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Intercultural Competence in education, counselling and psychotherapy

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Abstract

The present era of globalization, interdependence and multicultural societies has brought about both opportunities and crises in educational institutions. Especially schools and families seem to be unable to cope with such revolutionary changes. The crises also concern all fields involved in maintaining social welfare, including counselling and psychotherapy. Within these fields, there is a growing need for Intercultural Competences at the cognitive, emotional and relational levels which endow teachers and counsellors with the ability to operate in linguistically and culturally complex contexts. However, despite the vast amount of international scholarship, the concept of ‘Intercultural Education’ and the term ‘Intercultural Competences’ are often misunderstood and require more precise definition. The present contribution intends to give further impulse to the discussion of Intercultural Competences and to offer concrete definitions that are applicable to the fields of education, counselling and psychotherapy. The article is based on a comprehensive review of literature on Intercultural Competence and an extensive empirical study carried out by the Centre for Intercultural Studies at the University of Verona. The study relies upon focus groups and semi-structured interviews in order to develop a theoretical model of Intercultural Competences with implications at the practical-operative, methodological and vocational levels.

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... La forma de exclusión se materializa en la inferiorización del otro (el sujeto visto como minoría), quien es concebido como un sujeto que posee desviaciones culturales y representa una posible amenaza a la cohesión social (Payet, 2006;Horst y Gitz-Johansen, 2010). Esta realidad exige transformar la formación de los profesores, debido a que como plantea Portera (2014), -Los maestros pueden transmitir sus propios prejuicios, no solo a través de sus propios comentarios y comportamientos, sino también mediante el establecimiento de un clima de intolerancia y etnocentrismo en el aula‖ (p. 166). ...
... Las competencias generales y particulares responden principalmente a la lógica de modelos en contextos anglosajones, que abordan la competencia comunicativa intercultural desde un punto de vista occidental, individualista y multicultural (pedagogía multicultural para el conocimiento y convivencia pacífica). En dichos contextos se carece de modelos interculturales reales que favorezcan la oportunidad del encuentro, el diálogo y la interacción (Portera, 2014). Además, un aspecto que destacan Perry y Southwell (2011), y que discute la lógica de los modelos de CCI, es su transferibilidad mediante contextos, debido a que los contextos relacionales y situacionales cambian. ...
... Esto implica formar a los profesores en conocimientos y habilidades que les permitan transformar los programas y prácticas educativas que perpetúan el racismo y los prejuicios sobre la diversidad social y cultural. En consonancia con ello, Portera (2014) indica que el reto contemporáneo de la educación se orienta a superar toda forma de dogmatismo, etnocentrismo y nacionalismo, sin caer en la trampa del relativismo moral (el todo vale), y la normalización (crear una medida única para todos), siendo el enfoque educativo intercultural la alternativa para generar una revolución pedagógica. ...
Article
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This paper explores the challenges posed by the development of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) in relation to teacher training in the postcolonial Chilean context. Through a review of bibliographic sources it is recognized that the preparation of new teachers (indigenous and non-indigenous) has failed to transversely implement an intercultural educational approach. This has allowed Chile to keep the hegemony of eurocentric monoculturality, resulting in these teachers‘ insufficient understanding of the cultures present in the classroom. In order to contribute to this critical discussion in the field, this paper reflects on the possibilities that ICC provides when seeking new ways of knowing and of communicating that confront monocultural education and develop intercultural educational processes, either in indigenous territories or in the new immigration contexts.
... More specifically, in spite of promoting the idea of a 'harmonised' interculturallyoriented teacher training education among the member states, EU policy makers also highlight the importance of country-specific 'realities' for the design and implementation of educational policies (ibid, 227). Bearing that in mind and based on projections according to which a reduction in migration is not expected in the near future within the European context ( Portera 2014;European Commission 2015,48), this paper proposes the examination of factors influencing pre-service primary education teachers' multicultural competence in the non-traditionally multicultural setting of Greece. ...
... In other words, it is a way of coping with all forms of diversity, of rejecting prejudice and stereotypes and embracing otherness. Different cultural identity in a multicultural environment is no longer considered as a threat but rather as an opportunity for evolution ( Portera, 2014). ...
... Children apart from their difficulties in learning a foreign language and adapting in a new educational and living environment are facing difficulties in their interactions with peers which could cause additional psychological problems to them and feelings of frustration ( Kaplan et al., 2015). On the one hand, Intercultural approach provides opportunities for both native and migrants students to co-exist, interact and communicate by limiting any racist manifestations ( Portera, 2014). On the other hand, intercultural goals incorporated in the school curriculum provide educators with useful techniques for effective bilingual and multilingual teaching. ...
Conference Paper
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In an increasingly globalized world of intercultural dialogue and international business, higher education faces challenges, such as communication barriers, cultural stereotypes, prejudices, identity conflicts, and language insufficiency, which compound the lack of skills to interact successfully. Intercultural Communication Competence (ICC) is a key competence to deal with the social and political changes resulting from European globalisation; it is also a key competence for student mobility and effective integration in competitive job markets. Although the need for the acquisition of Intercultural Communication Competence is clearly stated in the EU language policy, the complexity of the concept leads to multiple interpretations and solutions across European higher education institutions. Local contexts of cultural and linguistic homogenization in European countries such as Hungary require strategies to motivate teachers and students to go beyond their own cultural comfort zone. Since sharing knowledge of potential practices is essential for further innovation, the transnational ICCAGE project (Intercultural Communicative Competence – A Competitive Advantage for Global Employability) aims at addressing these needs, by creating innovative ICC course activities and educational materials, including telecollaborative practices, for students of business, management, and tourism, using English and Spanish as linguae francae, for participants from the Czech Republic, Spain, Portugal, and Hungary.
... The theoretical framework guiding the research questions is drawn from literature on multicultural and intercultural education (see e.g. Banks & McGee Banks, 2007;Gundara, 2000;Ladson-Billings, 1994;Lahdenperä, 2006;Lorentz, 2007;Nieto, 1999;Portera, 2014). Both multicultural and intercultural education has been used interchangeably by some scholars to refer to teaching approaches and research in culturally diverse classrooms. ...
