Category: Cultural competence

Introduction: Case Example

The example case scenario is focused on a hypothetical situation involving an immigrant individual named Miranda, and she is a heterosexual female who is 27 years old. Miranda and her husband immigrated from South America to start a family and new life in the US. They have three children, and recently, Miranda lost her mother. She reports having major challenges with parenting her two children and difficulty sleeping. She additionally states that she constantly feels sad, depressed, and tearful, which further hinders her parenting capabilities. Her husband works as a truck driver, which means he is almost always away from the family. The children have ADHD symptoms, which makes parenting even more complicated. The caseworker is required to work with Miranda, overcoming cultural barriers.

Multiculturalism and Diversity of Values

Diversity of values is an integral part of the modern world and societies, which was built on the failures of history of divisions of the previous centuries. It is evident that the given notion is also of paramount importance for ensuring a proper function and stability of a globalized world, where nations and economies are at a severe disadvantage without being integrated into a global economy. However, the most important reason is manifested in the fact that diversity is morally and ethically based.

Issues in Diversity Measures

The topic of diversity is a widely brought up and researched subject, especially in social work, but the issues are still persistent despite these efforts. Research indicates that in many critical professions, the lack of diversity is starkly evident, and no significant progress has been made in the last 40 years (Bernard & Cooperdock, 2018). In other words, many specialities, including social work, are predominantly occupied by a specific ethnic or racial group. Another article reveals that the diversity problem is a common issue among organizations, and many diversity-promoting programs fail to reach the desired objective (Cole, 2008).

Diversity as a Problem

The main reason for the latter is the fact that enhancing diversity is conducted in a highly superficial manner, where the appearance of diversity is established with no profound changes. Therefore, one can easily observe that the given idea is mostly enforced through social work policies and concepts, but no root cause factor is addressed. Organizations integrate diversity training, where the content of the sessions is mostly focused on negative aspects of the lack of diversity, such as an organization having a poor image or penalties for workers who do not strive for diversity.

Social Work and Diversity

It is critical in social work today since social workers work with a diverse group of people, and thus, equal service can only be provided if one values anothers dignity and worth. The central value is the pursuit of social justice, which focuses on justice and fairness in social endeavors. Diversitys value is to provide service to humanity, which makes it a prime interest to uphold others interests as a professional goal. Such measures do not create environments where minority groups and women directly interact with people, which would be the most plausible and effective method of reducing bias among majority groups (Reamer, 2013).

Code of Ethics

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics contains several elements on the issues of marginalization, discrimination, and oppression. For example, section 4.02 of the Code states: Social workers should not practice, condone, facilitate, or collaborate with any form of discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, political belief, religion, or mental or physical disability (NASW, 2021, p. 7). Therefore, the NASW Code of Ethics promotes diversity and cultural competence as the social workers central values, which include competence, integrity, the importance of human relationships, dignity and worth of a person, social justice, and service (NASW, 2021).

The Code offers a set of values, principles, and standards to guide decision-making and conduct when ethical issues arise. It does not provide a set of rules that prescribe how social workers should act in all situations. Instances may arise when social workers ethical obligations conflict with agency policies or relevant laws or regulations. When such conflicts occur, social workers must make a responsible effort to resolve the conflict in a manner that is consistent with the values, principles, and standards expressed in this Code. If a reasonable resolution of the conflict does not appear possible, social workers should seek proper consultation before making a decision (Cole, 2008).

Code of Ethics: Ethical Principles

Social workers are responsible before clients for promoting their well-being and ensuring that their interests are primary. In the given case scenario, the social worker has a responsibility to be alert to and avoid conflicts of interest that interfere with the exercise of professional discretion and impartial judgment. Social workers should inform clients when a real or potential conflict of interest arises and take reasonable steps to resolve the issue in a manner that makes the clients interests primary and protects clients interests to the greatest extent possible. In some cases, protecting clients interests may require termination of the professional relationship with proper referral of the client. Moreover, the social worker should act to prevent and eliminate domination

Decision Making

When there is an opposition between a social work professionals, agencys, or clients values, the social worker should follow the ethical principles and core values represented in the Code of Ethics in the decision-making process as it can help to avoid the personal judgments and biases. In the case of the given case scenario, a social worker is responsible for maintaining the non-discrimination policy and social justice in society. Social workers need to abandon any personal judgment, bias, or prejudice by adopting the clients perspective. The cultural barrier can be overcome by putting an effort to properly understand the immigrant Mirandas experience to provide the best help one can provide in an ethical manner.

Challenges in Diversity

The unique cultural composition of the client population is a highly important aspect of social work, where diversity can be delivered and ensured in a more precise and complete manner. In order for social workers to meet the needs of the diverse population, the efforts need to be done with an emphasis on cultural competence, and thus improvements can be made by integrating more compassionate and progressive approaches. The derived information can be used for better advocacy practices, where the problems are addressed at their roots rather than imposing incentives without the alterations of the basis.

Best Practices

It is important to note that social work requires a wide range of competencies, which is manifested in the overall complexity of the occupation. However, it is stated that all social workers operate within the What-Why-How framework, and the common mistake is to forget the Why component, which makes the work process highly procedural and managerial (Marsiglia, Kulis, & Lechuga-Pena, 2021). In other words, the latter element is integral for social workers to operate strategically and stay aligned with the essential objectives instead of being distracted by minor aspects of the work. Core aspects of cultural competence in social work include skills, knowledge, attitude, and awareness.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the main mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs of people from oppressed and vulnerable communities. In the United States, the multicultural diversity in the social work profession may several challenges and lead to value and cultural contradictions between professionals, clients, and affiliated organizations. Therefore, for social workers, it is essential to follow the Code of Ethics in the decision-making process to avoid personal prejudices and biases. Moreover, social workers should always make sure to improve their cultural competencies and have enough level of self-awareness.

References

Bernard, R. E., & Cooperdock, E. H. G. (2018). No progress on diversity in 40 years. Nature Geoscience, 11(5), 292-295. Web.

Cole, E. (2008). Navigating the dialectic: Following ethical rules versus culturally appropriate practice. American Journal of Family Therapy, 36(5).

Marsiglia, F. F., Kulis, S. S., & Lechuga-Pena, S. (2021). Diversity, oppression, & change: Culturally grounded social work. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.

NASW. (2021). Code of ethics. UAF. Web.

Reamer, F. (2013). Social work values and ethics (4th ed.). New York: Columbia University Press.

