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1 – 10 of over 61000
Article
Publication date: 1 November 2002

Chintana Monthienvichienchai, Sirintorn Bhibulbhanuwat, Chintawee Kasemsuk and Mark Speece

Cross‐cultural communication competence is a key issue in teaching in international schools. Cultural awareness issues are likely to play a role in how effectively the expat…

7153

Abstract

Cross‐cultural communication competence is a key issue in teaching in international schools. Cultural awareness issues are likely to play a role in how effectively the expat teachers in international schools are able to teach. This research examines communication competence, cultural awareness, and communication apprehension of UK teachers in a British curriculum international school in Bangkok, Thailand. Generally, the respondents have a high level of self‐reported communication competence, high levels of cultural awareness, and low communication apprehension. Although the sample size in this pilot work is small, the data do seem to show that intercultural awareness is related to communication competence, and that it is also related to communication apprehension, which itself relates to communication competence. This is an important issue for future research.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 16 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 October 2022

Amzad Hossain, Ying Kong, Harvey Briggs and Kim Laycock

This paper aims to analyze Northern Manitoba employers' indexes of employability skills that influence the UCN (University College of the North) students' employability in…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to analyze Northern Manitoba employers' indexes of employability skills that influence the UCN (University College of the North) students' employability in indigenous contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

This study constructs the employability skills into six indexes from employers' perspective: reading comprehension, numeracy, technology, soft skills, job searching skills and indigenous cultural awareness. Mixed methods have been applied to this research: survey data are used for empirical analysis of the six indexes of employability skills; secondary sources of similar studies together with functional theory in education as a framework is adopted to explore the breadth and depth of employability skills requested by employers; indexing analysis is adopted to validate the necessity of developing such skills in indigenous contexts in Northern Manitoba.

Findings

The correlation analyses and mean values show that employers in Northern Manitoba take the six indexes as influential factors of students' employability. As such, the study indicates that Northern Manitoba employers consider employability in indigenous contexts as a combination of basic skills, professional requirements, soft skills and cultural awareness. The employers' attested employability is in line with the concept of the technical-function theory, which requires education to meet the demand for updated job skills due to a technological change. Moreover, Northern Manitoba employers' emphasis on indigenous cultural awareness as employability skills rationalizes the necessity to integrate indigenous cultural contents into programs and curriculums in UCN and post-secondary institutes with similar attributes. It confirms that indigenous cultural awareness is required by employers in Northern Manitoba populated with indigenous communities. The research findings suggest that the functional theory of education might help UCN and similar institutions globally to offer programs that will reduce employment inequality.

Research limitations/implications

This research is conducted among the employers in Northern Manitoba, and the indexes and their factors are designed to evaluate UCN students' employability in general.

Practical implications

The outcomes of this paper can be applied as a parameter for upgrading educational strategies to integrate essential and professional employability skills such as reading comprehension, numeracy, technology, soft skills and job searching skills with indigenous cultural components into UCN curriculums and programs. It can be applied to other post-secondary institutes with similar attributes to enhance their students' employability. Furthermore, the research findings can be used as a guideline for UCN to tailor their programs for the job market locally and as references for post-secondary institutions with similar student compositions globally.

Originality/value

This paper provides empirical evidence from the employers' viewpoint to support the necessity of integrating essential and professional employability skills with indigenous cultural awareness into the curriculums and programs of UCN, a post-secondary institution in indigenous populated Northern Manitoba. Furthermore, it is also attested that employers consider indigenous cultural awareness as an influential factor of students' employability in indigenous contexts.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. 12 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 November 2020

Amzad Hossain, Harvey Briggs and Ying Kong

The purpose of this study is to analyze the indexes of employability assets that affect students' employability in Indigenous contexts.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to analyze the indexes of employability assets that affect students' employability in Indigenous contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

The study restructures the indicators developed from the survey the authors did for the Vital Outcome Indicators for Community Engagement (VOICE) research project into six employability indexes. The six indexes are reading and comprehension, numeracy, technological mastery, contribution to organizational performance, job searching skills and cultural awareness. The study has applied mixed research method, which is the combination of survey and secondary data analyses.

Findings

All six indexes have impacts on students' employability in various degrees with a high level of internal consistency among the indicators. The regression analysis reveals that the technological mastery, reading and comprehension and numeracy indexes significantly influence students' contribution to the organizational performance. The results also show that cultural awareness has impacts on employability but students do not connect it to the required employability skills. Such disconnection of cultural awareness with employability skills justifies the necessity to integrate Indigenous cultural contents into programs and curriculums in today's post-secondary education, particularly in the University College of the North (UCN), improving students' cultural knowledge, which, in return, enhances their employability in Indigenous contexts. The result is also applicable globally to countries which have large populations of Indigenous people such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Colombia, Mexico and other regions where workplaces are set in Indigenous contexts.

Research limitations/implications

The research survey was only conducted within students of UCN Thompson campus.

