Review

Interactions: The curriculum's "User's Guide" includes a few mentions of the importance of home visitors interacting with families from diverse backgrounds and cultures. A section called "What Is My Role as a Home Visitor?" includes a brief description of establishing relationships with families who may be different than the home visitor. The curriculum lacks guidance on how to engage in culturally responsive interactions with families. In addition, gender-based stereotypes are perpetuated throughout the curriculum, particularly in the "Fatherhood" sections. Although the "Detailed Information Pages" and parent handouts address some topics that are specifically targeted at fathers, the materials often reflect stereotypes and do not promote a strengths-based approach (e.g., handouts reflect assumptions that fathers are often absent, do not help with household chores, and do not provide economic support for their children). 

Learning Experiences: The "User's Guide" describes the importance of planning learning experiences based on a family's culture. A bulleted list of skills that a home visitor needs, in a section called "Home Visitor Skills & Knowledge," includes "cultural sensitivity" and respecting the "cultural values" of a family. However, the curriculum does not include guidance on what these skills entail or how to collaborate or adapt learning experiences based on a family's traditions or culture.

Interactions: The curriculum recognizes the importance of cultural responsiveness. For example, the Baby TALK White Paper describes the importance of "valuing each family's culture and traditions and honoring these traditions in program practices." Training materials provide guidance on cultural responsiveness. The curriculum also cites research that shows how the home visitor's non-judgmental, optimistic attitude about parents is more likely to lead to increased family participation and positive family outcomes. However, the curriculum materials provide no further guidance for engaging in culturally responsive interactions with diverse children and families.

Learning Experiences: While the curriculum emphasizes responsiveness in general, there is minimal guidance in the materials on how to plan or adapt learning experiences based on families' traditions, cultures, and values. There are some references to culture in a few sources. For example, in the 2-Month Activities, the reflective questions include the following prompts: "How might you encourage your baby to understand who she is? Your family's culture? How did you learn about who you are and the family you come from?"

Interactions: The curriculum provides specific guidance for home visitors to engage and interact with culturally diverse families. For example, "Family Culture" describes how parent educators can learn more about a family's culture and become more aware of their own biases. It includes strategies to communicate with diverse families. It also offers a specific process for home visitors to learn and understand more about a family's culture: "There are four parts in the process to understand another culture: ask, listen, observe, and research." Other curriculum resources describe how families from different backgrounds may approach parenting topics such as attachment and discipline, prompting the home visitor to broach topics sensitively.

Learning Experiences: The curriculum provides specific guidance in various resources for how to collaborate with families to adapt learning experiences based on their traditions, cultures, values, and beliefs. Resources for parents such as "Helping Your Child Build a Sense of Self" and "Being Intentional About Values" provide strategies for supporting children's development within the family's cultural context. In addition, various materials in the curriculum offer prompts for home visitors to ensure families' beliefs, traditions, and cultures are incorporated into learning experiences. For example, "Activity Pages" such as "Egg Carton Mancala: Counting and Problem Solving" and "This Is Me! Talking About Family and Tracing Hand People" encourage families to use their family traditions and cultures as a basis for discussion during activities.

Interactions: In several resources throughout the curriculum, Parents as Teachers provides specific guidance on engaging in culturally responsive interactions with diverse children and families. "Three Steps to Cultural Competence" includes detailed information on and strategies for how home visitors can reflect on their own culture, as well as how culture may affect interactions with diverse families (e.g., "Partner with families to find culturally appropriate applications of information or solutions to problems"). In addition, "Human Diversity, Cultural Competence, and Parent Education" offers strategies for home visitors to consider when working with diverse families (e.g., "When disagreements arise, rather than seeking solely to educate the parents, parent educators should facilitate a mutual sharing of information.").

Learning Experiences: The curriculum provides specific guidance in a variety of curriculum materials on how to collaborate with families to plan or adapt learning experiences based on families' traditions, cultures, values, and beliefs. For example, "Human Diversity, Cultural Competence, and Parent Education" gives suggestions for making learning experiences responsive to a family's culture (e.g., using materials from the home, "considering family values when facilitating problem-solving or goal-setting"). In addition, throughout various activities in the curriculum, prompts are offered for home visitors to ensure that families' beliefs, traditions, and cultures are incorporated into learning experiences (e.g., in the introduction of "Developmental Topics," home visitors are offered prompts to consider a family's cultural perspective on parenting).

Interactions: Growing Great Families briefly mentions the importance of home visitors interacting with families from diverse backgrounds and cultures. In a unit called "Family Traditions and Cultural Practices," home visitors are provided with some scripted discussion questions to help families reflect on their traditions (e.g., religion, food, dress). Additionally, a few other places in the curriculum prompt home visitors to ask families about cultural practices related to holidays and religion. However, limited guidance is provided on how to interact with families in a culturally responsive manner.

Learning Experiences: The curriculum provides minimal guidance for planning learning experiences based on a family's traditions, culture, and beliefs. A module from Growing Great Families called "Learning about Family Values and Strengths: Strengthening Family Foundations" describes how home visitors and families can discuss what values the families want to pass on to their children. A few activities in the Learning Pods and curriculum manual address cultural traditions (e.g., "¡Hola Piñata!," "Growing Great Traditions"), but there is no clear guidance on how home visitors collaborate with families to adapt learning experiences based on their culture.

Interactions: Growing Great Families briefly mentions the importance of home visitors interacting with families from diverse backgrounds and cultures. In a unit called "Family Traditions and Cultural Practices," home visitors are provided with some scripted discussion questions to help families reflect on their traditions (e.g., religion, food, dress). Additionally, a few places in the curriculum prompt home visitors to ask families about cultural practices related to responding to children's cues. However, limited guidance is provided on how home visitors interact with families in a culturally responsive manner.

Learning Experiences: The curriculum provides some general principles for planning learning experiences based on a family's traditions, culture, and beliefs. The curriculum encourages families and home visitors to identify the family's values and traditions that are relevant to the child's daily life. For example, in a discussion on responding to infant cues, the curriculum prompts home visitors to inquire about how culture might influence the way a family responds to young children. A module from Growing Great Families called "Learning about Family Values and Strengths: Strengthening Family Foundations" describes how home visitors and families can discuss what values families want to pass on to their children. However, the curriculum does not give specific guidance that is embedded throughout the materials on how to collaborate with families to adapt learning experiences based on their culture.