Working with multicultural groups

The social worker has to explore their own beliefs and differences, whereby they also find out the new aspects of their personality. I believe that racial/ethnic identity development is especially crucial for individuals, including social workers. Our self-perception and identity development depend on the images, stereotypes, and biases that refer to our racial/ethnic identities (Way, Hernández, Rogers, & Hughes, 2013). The social worker should pay close attention to the emergence of such negative beliefs about themselves and other individuals (including clients) because the self of an individual is constructed through responses to such beliefs as well (Way et al., 2013).

Thus, although the stereotypes do not define us, they can lead to severe disruptions in ourselves. When working with multicultural groups, especially those that have to face severe discrimination, the social worker needs to bear in mind how stereotypes and negative beliefs could change or influence the development of their personalities. For example, the concept of possible self applies to the individuals perception of an ideal self (I want to be like that) and of feared self (I do not want to be like that), which can frequently be seen in adolescents (Way et al., 2013). Partly, these selves are based on social stereotypes, which need to be considered by a social worker.

The understanding of ones privileges is also significant. I believe that both self-reflection and policies that focus on spreading diversion (e.g. in schools, universities, offices, films, TV series, etc.) would make our citizens (including social workers) more race-conscious (Roda & Wells, 2013). We need to address the problems of privilege at higher levels to ensure that people are more aware of these issues.

Working with marginalized groups

I would like to point out the importance of the communication of social workers and marginalized groups. The social workers are frequently (if not always) engaged in the work with social groups, which can also lead to transformations both in the group and the workers (Northen & Kurland, 2013). Therefore, I believe that the success of the group and the changes that happened were due to the groups ability to interact efficiently and understand the aims and objectives of the social work. As Northen and Kurland (2013) point out, the social workers role varies: counselor or therapist, resource provider, educator, collaborator, and consultant (p. 80). We, as social workers, need to remember the responsibility we bear, change different roles, and integrate into groups with different (sometimes polar) goals.

I also want to address the role of values in our life. The values and ethics in social work are a difficult topic because they are often vaguely defined (Thompson, 2015). Nevertheless, I think that the social workers value is in their ability to reflect on the values he or she has, and act by them. For example, one of the core values in social work is respect for persons (Thompson, 2015). The social worker needs to treat other people in a way that people should treat each other in his/her opinion. It seems to me that this value is the basis of the workers and the groups ability to implement change. If we see a disruption in our lack of respect towards a marginalized group, we work hard on providing this group with the treatment they deserve. The ultimate goal of social work is to ensure that people are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve. Still, this idea is far from being entirely accepted in our world.

References

Northen, H., & Kurland, R. (2013). Social work with groups. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.

Roda, A., & Wells, A. S. (2013). School choice policies and racial segregation: Where white parents good intentions, anxiety, and privilege collide. American Journal of Education, 119(2), 261-293.

Thompson, N. (2015). Understanding social work: Preparing for practice. Basingstoke, England: Palgrave Macmillan.

Way, N., Hernández, M. G., Rogers, L. O., & Hughes, D. L. (2013). Im not going to become no rapper: Stereotypes as a context of ethnic and racial identity development. Journal of Adolescent Research, 28(4), 407-430.

Cultural competence in health care is one of the crucial topics, the need for which only increases over time. Many countries are characterized by multinationality; the modern world needs culturally competent healthcare workers, as the patients who seek help can be from different ethnic groups and cultures. Cultural competence refers to the ability of medical professionals to identify culturally mediated attitudes, values, traditions, language preferences, and well-established practices in health care and channel this body of knowledge to improve treatment.

Although patients are accustomed to a specific model of the doctor  kindly gray-haired Dr. Smith (elderly), generations change, and this shift is inevitable. Previous generations of doctors may also adhere to certain treatment models that are becoming obsolete. The world is moving away from the framework and strives for freedom of choice, more tolerant, versatile treatment, and patient care; established prescriptions are no longer relevant.

A culturally competent team will have no problem accepting a new staff doctor from a different ethnic group or culture. The manager has to use the skills associated with the ability to communicate correctly. Not focusing on the uniqueness or peculiarities of the new colleague is vital in this situation (Greene-Moton & Minkler, 2020). The strategy of acceptance and equal work of all team members is the only correct. This will help to accept a new doctor into the team, and they will feel a part of it. The patients preferences should not outweigh the cultural competence; if the patient disagrees, the situation requires additional settlement by the manager. Exceptionally, all people need to learn patience, understanding, and acceptance concerning patients and their colleagues.

If a conflict arises, the managers role is to resolve it. As a manager, it is necessary to convey to the patient that regardless of confession, ethnicity, culture, the doctor has the qualifications needed for treatment, and their different identities cannot affect their professional skills. There must be trust between the doctor and the patient; this will help to improve the quality of treatment. If the patient cannot trust the doctor due to cultural characteristics, they need to consider other options that the manager can offer.

Reference

Greene-Moton, E., & Minkler, M. (2020). Cultural competence or cultural humility? Moving beyond the debate. Health promotion practice, 21(1), 142-145.

Introduction

The nursing profession has witnessed a number of emerging trends, which aim at improving service delivery in a contemporary work environment. One of the trends that have emerged in the nursing profession is cultural competency. Cultural competency refers to the ability of an individual to understand and relate well with people from different cultural backgrounds (Dana & Allen, 2008). Cultural competency is a value held in high esteem within the nursing profession.

Cultural competency in nursing involves the cognitive ability, mental attitude, and accomplishments of an individual that enable them to provide care to people from different cultures. Studies have shown that culture plays a crucial role in the development of perceptions that people have regarding health care services. People have different preferences on the kind of medication right for them, depending on their cultural beliefs. Therefore, it is important for nurses to be cognizant of the ethnic background of their patients.

This allows them to provide the right healthcare service (Jeffrey, 2010). Healthcare providers have a responsibility to ensure that they get all the necessary information about the cultural beliefs of the people they serve. They should promote peoples culture through their work by respecting their viewpoints, beliefs, and values.

With the high rate of globalization and technology development experienced in the 21st Century, people are increasingly interacting in a more culturally dynamic environment. Therefore, cultural competency is an essential skill that nurses should have in order to achieve success in the contemporary workplace (Jeffrey, 2010).

Discussion

The concept of cultural competency has been an influential trend in the nursing profession over the last couple of years. Its huge influence on the success of the profession has led to it being part of the curriculum in nursing schools. Studies have shown that the contemporary healthcare work environment is very dynamic, diverse, and demand for nurses. One of the main contributing factors to this phenomenon has been a highly multicultural society (Anderson, 2008).

Nurses have to increase their knowledge of various cultures, develop the right attitude, and advance the skills in order to have better service delivery. Nurses should have enough knowledge about the culture of the people in the areas they work in. Their main concern should be to establish the impact of peoples beliefs and practices on healthcare services. It is also important for nurses to have the right attitude towards the cultural beliefs and practices of people.