... In this study, we prefer to use the term intercultural education to denote the importance of interaction of cultures and practices where teachers affirm differences and identities of their pupils and communities (Banks & McGee Banks, 2007;Gundara, 2000;Portera, 2014). As these scholars have observed, the meanings attached to intercultural education vary, but intercultural education is generally closely linked to visions of equity, ethnic, and cultural identity, the multicultural society and the opinions of the role of the schools in this. ...
... Similarly, immigrants and specifically newcomers succeed in learning environments where they feel safe, cared for and respected. The importance of affective skills for teachers in such learning contexts is frequently underestimated and yet previous research has highlighted that teachers' expectations of pupils' academic success is greatly impacted by the affective factors, the attitude of teachers, more particularly (Hammond, 2009;Igoa, 1995;Portera, 2014). ...
Article
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This study focuses on teachers in schools with large numbers of new arrival immigrant pupils in a provincial school district in mid-Sweden. Drawing from focus group interviews and examples from the teachers’ lessons, we examined the views of the teachers regarding the challenges experienced in responding to the pedagogical needs of new arrival pupils in culturally and linguistically heterogeneous classrooms. The findings reveal the structural and organisational problems at the city council and at the school and classroom levels as the major challenges. These include the pressure to create inclusive and safe classrooms for diverse cultural and linguistic pupils in an atmosphere where there is limited resources and emphasis on standardised assessment and teaching for tests within a prescribed curriculum However, the teachers’ pedagogical practices demonstrate attempts at intercultural teaching that build on the pupils cultural and linguistic experiences and compares well with principles of cultural responsive pedagogy.
... In other words, it is a way of coping with all forms of diversity, of rejecting prejudice and stereotypes and embracing otherness. Different cultural identity in a multicultural environment is no longer considered as a threat but rather as an opportunity for evolution (Portera, 2014). ...
... According to H. Essinger (1990), intercultural education focuses on the development of an empathic attitude towards differences, on creating a notion against the stereotypical way of thinking, on promoting solidarity, on cultivating a collective awareness that goes beyond race and nation and finally on promoting intercultural respect. Intercultural approach provides opportunities for both native and migrants students to co-exist, interact and communicate by limiting any racist manifestations (Portera, 2014). ...
... The term IC can be traced back to the 1930s (Portera, 2014), with the first attempts of employing it being used to train agents in the spheres of education, business and government, but models and assessment tools for this purpose were rather lacking (Deardorff, 2009). Initial efforts indicated that although adaptability was the core concept underlying IC, measuring IC comprehensively required the adoption of a multidimensional approach (Spitzberg & Changnon, 2009). ...
Article
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The influence of globalization on education, in particular higher education, has brought to the fore constructs which were kept in the background for a long time. One of such constructs is intercultural competence (IC), which has a wide range of applications for both incoming international students and the admin and teaching staff of tertiary education in the host country. There have been considerable attempts to address the growing demand for IC development in the field, but a wide gap is still felt in the literature due to the complexity of the construct. To move towards a substantial contribution to filling the gap, the present paper examined the status of IC literature and suggested an efficient approach aligned with its existing status. Besides the applicable approach to different contexts, this paper reviewed IC development programs in tertiary education and provided insight into promoting the efficiency and sustainability of their outcomes. It also highlighted the effects of IC on the three elements of teaching and learning: academic, af-fective, and social outcomes in tertiary education.
... Intercultural competence is culture-general and there are core competencies that individuals can develop that are not specific to any culture. Intercultural competence could be defined as a set of abilities, knowledge, attitudes and skills that allow one to appropriately and effectively manage relations with persons of different linguistic and cultural backgrounds (Portera, 2014). ...
Preprint
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Training program on improving the socio-emotional competences of career practitioners
... Therefore, to perform their duties effectively and efficiently soldiers often have to operate in a cultural environment that is unusual for them. The following components of intercultural competence are essential for the efficient and effective performance of duty: cultural understanding, flexibility, the ability to build sustainable intercultural relationships, tolerance of uncertainty, empathy, and openness (Portera, 2014;Miller and Tucker, 2015;Rodman, 2015; L. J. Rasmussen et al., 2016;Ibrahimov, 2017, Koziar et al., 2020Abbe, 2021). This is achieved through the development of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and cultural awareness. ...
Conference Paper
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Iconic films such as Star Wars (1977) and Starship Troopers (1997) picture conflicts fought in outer space. UFO (1970) tells the story of a high-tech military organization established to defend Earth from space attack. Space: 1999 (1975) and Star Trek (1966) are about travelling in deep space where no man has "bodly" gone before and imagine a technology that does not exist. Sometimes science fiction, inspired by science possibilities that one day can come true, simply imagines the future. Military applications of space technology, and considerations on space as a future theater of war when they would become technologically possible, were outlined in the Introduction to Outer Space, a pamphlet edited by the White House in 1958. To avoid the militarization of space and celestial bodies, and to guarantee their exploration and use for peaceful purposes to all countries, in 1967 the US, the U.K. and the Soviet Union opened for signature the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, which has become customary international law (White, 2000). The Outer Space Treaty forbids from placing in Earth orbit weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, or otherwise stationing them in outer space, but does not prohibit the placement of conventional weapons, and thus some highly destructive attack strategies such as kinetic bombardment are still potentially allowable (Bourbonniere & Lee, 2007). Since 1984, the Conference on Disarmament (CD), a body established by the UN General, has considered proposals, including draft treaties, aimed at preventing the placement of weapons in outer space. In 1998 Russia and China proposed a Treaty on Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space and of the Threat or Use of Force Against Outer Space Objects (PPWT). An amended text drafted in 2014 was rejected by the US because it failed to address a series of relevant issues: it did not provide a definition of "outer space" neither of what constitutes a "weapon in outer space", and it did not ban terrestrially-based ASAT systems launched from the ground (CD, 2014; UNGA GA/DIS/3591; Plath, 2018). The US refused to negotiate a Proposed Prevention of an Arms Race in Space (PAROS) treaty as an international legally binding instrument in the CD, as Washington gathers that it simply mirrored the PPWT, including its failures. Therefore, the US voted against the Russian's No First Placement of Weapons in Outer Space (NFP) resolution (UNGA, A/C.1/72/L.53). So far, the international community failed to reach a solution to prevent an arms race in outer space. Space war is no more a science-fiction scenario; it’s an emerging reality.
