Abstract
In assessment of Latino and other bilingual-bicultural students, culture and language are rarely seen as central; in contrast, they are often seen as peripheral. School psychologists infrequently consider the culture of the student to be integral to their assessment and seldom consider it as a source of learning-related assets. However, when the school psychologist identifies a student’s cultural assets, those assets inform hypotheses and can lead to the development of culturally consistent interventions. Cultural assets, the valuable skills, attitudes, and experiences emerging from the culture of the student, become a cornerstone in the construction of a strength-based assessment. This article describes the assessment and use of cultural assets in records review, interview, observation, testing, and intervention development in the context of an ecosystemic approach. The Cultural Assets Identifier (CAI) is presented as a useful tool to assist the school psychologist in the identification and application of cultural assets to assessment and intervention with Latino youth.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aganza, J. (2011a). Encuentros: A culturally responsive curriculum for Latino students. Chula Vista: Presentation at California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE) regional conference.
Aganza, J. (2011b). Encuentros: positive results in Vista Unified School District 2009–2010. In V. J. Cook- Morales (Ed.), RtI tiers without tears: Collaboration with your bilingual school psychologist. Long Beach: Symposium conducted at the annual conference of the California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE).
Aganza, J. & Cline, Z. (2009). Encuentros: A culturally responsive curriculum. Workshop at Bilingual Special Education Program Conference, Portland State University.
Aganza, J., Godinez, A., Gonzalez, L., Robinson-Zañartu, C., & Smith, D. (2014). Using cultural assets with an ecosystemic approach to enhance assessment of Latino students. Washington, DC: A mini-skills workshop conducted at annual conference of the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP).
Ayón, C., & Aisenberg, E. (2010). Negotiating cultural values and expectations within the public child welfare system: A look at familismo and personalismo. Child and Family Social Work, 15(3), 335–344.
Beeman, K., & Urow, C. (2013). Teaching for biliteracy: Strengthening bridges between languages. Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
Brokenleg, M. (2012). Transforming cultural trauma into resilience. Reclaiming Children and Youth, 21, 9–13.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Campos, D. (2013). Educating Latino boys: An assets-based approach. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Cline, Z. (2014). Encuentros middle school curriculum. Vista: Encuentros Leadership.
Cook-Morales, V. J. (2009). Beyond “bilingual” in bilingual school psychology: Implications for preservice specialization. Trainers’ Forum, 28(3), 20.
Cook-Morales, V. J., Robinson-Zañartu, C. A., & Duren Green, T. (2006). When part of the problem becomes part of the solution: Moving from evaluation to assessment. SpecialEDge, 20(3–4), 14.
Cummins, J. (1983). Bilingualism and special education: Program and pedagogical issues. Learning Disabilities Quarterly, 6, 373–386.
Delpit, L., & Dowdy, J. K. (Eds.). (2008). The skin that we speak: Thoughts on language and culture in the classroom. New York: The New Press.
Domino, G., & Domino, M. L. (2006). Psychological testing: An introduction (2nd ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Fromme, D. K. (2011). Systems of psychotherapy: Dialectical tensions and integration. New York: Springer.
Gay, G. (2010). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.
Gleason, E. (2007). A strengths-based approach to the social developmental study. Children & Schools, 29(1), 51–59.
Green, T. D., Cook-Morales, V. J., Robinson-Zañartu, C. A., & Ingraham, C. L. (2009). Pathways on a journey to getting it: Multicultural competence training and continuing professional development. In J. Jones (Ed.), The psychology of multiculturalism in schools: A primer for practice, training, and research (pp. 83–113). Bethesda: National Association of School Psychologists.
Guzman, B. G. (2007). The application of SDAIE strategies in developing ELLs’academic literacy: Ideas for English language learners. Brea: Ballard & Tighe.
Hatch, T. (2014). The use of data in school counseling: Hatching results for students, programs, and the profession. Thousand Oaks: Corwin.
Hintze, J. M., Volpe, R. J., & Shapiro, E. S. (2008). Best practices in systematic direct observation of student behavior. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology V (Vol. 2, pp. 319–335). Bethesda: National Association of School Psychologists.
Hughes, G. (2014). Finding a voice through ‘The Tree of Life’: A strength-based approach to mental health for refugee children and families in schools. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 19(1), 139–153.
Jimerson, S. R., Sharkey, J. D., Nyborg, V., & Furlong, M. J. (2004). Strength-based assessment and school psychology: A summary and synthesis. The California School Psychologist, 9(1), 9–19.
Jones, T. G., & Fuller, M. L. (2003). Teaching Hispanic children. Allyn & Bacon.
Keller-Allen, C. (2008). The disproportionality of students designated limited English proficient in high incidence disability categories (Doctoral dissertation, The George Washington University). Retrieved from http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/.
Kosher, H., Jiang, X., Ben-Arieh, A., & Huebner, E. S. (2014). Advances in children’s rights and children’s well-being measurement: Implications for school psychologists. School Psychology Quarterly, 29(1), 7.