They should be conscious of any preconceptions and partialities they develop regarding the culture of people in an area (Dana & Allen, 2008). Nurses should avoid taking positions of patients based on motivations driven by conventional conceptions about their culture.

Nurses should also ensure that they advance essential abilities such as communication skills as a way of respecting the culture of people in the area they work in. For example, they can try to learn the basic elements of the peoples language for the sake of communicating with patients who do not comprehend other languages (Jeffrey, 2010). Cultural competency in the nursing profession also applies as an ethical obligation owing to the fact that a nurse acts as an advocate for peoples welfare.

The ethical code of conduct in the nursing profession requires all healthcare providers to respect the identity of their patients. This is important because the culture has a very crucial role to play in health care provision. Important cultural elements, such as gender roles and traditional health care practices, influence how people from a certain culture perceive contemporary services (Anderson, 2008).

Building a culturally competent health care workplace

Building a culturally competent workforce is a challenge for organizational leaders. The reason for this is the delicate nature of organizational cultures when exposed to change. Cultural competency in the workplace requires slight changes in the organizational culture of health care organizations (Dana & Allen, 2008).

Organizational culture is very sensitive to changes, especially those influenced by external forces. Organizational leaders have to deal with a number of challenges. First, people often demonstrate their unwillingness to recognize and respect differences in opinions or beliefs. Second, people also develop partialities that prevent objective consideration of issues and situations to the favor of others (Starr, 2008). This leaves certain people feeling isolated and lose their attachment towards achieving a certain shared goal.

These challenges make it hard for health care organizations to show their respect for the identity of the people they serve. However, health care organizations should strive to have a culturally competent workforce because it helps to foster good relations between nurses and their patients (Starr, 2008).

Studies have shown that cultural competency is one of the most desirable qualities among nurses in contemporary health care provision. Health care workforces are also having a higher level of cultural diversity, and nurses have to have the right cultural aptitude in order to develop a formidable health care team. When nurses learn to respect the identities of their colleagues, doing the same for the people they serve will not be a challenge to them (Starr, 2008).

Conclusion

Culture represents the identity of people because it shows the knowledge and values shared by a society. The contemporary health care work environment entails nurses working in culturally diverse workplaces and communities.

This has increased the demand for culturally competent health care professionals who have the ability to provide services to people with different cultural backgrounds. It entails having knowledge of various cultures, developing the right attitude, and advancing individual competences. As the rate of globalization continues to rise, nurses have to ensure that they increase their competency levels.

References

Anderson, B. A. (2008). Caring for the Vulnerable: Perspectives in Nursing Theory, Practice, and Research. New York: Jones & Bartlett learning.

Dana, R., & Allen, J. (2008). Cultural Competency Training in a Global Society. New Jersey: Cambridge University Press.

Jeffrey, M. R. (2010). Teaching Cultural Competency in Nursing and Healthcare: Inquiry, Action, & Innovation. New York: Springer Publishing Company.

Starr, S. S. (2008). Dimensions of Cultural Competence: Nurse-Client Perspectives. California: Cengage Learning.

The fellow staff debriefed the Head of Academic Dean about the progress of the interview done to applicants who vied for the job vacancy in the University. The Dean became astonished at certain remarks made about Feather Sharon Eagle. The staff reported that Sharon never used eye contact, seemed evasive, not personable and did not shake peoples hands. The education staff intended to disqualify Eagle Feather Sharon, a young Native American lady majoring in journalism.

Nevertheless, Sharon possessed the skills needed in order to do the work. The staff claims that Sharon lacks personal integrity thus her professionalism is inadequate. This paper examines how academic staff needs to handle this situation. The education professionals should be culturally aware of the multicultural diversity, especially of the American Indian culture which is the origin of Sharon. The staff should know that Sharons behavior may be culturally related.

Korn & Bursztyn view that multicultural competence becomes an essential factor which enhances multicultural environment and skills for educational professionals and students of the higher learning institution (2002). Nevertheless, many educators and student affair representatives get inadequate training to handle the complication of multicultural matters. School counselors need to ensure that multiculturalism thrives in the higher learning institutions.

Education professionals need to create awareness and sensitization to promote multicultural issues and to generate skills required to provide significant services to all students. Students should acquire core competence, which entails multicultural matters. Cultural diversity may affect the manner in which students behaves in terms of communication style, eye contact and personal space.

Several students struggle to unite in order to work together. However, such people normally encounter many challenges in their endeavor to interact with one another. The increasing multicultural diversity in the university campus becomes a challenge to be handled by the staff educators. Issues such as, discrimination and biases, normally happen in the, cultural diverse, community (Pope, Reynolds & Mueller, 2004).

New knowledge, therefore, becomes an effective answer to tackle such problems. Innovative ways should be adopted to handle individuals needs in a multicultural society. School counselors and student affair representatives should generate, a more welcoming environment, to handle the discontent perception of all students in the university campus. Multicultural issues need to be integrated into the learning curriculum programs. Student affair representatives should be trained in order to support students from culturally diverse communities. Student affair representatives should be more receptive and sensitive to handle multiculturalism.

Pope, Reynolds & Mueller, claim that any anticipation of what requires quality practice involves awareness of cultural diversity, skills and insight (2004). For example, management and administrative competency forms the significant abilities to finish duties common to student affairs. Such duties entail administrative positions like resource allocation, budgeting and management, task supervision, and strategic panning. Translation and theory entails the competence of detailed insight of different theories essential for students progress and development of theories. Moreover, this competency concerns insight that enhances theoretical translations into practices.

Advising and helping competency concerns counseling elements such as crisis intervention, communication skills, society relations, and violence management. Professional and moral competencies involve insight of legal standards and moral implication.

These competencies resolve challenges and make the decision concerning complex moral issues which trouble students. Skills, knowledge and awareness of cultural diversity form an essential core competency that involves awareness of individuals own values, biases and assumptions; knowledge of worldview of other people; information concerning other cultural communities; and creation of correct intervention strategies. Teaching and learning is a competency that provides consultation and training of groups and individuals in the learning institutions (Korn & Bursztyn, 2002). Lastly, assessment and research competency expects professionals to acquire the capability to undertake assessments, self-studies, and evaluation and knowing the implications of the data analyzed.

The implication derived from this experience is to ensure that staff educators get effective training in order to know how to handle multicultural issues in the future. Sharon should not be disqualified by the academic staff. Staff educators should understand and trace Sharons behavior from her cultural experience. Multicultural competence is an inventive model for educators that promote multicultural awareness in the learning program of the students behaviors. Multicultural competence enhances skills, awareness and insight required, to interact with people who originate from a, cultural diverse, community in a productive and significant way.

