This Assignment is a Performance Task in which you will assume the role of an early childhood professional with expertise in culturally responsive practices who provides consulting services to several early childcare centers. You are also the author of a popular blog called “The Care in Caregiving.” You will use the information in the documents and research from the professional knowledge base to recommend culturally responsive practices to promote supportive and respectful partnerships with families and positive outcomes for young children.

This file is based on a report from a Parent-Teacher Conference provided by Donna Tuttle, administrator of Abidah’s preschool.

Tuesday, October 1st

Abidah lives in a household with her mother, father, paternal grandmother, and her three older brothers. Her three siblings are in school and have varying levels of English proficiency, depending on how long they were in school in Egypt. The family legally emigrated from Egypt to the United States after the violent uprisings that occurred in Egypt during 2012 and 2013. During that year, Abidah was not in any sort of educational program.

In Egypt, her father worked as an engineer, and her mother was a college professor of literature. Both parents are well educated and speak some English, but both feel more comfortable conversing with their children in Arabic. Abidah’s grandmother has always lived in Abidah’s household and is the main caregiver for all four of the family’s children. In Egypt, there were also aunts, uncles, and cousins who were very involved in the family’s daily life. Abidah was very close with a few of her other female cousins and appears to mourn the loss of having them in her day-to-day life.

Abidah’s parents have stated that all of their children were read to frequently at home in Egypt, and that the older children helped the younger children with their school work. When they came to America, they were forced to leave most of their possessions behind, including all of Abidah’s toys and books. They are currently trying to build up a new library for her, in both Arabic and English, but are having trouble finding age-appropriate literature in Arabic.

Additionally, the comfort level and quality of life of the family has decreased somewhat since they left Egypt—both parents were professionals with good salaries, and the household was big enough that each child had his or her own room. Now Abidah must share a room with her youngest brother, which is quite a change for her. Both parents are working part-time and trying to secure better paying jobs, but it is difficult because of language barriers and issues with their visas.

Abidah’s parents have expressed that they believe strongly in the value of the American education system and would like to enroll her in school next year. They have also stated that they would like Abidah to be bilingual, and that, if it is recommended, they will attempt to speak more English in the house. This is problematic, however, as Abidah’s grandmother, and primary caregiver, speaks no English. They have also stated that they trust the early childhood care center to know the best practices for helping Adibah prepare to enter school next year.

In Egypt, Abidah enjoyed watching children’s television shows, singing, playing games with her young cousins, and being read to at night before bed. Somewhat surprisingly, she is described as a very independent child with a bold and courageous attitude.

©2014 Walden University
1

Administrator’s Letter

September 30th

Dear Caregiver Guru:

I am writing to your website to request a formal recommendation, in culturally-responsive practices, for a teacher at our early childhood care center.

The teacher is responsible for one of the 4-year-old groups at our center. Last week she came to me with concerns about a recently immigrated child in her group, Abidah, who seems to be having difficulty integrating into her new environment. There have also been some miscommunications between the teacher and Abidah’s grandmother, who appears to be her primary caregiver, and speaks very little English. Upon hearing the teacher’s retelling of the events of the past week, and reading her weekly updates on Abidah, I believe she could benefit from learning more culturally responsive ways to partner with families and promote healthy child development.

I have asked Abidah’s parents to come to the center to discuss her new situation. Linda, Abidah’s teacher, and I hope this may allow us to understand her experiences as a newcomer to the United States and as a dual-language learner.

I will send over notes ahead of time to further inform you of the situation. These notes will assist you in making your recommendation to the teacher, Linda, as to how to better support Abidah’s learning and development.

Best,

Dora Tuttle

Administrator at Big World Child Center

©2014 Walden University
1

Four Weekly Progress Reports on Abidah, Age 4, from Her Teacher

Week 1: Friday, September 7

Abidah was introduced to the group on Tuesday of this week. She was brought into the early childhood care center by her grandmother, who does not speak English, and seemed cautious about speaking to me, so I was unable to communicate very much with her. I realize she is probably not used to professional women, and perhaps she will warm up to me over time. They seem very close, and I noticed that Abidah wanted to be carried around instead of walking on her own like the other children in the group do. I mentioned to the grandmother that Abidah should be more independent by this age, but, as I stated earlier, she did not seem to understand what I was trying to tell her. Some of the other kids have had trouble pronouncing “Abidah,” so we have taken to calling her “Abbie.” She is a sweet girl, quite shy, and I worry about her ability to pick up English due to her lack of interaction with other English speakers outside of the center. She wears a headscarf, like her grandmother, which the other children seem interested in to a point but not in a way that is distracting to the group.

Week 2: Friday, September 14

Abbie is still quite shy but has discovered another little boy in the classroom who speaks Arabic at home, although he is a fluent English speaker. Having been born in America, he can converse with Abbie and she seems to feel comfortable around him. I would like to encourage him to speak to her only in English, but I will give her another week to become more comfortable in the center.

I plan on asking these children if they would like to talk to the class together about what makes their culture and life at home unique compared to the rest of the children in the center. I think it would be very interesting for the kids to realize that there are other very different cultures out there in the world, and especially in the United States! What a great opportunity to teach an early lesson about diversity.

