Overview This Assessment is a Performance Task in which you will assume the role of an early childhood professional with expertise in culturally responsive practices who provides consulting services to several early childcare centers. You are also the author of a popular blog called “The Care in Caregiving.” You will use the information in the documents and research from the professional knowledge base to recommend culturally responsive practices to promote supportive and respectful partnerships with families and positive outcomes for young children. Professional Skills:Written Communication and Critical Thinking are assessed in this Competency. Your response to this Assessment should: · Use the Assessment documents and video as required. · Reflect the criteria provided in the Rubric. · Adhere to the required assignment length. · Use the APA course paper template available here. · Download the Writing Checklist to review prior to submitting your Assessment. This Assessment requires submission of one (1) document that includes The Care in Caregiving Blog Responses and the Case Study Analysis and Recommendation. Save this file as CR001_firstinitial_lastname (for example, CR001_J_Smith). When you are ready to upload your completed Assessment, use the Assessment tab on the top navigation menu. Instructions Before submitting your Assessment, carefully review the rubric. This is the same rubric the assessor will use to evaluate your submission and it provides detailed criteria describing how to achieve or master the Competency. Many students find that understanding the requirements of the Assessment and the rubric criteria help them direct their focus and use their time most productively. Rubric This assessment has two-parts.  Click each of the items below to complete this assessment. Part I: The Care In Caregiving Blog You are an independent professional development consultant in the field of early childhood education and care. You run a popular website for early childhood educators and caregivers, “The Care in Caregiving,” that focuses on issues of culture and diversity. A popular section of your site is the Q&A section, to which teachers and caregivers across the country can write for advice on certain issues. The questions in Part I of this Assessment simulate the type of questions asked on the blog. Read the questions and respond to each in one to two pages. Q1 Dear Caregiver Guru, I have a very diverse set of students in my preschool classroom, and I am committed to learning as much as possible about each of the children and their families. My co-teacher thinks I am wasting my time and that there is simply no way to learn about all of their backgrounds in a thorough and thoughtful manner. Can you provide an explanation I can share with my co-teacher about the importance of learning about children’s cultures on a deep level? Q2 Dear Caregiver Guru, I recently moved from a very homogenous suburban school into a very diverse and multilingual urb ...

1. Overview
This Assessment is a Performance Task in which you will
assume the role of an early childhood professional with
expertise in culturally responsive practices who provides
consulting services to several early childcare centers. You are
also the author of a popular blog called “The Care in
Caregiving.” You will use the information in the documents and
research from the professional knowledge base to recommend
culturally responsive practices to promote supportive and
respectful partnerships with families and positive outcomes for
young children.
Professional Skills:Written Communication and Critical
Thinking are assessed in this Competency.
Your response to this Assessment should:
· Use the Assessment documents and video as required.
· Reflect the criteria provided in the Rubric.
· Adhere to the required assignment length.
· Use the APA course paper template available here.
· Download the Writing Checklist to review prior to submitting
your Assessment.
This Assessment requires submission of one (1) document that
includes The Care in Caregiving Blog Responses and the Case
Study Analysis and Recommendation. Save this file
as CR001_firstinitial_lastname (for example, CR001_J_Smith).
When you are ready to upload your completed Assessment, use
the Assessment tab on the top navigation menu.
Instructions
Before submitting your Assessment, carefully review the rubric.
This is the same rubric the assessor will use to evaluate your
submission and it provides detailed criteria describing how to
achieve or master the Competency. Many students find that
understanding the requirements of the Assessment and the
rubric criteria help them direct their focus and use their time
most productively.

2. Rubric
This assessment has two-parts. Click each of the items below to
complete this assessment.
Part I: The Care In Caregiving Blog
You are an independent professional development consultant in
the field of early childhood education and care. You run a
popular website for early childhood educators and caregivers,
“The Care in Caregiving,” that focuses on issues of culture and
diversity. A popular section of your site is the Q&A section, to
which teachers and caregivers across the country can write for
advice on certain issues.
The questions in Part I of this Assessment simulate the type of
questions asked on the blog. Read the questions and respond to
each in one to two pages.
Q1
Dear Caregiver Guru,
I have a very diverse set of students in my preschool classroom,
and I am committed to learning as much as possible about each
of the children and their families. My co-teacher thinks I am
wasting my time and that there is simply no way to learn about
all of their backgrounds in a thorough and thoughtful manner.
Can you provide an explanation I can share with my co-teacher
about the importance of learning about children’s cultures on a
deep level?
Q2
Dear Caregiver Guru,
I recently moved from a very homogenous suburban school into
a very diverse and multilingual urban school environment. I am
excited about the dynamic classroom environment and would
like to do my best to ensure that all students thrive, no matter
what their background. I have heard a lot of discussion about
the important role of partnerships between schools or caretakers
and families. Can you give me more information about why
partnerships between early childhood professionals, schools,
and families are so crucial for all children? What are the best
practices I can use to engage in this type of interaction?