Multicultural competence aims to instill multicultural environment in learning institutions. Multicultural competence continues to embrace progressing cultural diversity. Educators and students should acquire skills concerning multicultural competence in order to handle multicultural matters.

References

Korn, C & Bursztyn, A. (2002). Rethinking Multicultural Education: Case Studies in Cultural Transition. Westport: Bergin & Garvey.

Pope R., Reynolds, A, & Mueller, J. (2004). Multicultural Competence in Student Affairs. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Introduction

The 20^th century has seen a steep rise in the levels of diversity on a global scale. Due to the increase in the number of cross-cultural interactions and intensity thereof, the necessity to develop an in-depth and intrinsic understanding of other cultures has emerged (Holland, 2017).

Indeed, without the ability to avoid culture clashes and the areas that representatives of other ethnicities may find questionable, one is likely to face numerous conflicts, as well as hurt other peoples feelings. Thus, without the promotion of cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity, and cultural competence, interactions in the global environment are doomed to fail miserably. Although the identified notions are often conflated, they, represent different concepts, each being a critical element of the communication process in the modern context.

Cross-cultural communication

The phenomena of cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity, and cultural competence are quite close in what they denote, yet the function of each concept and the ideas that it supports are slightly different. For example, cultural awareness, in its essence, can be described as readiness to accept new cultural knowledge. Being a rather broad term, cultural awareness is the transitional stage in cultural development since it allows one to change their attitudes and perceptions regarding intercultural communication (Repo, Vahlberg, Salminen, Papadopoulos, & Leino-Kilpi, 2017).

Although the described phenomenon does not involve the ability to understand other cultural groups and their needs, it should not be underestimated since it provides the platform for the acquisition of relevant knowledge in the future. Cultural awareness makes one ready to overcome cultural prejudices and accept the differences between ones own culture and one of the opponents (Holland, 2017).

Compared to cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity is the understanding and acknowledgment of differences between representatives of different cultures without diminishing the value of either (Foronda, Baptiste, Reinholdt, & Ousman, 2016). Cultural sensitivity can be seen as the conception of the ability to discern between unique properties of different cultures. Specifically, when developing basic cultural sensitivity, one recognizes the uniqueness of each culture.

It is noteworthy that cultural sensitivity itself does not imply possessing unique knowledge about other cultures; instead, it is the recognition of intrinsic differences between representatives from different cultural backgrounds that makes the basis of cultural sensitivity. Therefore, the concept of cultural sensitivity can be deemed as the next logical step toward gaining cross-cultural communication skills after developing cultural sensitivity.

Cultural sensitivity helps one to understand what emotional impact certain issues have on representatives of other cultures (Foronda et al., 2016). Furthermore, cultural sensitivity enables one to develop the strategies that will help one to steer a conversation away from the topics that are awkward, unpleasant, or downright offensive to an interlocutor.

To counteract the threat of a culture clash that one can sense with the help of cultural sensitivity, one will need cultural competence. Representing the third stage of building the ability to communicate in a diverse, multicultural setting, cultural competence is traditionally defined as the ability to use cross-cultural tools for achieving understanding and conveying a particular message to an interlocutor of culturally diverse background (Repo et al., 2017). Garneau and Pepin (2014) define cultural competence as learning cognitive aspects of culture such as values, beliefs, and traditions of a particular group and applying this knowledge in practice (p. 9).

Therefore, the third stage enables one to systematize the knowledge that one has gained during the development of cultural awareness and sensitivity, thus helping one to build effective communication strategies and implement them successfully. Moreover, cultural competence suggests that one is capable of discerning the implications of different approaches that can be used to manage communication in different cultural settings.

One should also bear in mind that the definitions for cultural competence as a phenomenon may vary depending on which aspect thereof is critical for the selected area. For instance, in learning, the ability to connect to learners perceptions of a particular phenomenon and build a mutual understanding is important, whereas, in nursing, the need to address health disparities caused by cultural misconceptions is typically emphasized (Borrego & Johnson, 2017). Nonetheless, the concept of cultural competence as the general ability to utilize the available cultural knowledge to reach an understanding with an interlocutor remains consistent.

In addition to being used for regular cross-cultural communication, cultural competence is crucial when the need to address a conflict arises. There is no secret that culture clashes are unavoidable in a diverse setting due to the inability to foresee and address every possible misunderstanding that may arise due to differences in worldviews, philosophies, or languages (Repo et al., 2017).

Cultural competence, in turn, can be used to develop a constructive approach toward conflict management and apply negotiation strategies based on compromise and cooperation (Foronda et al., 2016). The described framework involves benefits for all parties involved since it encourages participants to derive important lessons about multicultural communication from their experience, thus shaping their worldview and creating new communication approaches.

Therefore, it is important to view cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity, and cultural competence not as separate notions but as the components of a single phenomenon of multicultural dialogue. The serving as the stages of building cultural knowledge and gaining the skills required to participate in a multicultural conversation, the specified concepts need to be learned since they allow one to engage in a meaningful dialogue with members of other cultures. Thus, each of the three notions is essential nowadays for successful social interactions in any setting. Indeed, due to the globalization process, most environments such as a workplace or school setting have become quite diverse (Borrego & Johnson, 2017).

Gaining cultural competence is currently a requirement for successful social interactions. Furthermore, cultural competence will help one grow personally and professionally by learning more about the needs of different cultural and ethnic groups. The specified process is particularly important for people employed in the healthcare industry, counseling, and any other environment that makes cross-cultural communication critical to the well-being of customers (Holland, 2017). Thus, each of the three stages described above has to be regarded as inseparable parts of the process of cultural, personal, and professional growth and adjustment to the diverse setting of the modern world.

Conclusion

While the notions of cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity, and cultural competence seem very similar to each other, they are unique concepts that constitute the bulk of cross-cultural communication. With the enhancement of cultural awareness, one can acquire the needed cultural competence to engage in a dialogue with diverse community members, whereas cultural sensitivity will help one to avoid conflicts in a culturally diverse setting.

By integrating the described concepts into the process of cross-cultural communication, one will create a welcoming setting for diverse participants and prevent the harmful impact of biases from affecting the conversation. Moreover, with the enhancement of cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity, and cultural competence, one will build the set for the continuous acquisition of skills for intercultural communication. Thus, the global community will thrive, with its members sharing their experience and learning more about each other to enrich their cultures and support their communities.

References

Borrego, E., & Johnson, R. G. (2017). Cultural competence for public managers: Managing diversity in today s world (2nd ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Garneau, A. B., & Pepin, J. (2014). Cultural competence. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 26(1), 915. Web.

