Cultural competence

Draft

Introduction

Cultural competence or intercultural competence or cross-cultural competence or being able to cope with cultural diversity is becoming increasingly important. Cultural competence can been seen as a subset of so-called global competence laying the foundations for "global citizenship". Cultural competence is a form of literacy, but note that the term "cultural literacy" often seems to refer to simple facts knowledge (history, geography, etc.). With increasing cultural diversity as a result of globalization, intercultural competence (IC) to interact and co-exist in multicultural environments is recognized as being very important. (Corder and U-Mackey, 2015).

Cultural competence seems to defined as either a list of attributes (traits, knowledge, attitudes, skills, behavior sets, etc.) of an individual or more simply as the ability to interact effectively with members of foreign cultures. The latter (being able to interact) is related to the former.

Cross et al. (1998), in the context of workplace diversity, laid the foundation of many further studies: “Cultural competence is a a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals and enables that system, agency, or those professionals to work effectively in cross-cultural situations”. For exemple, Heyward (2002) cited by Deithl & Prints (2008), defines intercultural literacy as the competencies, understandings, attitudes, language, proficiencies, participation and identities necessary for effective cross-cultural engagement.

Culture itself is difficult to define. Billmann-Mahecha (2003) defines it [translated] in the following way: “Culture can be characterized as a character, knowledge, rule and symbol system that structures on on hand the human action space, and on the other hand is constructed and altered through the implementation of actions and their practice.” In more simple words, it is something that guides our activities, but that is also reshaped by those.

Hunter (2004) argues that “that the most critical step in becoming globally competent is for a person to develop a keen understanding of his/her own cultural norms and expectations: a person should attempt to understand his/her own cultural box before stepping into someone else’s.”

The field seems to be divided according to areas of interest and also affiliation to an established field of study. With respect to application, we so far identified the following major areas of research and development:

• Health care
• "Internationalization of campuses"
• International business

The first two seem to very popular in the USA and for diverse reasons, one of which is related to minority issues.

Aculturation

Aculturation strategies refer to the various ways in which groups and individuals seek to aculture. (Bennet, 2015:3). There are two issures concerning both the dominant and the nondominant group:

1. Maintaining one’s heritage culture and identity (+/-)
2. Seeking relationships to other cultural groups (+/-)

Combining the two dimensions we can define four strategies of ethnocultural groups and for larger societies.

Strategies of ethnocultural groups (e.g. ones that migrate)

		Issue 1: Maintenance of heritage culture and identity
		+	-
Issue 2: Relationships sought among groups	+	Integration	Assimilation
	-	Separation	Marginalization

Strategies of the larger society (expectations of the dominant one)

		Issue 1: Maintenance of heritage culture and identity
		+	-
+	Issue 2: Relationships sought among groups	Integration	Assimilation
-		Separation	Marginalization

Cultural and cross-cultural psychology

Cultural psychology, after the rise of cognitivism, seems to have become a somewhat forgotten science (Allolio-Näcke, 2005). On the other hand, cultural dimensions are central to ethnology, anthropology, (cognitive) linguistics, literature critique, etc., i.e. disciplines that put emphasis on "sense" and "meaning".

According to Doris Weidemann (2001) , “investigation of intercultural interactions has demonstrated that individual psychological processes show distinct cultural patterns and, more important, that communication across cultural gaps often meets with difficulties.” She also adds, that “Communication across cultural divides is usually described as difficult and often results in misunderstandings and failure to achieve individual or even common goals. This is especially true for persons transferring to a different cultural context, as overseas students, expatriate managers or immigrants do, and adaptation to the new cultural environment can be frustrating and painful.”

In that context, literacies (not just cultural ones) cannot be compared in an abstract way or with respect to one culture, but rather as a predictor for a successful life in a given culture. This principle applies for example when comparing school systems. “Nur in dem Falle, "dass innerhalb eines jeden Landes, die erfassten Kompetenzen zur Vorhersage einer erfolgreichen Lebensführung beitragen", könnte das literacy-Konzept als tertium comparationis fungieren. In vielen Ländern aber spielt es keine bzw. nur eine untergeordnete Rolle, so dass "der Ausgang einer solchen Validitätsprüfung wahrscheinlich zu einer kulturellen Gruppierung der Funktionalität der Grundkompetenzen führen wird";” (Hermann-Günter Hesse, cited by Allolio-Näcke, 2005).

