Supporting Racially Diverse

Students in Higher
Education
Thaddeus Teo and Bobby Helton

Agenda

Introduction
Community Cultural Wealth
Case Study
Effects of Pedagogy in Higher Education
Popes Model of Multicultural Competence
Reflection

Community Cultural Wealth

Community Cultural Wealth

The array of cultural knowledge, skills, abilities,

and contacts of socially marginalized groups that
are usually not recognized.

Capital is used by communities of color to

survive and resist oppression and discrimination.

These categories are not mutually exclusive.

Aspirational Capital

Ability to maintain hopes and dreams for

the future, even in the face of real and
perceived barriers.

Linguistic Capital

Intellectual and social skills attained

through communication experiences in
more than one language and/or style.

Familial Capital

Cultural knowledge nurtured among

family that carry a sense of community
history, memory, and cultural intuition.

Social Capital

Networks of people and community

resources that provide both instrumental
and emotional support to navigate
through societys institutions.

Navigational Capital

Skills of maneuvering through social

institutions.

Resistant Capital

Skills fostered through oppositional

behavior that challenges inequality.

Name the Capital(s)

No one in my extended family has ever
gone to college. One of the reasons I
decided to come to college was seeing my
mother work long hours cleaning houses. I
guess I didnt want to be in the labor force
just because it is very tiring. Shes always
telling me that I have to go to college so
that I can have a better life.

Name the Capital(s)

I went to an overcrowded, low-income
high school and was not taught about
college application process what to do,
letters of recommendation, what courses to
take, signatures I might need and how to
get them, or where to get finances. As I
was involved in my community, I met a lot
of mentors and leaders who helped me
through the process of going to college.

Case Study
While chatting at The Bistro with one of your classmates,
Manuel, he describes an assignment for his Introduction to
Sociology class that is causing him some anxiety. Manuels
class has been studying the sociology of education, and the
units upcoming assignment requires him to write a
reflection on how his family has contributed to his education.
He tells you that his parents are immigrants from Central
America and that neither went to college. Feeling
embarrassed and distraught, he feels he cannot complete the
assignment. Using Community Cultural Wealth as a
framework, in what ways might Manuel write about his
familys impact on his education?

Curriculum
Peggy McIntosh (1997) argues that
monoculturalism adversely impacts students in
the classroom.
McIntosh (1997) proposes an interactive
curriculum overhauling in order to successfully
work with racially diverse populations.
Before an overhaul can happen, McIntosh (1997)
notes that there are three founding principles: all
people have racial identities, each person carries
with them a set of unique circumstances, and
Whites look at race under the rubric of others.

Five Stages of Interactive Curriculum

1) All White History
2)Exceptional Minority Individuals
3)Minority Issues, or Minorities as Problems
or Victims
4)The Lives and Cultures of People of Color
Everywhere as History
5)History Reconstructed and Redefined to
Include All

Sonia Nieto's Model of Multicultural

Curriculum

Language
In Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire
noted that language and curriculum are
inseparable.
Demanding that students speak standard
English has racist and classist undertones.
Obiakor, Smith, and Sapp (2007) state, it is
imperative that educators and practitioners
analyze the impact of words that they use when
interacting with students, especially if they have
been traditionally disenfranchised by the
dominant culture that controls the norms of that
society (p. 41).

Learning Styles
David Kolb (1975) observed that key
agents of socialization influence the
development of learning style.
According to Glauco De Vita (2001),
culture influences the way one perceives,
organizes, and processes information.
In order to successfully work with students
across cultural, racial, and social
boundaries, it is necessary to incorporate a
variety of learning styles into the
curriculum.

Popes Model of Multicultural

Competence
Awareness A belief that differences are
valuable and that learning about others
who are culturally different is necessary
and rewarding.
Knowledge Knowledge of diverse
cultures and oppressed groups (i.e.,
history, traditions, values, customs, and
issues).
Skill Ability to identify and openly
discuss cultural differences and issues.

Reflection
Thinking back on what you have learned
about Community Cultural Wealth, the
importance of Pedagogy as it relates to
diversity and inclusion, and Popes model of
Multicultural Competency, reflect on how
you can put the information you have
learned into action here at Seattle
University.