Foronda, C., Baptiste, D. L., Reinholdt, M. M., & Ousman, K. (2016). Cultural humility: A concept analysis. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 27(3), 210-217. Web.

Holland, K. (2017). Cultural awareness in nursing and health care: An introductory text. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Repo, H., Vahlberg, T., Salminen, L., Papadopoulos, I., & Leino-Kilpi, H. (2017). The cultural competence of graduating nursing students. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 28(1), 98-107. Web.

Cultural competence in giving administrations to all, despite culture, financial status, instructive foundation. Cultural competency implies making the practices and approaches that will make benefits more available to different populaces, and that accommodate fitting and viable administrations in different circumstances. If an association is seen as being harsh, misleading, or discourteous of the requirements of Hispanic families, the group will disassociate from the association – notwithstanding when administrations are urgently required. The estimation of families maybe should be accentuated for the important part it plays for some Latino patients.

Cultural Ancestry

A lexicon meaning of the word ‘Hispanic’, for example, ‘Of or identifying with the general population, discourse, or culture of Spain, Portugal, Latin America’ can’t express the augmentation or differing qualities of the Hispanic people groups. Indigenous in territories from the southwestern United States toward the southern tip of South America and from Spain to the Philippines. Through a pioneer experience that started a century before the soonest Anglo-American states were set up and that kept going 50 to 100 years longer, Spanish attributes, dialect, and establishments connected—now and then calmly, now and then savagely—with indigenous people groups to frame new countries and societies. Wherever early Spanish colonizers voyaged, they carried with them the dialect, culture, foundations, and record frameworks of their country. Contemporary Mexicans, Guatemalans, and other Latin Americans, albeit Hispanic, are not Spanish.

Willingness to Share Ideas

As a rule, Hispanic societies incorporate a more family-focused central leadership demonstrate than the more individualistic or independence based model grasped by present-day standard biomedical culture in the United States. As opposed to working on the perfect of an educated, dynamic person who settles on choices in light of his or her very own high, numerous Latino societies consider as vital the individual’s commitment to the family and more extensive group. Thus, the individual’s great can’t be flawlessly isolated from his or her group. Also, the family itself can assume a massively vital part in supporting and enabling the patient inside the therapeutic setting.

In one overview of Mexican-American medical attendants, family support distinguished as a standout amongst the most important zones to which human services suppliers ought to go to while watching over Hispanic patients. The point merits accentuation: health mind suppliers must be wary not to misrepresent the qualities, traditions, and convictions that portray any ethnic gathering particularly one as heterogeneous as Latinos. They additionally should be careful with the propensity toward ‘othering’; that is, the inclination to comprehend non-overwhelming gatherings as second rate, extraordinary, or degenerate. A few endeavors at social skill may slant toward these unhelpful stances.

Significance of Touch

In US human services settings, Latino families or people might be very astonished about the little time they go through with the specialist or nursing staff. The practice in which the doctor keeps a few patients holding up in various counseling rooms, going rapidly from one to the next, is shocking and dumbfounding. In the US, the average separation between doctor and patient might be seen by the Latino customer as the absence of enthusiasm, as cold and uninvolved. Most regularly, Latinos welcome each other with a grin and a handshake. Handshakes are likewise utilized on takeoff to mean a proceeded with the relationship and to infer that the individual invited back. Touch is used uninhibitedly amongst grown-ups and youngsters, and between people of a similar sexual orientation, as an approach to pass on compassion and acknowledgment, and when managing medical problems, to imbue trust.

Indeed, even unknowingly, outsiders may encounter the nonappearance of these physical signs of an acknowledgment as enthusiastic separation and coldness. Individuals tend to expect a particular level of individual treatment, to start with, instead of going straightforwardly into the current issue (Marc H. Bornstein, 2012).

Communication

In the Hispanic culture, not everybody anticipates that outsiders will be agreeable. Periodically in the U.S. when we pass a stranger in the city, the transport, in the lavatory, wherever, we, in any event, grin and gesture Hi, a few Americans may even have a full discussion. In this culture nonetheless, outsiders don’t cooperate that way. While living in Sevilla, Spain for five months, I strolled a similar course to and from classes. The primary time I grinned at somebody or made proper acquaintance after looking was whether I started the discussion.

Eye Contact

Hispanic ladies, for the most part, may have less immediate eye contact when interfacing with Hispanic men. Amid discussions, eye stare from females to guys is less direct in the Hispanic culture contrasted with eye stare between sexes in the American culture.

Gestures

Nonverbal dialect in Hispanic culture is not the same as a nonverbal culture in the United States. Be watchful with hand gestures when going by different nations. A thumbs-up to somebody in the United States may mean something else in another country. For instance, the hand motions we use for ‘come here’, the hand palm up with the pointer connecting in and out three or four conditions, has an inside and out various criticalness in Latin America.

It infers that you are illogically enlivened by the individual and saw as an asking. To the development of some individuals in Latin America ‘come here’ expand your hand palm down and move each of the four fingers in and out together three or four conditions (Ulloa, 2014).

Greeting

In Hispanic culture, it is standard for the arriving individual to welcome the others. For example, somebody who strolls into a gathering of people eating would state prove Cho (make the most of your fast). In Chile, ladies regularly welcome both other women and men with a kiss on the cheek. In Russia women frequently walk affectionately intertwined with their female companions. Disregarding these can cause clueless individual harm. The expert way of welcome and making inquiries, and even the physical separation between the staff and patient, are essential messages that are controlled by culture.

Temporal Culture

We have watched that maybe no other subject isolates physical and transient societies more than an overarching appraisal of material and its elements—of what stuff comprises; how one respects material; what sorts of material are for sure esteemed, for what reasons and for itself; of what its properties comprise. And also these properties’ inborn usefulness, that is, the thing that these properties are ‘useful for’. The soundness of the masses affected by both it’s social and its money related conditions and the therapeutic administration’s organizations it gets. As discussed in various parts of this report, all around, the money related status of Hispanics in the United States is essentially lower than that of non-Hispanic whites (CDC’s Healthy Community Program, n.d.).

Hispanics also go up against a grouping of deterrents to getting human administration organizations of high gauge. Some of these limits result from their low budgetary status; others are a result of a couple of specific components of the Hispanic masses. The small typical compensation and educational accomplishment of Hispanics are tangles to tolerating valid and legitimate therapeutic administrations. Low-wage people are less prepared to deal with the cost of the out-of-pocket costs of care, paying little attention to the likelihood that they have a therapeutic scope. Small preparation may debilitate people’s ability to investigate the erratic human administration’s movement system, talk with social protection providers, and appreciate providers’ headings. Besides, small vacations and word related qualities identified with low rates of restorative scope.

