Contextually Informed and Culturally

Appropriate GuidanceChapter 5 from Guiding Children’s Social and Emotional Development: A

Reflective Approach; Katz, Janice Englander; 2014

Context and Culture

• Children have limited life experiences• Expectations for behavior depend on a variety of factors including:• Context – what are the circumstances surrounding the expectations for

behavior?• Culture – what values influence and what teachings are shared by the child’s

family and the surrounding community?

• Inconsistent expectations are common for children• Some children generalize rules from one situation to another more

easily than others

Expectations in Context

• Consider the context – time of day, location, people involved and/or present• Is the child on the playground with one set of rules or inside with

another set of rules?

DAP

• To support emerging skills• Provide developmentally appropriate materials• Provide healthy, respectful, supportive, and challenging learning

environments for young children (NAEYC Key Element 1c)• Add new to the familiar for novelty• Be consistent and predictable, provide a similar environment, yet be flexible• Remember that the school environment will have different expectations than

the home environment

Parenting and Discipline

• Parenting Styles – read about different parenting styles• You may even want to take a Parenting Style quiz• How do parenting styles (yours and the parents’ styles) impact the children in your care?• Discipline practices – while this is from the Virginia Extension Agency,

the information is definitely relevant to North Carolina.

Bronfenbrenner and Ecological Systems Theory

• Look at the Ecological Systems Theory graphic on p. 77 in your text• Children live within each of those contexts.• What are the values and beliefs of the community as a whole?• Do we value children?• Do we value high quality childcare? How do we know? Look for a Discussion

Board for this one!

Cultural Competence

• Culture – “a shared system of meaning, which includes values, beliefs, and assumptions expressed in daily interactions of individuals within a group through a definite pattern of language, behavior, customs, attitudes, and practices ( Maschinot, 2008; Christiansen, Emde, & Fleming, 2004; Emde, 2006)• What is included? See the list on p. 79• Beware of stereotypes!!!!• Beware of your personal biases!!!!!• Get to know people as individuals

What Does It Mean to Us?

What Does Culture Mean to Us?

• Assimilation• See cultural characteristics on p. 81 in your text• Note vocabulary• Cultural scripts• Ethnicity

• What about people who think differently than we do?• What are our beliefs about their thinking?

• Individualistic cultures• Collectivist cultures

Individualist vs. Collectivistic Cultures

• Individualist – independence; autonomy• Collectivistic – interdependence; community

• When should we encourage children to think and act independently? • When should we promote the strength of the group?

• What about Praise? Read “Not in Praise of Praise” (pp. 11 – 14) and “Spoiled Rotten” and “Five Reasons to Stop Saying Good Job”. Serious food for thought!!!!

Stuff vs. Relationships

• Stimulate learning - how important is all that stuff?• Human relationships• Unscheduled time? What about David Elkind and “the hurried child”?• Describe “learning through play” vs. providing worksheets for

academic advancement. • Teacher centered vs. child centered • Consider “Looking in the Mirror” questions on p. 88

Cultural Conflicts

• Reflection• Respectful listening• Non judgmental• Observe what is not being said• Agree to disagree?• Open for further discussion?