... Le differenze percepite possono causare stress o disagio, ma investire tempo ed energia nell'imparare ad affrontare i nostri sentimenti e a ridurre il disagio degli altri può essere molto utile (Bennett, 2013). L'esperienza di un mondo sempre più diversificato ci offre infatti l'opportunità di conoscere e comprendere meglio il nostro background culturale e la nostra identità e ciò che ci rende simili e diversi dalle persone con cui interagiamo (Byram, 2012;Portera, 2014). ...
Chapter
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1. Introduzione Il lavoro sociale in una società in rapido cambiamento e caratterizzata da di-versità culturale e linguistica si trova ad affrontare nuove sfide e promuovere competenze per lavorare con una popolazione culturalmente diversificata. Oggi il lavoro sociale si deve confrontare con i fenomeni della globalizza-zione, del multiculturalismo, della diversità culturale e della più grande ed estesa ondata di ibridazione culturale della storia (Onorati, 2012). Secondo i dati dell'UNESCO circa 1 persona su 30 vive oggi al di fuori del proprio Pa-ese di origine (2018, p. 4) e l'interculturalismo non è più una prospettiva ma un tratto distintivo delle società in cui viviamo in ogni aspetto della vita (la-voro, scuola, famiglia, tempo libero) e richiede consapevolezza e competenze (Council of Europe, 2008; Barrett et al., 2013). Inoltre, la promozione di com-petenze interculturali offre prospettive e opportunità di sviluppo di appren-dimento personale e interpersonale per contribuire a costruire comunità in armonia (UNESCO, 2018). Le differenze percepite possono causare stress o disagio, ma investire tempo ed energia nell'imparare ad affrontare i nostri sentimenti e a ridurre il disagio degli altri può essere molto utile (Bennett, 2013). L'esperienza di un mondo sempre più diversificato ci offre infatti l'op-portunità di conoscere e comprendere meglio il nostro background culturale e la nostra identità e ciò che ci rende simili e diversi dalle persone con cui in-teragiamo (Byram, 2012; Portera, 2014). 1 Per rendere la lettura più scorrevole si sono utilizzati in tutto il testo i termini maschili con riferimento a persone di ogni sesso.
... Pre-and in-service training should include development of ECE teachers' interpersonal skills to improve their capacity in daily work; for example, empathy, understanding of others, flexibility in emotional response, showing positive emotions toward immigrant children and families, having open mind, being non-judgmental, being flexible, being able to accept diversity and respecting other ways of being (ISSA 2011;Peeters and Vandenbroeck 2011). At the core of teachers' competences is the ability to connect all interpersonal skills, knowledge, teaching methods and resources from the environment in the ever-challenging and unpredictable multicultural education (Portera 2014). ...
Article
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The purpose of this study is to analyse which ecological conditions (professional background and support from the environment) and interpersonal skills (values, attitudes and emotional competences) predict ECE teacher competences in working with immigrant children. The results of the hierarchical regression analysis revealed that interpersonal skills are stronger predictors of teachers’ competences than ecological conditions. The results of network analysis indicate specific in-depth relations among teachers’ competences and the analysed variables. The study is important as it combines ecological conditions as contextual factors and interpersonal skills to better understand how to support ECE teachers in a multicultural environment.
... Counselling Pancawaskita fully develop the services by adopting the principles of science education without losing the identity of the professionalism of the counselling serviceitself (Sujadi, 2015;Zamroni, 2016). In an effort to improve the professionalization of the service to the client, the counsellor needs to do a variety of preparations are qualified in applying the norms of education in the counselling process (Bagley et al., 1997;Portera, 2014). ...
... At the international level, UNESCO (2006) has issued guidelines for intercultural education consisting of three principles that are considered to go beyond regional and national differences. It is assumed that by following these principles teachers will acquire the intercultural competences (Portera, 2014). ...
... The course was taught by two lecturers, one from each country. All the participating academic institutions encourage their graduates to combine professionalism and humanity, while seeking to instill in them technological global democratic values and to expose them to a dynamic reality characterized by the movement of populations, goods, information, and ideas between regions, countries, and cultures (Portera, 2014;Punteney, 2016;Suarez-Orozco & Suárez-Orozco, 2001). ...
Article
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Multicultural dialogue has an important socio-educational role in light of demographic changes. Research shows that attracting international students to campus or sending them abroad is not enough (Ashwill, 2004; de Hei et al., 2019). Therefore, the higher education system should design programs that expose students to international contexts (Fabregas et al., 2014; Roorda et al., 2011). The aim of this qualitative interpretative study was to examine the types of dialogue created between 47 undergraduate students from Israel and other countries. Data were collected from a portfolio written by all the students and were analyzed using content analysis (Creswell, 2012). The study was based on online encounters between two groups: Israeli and other countries. The findings indicated that the students deepened their understanding and shaped intercultural competence. The open and flexible curriculum enabled them to hold three types of dialogue: personal, disciplinary, and ethnocultural (Dotger, 2015; Phillion & Malewski, 2011).
... Wenn der Umgang mit Differenzen dem ,Geschäfte machen' zuträglich ist, es zumindest nicht behindert, ent spricht dieser Umgang den managerial-ökonomischen Anforderungen; in diesem Sinne handelt es sich um einen gelungenen Umgang mit Differenzen. " 2~ Einen ähnlich komplexes Modell wie bei Byram findet sich bei Portera (2014) "An interpersonal encounter becomes an intercultural encounter when cultural differences are perceived and made saUent either by the sit uation or by the individual's own orientation and attitudes. Thus, in an intercultural interac!ion, one does not respond to the other person (or people) on the basis of their own individual personal characteris lies -instead, one responds to them on the basis of their affiliation to another culture or set of cultures. ...
