EDUC 6164 - Welcoming Families from Around the World

Scenario:

"You are working in an early childhood setting of your choice—a hospital, a child care center, a social service agency. You receive word that the child of a family who has recently emigrated from a country you know nothing about will join your group soon. You want to prepare yourself to welcome the child and her family. Luckily, you are enrolled in a course about diversity and have learned that in order to support families who have immigrated you need to know more than surface facts about their country of origin" (Walden University, 2011).

For this activity, I chose the country of Botswana, as I am expecting a family from this country within the next month.

In order prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family, I will plan the following:

1. I will research the family dynamics - who has the "power" in the relationship in regards to specific topics such as children and money. (From the research that I performed thus far, it seems as though many parents stick to traditional roles when the father makes the major decisions in the family; however, some families split the the decisions between mother and father [Anouk, n.d.].)

2. I will research how the family's culture shows others that they are welcome. Such as in the U.S., we may invite them over or bake them some sweets - what would a family from Botswana do? (Depending on the geographical location in Botswana, welcoming celebrations can be both traditional African celebrations or similar to America's culture with kind gestures (Anouk, n.d.).]

3. I will research the responsibilities of children in Botswana. (Most children have similar roles to that of children living in America. Many go to school, while few stay in villages while their parents sell goods [Anouk, n.d.].)

4. I will research the family's native language in hopes that I could learn common terms such as "hello" and "how are you". (The official language in Botswana is English; however, depending on where this family previously lived, they may speak Setswana [Anouk, n.d.].)

5. I will research the conditions of Botswana so as to be more informed of climate, news, finances, etc.

By researching the above, I hope to help the family feel welcome to the United States. Because this family will undoubtedly experience a type of culture shock upon their arrival, the research that I have performed will undoubtedly aid, only if a small amount, with this culture change. Furthermore, it is my hope that if I attempt to learn more about their culture, perhaps they will feel as though there is someone in the area who they can trust and come to if they have any questions about anything.

References:
Anouk, Zijlma. (n.d.). Botswana facts and information. Retrieved from
http://goafrica.about.com/od/botswana/a/botswanafacts.htm

Walden University (2011). Perspectives on diversity and equity.