3. Q3
Dear Caregiver Guru,
I have a single Muslim child in a classroom that is primarily
Christian. The holidays are approaching, and I would like to
figure out a way to include the Muslim child in the celebratory
environment without imposing religious beliefs on her. While I
think it is important for the Christian children to celebrate their
own culture, I understand that the Muslim child faces these
cultural biases on a daily basis, both at school and within the
world at large. What advice do you have for me on how cultural
discontinuity might influence the Muslim child, and how I can
celebrate both cultures at the same time, without making the
Muslim child feel “different” or like a burden?
Part II: Analysis and Recommendations
You are to analyze the following case study documents and
make a recommendation to the teacher for how to better
integrate Abidah and her family into the center. The analysis
and recommendation should be 8 to 10 pages in length.
Case Study Documents
· Document #1: Request for Training
· Document #2: Report from Parent-Teacher Meeting
· Document #3: Teacher's Weekly Log
Case Study Analysis
· Identify three assumptions the teacher is making about the
family’s cultural identity, and explain how these assumptions
may influence her interactions with the child and family.
· Based on the teacher’s weekly reports, identify three
situations in which the teacher’s unintentional bias and/or lack
of understanding may inhibit Abidah’s ability to integrate in the
classroom. Explain how the scenario illustrates cultural
discontinuity and its impact on children and families.
Recommendations
Write specific recommendations for the teacher in the scenario
related to Abidah and her family in each of the following areas:
· Cultural and social identity. Use the Head Start Principle One
document provided in this Assessment to guide your

4. recommendation.
· Dual language development
· Partnering with families
Explain the reasoning behind each recommendation you make.
Your recommendations should be based on information from the
professional knowledge base and credible research related to
culturally-responsive practices.
Four Weekly Progress Reports on Abidah, Age 4, from Her
Teacher
Week 1: Friday, September 7
Abidah was introduced to the group on Tuesday of this week.
She was brought into the early childhood care center by her
grandmother, who does not speak English, and seemed cautious
about speaking to me, so I was unable to communicate very
much with her. I realize she is probably not used to professional
women, and perhaps she will warm up to me over time. They
seem very close, and I noticed that Abidah wanted to be carried
around instead of walking on her own like the other children in
the group do. I mentioned to the grandmother that Abidah
should be more independent by this age, but, as I stated earlier,
she did not seem to understand what I was trying to tell her.
Some of the other kids have had trouble pronouncing “Abidah,”
so we have taken to calling her “Abbie.” She is a sweet girl,
quite shy, and I worry about her ability to pick up English due
to her lack of interaction with other English speakers outside of
the center. She wears a headscarf, like her grandmother, which
the other children seem interested in to a point but not in a way
that is distracting to the group.
Week 2: Friday, September 14

5. Abbie is still quite shy but has discovered another little boy in
the classroom who speaks Arabic at home, although he is a
fluent English speaker. Having been born in America, he can
converse with Abbie and she seems to feel comfortable around
him. I would like to encourage him to speak to her only in
English, but I will give her another week to become more
comfortable in the center.
I plan on asking these children if they would like to talk to the
class together about what makes their culture and life at home
unique compared to the rest of the children in the center. I think
it would be very interesting for the kids to realize that there are
other very different cultures out there in the world, and
especially in the United States! What a great opportunity to
teach an early lesson about diversity.
Abbie’s grandmother continues to drop her off at school, and I
still have yet to meet her actual parents. I am hopeful that they
will come in soon so I can address some issues I would like
them to work on at home. I would recommend that they speak
English in the home as much as possible, so that Abbie may
develop more confidence and proficiency in it. Because she is
still so young, it is my feeling that she could easily become
fluent in English by the time she enters school next year.
Week 3: Friday, September 21
Abbie has gained some confidence in the past week, but I am
concerned about her eating habits. She does not seem to enjoy
many of the foods the other children eat. I am curious as to
what she is fed at home and if she is getting a well-rounded
diet. I know she does not eat pork, and we have made an effort
to provide substitutes for Muslim (and Jewish) children in the
center when hot dogs, for instance, are served. However, it
seems more problematic than just that one food. I may ask her