Models of cultural competence

Most cultural competence models are either component models, or process models or both. Component models can be hierarchical.

Darla K. Deardorff

Darla K. Deardorff's model includes 5 components. Below is summary of a component model presented in Theory Reflections: Intercultural Competence Framework/Model (retrieved Feb 2016).

1. Attitudes: respect, openness, curiosity and discovery. Openness and curiosity imply a willingness to risk and to move beyond one’s comfort zone. Respect demonstrate to others that they are valued.

2. Knowledge: cultural self-awareness, culture-specific knowledge, deep cultural knowledge (including understanding other world views, and sociolinguistic awareness. The most important element is understanding the world from others’ perspectives.

3. Skills (addressing the acquisition and processing of knowledge): observation, listening, evaluating, analyzing, interpreting, and relating.

4. Internal Outcomes: flexibility, adaptability, an ethnorelative perspective and empathy. If attained, individuals are able to see from others’ perspectives and to respond to them according to the way in which the other person desires to be treated.

5. External Outcomes is “the effective and appropriate behavior and communication in intercultural situations.

Between these dimensions there is a dependency. Desired external outcomes rely on desired internal outcomes and the latter rely on skills and knowledge. Skills and knowledge requires requisite attitudes.

            desired external outcome (communicating effectively)
  desired internal outcome (adaptability, flexibility, ethnorelative view, empathy
              Knowledge and comprehension   <--> Skills
         requisite attitudes (respect, openness, curiosity)

This pyramid model then can be turned into a process model (figure not yet reproduced since will have to ask for permission or redraw it).

Simple models of cultural difference

Models of cultural difference are popular in management and management education since corporations do have to deal with different cultures.

Hampden Turner and Trompenaars (1993)

According to Darlene Brannigan Smith et al. in the Seven Cultures of Capitalism, Hampden Turner and Trompenaars (1993:11) suggest that different countries champion different value propositions for creating effective organization.

• Universalism (call for universally applicable law and order) vs. particularism (allow for personal indulgence and idiosyncrasies),
• anlyzing (demand for facts and attention purely on the bottom line) vs. integrating (viewing everything within the context),
• individualism (applaud individuals for singular performance) vs. communitarianism (organization, groups and community above else),
• inner directed (self-starter) vs. outer-directed (approaching groupthink) orientation,
• time as sequence (time is money) vs. time as synchronization (all for one),
• achieved status (working hard to achieve) vs. ascribed status (status because of power), and
• equality (all get an even break) vs. hierarchy (some people are more important because of their hierarchical authority).

Inglehart and Welzel

Inglehart and Welzel identify two major dimensions of cross cultural variation in the world:

• Traditional values versus Secular-rational values and
• Survival values versus Self-expression values.

Using data from the World values survey, the authors created a well-known cultural map of the world where positions with respect to these two dimensions are overlayed with "nominal" criteria (e.g. religion, or geography). The map below is a modified version of the original made for Wikipedia by an unknown author.

Inglehart–Welzel values map (source: Wikipedia)

Hofstede

Hofstede distinguishes five or six dimensions of national cultures. Each of these is defined by a list of criteria. Hofstede (2011) , summaries these dimensions:

1. Power Distance, related to the different solutions to the basic problem of human inequality;

2. Uncertainty Avoidance, related to the level of stress in a society in the face of an unknown future;

3. Individualism versus Collectivism, related to the integration of individuals into primary groups;

4. Masculinity versus Femininity, related to the division of emotional roles between women and men;

5. Long Term versus Short Term Orientation, related to the choice of focus for people's efforts: the future or the present and past.

6. Indulgence versus Restraint, related to the gratification versus control of basic human desires related to enjoying life.

Wikipedia, based on Hofstede (2011) provides a nice summary.

National cultures are not identical to organizational or individual cultures. E.g. within a same town one can find companies that adopt a very different organizational-cultural model. The same is true for individuals. However, national (or even supra-national) cultures doe influence organizational and individual ones.

