Cultural Awareness And Competency Development In Higher Education

As the world becomes more globalized, student populations in university settings will continue to grow in diversity. To ensure students develop the cultural competence to adapt to new environments, universities and colleges must develop policies and programs to aid in the progression of cultural acceptance and understanding. Cultural Awareness and Competency Development in Higher Education is an essential reference book on the latest literature regarding multiculturalism in colleges and universities, focusing on administration and faculty implementation of culturally-aware curriculum to support the development of students' global competence. Featuring extensive coverage on a range of topics including social constructivism, co-curricular learning, and inclusive pedagogy, this publication is ideally designed for academicians, researchers, and students seeking current research on the inclusion of culturally diverse curriculums in higher education.

This open access book explores cultural competence in the higher education sector from multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary perspectives. It addresses cultural competence in terms of leadership and the role of the higher education sector in cultural competence policy and practice. Drawing on lessons learned, current research and emerging evidence, the book examines various innovative approaches and strategies that incorporate Indigenous knowledge and practices into the development and implementation of cultural competence, and considers the most effective approaches for supporting cultural competence in the higher education sector. This book will appeal to researchers, scholars, policy-makers, practitioners and general readers interested in cultural competence policy and practice.

This book covers teaching cultural competence in colleges and universities across the United States, providing a comprehensive reference for instructors, researchers, and other stakeholders who are looking for material that will assist them in working to prepare students to become culturally competent.

Intercultural Competence in Higher Education features the work of scholars and international education practitioners in understanding the learning outcomes of internationalization, moving beyond rhetoric to concrete practice around the world. Devoted exclusively to exploring the central learning outcomes of internationalization efforts, this edited volume contains a refreshing combination of chapters and case studies from interdisciplinary and cross-cultural contributors, including: cutting-edge issues within intercultural competence development, such as intersectionality, mapping intercultural competence, and assessment; the role of higher education in developing intercultural competence for peacebuilding in the aftermath of violent conflict; facilitating intercultural competence through international student internships; interdisciplinary and cross-cultural contributions from over 19 countries including Japan, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, and Vietnam; the latest research and thinking on global, intercultural, and international learning outcomes, with a unique emphasis on newer voices. Intercultural competence has become an essential element in international as well as domestic education. This text provides the latest thinking and research within the context of internationalization, presents practical case studies on how to integrate this into the preparation of global-ready students and will be of interest to postgraduate students, international education administrators, and practitioners, as well as scholars and researchers in a variety of disciplines who have an interest in intercultural and global competence.

Take a holistic look at an intentional educational ecosystem that builds cultural competence, a critical skill college graduates need for careers and citizenship in a diverse global society. This monograph unpacks the multilayered meanings of cultural competence and offers a term, “diversity competence,” that is more consistent with the broad spectrum of diversity learning outcomes that occur on campus. Drawing on the findings of a survey of recent college graduates now working as professionals, the monograph offers: leading-edge, integrative models that bring together the multidimensional components of the learning environment including curricular, co-curricular, and service learning, research-based factors contributing to a campus environment that encourages cultural competence, in-depth assessment and analysis of best practices, and concrete recommendations that offer a transformative pathway to the attainment of diversity competence in the undergraduate experience. This is the fourth issue of the 42nd volume of the Jossey-Bass series ASHE Higher Education Report. Each monograph is the definitive analysis of a tough higher education issue, based on thorough research of pertinent literature and institutional experiences. Topics are identified by a national survey. Noted practitioners and scholars are then commissioned to write the reports, with experts providing critical reviews of each manuscript before publication.

Cultural competence is key to improved student achievement This book shows you how to provide professional development for teachers that deepens their cultural understanding. The authors provide activities to help educators translate new knowledge into action with activities that focus on the three inseparable insights required for developing teachers’ critical cultural competency: Understanding themselves Understanding their students Understanding their students’ families and communities Readers have access to a companion website that contains reproducible resource lists and handouts as well as examples that can serve as models for some of the activities.