6. grandmother to bring specially prepared meals going forward.
She also is learning to eat with utensils, which does not seem to
be practiced in her home. Some of the other children make fun
of her for eating with her hands, and I simply tell them that
Abbie’s family does things differently because of where they
come from. Once again, I see this as an educational experience
for the entire group—Abbie helps them learn about diversity in
a very personal way.
Week 4: Friday, September 28
At the beginning of this week, I asked the children to bring
something from their home to class that reminded them of a fun
trip they went on or their favorite place to go on the weekends
with their family. On Thursday, when the children were
supposed to bring in their objects, Abbie came in empty handed.
She sat through the presentations quietly and respectfully, but
seemed distracted and isolated. When her grandmother came to
pick her up, I tried to explain what had happened that day, but
she did not seem to understand most of what I said. Eventually,
Abbie came over and seemed to translate some of what I was
trying to say, at which point her grandmother became very
upset, which seemed to make Abbie quite upset as well.
I reported this incident to the administrator because I was
concerned that perhaps Abbie’s grandmother is not an
appropriate caregiver. My hope for Abbie is that she can find a
way to integrate herself into American society, and her
grandmother’s role as the main source of influence will straddle
Abbie between the two cultures. If she is going to be successful
in America, she must abandon some of the more traditional
aspects of Egyptian culture, which her grandmother cannot seem
to comprehend.
©2014 Walden University

7. 1
Administrator’s Letter
September 30th
Dear Caregiver Guru:
I am writing to your website to request a formal
recommendation, in culturally-responsive practices, for a
teacher at our early childhood care center.
The teacher is responsible for one of the 4-year-old groups at
our center. Last week she came to me with concerns about a
recently immigrated child in her group, Abidah, who seems to
be having difficulty integrating into her new environment.
There have also been some miscommunications between the
teacher and Abidah’s grandmother, who appears to be her
primary caregiver, and speaks very little English. Upon hearing
the teacher’s retelling of the events of the past week, and
reading her weekly updates on Abidah, I believe she could
benefit from learning more culturally responsive ways to
partner with families and promote healthy child development.
I have asked Abidah’s parents to come to the center to discuss
her new situation. Linda, Abidah’s teacher, and I hope this may
allow us to understand her experiences as a newcomer to the
United States and as a dual-language learner.
I will send over notes ahead of time to further inform you of the
situation. These notes will assist you in making your
recommendation to the teacher, Linda, as to how to better
support Abidah’s learning and development.

8. Best,
Dora Tuttle
Administrator at Big World Child Center
©2014 Walden University
1
This file is based on a report from a Parent-Teacher Conference
provided by Donna Tuttle, administrator of Abidah’s preschool.
Tuesday, October 1st
Abidah lives in a household with her mother, father, paternal
grandmother, and her three older brothers. Her three siblings are
in school and have varying levels of English proficiency,
depending on how long they were in school in Egypt. The
family legally emigrated from Egypt to the United States after
the violent uprisings that occurred in Egypt during 2012 and
2013. During that year, Abidah was not in any sort of
educational program.
In Egypt, her father worked as an engineer, and her mother was
a college professor of literature. Both parents are well educated
and speak some English, but both feel more comfortable
conversing with their children in Arabic. Abidah’s grandmother
has always lived in Abidah’s household and is the main
caregiver for all four of the family’s children. In Egypt, there
were also aunts, uncles, and cousins who were very involved in
the family’s daily life. Abidah was very close with a few of her
other female cousins and appears to mourn the loss of having

9. them in her day-to-day life.
Abidah’s parents have stated that all of their children were read
to frequently at home in Egypt, and that the older children
helped the younger children with their school work. When they
came to America, they were forced to leave most of their
possessions behind, including all of Abidah’s toys and books.
They are currently trying to build up a new library for her, in
both Arabic and English, but are having trouble finding age-
appropriate literature in Arabic.
Additionally, the comfort level and quality of life of the family
has decreased somewhat since they left Egypt—both parents
were professionals with good salaries, and the household was
big enough that each child had his or her own room. Now
Abidah must share a room with her youngest brother, which is
quite a change for her. Both parents are working part-time and
trying to secure better paying jobs, but it is difficult because of
language barriers and issues with their visas.
Abidah’s parents have expressed that they believe strongly in
the value of the American education system and would like to
enroll her in school next year. They have also stated that they
would like Abidah to be bilingual, and that, if it is
recommended, they will attempt to speak more English in the
house. This is problematic, however, as Abidah’s grandmother,
and primary caregiver, speaks no English. They have also stated
that they trust the early childhood care center to know the best
practices for helping Adibah prepare to enter school next year.
In Egypt, Abidah enjoyed watching children’s television shows,
singing, playing games with her young cousins, and being read
to at night before bed. Somewhat surprisingly, she is described
as a very independent child with a bold and courageous attitude.

10. ©2014 Walden University
1