Coach Me! Working with Cultural Differences to Create Successful Outcomes
Innovative responses to working with diverse and emerging audiences wnep approach
1. INNOVATIVE REPONSES
TO WORKING WITH
DIVERSE & EMERGING
AUDIENCES: WNEP’S
APPROACH TO
INCLUSIVITY
Teresa Curtis & Shelley King-Curry, WNEP Specialists
2010 Cooperative Extension Statewide Conference
October 20, 2010
2. Sharing
How are you making movement towards
increasing diversity in your:
Educational programming?
Program participants?
Program partnerships?
3. Session Objectives
Share WNEP’s approaches to effectively
working with diverse audiences
Assist participants in applying WNEP
strategies in reaching non-traditional learners
Expose the WNEP resources available in your
county
4. Learner Objectives
Explore possible connections with WNEP at
county and state levels
Discover a strategy to meet your program area
diversity goals
Identify an approach to boost your program’s
success in working with all audiences
14. Think about your programs…
What is one area where I can be more effective
in working with diverse learners?
Staff & Volunteers
Competencies & Skills
Partnerships
Resources
Introductions - 2 min
SKC first
Name
Both work on behalf of supporting WNEP colleagues as program specialists
(SKC) – focus is staff professional development and new staff orientation; advisor to two state districts for programming
(TKC) - focus is coaching and supporting staff working with diverse and emerging audiences with WNEP
TKC - Doing this presentation together because of the continuous need to prepare our staff to work with a diversity of learners and this has connected what we do (our work) to one another. Today is about recognizing the expertise that we provide which benefits WNEP towards helping other programs…
Although this session is geared to those not working with WNEP, we hope that our WNEP staff will help us discover ways that WNEP can be helpful in working with all audiences.
Have identify by a show of hands:
How many of you are WNEP
How many are other FL, 4H, CNRD, AG – any others
TKC –
Share in pairs - Anchor: 10 min
How are you making movement towards increasing diversity in your
Educational programming? (content, resources, issues)
Program participants? (learners)
Program partnerships?
2-3 minutes per person
Few minutes for a few groups to share out
Any one else like to tell us what their doing in their programs? With their participants or when working with partnerships?
Thank you for that – we appreciate your sharing.
SKC What we are going to do as facilitators in this session
Resources – curriculum, staff, etc
SKC This is what they’ll learn and do!
Add – 5 min per slide
TKC
All five components are very interconnected – staff & volunteers, competencies & skills, partnerships, and resources - `
…….our learners being at the center. Effective programming with any group of learners is enhanced if each of these components have been considered and adapted to meet their needs.
Federal funding guidelines have dictated WNEP work with low income audiences. Within our audience there is a great deal of diversity, this is also a non-traditional and underserved audience for cooperative extension..
Within this nontraditional audience, it has grown to be one reflective of just about all diversities.
Yes, we have ethnic and racial diversity :
Include approximate breakdown of diversity of WNEP learners for FY 10 (using federal categories for race/ethnicity) – as determined by educators, not self-reported
American Indian/Alaskan Native – 2%
Asian/Asian-American – 1%
Black/African-American – 20%
Hispanic/Latino – 8%
White - 72%,
Also religious and spiritual dimensions of diversity, socioeconomic status backgrounds – our recent economic crisis has changed the resources of some of our middle class, immigrants or refugees – some of our learners, such as our Hmong came in the early 80’s and now have grandchildren – with very different needs, some moved here in 2004, non-English speaking, significantly urban, multigenerational, and with high risk of health disparities, and predominately female and having various familial groupings. ( grandparents raising grandchildren, versus working with male headed families, or traditional families) – this is the centerpiece of our model. In the traditional sense, we had didn’t have the staff, resources, skills and partnerships to work with the audiences until the nutrition education programs in extension developed and evolved them. If we were going to be successful, given our mandate, we had to learn how to provide culturally responsive programming.
Going to talk about the various components of our model for the remainder of our time.
Without sharing in pairs – 1 min to think 3 to share out
Ask the question and have participants write this down or just make a mental note?