... Wenn der Umgang mit Differenzen dem ,Geschäfte machen' zuträglich ist, es zumindest nicht behindert, ent spricht dieser Umgang den managerial-ökonomischen Anforderungen; in diesem Sinne handelt es sich um einen gelungenen Umgang mit Differenzen. " 2~ Einen ähnlich komplexes Modell wie bei Byram findet sich bei Portera (2014) ...
Chapter
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This paper is an attempt to map a landscape of international approaches to intercultural competence. http://www.waxmann.com/buch4245
... anthropology, applied linguistics, communication studies, education, language, psychology and sociology) and worldwide scopes (Jackson, 2012: 1). One of the crucial factors accelerating such a salient development is the interdependence and interconnectedness significantly enlarging in this current age (Portera, 2014). As a result, deploying effective communication strategies among people possessing sundry linguistic and cultural ambience has become a thought-provoking issue (Ciprianová & Vančo, 2010;Baker, 2011Baker, , 2012. ...
Article
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This study focused on how teachers and students as the social actors in an Intercultural Communication (IC) classroom were represented discursively. A video recording transcript of IC classroom activities at a state University in Indonesia was selected as the data source. The data source was rigorously analysed through van Leeuwen‟s Socio-semantic inventory of social actors framework (Van Leeuwen, 1996). The main findings show that social actors in IC classroom can be categorised into two main thematic representations, namely positive and negative ones. disclosed that Hamzah as the representative of classroom presenters was represented as victimised, oppressed, intimidated and minoritised actor. Hamzah‟s Mathematics teacher was depicted as an intolerant, dehumanising, discriminatory and oppressing actor. Hamzah‟s Social Sciences teacher was illustrated as a racial, stereotyping, dominant and provoking actor. The Intercultural Communication teacher was delineated as the actor endeavoring to encourage his students to be tolerant, critical, supportive and open-minded people. Hamzah‟s classmates in IC classroom were characterised as sympathetic, supportive, friendly and reactionary actors. Keywords: Intercultural Communication, social actors, discursive reprentation, othering
... The elements of curiosity, openness and respect are usually present within models of IC (e.g. Byram 1997Byram , 2008Portera 2014) and some of these have also been mentioned in previous empirical studies (e.g. Hammer 2005; Paolone 2013). ...
Article
The present study explores the internationalisation of secondary schools. It focuses on the assessment of the intercultural competence (IC) of returnees who participated in an annual study-abroad programme offered by the Italian educational association Intercultura (a non-profit organisation). The precise aim of this research is to find possible assessment indicators of IC, specific to the context of student mobility in secondary schools. To reach this goal, a qualitative methodology was adopted; 21 semi-structured interviews were conducted with the returnees, their parents, friends, teachers and Intercultura volunteers. The findings suggest that the elements to be considered in assessing the IC of returnees should include, among others, curiosity towards people perceived as having different cultural backgrounds, interest in global issues, self-awareness, new understanding of home context, knowledge of host context, ability to make critical comparisons, adaptability and ethnorelative view.
... 23 Unterschieden werden savoir comprende (interpreting/relating skills), savoir (knowledge), savoir faire (discovery/interaction skills, savoir s´engager (critical culture awareness), savoir être (attitudes). 24 Einen ähnlich komplexes Modell wie bei Byram findet sich bei Portera (2014), der auf der Grundlage der hier vorgestellten Modelle eine Verknüpfung von interkultureller Kompetenz und interkultureller Erziehung anstrebt und die staatsbürgerliche und zivilgesellschaftliche politische Dimension als Perspektive interkultureller Kompetenz sieht. Der Ansatz betont vor allem den interaktiven Aspekt der Kompetenzentwicklung in Abhängigkeit des Selbst-Kontextes. ...
... In other words, intercultural competence encompasses the attitudes, skill, and knowledge that allow one to assess and respond effectively to the interpersonal, emotional, educational, and professional requirements arising from cultural diversity (Byram, 1997). Intercultural competence is becoming ever more relevant to Higher Education and it is a critical component of international courses, such as Asian programs, which should be not limited to knowledge of oriental languages and social and cultural values (Portera, 2014;Rathje, 2007). In fact, it has been said that all courses dealing with Asian countries should adopt an intercultural approach that takes into account the socio-historical development, conquests, interactions with neighboring cultures, and orientalism (Beltrán, 2006). ...
Article
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This paper analyses how Spanish Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are implementing “internationalization at home” strategies through the introduction of Asian studies degrees to help undergraduate students to be ready to work in a globalized world. The selection of Asia as specialization reflects its relevance for HEIs, as the most influential geopolitical area in the context of the current economic and cultural globalization. Specifically, this study identifies the undergraduate Asian degrees developed by Spanish HEIs, in what ways they are interculturally oriented, and how the intercultural orientation was incorporated into the degrees. It is possible to identify in the programs a process of the incremental acquisition of intercultural competence, following these phases: general knowledge moves to socio-linguistic and instrumental knowledge, which then becomes intercultural self-awareness. This paper concludes that to implement successfully their strategies at home and, simultaneously, to embrace the increasing societal demand for enhanced intercultural skilled professionals, a higher level of intercultural awareness is needed in Asian studies degrees at Spanish HEIs. The paper ends with some recommendations for educational policy-makers.
... Students, but also staff, are not necessarily speaking their own mother tongue and they must be prepared to function in a multicultural context (Dervin & Hahl, 2015;Portera, 2014). "One of the skills that seems to be particular important for teachers to achieve greater equity in diverse classrooms is formative assessment, i.e., frequent, interactive assessments of student progress and understanding of individual learning needs to adjust teaching" (OECD, 2005cit. in Nusche, 2009. ...
Technical Report
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This Transversal Analysis and Conclusions report is the final deliverable of Work Package 1, “Stocktaking”, and includes two main parts: 1. a review of existing literature on teaching and learning strategies for culturally inclusive education in adult and higher education, as well as tools and materials from previous projects’ outputs; 2. a collection of examples of good practices, including partners’ relevant experiences, synthesise and evaluate existing knowledge through a comprehensive transnational meta-analysis. In the present report the University of Porto has collated and analysed the materials that all the members of the HE4u2 consortium have identified as relevant literature (papers, books, reports) and good practices. Both tasks were supported by specific templates to configure and organize the information (see Appendix 1 and Appendix 2), that the partners filled (see Appendix 3 and Appendix 4) and were instrumental for the analytical work that followed; partners’ comments throughout the process were also essential for the conclusion of the analysis. Therefore, this report is the result of the collaborative effort of the various teams.
