Characteristics of the Culturally Skilled Teacher

Beliefs/Attitudes

1. The culturally skilled teacher has moved from being culturally unaware to valuing his/her own culture and respecting differences.

2. A culturally skilled teacher is aware of his/her own values and biases and how they may affect people of target groups.

3. A culturally skilled teacher is comfortable with differences that exist between the teacher and students in terms of race/culture and beliefs.

4. The culturally skilled teacher recognizes numerous circumstances when persons of target or non-target groups may need to talk about concerns and issues with people of their own cultural group.

Knowledge

1. The culturally skilled teacher understands the sociopolitical system's operation in the United States with respect to its treatment of people of target and non-target groups.

2. The culturally skilled teacher combines specific knowledge and information about the particular student groups with whom he/she is working with humility based in awareness of within group heterogeneity.

3. The culturally skilled teacher identifies institutional barriers that block target group members from having equal access to power and authority within his/her school and/or unfairly advantage non-target group members.

Skills

1. The culturally skilled teacher generates a wide variety of verbal and nonverbal responses to concerns and issues about racial/ethnic and cultural differences in interactions with both target group and non-target group members.

2. The culturally skilled teacher sends and receives both verbal and nonverbal messages accurately, empathetically and cooperatively and especially in potentially conflictual mission-sensitive situations.

3. The culturally skilled teacher exercises institutional intervention skills on behalf of his/her students and others when it would be helpful.