Abstract
This paper encapsulates a large body of work on cultural mismatch, cultural competency and their interrelation with health disparities in urban schools. Cultural mismatch is the cultural difference between formal institutions and the populations they serve, while cultural competency is defined as the integration and transformation of knowledge about individuals and groups of people into specific standards, policies, practices, and attitudes used in appropriate cultural settings to increase the quality of services (Cross, 1989). As noted in this paper, disparities include the racial, economic, and cultural issues affecting the health of school age children. Using cultural competency as a theoretical framework, this paper discusses the implications of cultural competency for health outcomes in urban schools.
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