Instruments to measure cultural diversity and competence of individuals

There exist both quantitative and qualitative instruments. These instruments were created to learn about people's representations and not to assess cultural competence (whatever that means).

World Values Survey

According to Wikipedia, “The World Values Survey (WVS) is a global research project that explores people’s values and beliefs, how they change over time and what social and political impact they have. It is carried out by a worldwide network of social scientists who, since 1981, have conducted representative national surveys in almost 100 countries. The WVS measures, monitors and analyzes: support for democracy, tolerance of foreigners and ethnic minorities, support for gender equality, the role of religion and changing levels of religiosity, the impact of globalization, attitudes toward the environment, work, family, politics, national identity, culture, diversity, insecurity, and subjective well-being.”

The WVS started in 1981 and is now governed by the World Values Survey Association, based in Stockholm. The 6th wave started in 2008 and was finished in 2014, and the 7th is planned for 2017-2018.

Structure Formation Technique

Structure formation technique is a qualitative method that attemps to elicit representation structures.

Weideman's (2001) study focuses on subjective theories hold by German Immigrants in Taiwan and that can be verbally explicated and reconstructed by way of dialogue between researcher and participant. The research method goes through the following steps:

• A semi-standardized interview that will try to elicit the contents of the subjective theories
• A visualization of the theory structure ,using representational rules of the Heidelberg structure formation technique, (Heidelberger Strukturlegetechnik, SCHEELE & GROEBEN, 1988)

Based on this Heidelberg structure formation technique, she developed a set of interview questions and rules for representing the theory.: “a differentiation was made according to the outcome of actions (face gained or face lost) and the person concerned (self or other).” The combination of these two dimensions will define four semantic fields, namely a) to lose face, b) to gain face, c) to hurt the other person's face, d) to give the other person face.

Results then can be represented graphically, for example like this:

Part of a subjective theory structure on "face" (reproduced from Weidemann, 2001)

Arts-Informed Research

Arts-informed research uses artistic productions to elicit representations.

Over the last decade, a growing number of social scientists have become interested in visual methodologies. On could distinguish between "researcher created", "respondent generated" and "found" visual data. Visual arts can be found in all three.

Guruge et al. (2015) describe an arts-informed technique “to understand the changes in refugee youth's roles and responsibilities in the family within the (re)settlement context in Canada. The study involved 57 newcomer youths from Afghan, Karen, or Sudanese communities in Toronto, who had come to Canada as refugees. The data collection method embedded a drawing activity within focus group discussions.”

This study also included eight refugee youth peer researchers from the three communities. In line with community-based participatory research principles, {{quotation|Peer researchers received three months of research training and were actively involved in paid capacity in all phases of the study, including research design, data collection, data analysis, and writing. Guruge et al. (2015:[14]) describe the elicitation process as follows:

Each participant was invited to draw two pictures:

1. one depicting pre-migration roles and responsibilities,
2. and the second depicting post-migration roles and responsibilities.

The participants were given flip chart paper and color pens, and 10 to 15 minutes to complete the activity. The drawings were then displayed on the walls around the room. Each participant was asked to briefly present her/his drawing to the group. Once all participants had their individual turns reflecting on and explaining their drawings to the group, the floor was open to all for reflection and clarification of the drawings within the group. This was followed by a semi-structured focus group discussion of roles and responsibilities in which participants were encouraged to refer to their drawings wherever appropriate. In a later part of the focus group discussion, the youths were also asked to list the services they had used and the services they needed on sticky notes, which were added to the flip chart drawings.

A key lesson learnt was that adequate time and opportunities must be given to participants to (1) create the drawings, (2) to interpret and discuss the drawings and (3) to complete or change the drawings as a result of group discussions. Facilitators must attempt to clarify and expand links between drawings and discussions.