... By contrast, the power hierarchies and the paradoxes of the governance of diversity included in the White paper on Intercultural Dialogue (2008) have been revealed with a lexical and semantic analysis conducted by Lähdesmäki and Wagener (2015). Vol. 3, No. 1 -Ambivalence -2016 Side 4/18 competence' (e.g., Barrett, 2011;Bennett, 1993;Byram, 1997;Fantini, 2000;Deardorff, 2006Deardorff, , 2008Deardorff, , 2009Hunter, White & Godbey, 2006;Spitzberg & Changnon, 2009;Bortini & Motamed-Afshari, 2012;Unesco, 2013;Portera, 2014). ...
Article
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The article aims to rethink the concept of intercultural conflict. Specifically, I argue that the use of the adjective “intercultural” within ‘intercultural conflict’ is usually an expression of rhetorical discourse or is not appropriate. Following a semantic analysis I show that a cultural conflict, here conceptualized as incompatibility of cultural values between a minimum of two people belonging to different cultural backgrounds, might be described as an intercultural conflict. This is possible if the interactants, rather than focussing on solutions, adopt an ‘intercultural attitude’ (comity, ethical relativism, critical self-reflection, openness toward a potential change, suspending judgment, reframing meanings, curiosity, respect, and self-decentralization) between them. Existing theoretical concepts are explored through qualitative research examining supposedly interculturally competent high school students’ (after one scholastic year abroad) attitudes towards others during a cultural conflict. The study shows that curiosity and respect towards others might be considered as preconditions for a true dialogue. Two main attitudes emerge from the analysis: the multicultural one and the intercultural one. The former corresponds to respect for the different ideas of others. The second is exemplified by true interaction between interactants who seek a deep understanding of what is behind the point of view held by themselves and others. Adopting an intercultural attitude, they make all possible efforts to truly encounter each other’s otherness.
... On the international level, UNESCO (2006) has issued guidelines for intercultural education consisting of three principles considered to transcend regional and national differences. As a result, teachers are expected to demonstrate intercultural competence (Portera 2014), and intercultural training is part of most initial as well as continuing teacher education curricula (OECD 2010). However, according to this report, policies and practices for the intercultural training of teachers vary greatly and lack conceptual clarity: '[…] cultural diversity and difference are conceptualised in various ways and the application of educational approaches -irrespective of being labelled multicultural or interculturalvaries depending on national and local school contexts as well as individual teacher practices' (56). ...
Article
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Albeit indispensable to understanding human action, the concept of culture has suffered from excessive enthusiasm in the fields of intercultural education as well as in intercultural teacher training, leading too often to culturalist stances. These excesses of intercultural education and training as well as their contradictory message (between praising and minimising – even ignoring – culture and cultural differences) have led some scholars to advocate for the abandonment of the concept of culture altogether. Rather than this radical and counterproductive approach, we propose a heuristic tool: the dialectical square of cultural difference, as well as three metaphors of culture, that should help teacher educators to foster a dynamic and complex understanding of culture and cultural difference among pre- and in-service teachers.
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In the UK there has been a marked increase in children from minority ethnic families receiving an autism diagnosis but there continues to be a dearth in research that has explored the diversity of families’ lived experiences. The research sought to address this under-representation by using a transcultural approach to understand how families are drawing on multiple cultural influences in response to having an autistic child. Combining transculturalism with a narrative interview approach made it possible to pay attention to the ways in which families’ lives are transformed when they have an autistic child, how parents develop multiple identities in their interactions with professionals and family members across different social and cultural contexts and the impact this has on their sense of belonging to the community and networks of support. A thematic analysis of the families’ transcultural experiences showed that there were commonalities in their experiences of parenting children with autism as well as distinct and relevant cultural values and resources which influenced their individual responses to having an autistic child. The families wanted teachers in mainstream schools and those in their community to have more understanding and knowledge about how autism affected their lives and positive recognition of the solution-focused strategies that they were using to advocate for their autistic child’s healthcare and education. The findings from this research supported the development of a transcultural model that will be of value in developing culturally responsive pedagogical practice in autism education. The recommendations are that there is a need to further address culture and ethnicity in research on autism and special education, encouraging teachers to think about how they work with autistic children and the social and cultural realities that are an essential aspect of families’ transcultural lives.
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Educating refugee children is a demanding process, as teachers must have special knowledge, skills and attitudes. In Greece, many efforts have been made to educate refugee children by creating refugee reception and integration classes in schools and recruiting temporary staff. Still, teachers face various problems in language teaching and children’s integration into the school environment. The purpose of this study is to identify the challenges and difficulties faced by teachers who teach refugee students and to explore their intercultural competence and readiness. Eight interviews were conducted for the research. The results show that participants face many problems due to a lack of training material, tools and resources. The characteristics of refugee children slow down the educational process, while the unpreparedness and inadequacy of teachers in intercultural education complicate the situation. However, the education of refugees can be improved, provided that the intercultural education of teachers is enriched and appropriate educational material (school books, guides, toolkits) is provided.
Article
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Educating refugee children is a demanding process, as teachers must have special knowledge, skills and attitudes. In Greece, many efforts have been made to educate refugee children by creating refugee reception and integration classes in schools and recruiting temporary staff. Still, teachers face various problems in language teaching and children's integration into the school environment. The purpose of this study is to identify the challenges and difficulties faced by teachers who teach refugee students and to explore their intercultural competence and readiness. Eight interviews were conducted for the research. The results show that participants face many problems due to a lack of training material, tools and resources. The characteristics of refugee children slow down the educational process, while the unpreparedness and inadequacy of teachers in intercultural education complicate the situation. However, the education of refugees can be improved, provided that the intercultural education of teachers is enriched and appropriate educational material (school books, guides, toolkits) is provided.
