Identity Politics and Cultural Competence FINAL PROJECT ppt

THE CASE FOR IDENTITY POLITICS
AND INTERSECTIONALITY IN
CULTURAL COMPETENCE
BY: MEG CUSACK

TABLE OF CONTENTS
• Abstract
• Objectives
• Justification
• Introduction
• In the Classroom
• Education Research
• In the Current Political Climate
• Conclusions
• Project Limitations
• Future Research
• References

ABSTRACT
This project examines the meaning and history of
the identity politics movement as it relates to
cultural competence in the classroom and at an
institutional level. Findings indicate that providing
a deeper understanding of identity politics and
intersectionality could enhance the efficacy of
cultural competence training for teachers and
educators around the world.

OBJECTIVES
• The unprecedented rate of globalization in recent history has
wrought many changes in the large array of human cultures
and their distribution around the globe. Technological
developments in communication, transportation, and media
have facilitated the exchange of people and ideas worldwide at
a level inconceivable to prior generations, presenting new
frontiers in the way we understand different cultures and
interact with each other.
• As societies and individuals gain exposure to cultures and
languages beyond their borders, cultural competence will
become an increasingly important aspect of modern
education. As laws and social practices become increasingly
influenced by the rising culture of identity politics, it is
essential to evaluate this movement in relation to cultural
competence. The objective of this project is to gain insight
into the origins and history of the identity politics
movement and evaluate the potential benefits of
incorporating a deeper understanding of this sociopolitical
movement into teacher training on cultural competence.

JUSTIFICATION
• The coursework I completed to obtain my undergraduate degrees
in Spanish and Gender Studies, with a concentration in
Theories and Politics of Sexuality, equipped me to pursue my
own academic research on the topic of education, identity, and
cultural competence. Having spent almost two years of my
undergraduate experience studying and working abroad in over
five different countries, and four years of my post-graduate
experience teaching abroad, I became very familiar with issues of
cultural competence in education.
• I feel compelled to take advantage of my personal experience and
academic background in education and culture, and identity to
conduct this research on identity politics and cultural
competence. Although the fields of Education and Sociology
have produced abundant literature on the preceding topics, few
studies evaluate or explore the potential of connecting these
ideas and applying them to cultural competence in education.
• My background allows me to draw on relevant coursework from
both my undergraduate studies at the University of Florida and
my graduate studies at the Universidad Camilo José Cela to find
the academic resources needed to guide my work. By
conducting this project, I hope to contribute to the field of
Education by providing an analysis of the possible benefits
of using identity politics to teach cultural competence.

INTRODUCTION
What are…

INTRODUCTION:
Origins and History of Identity Politics
• The precise origin of the term is
uncertain, though many groups
claim to have coined it. Its use
can be traced back to the large
political movements of the United
States in the 1960’s and 1970’s.
It emerged as a way to empower
groups that were socially and
politically marginalized in society
(Wiarda, 2014).
• The term now refers to a broad scope of political
activities and beliefs based on the shared
experiences of members from various social
categorizations, such as sex, race, gender
identification, ethnicity, sexual orientation,
socioeconomic status, language, religion, culture,
nationality, generation, and ability, among others
(Zalta, 2016).
• Intersectionality is the idea that social experience
and personal identity cannot be fully understood
by looking at one social categorization, like race,
while ignoring others, like gender, religion and
nationality (Kimberlé, 1989).

INTRODUCTION:
Overview
Identity Politics evaluates the relationship between power structures and social
categorizations and examines the personal and political ramifications of identification
with various social groups (Gutmann, 2004).
Legal/Political View
Personal/Social View
Legal Access to Quality Education Based on Race
Variations in Expression of Masculinity across Nationality

IN THE CLASSROOM
Issues to Address in Education
• Schools are complicit in producing the type of
people they produce and reproducing social
exclusions and inequalities (Youdell, 2011).
• There are serious problems in schools with
representation, both appropriate
representation of minority groups in schools
and problems with how diverse ethnic and
religious group are represented in course
materials (Crichlow, McCarthy, Dimitriadis,
& Colby, 2005).
• There are also issues with standardized
testing and gifted and talented programs
catering overwhelmingly to White, affluent
children over underprivileged students
(Mayer, 2008)

