school, church or community center in which teens can present information about their group's history, food, music, holidays and religion.
8. Find local training and education resources for further cultural competence/prejudice reduction/anti-racism skills development for yourself, your co-workers and your group.