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As multicultural classrooms appear to be the norm nowadays, giving rise to new, more particular and targeted needs which must be accommodated, teachers now need to reflect on and adjust the strategies and practices they apply in order to meet the specific learning needs of their intercultural classrooms. For this reason, teachers’ education should be re-examined, evaluated, and enriched. In this light, this original study uses a case study to explores the language views and attitudes of graduates of a Hellenic Open University Master’s international programme entitled “Language Education for Refugees and Migrants” (L.R.M.). The aim is to explore teachers’ level of intercultural competence and readiness as well as their global competences as future teachers in multilingual and multicultural settings after completing the programme. To do this, the study attempts to evaluate the programme through the lens of the personal experiences of the graduates in terms of successes, weaknesses, and strengths. To conduct the research, both quantitative and qualitative methods were applied in the form of a close-ended questionnaire and a semi-structured interview conducted in two different formats. The results indicate that the majority of the participants were confident enough to manage the challenges arising in multicultural settings after completing the program, as they felt they had developed appropriate Skills, Knowledge, and Attitudes; however, a few among them still felt uncertain in doing this. In addition, a number of different approaches and methods were found to be appropriate as used for teachers’ training, while the importance of teachers’ intercultural training was highlighted.
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Second generation individuals (SGIs) represent an increasingly important share of the growing European population. Most literature focuses on the difficulties experienced by SGIs, risking reinforcing popular constructions of SGIs as a problematic group. Examining the potentials of SGIs may help to create a more balanced representation of their social reality and highlight opportunities inherent in multi-ethnic societies. In this paper we suggest that SGIs upbringing amongst multiple cultures may, under certain conditions, favour their developing strong intercultural competence (IC), a vital resource in contemporary, highly diverse societies. Following a literature review, we highlight that the IC of SGIs remains largely unexplored and there is a need for further research to investigate its features and the factors fostering and hindering its development. We begin by defining IC and the approach we adopt to view the construct, and by characterizing SGIs and the main critical implications and potentials of their growing up within multiple cultural environments. Subsequently we unite the contributions of migration studies and the body of work on IC in order to explain the processes by which SGIs likely develop IC. We propose the need for investigation of the IC of SGIs, making the case that research on IC should acknowledge the distinctiveness of SGIs experience and therefore utilize specific conceptual and methodological tools to explore the features and development processes of their IC. The paper ends with a discussion of the remaining knowledge gaps and by setting out an agenda for future research on the IC of SGIs.
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Given the growing presence of citizens with cultural differences, it is no longer appropriate to base citizenship on the individual belonging of a nation-state. It has become necessary to develop a new concept of citizenship that considers the existing multiple identities of people. This idea has gradually permeated educational policies on citizenship of international institutions such as UNESCO, which has introduced the concept of global citizenship education (GCE). This article is intended to enrich readers’ reflection on GCE through the incorporation of an intercultural approach, to overcome nationalistic, Western-centric, and neoliberal conceptions, and to promote dialogue and interaction between different learners. Research on citizenship education and intercultural competence carried out by the Centre for Intercultural Studies, University of Verona, Italy, provides additional stimuli to foster reflection.
Conference Paper
In the UK there has been a marked increase in children from minority ethnic families receiving an autism diagnosis but there continues to be a dearth in research that has explored the diversity of families’ lived experiences. The research sought to address this under-representation by using a transcultural approach to understand how families are drawing on multiple cultural influences in response to having an autistic child. Eleven parents from nine families who lived in one London borough were interviewed using a non-directive narrative approach. The families included two parents who were born in the UK, five who migrated to the UK as children and four who came to the UK as adults. All the families had a child with autism aged between four and seventeen years old, who attended either a special school or a mainstream school in the same London borough. Combining transculturalism with a narrative interview approach made it possible to pay attention to the ways in which families’ lives are transformed when they have an autistic child, how parents develop multiple identities in their interactions with professionals and family members across different social and cultural contexts and the impact this has on their sense of belonging to the community and networks of support. Analysing the interviews followed a case-based approach with themes examined within and across all cases. A thematic analysis of the families’ transcultural experiences showed that there were commonalities in their experiences of parenting children with autism as well as distinct and relevant cultural values and resources which influenced their individual responses to having an autistic child. The families wanted teachers in mainstream schools and those in their community to have more understanding and knowledge about how autism affected their lives and positive recognition of the solution-focused strategies that they were using to advocate for their autistic child’s healthcare and education. The findings from this research supported the development of a transcultural model that will be of value in developing culturally responsive pedagogical practice in autism education. The recommendations are that there is a need to further address culture and ethnicity in research on autism and special education, encouraging teachers to think about how they work with autistic children and the social and cultural realities that are an essential aspect of families’ transcultural lives.
Book
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This document is a product of a Council of Europe project which is taking place in four phases from 2014-17. The first phase has been devoted to the development of a conceptual model of the competences which citizens require to participate effectively in a culture of democracy. This document describes the model and the methods that were used to develop it. The document is aimed at readers who wish to understand the underlying assumptions and technical details of the model. Phase two of the project will be devoted to the development of descriptors (i.e., statements or descriptions of what a person is able to do if they have mastered the various competences that are specified by the model), phase three to ascertaining whether it is possible to assign the descriptors to levels of proficiency, and phase four to the production of supporting documentation. This documentation will be addressed to educational practitioners and policymakers, and will provide a less technical description of the current competence model. It will also explain how the model and the descriptors can be used to assist curriculum design, pedagogical design and the development of new forms of assessment (for use in either self-assessment or assessment by others). All of the materials that are produced from the project will eventually be incorporated into a ‘Council of Europe Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture’. Further information about the project is available from the project website: www.coe.int/competences
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Introduction: Research in education and the health sciences indicated that international service-learning (ISL) has positive impacts on participants’ intercultural competence, although little information exists in the music therapy profession. This study examined the characteristics of ISL within the context of music therapy and investigated its relationship with intercultural competence in U.S. music therapists. Method: A total of 621 board certified music therapists participated in the study. The researcher-designed cross-sectional survey consisted of checklists, Likert scales, one standardized self-report measure – the Assessment of Intercultural Competence, a culture-related music therapy competence checklist, and demographic information. Results: Results of the study confirmed anecdotal evidence that music therapists and music therapy students are engaging in a variety of ISL programs. Furthermore, the results suggested possible enhancement in intercultural competence, but not necessarily intercultural competence in music therapy. Discussion: Several recommendations include theoretical and conceptual clarification of intercultural competence in music therapy professional practice, as well as cost-benefit considerations for participating in ISL.
