Recommendations

Table of Contents

Representative Staff and Faculty Support

Youth Voice

Parent Participation 

Future Considerations

Additional Recommended Resources

Steps for Action: Recommendations for How to Build a Culturally Constructive Education for Youth

Our survey findings and literature review convey that culturally responsive practices are the top priority for the functioning of quality, effective after-school programming. To build spaces for culturally affirmative learning at the Boys and Girls Club of Hartford, our team has analyzed features of robust out-of-school time programs to organize a list of core recommendations that help make the benefits of culturally constructive education possible for a diverse group of youth, especially for minority children in urban settings.

Recommendations 

1. Representative Staff and Faculty Support

• Maintaining a representative set of program leaders who can facilitate and lead culturally responsive activities

-Leaders who reflect the ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, or other components of program member identities, experiences, and backgrounds

Example: Black male teachers teaching Black boys

• Maintaining a staff of highly qualified professionals who are trained to speak on culture and community issues

-Staff who are trained to navigate complex conversations within culturally constructive curriculums, and work consistently with diverse groups of youth

Example: Staff who actively participate in professional development workshops surrounding culturally constructive curriculums and diverse groups of youth

• Maintaining a staff who are driven by culturally responsive learning projects

-Not only a body of staff who are willing to carry out exercises, but a staff committed to teaching diversity, equity, and inclusion to youth

Example: Staff who ask youth open ended questions about their feelings and interests after they complete program activities

Outcomes:

• Robust relationships building between youth and staff
• Youth feel comfortable to offer ideas, comments, and opinions in collaborative group workshops
• Youth receive accurate information and resources surrounding culture and community issues 

2. Youth Voice

• Maintaining agency for youth within the learning environment 

-Protecting the learning environment as a guaranteed safe space for youth to share experiences and thoughts

Example: Allowing youth a welcoming atmosphere to discuss the misconceptions about their cultures that may stereotype them and their identities

• Maintaining the learning environment as a space for youth to explore their critical consciousness

-Protecting the learning environment as a place where youth can share about historical and modern social issues

Example: Allowing youth a safe space to learn about gentrification at the community level

• Maintaining opportunities for youth leadership in culturally responsive activities

-Including youth feedback in planning culturally responsive activities, and encouraging youth to engage in decision-making processes

Example: Presenting youth the opportunity to establish councils with other members of the programming, allowing them a space to spread awareness about social issues and amplify group needs to program coordinators

• Maintaining opportunities for youth creativity in culturally responsive activities

-Encouraging youth to use their imagination to make meaning of events, ideas, and their self-identity through positive outlets such as art

Example: Include opportunities for youth to work with paint to illustrate their self-identity and celebrate their individuality

Outcomes:

• Youth feel a sense of belonging
• Youth feel welcomed to share about the inequalities they face in shared communities
• Youth are present and excited to engage in culturally constructive education
• Youth are made available empowering spaces to engage in culturally affirmative education
• Youth feel invited to express themselves and trust in others

3. Parent Participation

• Maintaining communication between program providers and parents 

-Ensuring that parents are aware of the concepts students are taught in their culturally constructive education

Example: Allotting the final 10 minutes of program time to youth and staff to share with parents what activities were completed, and share what projects are next on the program agenda 

• Providing opportunities for youth to engage in culturally responsive activities with care providers and trusted adults

-Creating outlets for parents to recognize and support youth progress as they gain a culturally constructive education 

Example: Offering exercises where youth and their care providers can discuss church teachings, acknowledging how religion may intersect with parent values for member education

Outcomes: 

• Youth feel inspired to apply culturally responsive mindsets and positive social behaviors to their lives outside of organized, supervised learning spaces
• Youth feel validated in their experiences with culturally constructive education

Future Considerations

• • Outcomes of culturally responsiveness recommendations build upon each other

-After-school program providers should consider using multiple recommendations as positive activity outcomes mutually influence each other.

• • The outcomes from each recommendation are limitless

-While these recommendations outlines potential positive outcomes for implementing our suggestions, each recommendation may offer additional unintended benefits. 

• • Recommendations can be modified to meet the specific needs and capacities of the BGCH.

-The BGCH is encouraged to adapt these recommendations as they see fit. 

For more information on how recommendations can be applied, visit our activity library

Additional recommended resources: