My Values And Attitudes – Supporting Staff

My Values And Attitudes – Supporting Staff

This section or excerpt of the Cultural and Linguistic Competence Self-Assessment for Early Head Start and Head Start Program Administrators requires that administrators reflect upon and rate themselves on how they incorporate culturally and linguistically competent values into aspects of their programming and in supervision of staff.

Please select A, B, or C for each of the items presented in this checklist

    • A = Things I do frequently
    • B = Things I do occasionally
    • C = Things I do rarely or never

In our Head Start or Early Head Start program:

A B C 1. I encourage all staff and consultants to avoid imposing values that may conflict or be inconsistent with those of cultures or ethnic groups other than their own.
A B C 2. I encourage staff to screen books, movies, and other media resources for negative cultural, ethnic, racial, or religious stereotypes before sharing them with children and families served.
A B C 3. I encourage staff to provide activities to help children learn about and accept the differences and similarities in all people.
A B C 4. I support all staff and consultants to intervene in an appropriate manner when they observe any staff, consultant or parent engaging in behaviors that show cultural insensitivity, bias or prejudice.
A B C 5. I encourage all staff and consultants to understand and accept that individuals from culturally diverse backgrounds may desire varying degrees of acculturation into the dominant culture.
A B C 6. I encourage all staff and consultants to understand and accept that family is defined differently by different cultures (e.g., extended family members, fictive kin, and godparents).
A B C 7. I encourage all staff and consultants to accept and respect that among different cultural groups male-female roles in families may vary significantly (e.g. who makes major decisions for the family, play and social interactions expected of male and female children).
A B C 8. I support all staff and consultants in developing the understanding that age and life cycle factors must be considered in interactions with families (e.g. high value placed on the decisions or childrearing practices of elders or the role of the eldest female in the family).
A B C 9. I encourage all staff and consultants to recognize that even though their professional or moral viewpoints may differ, they should accept the family/parents as the ultimate decision makers for services and supports for their children.
A B C 10. I support all staff and consultants to accept that religion, spirituality, and other beliefs may influence how families respond to illness, disease, and death.
A B C 11. I support all staff and consultants in their understanding that beliefs and concepts of mental health or emotional well-being, particularly for infants and young children, vary significantly from culture to culture.
A B C 12. I encourage all staff and consultants to recognize and accept that familial folklore, religious, or spiritual beliefs may influence a family’s reaction and approach to a child born with a disability or later diagnosed with a disability or special health care need.
A B C 13. I assist all staff and consultants in understanding that beliefs about mental illness and emotional disability are culturally-based.
A B C 14. I support all staff and consultants in understanding that culture has a great influence on how parents, families and communities respond to these conditions and related treatment/interventions.
A B C 15. I assist all staff and consultants to recognize that the health care practices of families served in our Early Head Start or Head Start program may be rooted in cultural traditions.
A B C 16. I assist all staff and consultants to recognize that the meaning or value of early learning, early childhood education, early intervention, and/or school readiness may vary greatly among cultures.
A B C 17. I assist all staff and consultants to understand that approaches to disciplining children are influenced by culture.
A B C 18. I support all staff and consultants in understanding that families from different cultural backgrounds will have different expectations of their children for acquiring toileting, dressing, feeding, and other self-help skills.
A B C 19. I assist all staff and consultants in understanding that customs and beliefs about food, its value, preparation, and use are different from culture to culture.
A B C 20. Before visiting or providing services in the home setting, I encourage all staff and consultants to seek information on acceptable behaviors, courtesies, customs, and expectations that are unique to families of specific cultural groups served in our Early Head Start and Head Start program.
A B C 21. I encourage all staff and consultants to review our programs or agency’s mission statement, goals, policies, and procedures to ensure that they include principles and practices that promote cultural diversity, cultural competence and linguistic competence.
A B C 22. I encourage all staff and consultants to seek information from family members or other key community informants that will assist us in responding effectively to the preferences and needs of children and families from diverse backgrounds served in our program.

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This product was developed [in part] under grant number 1H79SM082070-01 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The views, policies and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of SAMHSA or HHS.