Conclusion

Culture impacts numerous parts of maladjustment, including how patients from a given culture express and show their side effects, their style of adapting, their family and group bolsters, and their eagerness to look for treatment. In like manner, the way of life of the clinician and the administration framework impact conclusion, treatment, and management conveyance. The Hispanic tries to conform to the universe and puts stock in supernatural forces. When living in Mexico, the creator watched exceptionally religious individuals, the dominant part having a place with the Catholic church. In any case, that did not keep them from having confidence in witchcraft and the curator or recuperating lady. Herbs assume a noteworthy part in mending and bring good fortunes.

The Hispanic understudy, when in doubt, flourishes more in an agreeable situation than in a focused one. The uniqueness of the individual is more critical than individual achievement. The benefit of the entire is frequently more vital than the individual’s objectives.

References

1. CDC’s Healthy Community Program. (n.d.). Building Our Understanding: Culture Insights Communicating with Hispanic/Latinos. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dch/programs/healthycommunitiesprogram/tools/pdf/hispanic_latinos_insight.pdf
2. Marc H. Bornstein, D. L. (2012). Emotional Relationships in Mothers and Infants: Culture-Common and Community-Specific Characteristics of Dyads from Rural and Metropolitan Settings in Argentina, Italy, and the United States. Journal of Cross Cultural Psychology.
3. Ulloa, T. F. (2014). Changes, Conflicts and Ideologies in Contemporary Hispanic Culture. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

The National Cares Mentoring Movement is a non-profit organization located in the Atlanta area. This organization was founded in 2006 and was formed after the events of Hurricane Katrina. “The organization’s priority population are young black children who come from low-income families and unstable communities” (National CARES). Among all demographics, they believe that black children are at the highest risk for falling into poverty. This is mainly due to the uncontrollable circumstances that they are born into such as their parents’ socio-economic status and the setting they live in.

The services they provide under the organization include: The Rising, The HBCU Rising, University for Parents, National Affiliate Network, and Community Circles. The Rising services are educational based programs that help children engage in a curriculum that teaches about the disparities that exist among the black population. On the other hand, the University for Parents is a service that provides parents the education they need to overcome internal and external obstacles. The National Affiliate Network aims to connect adult mentors to children who need positive role models in their lives. Lastly, Community Circles serves to create group gatherings in which mentors and other leaders of the community can meet up to discuss any matters that have been left untouched.

The National Cares Mentoring Movement does their work accordingly to their mission statement. “The mission for the NCMM is they secure, heal and transform the lives of impoverished Black children by inspiring, recruiting and mobilizing masses of caring Black men and women to mentor and nourish them” (National CARES). They work to not only inspire young black children, but to also nourish them and prepare them for the future. The organization works by connecting volunteers to local youth-serving organizations. Through these volunteers their aim is to help children through aspects of their life such as academic, emotional, and social components.

Since the organization is focused on black children, the NCMM envisions a society where all black children are loved and cared for. “We envision a world in which black children have access to quality, culturally competent education and are supported by well-resourced families and communities living in harmony and guided by faith” (National CARES). They want to make sure that these children are given equal opportunities to excel in life and be able to connect to their American roots and everything that their ancestors did before them to America what it is today.

The National Cares Mentoring Movement is best described as being a culturally competent program. Cultural Competence is defined as being able to communicate and understand people of every demographic. This is extremely important in any organization because being culturally competent means you are better in the long run when it comes to understanding people of different cultures. Without cultural competence, individuals are likely to form more biases towards preposition beliefs that they may have and it will also impact their interactions with people of the targeted population.

Race is the best theory to for the NCMM. The reason for this is because the organization was formed to help young black children who do not have the resources they need to succeed. “The plain fact is that while we sometimes associate ghettos with class, we most frequently see poverty associated with race” (Cruz, A). The reality of it is race has played a major role of how demographics are viewed and the stereotypes that are established with their skin color. The NCMM wants their children to hold on to their roots so they can understand the way society has shaped their race. Race can be used to help the young black population recognize that the color of their skin does not define them according to the way their ancestors were treated in the past. This theory will help them understand that just because they are black doesn’t mean they have a predestined life of not succeeding in society like previous ancestors.

The theory of race can best be implemented into the services that offer educational curriculums to better educate the children. This will ultimately create a better sense of awareness and understanding of how their race was mostly defined in the early days when America was colonized. “Much of the existence of race can trace its origins to the colonization of the Americas” (Cruz, A). This is also true when talking about the Europeans settling in America. “Race, as we currently understand it, as we currently live it, is almost entirely a product of the European imagination” (Cruz, A). If young black children understand that the term “race” was created by Europeans to assert their dominance, then they will be better off knowing that the color of their skin does not restrict them from excelling in life.

It would be also beneficial for the NCMM to use race to explain the history of social structure in their education services. Social structure was also created by the Europeans to establish that everyone outside of white was below them. Much of the social ladder that exists today plays a big effect on the way people are defined. “Categories that affect social standing include family ancestry, race, ethnicity, age, and gender” (Learning, L). The first few categories that are presented are family ancestry, race, and ethnicity. The truth is these factors play a huge role in predicting someone’s success. By understanding this, the children of the NCMM will be motivated to rise above these predestined notions and achieve structural mobility. “Structural mobility happens when societal changes enable a whole group of people to move up or down the social class ladder” (Learning, L). This movement can only be achieved if enough individuals are willing to set aside propositions established by the early settlers.

The National Cares Mentoring Movement is considered to be a culturally competent organization to help the young black population. The NCMM does a great job of ensuring that young black children are getting taught old and new information that will help them think more freely about who they are as a person. Teaching about race in their organization is probably the best approach for creating a better sense of understanding and awareness. This will better prepare them for the everyday societal obstacles they may face.

References

1. Cruz, A. (2017, July 21). Europeans invented the concept of race as we know it. Retrieved from https://timeline.com/europeans-invented-the-concept-of-race-as-we-know-it-58f896fae625.
2. Learning, L. (n.d.). Introduction to Sociology. Retrieved from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/sociology/chapter/social-stratification-and-mobility-in-the-united-states/.
3. National CARES Mentoring Movement. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.caresmentoring.org/.

The process and content

Cultural awareness embraces learning about the cultures of clients whom the health-care professional will be working; moreover, this includes familiarizing with patients’ preferred language, cultural and religious practices, and beliefs. For this reason, the health history and physical examination process should be approached in a professional manner; moreover, health-care professionals should “be alert to cues regarding eye contact, personal space, time concepts, and understanding of the recommended plan of care” (Silvestri, 2017, p. 34). When health-care professionals are culturally competent, they can successfully perform valuable health histories; thus, increasing patient satisfaction. Moreover, culturally competent health histories can be accomplished by taking into consideration the following data categories: ‘(1) biographical data, (2) chief complaint, (3) current health status, (4) past health history, (5) family history, (6) personal and social history, (7) medication history, (8) allergy history, (9) review of systems, (10) developmental considerations, and (11) psychosocial profile’ (Nurse Key, 2017).

