Report on Identifying and Vetting Curricula and Training Materials in the AUCD Diversity & Inclusion Toolkit

Phase I

There are two phases to the environmental scan to identify curricula and training materials that address the intersection of cultural diversity, cultural and linguistic competence, and intellectual and developmental disabilities for use by UCEDDs. The first phase identified potential materials from the AUCD Diversity and Inclusion Toolkit and reviewed them based on the vetting criteria developed by the Project team. The second phase is a call to all UCEDDs to share examples of up to five curricula or training materials focused on cultural and linguistic competence including how its effective use in addressing cultural diversity, inclusion, disparities, disproportionality, and academic-community partnership. These submissions will also be vetted using the same criteria. This report presents the process for Phase I of the materials vetting and results of the vetting of materials identified.

Identifying Materials for Vetting from the AUCD Diversity and Inclusion Website

A review was made of all materials listed on the website that might meet the following criteria for curriculum or training material.

Curriculum: An organized set of materials that includes knowledge and skills needed, learning objectives, units and lessons to be presented to learners, activities, assignments or projects to support the objectives and assessments or other methods to evaluate student learning.

Training Materials: Resources that address specific topics that may be covered in a curriculum and can be used to enrich or expand the learning experience or deepen the trainers’ knowledge of the topic. The initial set of identified materials was reviewed by a team member to assure they met these criteria. A total of 13 resources were determined to meet the criteria and were vetted.

Vetting Process

Team members from the UCEDDs at Georgetown University and University of Southern California, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, initially applied the vetting criteria to two examples—one curriculum and one training material—to determine whether there was rater consistency in applying the criteria. It was determined that there was agreement across raters. Agreement was also reached for raters to include comments about why a rating was chosen or if there was important information to convey beyond the rating itself. The identified resources were then divided among four raters and vetting was completed.

Findings

Of the thirteen vetted resources, only two addressed the implications of cultural and/or linguistic competence for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). A few mentioned issues related to disability in a broader sense. None reported being developed with input from individuals with IDD. Only two addressed disparities among people with IDD attributed to race (the intersection of race and disability). A number of these resources did have good content related to cultural and linguistic competence in general and several are created for professionals who do serve individuals with IDD. Nine of the resources provided one or more definitions of cultural competence, while only five included a definition of linguistic competence. Ten of the resources address the “ISMs” (typically racism). The “ISMs” is an umbrella term used by the Georgetown University National Center for Cultural Competence to refer to a range of attitudes and behaviors that involve perceived superiority, oppression, prejudice, and discrimination based on such factors as race, national origin, ethnicity, language, class, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity and expression. To see the results of vetting, view Table 1.

A number of these vetted resources provide a good basis for curricula or training materials that UCEDDs can use. Refer to Resources: Vetted Resources on this website for a selected listing. For each resource there is information about the authors, sources, a link to the materials, and a brief description, including how it might be useful in a UCEDD setting.