Developing Cross-Cultural Competence: A Guide for Working with Children and Their Families

As the U.S. population grows more and more diverse, how can professionals who work with young children and families deliver the best services while honoring different customs, beliefs, and values? The answers are in the fourth edition of this bestselling textbook, fully revised to reflect nearly a decade of population changes and best practices in culturally competent service delivery.

The gold-standard text on cross-cultural competence, this book has been widely adopted by college faculty and trusted as a reference by in-service practitioners for almost 20 years. For this timely NEW edition, the highly regarded authors have carefully updated and expanded every chapter while retaining the basic approach and structure that made the previous editions so popular. Professionals will

• Get a primer on cultural competence. Readers will examine how their own cultural values and beliefs shape their professional practice, how the worldviews of diverse families may affect their perceptions of programs and services, and how providers can communicate more effectively with families from different cultural backgrounds.
• Deepen their understanding of cultural groups. Learn from in-depth chapters with nuanced, multifaceted explorations of nine different cultural backgrounds: Anglo-European, American Indian, African American, Latino, Asian, Filipino, Native Hawaiian and Samoan, Middle Eastern, and South Asian. Readers will get up-to-date insights on history, demographics, traditions, values, and family structure, and they'll examine the diverse ways each culture approaches child rearing, medical care, education, and disability.
• Discover better ways to serve families. Readers will get concrete recommendations for providing more effective, sensitive, and culturally competent services to children and families. They'll find practical guidance for every step in the service delivery process, from initiating contact with families to implementing and evaluating services. Vivid case stories and photos bring the principles of cultural competence to life, and the helpful appendixes give professionals quick access to cultural courtesies and customs, key vocabulary words, significant cultural events and holidays, and more. Plus an expanded list of resources points readers to books, films, theater, and other media that will enhance their understanding of other cultures.

New to this edition is a revised chapter on African American roots; thoroughly updated and expanded chapters; expanded coverage of disabilities; more on spiritual and religious diversity; and strategies for helping families make decisions about language use (English-only vs. preservation of native language).

Equally valuable as a textbook and a reference for practicing professionals, this comprehensive book will prepare early interventionists and other professionals to work effectively with families whose customs, beliefs, and values may differ from their own.

About the Author

For nearly 35 years, Dr. Lynch was involved in teaching, research, and community and family services that focused on improving the lives of young children who had, or were at risk for, disabilities. Prior to joining the faculty at San Diego State University (SDSU), Dr. Lynch received her doctorate in teaching exceptional children in 1972 from The Ohio State University and joined the faculty of Miami University. She subsequently joined the faculty of the University of Michigan, working in both academic and clinical positions.

Dr. Lynch became Professor Emerita at SDSU after chairing the Department of Special Education, directing the Early Childhood Special Education graduate program, and serving on the faculty of the SDSU-Claremont Graduate University joint doctoral program. Over the course of her career, Dr. Lynch directed a model demonstration project and personnel preparation grants in early intervention and early childhood special education as well as a series of research grants on topics such as parental perspectives on special education, the status of educational services for children with ongoing medical conditions, individualized family service plan development, and the use of behavioral data and reflective practice to improve novice teachers' skills.

Dr. Lynch has served on numerous local and statewide committees and was one of the national collaborators on the Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services Early Childhood Research Institute. Most recently, she served as one of the Regional Coordinators of the federally funded Early Intervention Distance Learning Program, a collaborative project involving five California state universities and state partners. In 2003, she was honored by SDSU as one of the Top 25 on the campus and as the Outstanding Faculty Member from the College of Education. Dr. Lynch has lived in and taught special education to college instructors in Indonesia, taught human services professionals in American Samoa, given invited presentations in Australia and Taiwan, and lived in India while her husband served on a U.S. Agency for International Development project. She is the author or coauthor of numerous articles and chapters and has been a frequent presenter and workshop leader in the area of cultural competence.

Dr. Lynch continues to write in the area of early intervention and cultural competence. Her commitment to family support and social justice continues through her volunteer work within the San Diego community.

Marci J. Hanson, Ph.D., is Professor in the Department of Special Education at San Francisco State University (SFSU). At SFSU, Dr. Hanson is actively engaged in teaching, research, and service related to young children and their families. In addition to these responsibilities, she directs the SFSU joint doctoral program in special education with the University of California, Berkeley, and codirects the early childhood special education graduate program. She is a consultant with the child and adolescent development faculty of the Marian Wright Edelman Institute for the Study of Children, Youth, and Families at SFSU and with San Francisco Head Start.

Sam Chan, Ph.D., is Director of the Professional Services Center at the California School of Professional Psychology, Los Angeles.

Deborah Chen, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Special Education, California State University, Northridge (CSUN), teaches in the Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) programs. She also supervises ECSE credential candidates in early intervention and early childhood special education programs located in highly diverse communities in Los Angeles and surrounding counties. As an immigrant to the United States from Jamaica (West Indies) with Chinese roots, Dr. Chen has a personal and professional interest in working with families of diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

Dr. Chen has extensive experience serving with families and their children with sensory impairments and multiple disabilities as an early interventionist, teacher, program administrator, teacher trainer, and researcher. She has directed projects of significance, model demonstration, outreach, research-to-practice, and personnel development projects funded by the U.S. Department of Education. These projects have focused on working with families and children of diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, home-based early intervention, interdisciplinary training, caregiver-child interactions, and early communication and tactile communication strategies with children who are deaf-blind. Her publications reflect these professional efforts and interests.

Dr. Chen has disseminated her work at local, state, national, and international conferences. In addition, she has been invited to conduct professional development courses and to present at international conferences in Australia, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Qatar, Taiwan, and Thailand.

Dr. Jackson is member of the faculty for the National Center for Cultural Competence at the Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development, where she provides technical assistance and consultation for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Children's Mental Health Initiative. Throughout her 30-plus years as a clinical social worker, Dr. Jackson introduced Stress Management programming as an integral part of client and family services in various health and mental health settings.

Dr. Santosâ (TM)s research focuses on young children with disabilities and their families in the context of early intervention and early childhood special education services. She is interested in developing an understanding of the ecologic influence of families and culture on parents and professionals in facilitating young childrenâ (TM)s development and learning. Through her research, teaching, and public service activities, Dr. Santos aims to make a positive impact on the lives of children with disabilities and their families by enhancing the practices of professionals who work directly with these children and families. Her prior experiences as a preschool teacher, special educator, and administrator in inclusive settings have greatly influenced her work in academia.