According to the authors [paragraph 38], “The multiple data collection methods (i.e., drawings and individual reflections on them, and focus group discussions) we used in this study were complementary: the drawings provided unique insights into certain aspects of their lives. For example, the magnitude of the difference in youth's (built and natural) environments came up in the drawings that were not discussed in the focus groups. The sense of cohesion versus scattered and chaotic patterns in the drawings is also interesting. On the other hand, the focus group discussions provided unique information on other aspects of their lives, such as racism. In addition, the drawings also provided more contextual information that enriched the understanding gained from the focus groups.”

Before and after drawing by Participant 3 in the Afghan female 16-19 years focus group

Data analysis and interpretation involved several levels of analysis and was based on participant's own explanations:

1. a reflective dialogue between each participant and his own drawing
2. a group dialogue concerning all the drawings of the group
3. reflections of the peer (refugee youth) researchers from each group in response to questions about (1) and (2) from the rest of the research team
4. the research teams reflections across the three groups

A list of themes and supporting excerpts was finally established in the form of a table.

Somewhat similar research was conducted by Frey and Cross (2011) on overcoming poor youth stigmatization and invisibility through art. Initially, a more traditional plan was to conduct interviews with various stakeholders, then creating focus groups, and finally a joint work on a common video to trigger dialogue with other actors. The team then found out the dramatization and video could (and did) have a more important role “We discovered that the inclusion of dramatization and video had three main effects: first, they favored the involvement of the young men and women; second, they allowed them to share their experiences, formerly blocked by stigmatization processes; third, they were a potent instrument to make their perspectives visible to other social actors concerned by this problematic (teachers, government officers, parents).” Frey and Cross (2011:69)

Tristan Bruslé's (2010) research examines the place that Nepalese immigrant workers occupy in Qatar. Visual images, mainly photographs, are use as one of the research tools to illustrate the divided nature of society.

“I have tried to put forward the hypothesis that photographs are not just an illustration, but that social realities can indeed be understood through pictures. The building of places, from collective spaces to very private ones, clearly stands out in the pictures. The use of pictures to analyze social and spatial division in Qatar has enabled me to grasp some realities that I had either overlooked or not fully understood. While carrying out fieldwork, and particularly new fieldwork, the researcher is continually bombarded with a flow of information, making it at times difficult to focus on everything of interest. Pictures are therefore a way of focusing on detail, especially in a migrant's room, which might not necessarily have been studied while talking to migrants. Looking at pictures taken in an almost random way is also a way of reactivating one's memory. Distant places, emotions and memories come to life when perusing pictures. Things that were not first noticed when the photograph was actually taken, but were "discovered" thanks to a careful study and comparison of pictures, come across as important and make sense. A juxtaposition of scenes has helped me identify common points between places. Moreover, pictures have helped me show the different levels of spatial segregation, from the town to the migrant's bed. Images of walls and of physical separation may prove to be speaker louder than mere words in making the reader realize what segregation really is. Indeed, pictures can play the role of backing up research and be a valuable tool in that they convey large amounts of information that would sometimes be harder to explain verbally.” (Bruslé's, 2010, [29])

Map making

Having individuals draw maps of their environments can help to understand how their environment is structures in terms of various opportunities and social relations.

Olga den Besten (2010) studied social and spatial divisions (urban segregation). Her study “explores children's and young people's experiences in two socially contrasted neighbourhoods in Berlin through subjective maps drawn by the children.”

“Children were asked to produce two maps: first, to draw their way home from school and all the objects that attracted their attention on the way. This task was chosen because all the children went to school, so the way home from school was their everyday, routine trajectory (see also ROSS, 2007). Coming back home from school was chosen because of the supposedly more relaxed, unhurried character of this trajectory and more opportunities for deviations from this way, like, for example, popping in to shops or playing in a park after classes. Second, the children were asked to draw their "neighbourhood" or "territory", i.e. a city area which they knew rather well and where they "felt at home". This drawing activity was done at school during one lesson.” (den Besten: 2010: [13]).

In addition, children were asked to place four types of emoticons on the maps: (1) A heart symbol to mark places they like, (2) a big dot for places where they hang out, (3) a cross inside a circle for places they disliked and (4) a square for places they fear.