Add – 5 min per slide
SHELLEY
Use of the paraprofessional model in EFNEP, one of two programs comprising WNEP, EFNEP (Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program) began in 1968 and in the late 1980’s in SNAP-Ed (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Nutrition Education) formerly Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program:
Paraprofessional model:
Hiring nonprofessionals as educators from the communities that they will serve because of their life experiences, cultural, social and economic backgrounds and their ability to relate to clients:
Race/ethnicity
Income
Education
Many have been intimately involved with same difficult challenges as learners – can understand the complexities of the changes that need to be made. When we’re talking about eating fruits and vegetables, they may have a better understand of what those challenges may be. Because they aren’t coming in as experts, but as peers, there is more trust.
Why this model worked
Training was provided to provide content knowledge and skills (new staff and ongoing to support new research and skills needed – internally developed and designed)
provided access to the communities (these individuals lived where they worked and are not seen as outsiders)
ability to build relationships and trust with learners (peers not seen as the experts, representative of the audience per ethnicity, socioeconomic, language, Older staff were seen as “other mother”
professional mentoring was provided to paraprofessionals by professional staff and specialists, help guide and provide support in personal and professional development (help create value for them in the organization)
and resources
Employing those from communities we serve build bridges and connections – trust and value for extension in the community. Sign of respect that you care enough to hire people that are from my culture that understand our needs.
Even though now we hire both professionals and paraprofessionals as program educations, we hire people representative of the community (bi-lingual, similar ethnicity and cultures of those we serve) everyone attends the trainings and receive mentors. We provide culturally specific resources to support their work which Teresa will discuss in more details.
Do you have any questions about the paraprofessional models?
Without sharing in pairs – 1 min to think 3 to share out
Add – 5 min per slide
TKC
As the specialist for Emerging Audiences, my position is less than 2 yrs old. This position evolved as a result of the state diversifying in areas that have been traditionally homogenous. There was a need to identify our new potential audiences and ways staff could provide effective outreach through coaching and engagement. My expertise is to provide support, provide guidance on adapting resources, developing appropriate community connections, and increasing cultural awareness and understanding. And being the go to person with questions.
In supporting colleagues, I address the core competencies around working with diverse audiences. Our core competencies around diversity are embedded within our overall duties and responsibilities – there is attention and detail to working with diverse audiences in our list of competencies. We are in a process of reviewing these competencies and strengthening them to support more effective outreach – especially in those communities that are having the greatest change in diversity at this time.
Core competencies - with in those competencies there are specific skills that address working with diversity
provide a few examples – building rapport, planning teaching events –and goes through the various teaching events that diversity needs to be addressed.
I support staff through -
- Professional development
New staff training – talk about my CC piece, which is really an overview of culture, the process of becoming culturally competent, developing cultural awareness and knowledge – demographics, communication styles, world view, food, adapting lessons. In addition to that, we have segments on engaging learners of all abilities and working with individuals and families in poverty. These segments are facilitated by other specialists all coordinated by SKC. In addition, we have provided specific trainings on working with various cultural groups at district meetings (i.e. immersion experiences). We do this as a team with our county coordinators to help us determine needs and objectives.
MAP - Some educators are becoming MAP trainers. (my plug ;))
Workgroups – each has its own flavor, talk about each….
Make sure to talk about the three different latino groups, as well as Hmong workgroup, Tribal Nutrition educators group
Building confidence that their work is a priority, sharing in each other’s successes
Networking
Skill building (as internal expertise) & mentoring
Resource development and adaptation
Coaching –
Interpersonal/ one-on-one support to staff – Coordinator with a diverse staff, how to work across cultures, to resolve conflict, build understanding
Working with non-traditional partners, how to approach and engage
What are your questions?