In biographical data, the professional nurse is obtaining information such as the patient’s “age, gender, occupation, marital status, and source of referral” (Nurse Key, 2017). After this step, chief complaint is expressed by the patient with his or her own words; moreover, chief complaint includes “one or more symptoms or concerns causing the patient to seek care” (Nurse Key, 2017). Subsequently, current health status “includes patient’s thoughts and feelings about the developing symptoms” (Nurse Key, 2017). According to Nurse Key (2017), family history “outlines age and heath, or age and cause of death, of siblings, parents, and grandparents.” Personal and social history usually includes patient’s “educational level, family of origin, children, and lifestyle” (Nurse Key, 2017).

Then, the professional nurse can proceed by asking medication and allergy history, which include prescriptions and over-the-counter medications, and allergies to certain medications and foods. Afterwards, review of systems can be obtained by the professional nurse; moreover, this step will document “presence or absence of common symptoms related to each major body system” (Nurse Key, 2017).

Biocultural variations in common laboratory tests

Biocultural variations in common laboratory tests include (1) body mass index (BMI), (2) complete blood count, (3) lipid panel, (4) hemoglobin A1C, (5) serum transferrin, and (6) prothrombin time. There are many individual and subcultures such as African Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanic and Latino Americans whom vary in these laboratory tests. For example, African Americans’ health risks include “(1) sickle cell anemia, (2) hypertension, (3) heart disease, (4) diabetes mellitus, and (5) obesity” (Silvestri, 2017, p. 32). These risks will reflect different laboratory results in CBC and serum transferrin; for example, “an individual with normal hemoglobin usually have a hemoglobin level around 12 g/dL, and an individual with sickle cell disease have lower hemoglobin levels, usually between 6–11 g/dL” (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2017). One of Asian Americans’ health risks is Thalassemia, and one of Hispanic and Latino Americans’ health risks is diabetes mellitus.

Biocultural variations in health and illness

Cultural values and preferences profoundly affect members of society’s perception about health and illness. For this reason, it is imperative for health-care professionals to ‘assess each individual for cultural preferences because there are many individual and subculture variations” (Silvestri, 2017, p. 32). Some subculture variations include African Americans, Amish, Asian Americans, and Hispanic and Latino Americans, which all differ in health and illness. According to Silvestri (2017), citizens or residents of African American descent’s “religious beliefs and church affiliation are sources of strength” (p. 32). Moreover, “religious beliefs profoundly affect ideas about health and illness” (Silvestri, 2017, p. 32). For example, African Americans’ view on good health equates to prosperity and fortune, and their view on illness equates to negative, tribulation, and deprivation. This subculture is prone to hypertension, heart disease, and obesity because of its food preferences. Furthermore, “food preferences include such items as fried foods, chicken, pork, greens such as collard greens, and rice” (Silvestri, 2017, p. 32). When it comes to seeking health care, “members may be late for an appointment because relationships and events that are occurring may be deemed more important than being on time” (Silvestri, 2017, p. 32).

When it comes to health and illness, “most Amish need to have church (bishop and community) permission to be hospitalized because the community will come together to help pay the costs” (Silvestri, 2017, p. 34). According to Silvestri (2017), Amish usually “do not have health insurance because it is a “worldly product” and may show a lack of faith in God” (p. 34). Also, “some of the barriers to modern health care include distance, lack of transportation, cost, and language (most do not understand scientific jargon)” (Silvestri, 2017, p. 34). According to Silvestri (2017), health risks for Amish are “genetic disorders, nonimmunization, and sexual abuse of women” (p. 34).The Asian American subculture’s view on health is “a gift from the ancestors” (Silvestri, 2017, p. 34). Moreover, “illness may be viewed as an imbalance between ying and yang” (Silvestri, 2017, p. 34). Asian Americans are prone to health risks such as cancer, lactose intolerance, and Thalassemia.

Hispanic and Latino Americans’ view on health is “a reward from God or a result of good luck” (Silvestri, 2017, p. 35). According to Silvestri (2017), “some members believe that health results from a state of physical and emotional balance; however, illness is viewed as a result of God’s punishment for sins” (p. 35). Hispanic and Latino Americans’ health risks include “(1) hypertension, (2) obesity, (3) diabetes mellitus, and (4) parasites” (Silvestri, 2017, p. 35).

References

1. Nurse Key. (2017, March 16). Overview: Physical Examination and History Taking. Retrieved September 18, 2019, from https://nursekey.com/1-overview-physical-examination-and-history-taking/
2. Silvestri, L. A. (2017). Cultural Awareness and Health Practices. In Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Examination (7th ed., pp. 32–37). St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier, Inc.
3. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. (2017). Blood Counts and Sickle Cell Disease. Retrieved September 18, 2019, from https://www.stjude.org/treatment/patient-resources/caregiver-resources/patient-family-education-sheets/hematology/blood-counts-and-sickle-cell-disease.html

Introduction

Cosmopolitanization of modern life (Beck 2009), meaning the mixing of people from diverse cultural backgrounds, has set new sensible and more sophisticated standards for effective intercultural communication, reflexive dialogue and collaborative learning. Modern people are required to undertake a reflexive project (Giddens 1991), namely to build up their own diverse biographies (multiple identities and life-style cultures). They also have to assume more responsibility towards making choices to engage in intercultural learning experiences. An important quality towards this is one’s rethinking/ re-evaluation of own experiences and assumptions to determine whether these remain functional in a globalized context.

In this context, intercultural teacher education becomes more important. Modern teachers are required to be highly tolerant, inclusive and culturally responsive practitioners. This means that they must be self-aware and reflexive of their own biases, demonstrate intercultural competence and responsiveness as well as be willing to develop a multi-faceted global, historical, and cultural perspective about embracing differences. It is fundamental for teachers to realize the potential risks of a) adopting a monocultural, ethnocentric and culturally-biased perspective when dealing with student Obtaining an intercultural competence is a lifelong process closely associated with one’s formal and informal intercultural experiences and contacts. In Higher Education (HE) context, students’ intercultural learning is often assessed in study abroad programs (Hammer 2012; Deardorff 2013), although intercultural competences concern all students. Some terms, including global competence, global citizenship, cross-cultural competence, international competence, intercultural effectiveness and intercultural sensitivity (Deardorff 2011). However, there is a growing consensus on the definition of intercultural competence as the “ability to communicate effectively and appropriately in intercultural situations based on one’s intercultural knowledge, skills, and attitudes” (Deardorff 2006, 249).

