Multicultural Issues in School Psychology

Question 1

1. Definition of culture by Ogbu (cookie, cake, and ice-cream sundae)

• A people’s way of life - 5 components

Answer 1

1) Customary ways of behaving - making a living, expressing affection, raising children,

responding to illness or death, and dealing with supernatural.

2) Codes or assumptions - expectations, and emotions underlying those customary behaviors.
3) Artifacts - things made by members of the population that have meaning for them (flag).
4) Institutions - economic, political, religious, and social.
5) Social Structure - patterned way in which we interact with one another

Question 2

2. Definition of culture by Triandis. What makes up subjective culture? Why is important for

school psychologists and other school professionals?

Answer 2

Distinguishes between physical culture (roads, building, and tools) and subjective culture

(social norms, roles, beliefs, and values).

• Must be culturally sensitive and culturally competent, and apply interventions to the culture.