Cultural Proficiency: A Manual for School Leaders

Randall B. Lindsey, Kikanza Nuri Robins, Raymond D. Terrell

Corwin Press, Jun 2, 2009 - Education - 344 pages

Embark on a journey toward cultural proficiency that results in professional growth and organizational change!

This powerful third edition offers fresh approaches, a revised organization, and new activities that enable leaders to engage in effective interactions with students, educators, and the communities they serve. The authors meticulously provide information gathered from their experiences working with schools, educational agencies, and organizations across the United States and Canada and show how school leaders can:

• Gain a personal understanding of what cultural proficiency means in practice
• Use collaborative activities to effect change in a school
• Lead a learning community toward becoming a culturally proficient organization

About the author

Randall B. Lindsey is Emeritus Professor at California State University, Los Angeles. He has served as a teacher, an administrator, executive director of a non-profit corporation, as Interim Dean at California Lutheran University, as Distinguished Educator in Residence at Pepperdine University, and as Chair of the Education Department at the University of Redlands. Prior to that he served for seventeen years at California State University, Los Angeles in the Division of Administration and Counseling. All of Randy’s experiences have been in working with diverse populations and his area of study is the behavior of white people in multicultural settings. His Ph.D. is in Educational Leadership from Georgia State University, his Master of Arts in Teaching is in History Education from the University of Illinois, and his B.S. in Social Science Education is from Western Illinois University. He has served as a junior high school and high school teacher and as an administrator in charge of school desegregation efforts. At Cal State, L.A. he served as Chair of the Division of Administration and Counseling and as Director of the Regional Assistance Centers for Educational Equity, a regional race desegregation assistance center. With co-authors he has written several books and articles on Cultural Proficiency. Most recent publication is The Cultural Proficiency Manifesto: Finding Clarity Amidst the Noise.

Kikanza Nuri-Robins helps people to close the gap between what they say they are and what they actually do. Whether she is in a corporate boardroom, the fireside room of a retreat center, or a convention center auditorium, Kikanza uses her skills and insights to help people and organizations that are in transition – or ought to be. She shares her observations and recommendations with clarity and candor, while gently encouraging them to face the difficult situations that challenge their skill sets and their values. She leads people to this growing edge with unswerving focus, an understanding heart, and laughter that rises from the seat of her soul. Since 1978, Kikanza has worked as an organizational development consultant in a variety of settings including education, health care, criminal justice, and religion, focusing on leadership development, change management, and cultural proficiency. Her clients range from school districts, to university faculty, to government offices and non-profit organizations. The connecting thread is her passion for working with people who want to making a difference for others. Kikanza studied at Occidental College, the University of Southern California, and the San Francisco Theological Seminary. She is the author of many articles and five books, including: Cultural Proficiency and Culturally Proficient Responses to the LGBT Communities. Kikanza lives in Los Angeles where she spends her discretionary time as a textile artist.

Raymond D. Terrell is a Professor Emeritus. He has served as a high school and junior high school English teacher, an elementary school principal, and an assistant superintendent in public schools in Ohio. He spent one year as a faculty member at Texas A&M University in the Department of Educational Administration. He spent 19 years at California State University, 14 years in the Department of Educational Administration, and for 5 years he was the Dean of the School of Education. He then served for three years as an elementary principal at Jefferson Elementary School in Hamilton, Ohio. Ray then joined the faculty at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio where he served as a professor in the Educational Leadership Department, Associate Dean for the College of Education Health and Society and as Chair of the Teacher Education Department. Ray has 50 years of professional experience with diversity and equity issues. He has served school districts in California, Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. Ray writes about issues of diversity, inclusion, and equity. Ray lives in Springfield Township, Ohio with his wife Eloise. They have two adult children, Dina and William.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Cultural Proficiency: A Manual for School Leaders
• Editors: Randall B. Lindsey, Kikanza Nuri Robins, Raymond D. Terrell
• Edition: 3
• Publisher: Corwin Press, 2009
• ISBN: 1452272743, 9781452272740
• Length: 344 pages
• Subjects: Education / Bilingual Education; Education / Multicultural Education