Cultural Competence Continuum Rationale. Education Essay

Cultural Competence Continuum Rationale
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Cultural Competence Continuum Rationale
When I look at the cultural competence continuum and reflect on myself, I can confidently say that I am in the cultural pre-competence category. This category includes individuals who value and accept cultural differences and understand its importance (Johnson, Sdunzik, Bynum, Kong, & Qin, 2019). However, they do not always see how culture influences a situation during an interaction between people of different cultures. These individuals want to learn more about different cultures and are constantly self-evaluating their knowledge about cultural diversity. I have had incidences where while interacting with my peers from different cultures; it takes me longer to realize how culture has influenced our interactions. However, this is something I want to improve on.
Looking back, I remember growing up in a community that was closed in and as such, there was no exposure to diverse communities. I think this is why I am still in the pre-competence stage because I had only known about my culture for so long and it has taken time to understand cultural differences. However, as I grew older, and especially after I joined high school, I started interacting with students from different cultures. This exposure has greatly contributed to where I am right now in terms of cultural competence. I have also been very curious about different cultures and whenever I get an opportunity, I ask people about some aspects of their culture and compare them to mine. This has helped me to value and respect cultural differences and also to appreciate the role of culture in shaping human interactions.
The pre-competence stage is not adequate, especially for an educator. I want to reach the highest stage on the continuum, which is the advanced cultural competence and proficiency stage. This stage captures individuals who understand and realize how and when culture affects different situations (Johnson, Sdunzik, Bynum, Kong, & Qin, 2019). Also, due to their high level of cultural competency, educators in this stage can develop educational models t...