Drawing 2b (by a Turkish boy aged 12 in Kreuzberg) shows his "way to school" with the school in the foreground, the building where he lives and a park that he likes, as well as a disco and a nightclub marked with the "emoticon" of dislike. Reproduced from den Besten (2010)

Results showed that the children's socio-spatial worlds were different in the two segregated areas of the city. Generally, drawings from children of the advantaged area are comparatively more elaborated, show a larger space, more places for activities, a denser network of friends, and so forth. This also reflects the situation that advantaged children have more access to extra curricular activities and therefore for personal development.

• 

  A map of her "subjective territory" by a 13-year-old German-American girl from the school in Zehlendorf. Reproduced from den Besten (2010)

• 

  Drawing 3a (by a Turkish boy aged 14 in Kreuzberg) features a youth club and a football field. Reproduced from den Besten (2010)

Instruments to measure cultural competence of organization and its members

The following tools rather focus on organizations and are mostly self-evaluation tools to help reshape their policies and training.

Cultural competence self-assessment questionnaire

The Cultural competence self-assessment questionnaire (CCSAQ) Mason (1995), is designed to help health agencies cope with cultural difference, i.e. to assess their need for cultural competence training.

“In response to the growing body of literature promoting culturally competent systems of care, the Portland Research and Training Center developed the Cultural Competence Self-Assessment Questionnaire (CCSAQ). The CCSAQ is based on the Child and Adolescent Service System Program (CASSP) Cultural Competence Model (Cross, et al., 1989). This model describes competency in terms of four dimensions: attitude, practice, policy, and structure. The instrument helps child- and family-serving agencies assess their cross-cultural strengths and weaknesses in order to design specific training activities or interventions that promote greater competence across cultures” (Mason: 1995).

This manual publishes two variants of the questionnaire. One for assessing cultural competence training needs of mental health and human service professionals and the other to assess cultural competence training needs of human services organizations and staff.

TOCAR Collaborative Campus and Community Climate Survey for Students

The TOCAR Collaborative Campus and Community Climate Survey forStudents includes 25 questions and was made by Training Our Campuses Against Racism' (TOCAR) chapters at North Dakota State University, Concordia College, Minnesota State Community and Technical College, and Minnesota State University Moorhead.

The Culturual Competence Assessment Tool (CCAT)

The Cultural Competence Assessment Tool (CCAT), made by the Boston Public Health Commission is an answer to the 2001 United States Department of Health and Human Services Office ofMinority Health (OMH) issued National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health Care (CLAS).

“The Cultural Competence Assessment Tool (CCAT) contains three sections – each focuses on a key component in the provision of culturally competent health care. [...] The first section of the tool assesses organizational cultural competence in health care leadership, staffing, and community involvement. The second section assesses cultural competence in the institution’s delivery of health care. The third section assesses cross-cultural communication at the institution” (Cultural Competence Assessment Tool).

Cultural competence Checklist: Personal reflection

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (2010) created a one-page checklist that was developed to “o heighten your awareness of how you view clients/patients from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) populations.”

Quality and culture quiz

Quality and Culture Quiz is a self-evaluation quiz that targets members of the health community.

The Cultural and Linguistic Competence Family Organization Assessment (CLCFOA)

Made by the National Center for Cultural Competence, the Cultural and Linguistic Competence Family Organization Assessment (CLCFPA) http://nccc.georgetown.edu/documents/NCCC_CLCFOAGuide.pdf survey] was made to help family organizations concerned with children and youth disorders and disabilities. It requires approximately 20-30 minutes to complete. It consists of four sections: Our World View, Who We Are, What We Do, and How We Work. As several others of its kind, this survey helps to identify an organizational culture.

Teaching intercultural literacy

General principles

Deborah Corder and Alice U-Mackey (2015) argue that educating intercultural literacy is very challenging. Cognitive aims (e.g. learners being able to pass an exam) can be met, however, meeting affective and behavioral goals might be much more difficult. According to the authors, “research shows that the development of IC is a complex process that involves cognitive, metacognitive, affective and behavioural development, and has to be intentionally developed over time (Ehrenreich 2006; Stier 2006; Crossman 2011; Deardorff 2011). As Perry and Southwell (2011) and Witte (2011) point out, there is increasing evidence that the normal classroom or lecture context with a cognitive orientation alone cannot provide the environment for learners to develop the necessary competencies. Nor will IC automatically develop by just encountering other cultures whether in the classroom, through study abroad, overseas holidays, the workplace or social settings.”