College classrooms are hopeful spaces where segregation can be interrupted and intercultural learning can occur. This issue supports the claim that engaging diversity in classrooms has a significant impact on the development of students’ intercultural competence. It states why intercultural skills matter, what they look like in practice, and how they can be developed by instructors regardless of the courses they teach. This issue: Establishes a contemporary understanding of diversity as a core institutional priority and resource Proposes a framework of engaging diversity for intercultural competence development Presents key theories of intercultural competency development helpful to faculty that supports discipline-based and intercultural learning outcomes Presents research regarding the core skills, attitudes, and behaviors that are requisite to effective and ethical intercultural interactions Shows how faculty can engage diversity for intercultural outcomes in their classrooms. This is volume 38, number 2 of the ASHE Higher Education Report, a bi-monthly journal published by Jossey-Bass.

Effectively address the challenges of equity and inclusion on campus The long-awaited second edition, Multicultural Competence in Student Affairs: Advancing Social Justice and Inclusion, introduces an updated model of student affairs competence that reflects the professional competencies identified by ACPA and NASPA (2015) and offers a valuable approach to dealing effectively with increasingly complex multicultural issues on campus. To reflect the significance of social justice, the updated model of multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills now includes multicultural action and advocacy and speaks directly to the need for enhanced perspectives, tools, and strategies to create inclusive and equitable campuses. This book offers a fresh approach and new strategies for student affairs professionals to enhance their practice; useful guidelines and revised core competencies provide a framework for everyday challenges, best practices that advance the ability of student affairs professionals to create multicultural change on their campuses, and case studies that allow readers to consider and apply essential awareness, knowledge, skills, and action applied to common student affairs situations. Multicultural Competence in Student Affairs: Advancing Social Justice and Inclusion will allow professionals to: Examine the updated and revised dynamic model of student affairs competence Learn how multicultural competence translates into effective and efficacious practice Understand the inextricable connections between multicultural competence and social justice Examine the latest research and practical implications Explore the impacts of practices on assessment, advising, ethics, teaching, administration, technology, and more Learn tools and strategies for creating multicultural change, equity, and inclusion on campus Understanding the changes taking place on campus today and developing the competencies to make individual and systems change is essential to the role of student affairs professional. What is needed are new ways of thinking and innovative strategies and approaches to how student affairs professionals interact with students, train campus faculty and staff, and structure their campuses. Multicultural Competence in Student Affairs: Advancing Social Justice and Inclusion provides guidance for the evolving realities of higher education.

The purpose of the study was to examine the level of cultural sensitivity, and exhibition of cultural competence for faculty at liberal arts institutions within higher education. The dependent variables were the perceived and actual developmental level of cultural sensitivity. The main independent variables in this study consisted of: Nationality/ethnic background, Gender, Age range, Educational level, Graduate Professional Preparation, Level of Multicultural Skills, Awareness and Knowledge, Discipline, Work and Life Experiences both in and outside of the Collegiate Environment, Length of Time Spent in Another Culture, and Location of Formative Years. The target population for this study was comprised of full time faculty at three liberal arts institutions. Four hundred and sixty five faculty members were mailed a 50-item survey and an 8-item questionnaire to determine levels of cultural sensitivity, multicultural knowledge, awareness and skills. Data were collected on 91 individuals and the overall response rate was 27%. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Program for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Content analysis of the Multicultural Competency Questionnaire was conducted to determine the characteristics of an academic model of cultural competence. The findings included four components: preparation in the area of cultural competence in graduate school regardless of the discipline, on-going cultural competency training and skill development/enhancement once hired as a faculty member, the incorporation of campus events centralizing around the concept of culture for the community, and faculty mentoring. One-way ANOVAs were performed and found no statistically significant differences between groups on the three areas investigated (perceived, actual developmental and the difference between perceived and actual developmental level). Paired t-tests were performed and found statistically significant differences between the perceived and actual developmental scores.