IN THE CLASSROOM
Shared Goals
• Django Paris claims that culturally competent pedagogy
aims “to make teaching and learning relevant and
responsive to the languages, literacies, and cultural
practices of students across categories of difference and
(in)equality.” (Paris, 2012, p. 93)
• To achieve this goal, we must advance our
understanding of cultural competence in the classroom
(Paris, 2012).
• Regardless of education system, culturally competent
teaching involves instilling international-mindedness in
students, which can be defined as “the most complex
development of the relationship between ‘self’ and
‘other’.” (Skelton, 2015)

IN THE CLASSROOM
Issues to Address
“Power is the ability not just to tell the story of
another person, but to make it the definitive story of
that person.” (Adichie, 2009)
“Identity politics starts from analyses
of oppression to recommend,
variously, the reclaiming,
redescription, or transformation of
previously stigmatized accounts of
group membership. Rather than
accepting the negative scripts offered
by a dominant culture about one's
own inferiority, one transforms one's
own sense of self and community,
often through consciousness-raising”
(Zalta, 2016).

EDUCATION RESEARCH
For example:
Issues in Education Research
• Research praises the IB program for its growth in U.S. public Title I schools as a sign of increased
inclusivity and accessibility (Walker, 2011)
• The IBO accepts a variety of private and public institutes in their network, including magnet schools,
charter schools, and mixed-program schools. Flexibility in the usage of the IB label allows more schools
the opportunity to join the IB network and benefit from the high-quality education system offered by the
organization, while also increasing the total number of IB schools worldwide, which adds value and
increases recognition of the IB brand. However, frequently, the IB Diploma Program is implemented in
Title I schools serving primarily minority students from low-income families, as a way to entice wealthy,
high-achieving students to enroll and boost the school’s overall performance, instead of benefitting the
underprivileged students that already attend (Mayer, 2008) (Resnik, 2012) .
• After many schools in various districts in the U.S.
participated in desegregation programs that successfully
increased minority enrollment, they saw an immediate
drop in White enrollment in response. In these districts,
officials brought in the IB program, the AP program, and
other rigorous college preparatory programs, for the
explicit purpose of increasing White enrollment they had
lost during previous desegregation initiatives In these
schools, the IB program is offered to a select few,
typically high-achieving or gifted students, while the
traditional curriculum and education system is retained
for the majority of the school (Mayer, 2008).

EDUCATION RESEARCH
Issues in Education Research
• Research on “school-within-a-school” structures refers to schools
that offer special programs for advanced or gifted students, which
operate independently from the rest of the school. Research on
these structures indicate that these situations often result in
negative tension between the students who are included in the
advanced programs, and those who are not. Students cited minimal
interaction with students and faculty in the exclusive programs,
and expressed indignation over the higher-quality supplies,
superior education, unique privileges, and special treatment
reserved for students enrolled in those programs (Matthews and
Kitchen, 2007).
• If not carefully implemented, this practice clearly has the potential
to worsen inequality and fuel resentment between students, as
underprivileged students watch their more affluent peers benefit
from higher quality resources and instruction within the very same
building. These mixed-program institutes can have a damaging
impact on students, which sharply conflicts with cultural
inclusivity.

IN THE CURRENT POLITICAL CLIMATE
Critiques of Identity Politics

IN THE CURRENT POLITICAL CLIMATE
Relevant Current Events

IN THE CURRENT POLITICAL CLIMATE
Relevant Current Events

CONCLUSIONS
• This projects explores the topic of identity politics and the potential benefits to
incorporating this movement into cultural competence curricula.
• Identity politics and cultural competence are interconnected and share many of the
same objectives. Combining these ideologies could help achieve greater cultural
competence in education. Fundamentally, cultural competence in education is about
making learning interesting and relevant across cultures and avoiding minimalizing
the representation of minority groups and people. Identity politics empowers minority
groups to take control of their representation and define their own stories. Learning
about this movement can help teachers increase their cultural competence.
• There is plenty of research on Education in general, and much of it does account for
diversity and cultural competence. However, this needs to become more of a central
focus in education, and research needs to be more closely scrutinized to avoid
presenting misleading results.
• Identity politics is slowly becoming a greater part of popular culture. Elements of the
movement can be seen on the news, in internet memes and quizzes, in music, an in
films and TV shows. It is causing many disagreements and problems, but that is not a
reason it should be overlooked. You may not agree with the principles of the identity
potitics movement, but it is worth educating yourself about if you want to be
culturally competent in the classroom.

