Cultural competence involves understanding and responding to diverse needs. The application of this skill has impacted obesity rates among the toddlers participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) Obesity Prevention Program. Community dimensions of practice include evaluating and developing relationships within the community, and maintaining and advancing partnerships and community involvement.
In this session, a contributing faculty member and a recent graduate of Walden University shared ways they impacted social change by incorporating learner-centered strategies into a mentoring program for first-generation minority males and females at a community college in North Carolina. The strategies facilitated identification and moderation of non-cognitive barriers to academic success while engaging students, staff, and faculty in collaborative, multidisciplinary activities.
Culturally competent social change agents consider their own cultural identities, participants' identities, as well as power, privilege, and oppression dynamics when initiating social change projects. In this presentation, we discussed the role of multicultural competence in generating appropriate interventions and collaborative plans of action that contribute to the empowerment and engagement of diverse communities.