Assignment:
Application: Applying Knowledge of Culture and Family-Centered Care to Practice in Infant/Toddler Programs
In this course, you have learned a great deal about the often abstract and complex subject of culture and how it can influence behaviors, interactions, and communication in infant/toddler programs. Imagine that you now have an opportunity to share what you have learned in this course about culture and family centered care and education with other infant/toddler professionals. What information would be most valuable for professionals who will be working with infants/toddlers and their families?
In preparation for this assignment, consider the key insights you have had or the most important ideas you have encountered in this course. The following is one example: It is important for infant/toddler professionals to learn directly from families rather than make assumptions about their values and beliefs based on cultural stereotypes. You may wish to consult the Learning Resources and the assignments you for each week to guide your thinking.
For this Application Assignment, describe 10 key insights or major ideas from this course that you would most like to share with infant/toddler professionals to help them build culturally responsive relationships and environments. For each key insight or major idea, include the following:
- Explain why it is significant to a professional's work with infants/toddlers and families and may help build culturally responsive relationships and environments.
- Provide one or more specific examples from the Learning Resources and assignments to illustrate how the key insight or major idea could be put into practice in an infant/toddler program. Be sure to cite your sources.
Assignment length: 2 pages
Required Resources
1. Course Text: Diversity in Early Care and Education
- Review, "Perceiving and Responding to Differences"
- "Communicating across Cultures"
- "Working with Diversity Issues"
2. Course Text: How Culture Shapes Social-Emotional Development
- Review the bullet points on pp. 5-6
- Read pp. 16-24, "The Process of Cultural Reciprocity" and "Conclusion"
3. Article: Bruno, H. E. (2003). Hearing parents in every language: An invitation to ECE professionals Click for more options . Child Care Information Exchange, 153, 58-60.
Used by permission.
Optional Resources
Book: Barrera, I., Corso, R. M., & Macpherson, D. (2003). Skilled dialogue: Strategies for responding to cultural diversity in early childhood. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.