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The article analysed methodological scales for measuring intercultural competence. Taking into account the ones presented in scientific literature, SAGE’s scientific publications database was selected as the data collection source. Methodologically validated scales were evaluated from the perspective of management science in order to select the most used ones oriented to management research. Therefore, four most popular measurement scales that have received the most attention in different countries were distinguished. The article also ranked the most popular scientific journals in terms of research on the above mentioned competencies using said methodological scales as well as explored military intercultural competence to determine the possibilities of using methodological scales.
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Chapter
Situationen interkultureller Begegnung sind im Alltag und Berufsleben inzwischen allgegenwärtig. Dementsprechend ist Interkulturalität ein Feld hochgradig anwendungsbezogener Forschung. Sie ist die Basis für jede interkulturelle Situation und Interaktion im Alltag, in Politik und Wirtschaft. In diesem Kapitel werden die Konzepte der Interkulturalität und interkulturellen Kompetenz eingeführt. Es werden verschiedene interdisziplinäre Definitionen vorgestellt und die Hauptansätze analysiert. In diesem Zusammenhang werden Begriffe wie interkulturelle Kompetenz, Subskalen, Operationalisieren und Messen definiert. Weiterhin werden die Auswirkungen der interkulturellen Kompetenz auf die interkulturelle Kommunikation vorgestellt und ein Überblick über die Methoden und Herangehensweisen in Trainings interkultureller Kompetenz gegeben.
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RESUMEN Este artículo plantea la incorporación de episteme indígena al currículum escolar, mediante un método de intervención educativa intercultural con aportes epistémicos de la educación mapuche y escolar. Se analiza, por una parte, que la intervención educativa intercultural implica asumir la igualdad de la condición humana sobre la base de un diálogo de saberes con el fin de garantizar la libertad, la igualdad y la cohesión social; y por otra parte, como desafío sociopolítico para el reconocimiento de la existencia y supervivencia de los pueblos indígenas con sus conocimientos educativos, lenguas e identidades culturales.
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Technical Report
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This tool describes a generic structure of a Continuing Professional Development Course (CPDC). It aims at giving the reader insights and ideas in organising staff training to promote inclusive learning and teaching in European higher education institutions. This Generic Course Structure can be adapted to any institutional, regional or national environment by following the experiences that the course designers had, when piloting the course in their own universities. These experiences are presented as examples, within the present training course structure. This Generic Course Structure has been created by the European project HE4u2 - Integrating cultural diversity in Higher Education, co-funded by the European Union Erasmus+ programme. The project is coordinated by the European University Continuing Education Network (eucen).
Chapter
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Ich gehe hier davon aus, dass Interkulturelle Kompetenz als Konstrukt nur im Modus der Verhandlung existiert, wobei die Verhandlung selbst ein mehrdi- mensionales Geflecht einer Subjekt-Objekt-Beziehung darstellt, die im Moment des Vollzugs stets nur reduziert in ihrer Komplexität erfasst wird. Aus der Per spektive der internationalen Kompetenzforschung, sei es in der empirischen Bildungsforschung, der Berufsbildungsforschung oder in diversen Richtungen der Psychologie, stellt interkulturelle Kompetenz eine generische Kompetenz oder eine Koordinationskompetenz für Elemente allgemeiner Sozialkompetenz dar. Im Bildungsbereich überwiegt die Charakterisierung als „Schlüsselkompe tenz“ (key competence) und wird - obwohl nicht unumstritten - für eine eigenständige Kompetenz (im Gegensatz zu allgemeinen Sozialkompetenzen) gehalten.
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Growing racial and ethnic diversity in the United States and globally requires culturally competent mental health professionals who can address ongoing racial tensions and experiences of racism and xenophobia. Attending to racial and ethnic issues and infusing race and ethnic dialogues in group psychotherapy can play a major role in addressing mental health problems, promoting racial harmony, and healing deep psychological wounds and trauma that are the result of racial tensions. This article describes seven key issues necessary to effectively address race and ethnicity in group psychotherapy.
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The aim of this paper is to explore how the Italian secondary schools deals with the issue of assessing intercultural competence and, in general, transversal competences gained by returnees (16/17 years old) who participated in an annual individual exchange program. The considerations proposed in the present paper are the first results of ongoing doctoral research developed through a qualitative approach. The outcomes indicate a lack in the assessment of intercultural competence as well as a difficulty in assessing transversal competences by the Italian secondary schools. However, first attempts that seek to identify shared answers to the challenges posed by the student mobility to educational policies are developing. L'obiettivo del presente articolo è di esplorare in che modo le scuole secondarie di secondo grado in Italia affrontano la questione connessa alla valutazione della competenza interculturale e, più in generale, delle competenze trasversali acquisite dalle studentesse e dagli studenti (16/17 anni) che hanno partecipato a un programma annuale di mobilità studentesca individuale. Le considerazioni proposte in questo contributo rappresentano i primi risultati di una ricerca di dottorato in corso, sviluppata mediante un approccio qualitativo. I risultati indicano che nelle scuole secondarie di secondo grado in Italia vi è un'assenza di valutazione della competenza interculturale e vi è difficoltà nella valutazione delle competenze trasversali. Tuttavia, si stanno sviluppando dei tentativi di risposte comuni alle sfide poste dalla mobilità studentesca alle politiche educativa. Parole chiave: competenze interculturali, competenze trasversali, internazionalizzazione della scuola, mobilità studentesca, programmi scolastici interculturali, valutazione degli studenti, legislazione italiana.