PROJECT LIMITATIONS
• In assessing the conclusions of this project, it is important to remember that
this research has many limitations which must be taken into account in order
to determine the value and implications of the finding.
• Primarily, this project is a brief overview of the literature on these issues, but
it is by no means comprehensive.
• To prove the benefits of including Identity Politics in cultural competence
curricula additional research must be pursued.

FUTURE RESEARCH
• As mentioned, the conclusion of this project
calls for more research on this topic.
• The implications of these findings can be
better understood from a more thorough and
comprehensive review of the current
literature.
• Additionally, further research that
statistically analyzes the success rate of
implementing a cultural competence
curriculum that includes identity politics as
part of the core content would be very
valuable.

REFERENCES
• Adichie, C. N. (2009). The Danger of a Single Story. Speech presented at TED Global 2009 in England,
Oxford. Retrieved January 12, 2018, from
https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.
• Beals, N. (2015). The IB Diploma Programme as an Option for Gifted Learners (Unpublished thesis).
George Mason University. Retrieved January 12, 2018, from
http://nataliebealsastlportfolio.weebly.com/uploads/3/1/8/2/31821951/educ_627_journal_manuscript.pdf.
• Calhoun, C. C. (1994). Social Theory and the Politics of Identity (1st ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John
Wiley & Sons, Inc.
• Collins, P. H. (2015). Intersectionality's Definitional Dilemmas. Annual Review of Sociology, 41, 1-20.
Retrieved February 4, 2018, from http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-soc-073014-112142.
• Crichlow, W., McCarthy, C., Dimitriadis, G., & Colby, N. (Eds.). (2005). Race, Identity, and
Representation in Education (2nd ed.). New York City, New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.
• Gutmann, A. (2004). Identity in Democracy. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
• Kimberlé, C. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black feminist critique of
antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. The University of Chicago Legal
Forum, (1), 139-168. Retrieved February 05, 2018, from
https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1052&context=uclf.
• Matthews, D., & Kitchen, J. (2007). School-Within-a-School Gifted Programs: Perceptions of Students
and Teachers in Public Secondary Schools. Gifted Child Quarterly, 51(3), 256-271. Retrieved January 12,
2018, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249827416_School-Within-a-
School_Gifted_ProgramsPerceptions_of_Students_and_Teachers_in_Public_Secondary_Schools.

REFERENCES
• Mayer, A. P. (2008). Expanding Opportunities for High Academic Achievement: An
International Baccalaureate Diploma Program in an Urban High School. Journal of Advanced
Academics, 19(2), 202-235. Retrieved December 12, 2017, from
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ794091.pdf.
• Paris, D. (2012). Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy: A Needed Change in Stance, Terminology,
and Practice. Educational Researcher, 41(3), 93-97. Retrieved February 4, 2018, from
https://web.stanford.edu/class/linguist159/restricted/readings/Paris2012.pdf.
• Resnik, J. (2012). The Denationalization of Education and the Expansion of the International
Baccalaureate. Comparative Education Review, 56(2), 248-269. Retrieved January 05, 2017,
from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/661770.
• Skelton, M. (2015). International Mindedness and the Brain: The Difficulties of 'Becoming'. In
M. Hayden, J. Levy, & J. Thompson (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Research in International
Education (2nd ed., pp. 73-87). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications Inc.
• Tookey, M. E. (1999). School-Within-a-School Gifted Programs. Journal of Advanced
Academics, 11(2), 52-66. Retrieved January 07, 2018, from https://doi.org/10.4219/jsge-1999-
620.
• Wiarda, H. J. (2014). Political Culture, Political Science, and Identity Politics: An Uneasy
Alliance. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
• Youdell, D. (2011). School Trouble: Identity, Power and Politics in Education. Abingdon,
Oxford: Routledge.
• Zalta, E. N. (Ed.). (2016). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Identity Politics. Retrieved
February 6, 2018, from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/identity-politics/