Abbie’s grandmother continues to drop her off at school, and I still have yet to meet her actual parents. I am hopeful that they will come in soon so I can address some issues I would like them to work on at home. I would recommend that they speak English in the home as much as possible, so that Abbie may develop more confidence and proficiency in it. Because she is still so young, it is my feeling that she could easily become fluent in English by the time she enters school next year.

Week 3: Friday, September 21

Abbie has gained some confidence in the past week, but I am concerned about her eating habits. She does not seem to enjoy many of the foods the other children eat. I am curious as to what she is fed at home and if she is getting a well-rounded diet. I know she does not eat pork, and we have made an effort to provide substitutes for Muslim (and Jewish) children in the center when hot dogs, for instance, are served. However, it seems more problematic than just that one food. I may ask her grandmother to bring specially prepared meals going forward. She also is learning to eat with utensils, which does not seem to be practiced in her home. Some of the other children make fun of her for eating with her hands, and I simply tell them that Abbie’s family does things differently because of where they come from. Once again, I see this as an educational experience for the entire group—Abbie helps them learn about diversity in a very personal way.

Week 4: Friday, September 28

At the beginning of this week, I asked the children to bring something from their home to class that reminded them of a fun trip they went on or their favorite place to go on the weekends with their family. On Thursday, when the children were supposed to bring in their objects, Abbie came in empty handed. She sat through the presentations quietly and respectfully, but seemed distracted and isolated. When her grandmother came to pick her up, I tried to explain what had happened that day, but she did not seem to understand most of what I said. Eventually, Abbie came over and seemed to translate some of what I was trying to say, at which point her grandmother became very upset, which seemed to make Abbie quite upset as well.

I reported this incident to the administrator because I was concerned that perhaps Abbie’s grandmother is not an appropriate caregiver. My hope for Abbie is that she can find a way to integrate herself into American society, and her grandmother’s role as the main source of influence will straddle Abbie between the two cultures. If she is going to be successful in America, she must abandon some of the more traditional aspects of Egyptian culture, which her grandmother cannot seem to comprehend.

©2014 Walden University
1

CR001 PERFORMANCE TASK ASSIGNMENT

This assignment has two-parts.  This Assignment is a Performance Task in which you will assume the role of an early childhood professional with expertise in culturally responsive practices who provides consulting services to several early childcare centers. You are also the author of a popular blog called “The Care in Caregiving.” You will use the information in the documents and research from the professional knowledge base to recommend culturally responsive practices to promote supportive and respectful partnerships with families and positive outcomes for young children.

Part I: The Care In Caregiving Blog

You are an independent professional development consultant in the field of early childhood education and care. You run a popular website for early childhood educators and caregivers, “The Care in Caregiving,” that focuses on issues of culture and diversity. A popular section of your site is the Q&A section, to which teachers and caregivers across the country can write for advice on certain issues.

The questions in Part I of this Assessment simulate the type of questions asked on the blog. Read the questions and respond to each in one to two pages.

Q1

Dear Caregiver Guru,

I have a very diverse set of students in my preschool classroom, and I am committed to learning as much as possible about each of the children and their families. My co-teacher thinks I am wasting my time and that there is simply no way to learn about all of their backgrounds in a thorough and thoughtful manner. Can you provide an explanation I can share with my co-teacher about the importance of learning about children’s cultures on a deep level?

Q2

Dear Caregiver Guru,

I recently moved from a very homogenous suburban school into a very diverse and multilingual urban school environment. I am excited about the dynamic classroom environment and would like to do my best to ensure that all students thrive, no matter what their background. I have heard a lot of discussion about the important role of partnerships between schools or caretakers and families. Can you give me more information about why partnerships between early childhood professionals, schools, and families are so crucial for all children? What are the best practices I can use to engage in this type of interaction?

Q3

Dear Caregiver Guru,

I have a single Muslim child in a classroom that is primarily Christian. The holidays are approaching, and I would like to figure out a way to include the Muslim child in the celebratory environment without imposing religious beliefs on her. While I think it is important for the Christian children to celebrate their own culture, I understand that the Muslim child faces these cultural biases on a daily basis, both at school and within the world at large. What advice do you have for me on how cultural discontinuity might influence the Muslim child, and how I can celebrate both cultures at the same time, without making the Muslim child feel “different” or like a burden?

Part II: Analysis and Recommendations

You are to analyze the following case study documents and make a recommendation to the teacher for how to better integrate Abidah and her family into the center. The analysis and recommendation should be 8 pages in length.

7 pages information and 1 reference page.

Case Study Documents

·

Document #1: Request for Training

·

Document #2: Report from Parent-Teacher Meeting

·

Document #3: Teacher’s Weekly Log

Case Study Analysis

· Identify three assumptions the teacher is making about the family’s cultural identity, and explain how these assumptions may influence her interactions with the child and family.

· Based on the teacher’s weekly reports, identify three situations in which the teacher’s unintentional bias and/or lack of understanding may inhibit Abidah’s ability to integrate in the classroom. Explain how the scenario illustrates cultural discontinuity and its impact on children and families.

Recommendations

Write specific recommendations for the teacher in the scenario related to Abidah and her family in each of the following areas:

· Cultural and social identity. Use the Head Start Principle One document provided in this Assessment to guide your recommendation.

· Dual language development

· Partnering with families

Explain the reasoning behind each recommendation you make. Your recommendations should be based on information from the professional knowledge base and credible research related to culturally-responsive practices.