Kourkoutas, E., Plexousakis, S., & Georgiadi, M. (2010). An ecosystemic intervention in the context of a special education setting. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2(2), 4773–4779.
Mays, K. L., Kamphaus, R. W., & Reynolds, C. R. (2009). Applications of the Kaufmann assessment battery for children (2nd ed). In C. Reynolds & E. Fletcher-Janzen (Eds.), Handbook of clinical child neuropsychology (3rd ed.). New York: Springer Science.
Migration Policy Institute (2014). Retrieved from http://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/ell-information-center.
Miller, F. (2011). Hurry, hurry, test, and place. Communiqué, 39(7).
Moll, L. C. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Theory Into Practice, 31(2), 132–141.
National Association of School Psychologists (2010). Model for comprehensive and integrated school psychological services: NASP practice model overview. Author: Bethesda, MD.
National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems (NCCRESt) (2014). Retrieved from http://www.nccrest.org/professional.html.
National Center for Education Statistics (2014). Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/.
National Council of La Raza (2014). Retrieved from http://issuu.com/nclr/docs/latino_children_in_the_2010_census?e=1871004/2284705#search.
Nava, J. (2012). The Latino guide to creating family histories: A handbook for students, parents and teachers. Carlsbad: WPR Books.
Niemi, H. S., & Conroy, M. L. (2013). Implementing response-to-intervention to address the needs of English-language learners: Instructional strategies and assessment tools for school psychologists. New York: Routledge.
Nieto, S., & Bode, P. (2008). Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Páez, D. (2004). Culturally competent assessment of dual language learners: Strategies for school personnel. Retrieved from www.nasponline.org/resources/culturalcompetence/cca_personnel.pdf.
Pajewski, A., & Enriquez, L. (1996). Teaching from a Hispanic perspective: A handbook for non-Hispanic adult educators. Phoenix: Arizona Adult Literacy and Technology Resource Center.
Peña, A., Silva, A., Claro, C., Gamarra, A., & Parra, E. (2008). Communicating with Latino parents and families. NASP Communique', 37(4).
Pew Research Center (2014). Retrieved from http://www.pewresearch.org/.
Plas, J. (1986). Systems psychology in the schools. NY: Pergamon.
Raffaelli, M., & Iturbide, M. I. (2009). Sexuality and sexual risk behaviors among Latino adolescents and young adults. In F. A. Villarruel, G. Carlo, et al. (Eds.), Handbook of U.S. Latino psychology: developmental and community-based perspectives (pp. 399–414). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Reveles, F., & Stalley, P. (2000). Encuentros: Hombre a hombre. Sacramento: California Department of Education.
Rhodes, R. L., Ochoa, S. H., & Ortiz, S. O. (2005). Assessing culturally and linguistically diverse students: A practical guide. New York: Guilford.
Robinson-Zañartu, C., & Carlson, J. (2013). Dynamic assessment. In K. F. Geisinger (Ed.), APA handbook of testing and assessment in psychology (pp. 149–167). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Robinson-Zañartu, C., Doerr, T., & Portman, J. (2014). Teaching 21 thinking skills for the 21st century: The MiCOSA model. Boston: Pearson/Allyn-Bacon.
Rudolph, S. M., & Epstein, M. H. (2000). Empowering children and families through strength-based assessment. Reclaiming Children and Youth, 8(4), 207–209.
Saltzman, W., Pynoos, R., Lester, P., Layne, C., & Beardslee, W. (2013). Enhancing family resilience through family narrative co-construction. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 16(3), 294–310.
Sanchez, S. (1999). Learning from the stories of culturally and linguistically diverse families and communities: A sociohistorical lens. Remedial and Special Education, 20(6), 351–359.
Santiago-Rivera, A. L., Arredondo, P., & Gallardo-Cooper, M. (2002). Counseling Latinos and la familia: A practical guide. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Sattler, J. M. (2014). Foundations of behavioral, social, and clinical assessment of children (6th ed.). La Mesa: Jerome M. Sattler, Publisher, Inc.
Sotelo-Dynega, M., Ortiz, S. O., Flanagan, D. P., & Chaplin, W. F. (2013). English language proficiency and test performance: An evaluation of bilingual students with the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities. Psychology in the Schools, 50(8), 781–797.
Strein, W., Houghwood, K., & Cohen, A. (2003). School psychology: A public health perspective. Journal of School Psychology, 41, 23–38.
Thomas, W. P., & Collier, V. P. (1997). School effectiveness for language minority students. Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition, Resource Collection Series, 9.
Ungar, M. (2005). Introduction: Resilience across cultures and contexts. In M. Ungar (Ed.), Handbook for working with children and youth: Pathways to resilience across cultures and contexts. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publication (pp. xv–xxxix).
Volpe, R. J., & McConaughy, S. H. (2005). Systematic direct observational assessment of student behavior: Its use and interpretation in multiple settings: An introduction to the miniseries. School Psychology Review, 34(4), 451–453.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Aganza, J.S., Godinez, A., Smith, D. et al. Using Cultural Assets to Enhance Assessment of Latino Students. Contemp School Psychol 19, 30–45 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-014-0041-7
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-014-0041-7