Intercultural diversity is an important component of global citizenship. Vadura (2007: 17) argues that “The knowledge, skills and values that international studies graduates gain need now more than ever to reflect understanding of social responsibility and cultural inclusivity, embodied in the concept of global citizenship.”

Johanna E. Crossman led a qualitative study that aimed to “discover how undergraduate and culturally diverse students experienced a collaborative, international, online, experiential project to learn about intercultural communication. Student participants in the study endorsed experiential learning in culturally diverse groups about intercultural communication through intercultural communication.”. The study involved students from Australia, international students from Asia (in Australia) and students from the Netherlands. The task was to “to respond to a case study that concerned a franchisor in Australia considering two expressions of interest from potential franchisees in the Netherlands and Hong Kong.”. More specificially, members of the these three populations were required to act as "communication consultants" to advise the fanchisor of any potential intercultrual communication implications between the Australian organisation and the Dutch and Asian franchise. In other words, each type of student had to play and reflect upon his own cultural inheritage.

In this context, the author found that “learning about intercultural communication through intercultural communication is a powerful activity that responds to the need for learning approaches that internationalise the business curriculum in universities and develop global citizenship. The capacity of the experiential project appeared to engage students in ways that seemed to be perceived as authentic and relevant to their lives and work. The study has also illuminated how participants try to make sense of intercultural communication by juxtaposing personal experience with theoretical literature. Whilst stereotyping did occur, the observation can be used in the design of future activities so that the potential for meta-cognitive approaches can be developed further through asking questions about what stereotyping is and how, why and under what circumstances individuals might engage in it, particularly when tension and conflict exists in intercultural communication and indeed, culturally diverse learning contexts.”

Strategies and tactics

• Roles games
• Cultural infusion activities, e.g. scavenger Hunts

Assessing learning outcomes in cultural competence

Besides trying to represent, summarize, visualize and compare different cultural representations, research also attempts to quantify cultural competence with psycho-metric tools and education attempts to create assessment tools.

Intercultural Knowledge And Competence Value Rubric

The association fo American Colleges and Universities developed an Intercultural Knowledge And Competence Value Rubric.

The authors, citing Bennett, (2008) define Intercultural Knowledge and Competence as “a set of cognitive, affective, and behavioral skills and characteristics that support effective and appropriate interaction in a variety of cultural contexts.”

“The intercultural knowledge and competence rubric suggests a systematic way to measure our capacity to identify our own cultural patterns, compare and contrast them with others, and adapt empathically and flexibly to unfamiliar ways of being”

This rubric is informed by two sources, Bennett's Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity and D.K. Deardorff's intercultural framework model .

The rubric is reproduced here.

Global Competence Aptitude assessment (GCAA)

Hunter et al. (2006) define global competence broadly as “Having an open mind while actively seeking to understand cultural norms and expectations of others, leveraging this gained knowledge to interact, communicate and work effectively outside one’s environment,” (Hunter, 2004).

A panel of 17 experts participated in a Delphi survey in order to elicit a definition of "global competence" and a "Global Competence Checklist". The majority of participants either were experts in international education or human resources in companies. Hunter (2014:115) developed a Global Competency Check List that includes three sections:

1. Knowledge

• An understanding of one's own cultural norms and expectations An understanding of cultural norms and expectations of others An understanding of the concept of "globalization"
• Knowledge of current world events
• Knowledge of world history

2. Skills/Experiences:

• Successful participation on project-oriented academic or vocational experience with people from other cultures and traditions
• Ability to assess intercultural performance in social or business settings
• Ability to live outside one's own culture
• Ability to identify cultural differences in order to compete globally
• Ability to collaborate across cultures
• Effective participation in social and business settings anywhere in the world

3. Attitudes: Recognition that one's own worldview is not universal

• Willingness to step outside of one's own culture and experience life as "the other"
• Willingness to take risks in pursuit of cross-cultural learning and personal development
• Openness to new experiences, including those that could be emotionally challenging Coping with different cultures and attitudes.
• A non-judgmental reaction to cultural difference
• Celebrating diversity

A related "Determining Global Competence" survey was made and according to Hunter (21006) distributed to 133 representatives and about 40 companies involved or interested by this issue. A copy of the items is here.