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The present reflection article discloses the experiences gained during the adaptation of the material for intercultural competence development. The resource book Building Intercultural Competences: A Handbook for professionals in education, social work and health care was selected and its material was adapted to educational context of VET students and teachers. The framework of adaptation of the Handbook is presented in the article. The study was done to investigate the VET students’ and teachers’ needs for intercultural competence development.
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The Federation of The Experiment in International Living (FEIL) has now completed its first international research effort – a one and a half year project designed to explore and assess the impact of intercultural experiences provided through service projects conducted as part of the Federation’s Volunteers in International Partnerships program. This research project, titled "Exploring and Assessing Intercultural Competence," involved two sending and one receiving Member Organizations: Great Britain, Switzerland, and Ecuador. The project was made possible through a funding grant obtained from the Center for Social Development of the Global Service Institute at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
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A meta-analysis explored the association between past studies on intercultural communication effectiveness and intercultural communication competence, and examined the relationship between knowledge-based and skill-based attributes in predicting intercultural communication competence. A total of 16 studies met the criteria of having recoverable quantitative data measuring aspects of intercultural communication competence or effectiveness and occurred within the context of intercultural interaction. The studies were coded for five characteristics. Results indicated empirical support for arguing that there is a strong association between studies of intercultural communication competence and intercultural communication effectiveness--measurement of intercultural communication competence and intercultural communication effectiveness was demonstrated to be equivalent. Results also demonstrated that both knowledge and skills were positive predictors of the association between intercultural communication competence and intercultural communication effectiveness. Formerly, many academic studies of intercultural communication competence were motivated by four practical needs: (1) to explain overseas failures; (2) to predict overseas successes; (3) to develop personnel selection strategies; and (4) to design, implement, and test sojourner training and preparation methodologies (Ruben, 1989). More research efforts should be aimed at empirically testing theoretical assumptions and the measurement of various moderator variables. (Contains 88 references and 2 tables of data.) (RS)
Article
Models of psychotherapies and counselling do not develop in a social vacuum. They arise out of and rest on several fundamental assumptions-social, linguistic and cultural-most which are understood and shared by the client group and the therapists andor counsellors. The extent to which there is a congruence of shared assumptions facilitates the process of counselling and/or therapy. It does not, however, guarantee its successful outcome. This paper examines the fundamental assumptions underlying client-centred counselling and argues that there is at present a lack of correspondence between the assumptions of the counsellors and those of their client groups-even within their own culture. But among the client groups comprising the ethnic minorities originating from the Indian subcontinent, there is a wide chasm. The clients do not understand or share the fundamental assumptions of their counsellors. As a result, client-centred counselling is irrelevant and does not serve the needs of the clients groups comprising the ethnic minorities. It is in urgent need of a paradigm shaft. It is argued that client-centred therapy needs to be replaced by culture-centred counselling, in which counsellors can be trained. The paper presents the main features of a model of counselling that is applicable not only to the white indigenous population in Britain but to the above ethnic minorities living in Britain.
Article
This study investigates the influence of context on judgments of communication competence behaviors in two different cultural groups in the United States. Two hundred and twenty‐five Hispanic Americans and 209 white non‐Hispanic Americans were asked to rate the relative importance of communication behaviors in creating impressions of communicative competence in four different contexts: An intracultural social situation, an intracultural task situation, an intercultural social situation and an intercultural task situation. Exploratory factor analysis and subsequent confirmatory factor analyses confirmed similar factor structures for both culture groups on eight verbal and nonverbal dimensions of competent behaviors. Results of multiple analysis of variance tests revealed similarity and differences between the two groups in their judgments of communication competence behaviors. Specifically, both groups reported that Language Adaptability and Cultural Topics were more important in intercultural than intracultural contexts. However, there were contrasting patterns in nonverbal behaviors. Hispanics reported that it is most important to exhibit nonverbal behaviors when socializing with someone from another culture and when working with someone from their own ethnic culture. Non‐Hispanics reported that it is most important to exhibit these behaviors when socializing with someone from their own ethnic culture and when working with someone from another culture. The results are discussed and implications for future research delineated.
Article
In contemporary society it is rare to encounter cooperative efforts to learn, whether we are talking about the family or the school environment. Often we try to resolve conflicts by means of power or strength. Religion, language, skin colour or a different cultural background are seen as insurmountable barriers. Also the practical approaches relating to intercultural education seem to be only known and scarcely practised.In this paper the author starts from the results of an longitudinal, empirical study. He has observed and analysed the process of identity formation in young people with a multicultural socialisation during many years. After having pointed out the factors and mechanisms which are either functional or dysfunctional, the author presents a theory of basic human needs which are especially valid in a multicultural context, building on the contributions of other authors such as Erikson, Maslow and Rogers.The object of this paper is to reflect on the educational consequences of the above‐mentioned factors, as well as explore the way to satisfy our basic educational needs.
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Suggests that solid research is essential to the future development of the person-centered approach so that it does not become narrow, dogmatic, or restrictive. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
To describe the new definition of mental retardation developed by the American Association of Mental Retardation (AAMR) published in 1992. The previous definition was based on a deficiency model that identified "subaverage intelligence" using an intelligence quotient (IQ) score equal to or less than 70. The new definition places greater emphasis on adaptive skills and environmental support needs. Defining mental retardation according to AAMR criteria reflects a significant paradigm shift from an absolute trait to a functional conception. The new definition is dynamic, attends to context, is inherently holistic--and, therefore--closely aligned with nursing theory. Diagnosis is a three-step process by which functional strengths and weaknesses are identified along 4 dimensions and 10 adaptive-skill areas. Identification of needed supports is incorporated within the three-step process. Nurses can enhance holistic care by working to have AAMR's new definition adopted by government legislators and administrators of state and county agencies that provide mental-retardation services. Nurses should become active participants as interdisciplinary diagnostic team members as well as case managers. Nurse researchers and educators can contribute toward further developing AAMR's definition by standardizing assessment instruments, working to make diagnostic procedures more user-friendly, and researching the construct validity of adaptive-skill areas. Finally, nurses should help legislators and policy makers understand the sociocultural ramifications of AAMR's new definition.
Vers une pédagogie interculturelle [To an Intercultural Educa-tion]
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Becoming American, Intercultural Education and European Immigrants
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