Furthermore, intercultural sensitivity has been regarded as a prerequisite for achieving intercultural competence (Chen and Starosta 2000) and a crucial attribute to enable people to become successful global citizens. This study focusses on intercultural sensitivity of students from two public universities in Greece and Italy, developed by Chen and Starosta (2000) This is timely as both countries have received a massive number of refugees and the citizens’ sensitivity to reception is experiencing a tough season. Therefore, educational and social professionals are at the forefront and the possession of intercultural competence becomes an actual need. Intercultural Sensitivity (IS) in education appears necessary to investigate before any curriculum decisions are to be taken.

Internationalization of curriculum is particularly important when preparing future teachers. Proper and rigorous assessment of intercultural competence could enable knowledge professionals to critically reflect on the generic value of diversity and to obtain specific affective, cognitive, behavioral and moral dimensions of such competence.

Global interconnectness (due to international business, travel, social media) means that an increasing number of people will need to live and work with culturally distinct others as well as to be aware of and adapt to cultural differences. The affective aspect of intercultural communication competence connects awareness with skills.. Intercultural sensitivity is represented by a set of attitudes, which enable teachers to actively “desire to motivate themselves to understand, appreciate, and accept differences among cultures” (Chen and Starosta 1997, 11). Thus, intercultural sensitivity can be defined as teachers’ ability to be interested in other cultures as well as to be sensitive in noticing cultural differences, to empathize with the views of people from other cultures and be willing to modify their behavior to sustain effective communication.

Twenty four items were extracted from the results of an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) developing a valid and acceptable intercultural sensitivity scale (ISS) based on five factors:

1. Intercultural Engagement;
2. Respect for Cultural Differences;
3. Interaction Confidence;
4. Interaction Enjoyment; and
5. Interaction Attentiveness.

Among the main objectives of the study were to investigate whether Chen and Starosta’s model of IS fitted well with the Greek and Italian students. Although five factors were indeed extracted, these did not fully reflect on Chen and Starosta’s categorisation and labelling of factors.

The newly built constructs are provided below:

• a) Construct of Respect of Cultural Differences and Open-mindness (factor A) accept and respect cultural differences of others as well as cultural disposition/outlook.
• b) Construct of Relational Self-concept (factor B) the successful penetration of personal boundaries to develop intercultural relationships. It captures interconnectness and personal significance through relational learning and interaction.
• c) Construct of Interaction Confidence (factor C)
• d) Construct of Interaction Responsiveness (factor D) reflect the positive interaction responsiveness and easiness to engage.
• e) Construct of Interaction Attentiveness (factor E) the ability of thoughtful and carefull consideration of communicative needs and messages during the intercultural interaction.

Students managed to perform better in those individual factors related to general or ethical descriptors of intercultural sensitivity such as open-mindness and respect of cultural differences. These students were born and raised in multi-cultural contexts and live a “daily multiculturalism” (Wise and Velayutham 2009) that has socialized them from their early years to the importance of respecting the differences and maintaining relations with cultural others. In addition, their future career orientation and interaction with diverse school-age children probably sparked sensitivity to and respect for intercultural differences.

Concrete experience, especially if contact is positive (Allport 1954), increases confidence in interaction with people from other cultures. This data can, thus, reveal the need to strengthen IS by offering more concrete experiences in which exercise this skills and abilities. For example, it suggests the importance of empowering students to engage through more internationalized experiences, coursework and field experiences.

In Europe it has been made important that all universities must internationalize their curricula and include extra curricula activities for their students “so they can benefit from internationalization and gain global competences” (International Association of Universities 2012, 5). the internationalization of HE curricula. Students will perform various roles as citizens, employees and persons in highly globalized settings. Secondly, HE intercultural courses should take into account the role of intersubjectivity and interculturality. This means that they need to offer learning opportunities enabling students to evoke their “relational self”.

Thirdly, the adoption of culturally responsive pedagogy framework as an important aspect for effective intercultural learning. The important issue here is how to design an authentic and reflexive curriculum that connects formal intercultural learning (theory and practice) with learners’ outside world experiences. Finally, measuring intercultural learning outcomes is an integral part of an internationalized curriculum (De Wit 2012).

References

1. Allport, Gordon Willard. 1954. The Nature of Prejudice. Oxford, England: Addison-Wesley.
2. Achenbach, Kathleen. and Arthur, Nancy. 2002. Experimental learning: Bridging theory to practice in multicultural counseling. Guidance and Counseling 17(2): 39-45.
3. Andersen, Susan M., and Chen, Serena. 2002. “The relational self: an interpersonal social-cognitive theory”. Psychological Review 109 (4): 619-645.
4. Arvanitis, Eugenia and Sakellariou, Maria. 2014. “Intercultural sensitivity of prospective early childhood teachers: A comparative approach”. Proceedings of the 7th Conference for History of Education titled Which knowledge has the greatest value? Historical and comparative approaches, organized by the Historical Archives of Neohellenic and International Education at the University of Patras, June 28-29: 60-76.
5. Banks, James. 2004. Handbook of research on multicultural education. New York: MacMillan.
6. Baumann, Zigmund. 2005. Liquid life. Cambridge: Polity Press.
7. Beck, Urlich. 2009. “Cosmopolitanization Without Cosmopolitans: On the Discussion Between Normative and Empirical-Analytical Cosmopolitanism in Philosophy and the Social Sciences”. In Communicating in the Third Space, edited by Karin Inkas and Gerhard Wanger, 11-25. New York: Routledge.
8. Beelen, Jos and Jones, Elspeth. 2015. “Redefining Internationalization at Home”. In The European Higher Education Area: Between Critical Reflections and Future Policies, edited byAdrian Curaj, Liviu Matei, Remus Pricopie, Jamil Salmi and Peter Scott, 59-72. SpringerOpen. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-3-319-20877-0
9. Bennet, Milton J. 1986. “A developmental approach to training for intercultural sensitivity”. Intercultural Journal of Intercultural Relations 10: 179-196.
10. Chen, Guo-Ming and Starosta, William J. 2000. “The development and validation of the intercultural sensitivity scale”. Human Communication 3: 1-15.
11. Chen, Guo-Ming and Starosta, William J. 1997. “A review of the concept of intercultural sensitivity” Human Communication 1: 1-16.
12. Chen, G. M. & Starosta, W. J. 1998. “A Review of the Concept of Intercultural Awareness” Human Communication 2 (1): 27-54.