Revised versions of these tools are now commercially available through Global Competence Aptitude Assessment. The underlying component model can by represented as a circle, based on the following hierarchy (inside out)

                           Self-awareness
          Risk taking + open-mindedness + attentiveness to diversity
                   Global Awareness + Historical perspective
           Intercultural capability + collaboration across cultures

Global Perspective Inventory (GPI)

The GPI has been developed in the context of internationalizing campuses, i.e. “the process of infusing an international, intercultural or global dimension into the purpose, function, or delivery of postsecondary education” (Knight, 2003, pp. 2-3).” (cited by Braskamp: 2009:1)

“The Global Perspective Inventory (GPI) assesses a global and holistic view of student learning and development and the importance of the campus environment in fostering holistic student development. The GPI measures how students think, view themselves as people with cultural heritage, and relate to others from other cultures, backgrounds and values. It reflects how students are responding to three major questions: How do I know?, Who am I? and, How do I relate to others?” (About the GPI, retrieved March 1 2016).

The GPI is managed by The Research Institute for Studies in Education (RISE), a unit of the School of Education, at Iowa State University. This (commercialilzed) test exists in three variants: A "new student form", a "general student form" and a "study abroad form". As of August 2013, there have been nine versions, starting with a pilot version in 2007 (Manual, ). The questionnaires can be used in various conditions, e.g. a one-shot assessment, or as pre and post-test.

This self-assessment test includes three dimensions that we attempt to summarize below. Each of these dimensions is measured with two scale, each corresponding to a different type of theory, i.e. on scale reflects the theory of cultural development and the other reflects intercultural communication theory http://gpi.central.edu/supportDocs/manual.pdf[ manual, page 4]

A. Cognitive Dimension ("How do I know ?")

1. Knowing: understanding the importance of cultural context

2. Knowledge: understanding of different cultures and their impact, language skills

B.Intrapersonal Dimension ("Who am I ?")

3. Identity: level of awareness of one's own identity

4. Affect: respect and acceptance of different cultural perspectives and emotional confidence

C Interpersonal Dimensions ("How do I relate to others ?")

5. Social Responsibility: Level of interdependence and social concern for others

6. Social Interactions: Degree of engagement with others who are different from oneself and degree of cultural sensitivity in living in pluralistic settings.

The 2012-2013 version of items are here. Interestingly, most dimensions are weakly correlated and that includes the two respective scales within a same dimension (r=.145, .324, .241 in a large 2012/13 survey based on 9773 responses)

The authors, in their manual, page 10 argue that self-reports seem to be trustworthy for that kind of population since the instrument is not used for selection.

Discussion of assessment tools

Several tools use are questionnaires that ask users for self-assessment in fairly abstract terms. Few items refer to precise behavior and opinions about situations. While one can achieve good reliability we can wonder about their construct validity. Do they really measure cultural competence or rather people's perception of cultural competence ?

We also wonder whether some hierarchical component models of cultural compentency are accurate. Research conducted with the Global Perspective Inventory (above) does support the idea that components could be fairly independent. It seems logical that being able enter in intercultural dialogue requires prior knowledge, some openness, etc. but not necessarily acceptance. E.g., missionaries often do (or did) possess extended knowledge about cultures and were able to communicate but did not necessarily respect other cultures.

Technologies for cultural literacy

According to Anstadt (2015), an environment like Second Life has several affordances:

• The ability to role play simulations without compromising the identity of the individual. Yet at the same time there, is a relationship between users virtual lives and their real lives.
• A simulated environment offers the potential for a range of experiences that is not available in "real live", including connecting with people that otherwise cannot be met.

Links

Some Wikipedia articles

• Cultural competence (Wikipedia)
• Intercultural competence
• Intercultural communication principles
• Intercultural relations

Bibliography

Other

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