Without sharing in pairs – 1 min to think 3 to share out
Add – 5 min
Shelley & TKC
Shelley – historical perspective………..In WNEP our partnership have also been nontraditional. We reach our learners best in their communities and homes. We need partners who also work with these audiences to connect us and for recruiting our staff. Other programs and agencies such as WIC, HeadStart, Area Office on Aging, public schools, Faith Based organizations, Health Departments, etc have been critical and long standing partners, and not traditionally partners for cooperative extension. Our partnerships provide more than just access to learners, they provide support through inkind resources we use for matching dollars and helping us strategize on how to best meet needs in communities. WNEP colleagues participate on coalitions and task forces in most communities building relationships. Building these partnership can be challenging for most of our staff especially those who are paraprofessionals as well as those who are professional.
TC - Cannot have the same approach with all learners, can’t have same approach with all partners
WNEP staff are primarily female – but some communities are patriarchal and they may need to be approached different
European model is to come in as experts with authority & other cultures and agencies are more focused on the relationships
Need to focus on their goals and needs versus what we can do for them. May have different ideas about how partnerships work – i.e. build a relationship and the work comes out of versus the relationships come out of the work
Develop an equality in the partnership, negotiate what program will look like – determine how needs can be met within guidelines
Finding a partner, a guide, which can be your partner agency, to help you develop competency and skills within that community
Referrals for participants – how to create a safe and trusting learning environment
Network of other possible partner agencies
Appropriateness of resources
Add: 5 min per slide
TKC
You can’t use the same tool for every job
This is an area that has been a challenge – initially resources had to be developed for audiences of limited income that para-professionals could use. Continues to be a challenge bc as our audience diversifies we need to consider language, graphics, connotations/context, terminology for all the audiences we serve.
Sometimes it is as simple as a being aware of references and perceptions. For example, we are trying to serve more men, but when we refer to “parents” many Dads think your referring to moms. Need to specifically address the men.
Other items to consider – varying levels of literacy, proficiency with English, as well as variations within generations. Adaptation is consistent – need to adapt as we go. Adapting is making sure that every aspect – language, graphics, context, terminology, activities reflect the lives and experiences of the audiences we serve.
Adapting versus translating
Sisters in health – Spanish speaking audiences – originally created for Hispanic & Latinos, WNEP created a small work group to adapt small portions to WI audience
Hmong adaptation of ESBA – Building Healthy Families – i.e language no word for exercise, need to use something like breaking a sweat
W.O.L.F curriculum – Work Out Low Fat – youth diabetes prevention for NA Youth
WNEP is institutionalizing Learner centered education, where we are engaging learners through a dialogue approach, this allows an educator to tailor their personal approach and adapt the lessons to the audience.
Staff are receiving ongoing training and support in this method of teaching
Adapting resources to support dialogue approach
Key message with facilitated dialogue – learners are engaged as being a part of their learning so that they can more actively participate in their learning by sharing what they already know with us and each other. This helps learerns to see our appreciation and value of them – and shows respect to all cultures. This is not the expert model.
SKC - Apply 15 min: Break into groups according to area most challenging – count off in 4’s
1 – staff and volunteers
2 – competencies and skills
3 – partnerships
4 - resources
Think about this from the perspective of your program - What is something I can do to be more effective in either staffing, competeinceis, partnerships, resources
Shelley and I will walk around and see if you have any questions
Choose a reporter and a scribe – give flipchart and markers to each
Synthesis – (what we’re hoping we’ll hear) Let the community be the expert – it may be uncomfortable this that’s what we have to do to have an impactful relationship
Share back and report out
Away – 10 min: Squares, Triangles, and Arrows - one set per 12 people. If more than 12 people do two sets
Post on the walls or lay on the floor TWO SETS of big cut outs of a square, triangle and arrow pointing upward
Divide the two groups into three
Ask one group to stand under the SQARE and share with each other what they had heard that squared with them
Ask another group to stand under the TRIANGLE and tell each other what they were now viewing from a different angle
For the group under the ARROW, ask them to reveal one change they plan to make or one action they plan to take after this session.
After a couple of minutes, move the groups to the next sign until they have visited each one
******Closing Activity – Put Geometric – square, triangle arrow? See gotta have heart
Include a memorable quote about working with diverse audiences?