Practical implications

The results of this paper can be used as a guideline to adjust teaching/learning strategies with a focus on integrating Indigenous cultural components into UCN courses and programs, including other institutions with similar attributes to enhance Indigenous students' employability. UCN tri-council, faculty, community leaders, researchers, government and NGOs can also use the outcome of this paper to articulate polices that enhance students' employability. The outcome and strategic implication of the study can also be applicable to any institutions in a global Indigenous context.

Originality/value

The authors of the paper provide empirical evidence from the indexes of the employability assets including their indicators affecting students' employability. It is attested that cultural awareness index have impacts on students' employability in Indigenous context.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. 11 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2005

Alan Fish

This research aimed to identify cross‐cultural adjustment interventions to assist the personal wellbeing (psycho‐cultural) and cultural interaction (socio‐cultural) of managers on…

3464

Abstract

Purpose

This research aimed to identify cross‐cultural adjustment interventions to assist the personal wellbeing (psycho‐cultural) and cultural interaction (socio‐cultural) of managers on foreign assignments. Both pre‐departure and in‐country interventions were sought.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire was employed and comprised two adjustment measures. Data were collected from 244 Australians in south‐east Asia working in two industry groups – manufacturing/industrial and financial/services. Exploratory factor analysis was employed to identify adjustment constructs. Pearson correlations, as well as ANOVAs and t‐tests, were employed to explore the effect of industry group, respondent group, number of cross‐border assignments, age and gender.

Findings

Eight adjustment interventions were identified and were labelled: quality of life awareness; host business and cultural awareness; family impact awareness; staff and business colleague awareness; home country networks; cultural reinforcement and support; cultural inclusion; and host language skills.

Research limitations/implications

The research was limited to a specific business region, to one cross‐border manager cultural grouping and an exploratory technique was employed. Hence further work is needed to confirm the constructs and to assess the generalisability of the results to other business regions and to other cross‐border manager groups.

Originality/value

Whilst some important differences existed, the implications and value of the research may be evident in assisting psycho‐cultural problems such as anxiety and stress, and to encourage socio‐cultural interaction such as involvement in and with cultural environments and decreasing the potential for failed assignments.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 34 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Understanding Intercultural Interaction: An Analysis of Key Concepts, 2nd Edition
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-438-8

Book part
Publication date: 3 September 2020

Mikah K. Thompson

For more than two decades, clinical legal education scholars have touted the value of cultural competence. Professors, practitioners, and law school administrators now agree that…

Abstract

For more than two decades, clinical legal education scholars have touted the value of cultural competence. Professors, practitioners, and law school administrators now agree that experiential learning opportunities not only provide students with exposure to real clients and organic factual scenarios but also offer students the opportunity to work with diverse individuals. Indeed, because cultural competence is so important to the lawyer–client relationship, many clinical programs offer classroom instruction on cultural competence before allowing students to interact with clients.

Generally, clinical education is reserved for upper-level law students while first-year students spend their time immersed in doctrinal courses and a legal writing and analysis course. Clinical faculty have no opportunity to introduce cultural competence skills to law students unless they enroll in a clinic. As a result, many students receive no training in cultural competence.

This chapter proposes a framework for introducing cultural competence during the first year of law school. The central focus of the framework is the concept of cultural self-awareness. Through an education in cultural self-awareness, students will learn that they are cultural beings whose perspectives on the law are colored by their own life experiences and any attending biases. They will also learn that judicial decision-makers, like other human beings, are influenced by their culture. This approach is necessary to disabuse first-year law students of the notion the law is objective, gender-neutral and colorblind. The chapter offers specific strategies for a Torts course, but the general concepts are applicable to the other first-year courses.

Details

Cultural Competence in Higher Education
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78769-772-0

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1993

Hoon Park and J. Kline

A major concern facing multinational corporations in the 1990s ishow to prepare managers to operate effectively within another culture.Unfortunately, many corporations seldom…

1004

Abstract

A major concern facing multinational corporations in the 1990s is how to prepare managers to operate effectively within another culture. Unfortunately, many corporations seldom provide cross‐cultural management training because it is considered unnecessary or ineffective by top management. Given such corporate mentality, a major concern facing trainers is how to develop cultural awareness and improve cultural sensitivity. Introduces a new approach for enhancing the efficacy of cross‐cultural training by extending one of the most effective psychotherapeutic counselling methods – transactional analysis – over the cross‐cultural setting. Presents conceptual framework which suggests that a crucial element of cross‐cultural training for managers must be to help them achieve an “adult ego state”, and thus ensure that they maintain the most effective cross‐cultural position – my culture′s OK, your culture′s OK. By using transactional analysis as a prerequisite to other approaches in cross‐cultural training, trainers can provide a more comprehensive programme which will not only enhance sensitivity and awareness, but ultimately lead to a greater usage of and appreciation for cross‐cultural training by organizations.

Details

Journal of Management Development, vol. 12 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0262-1711

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 November 2010

Taewon Moon

The purpose of this research is to examine relationships between emotional intelligence and the four factor model of cultural intelligence – metacognitive CQ, cognitive CQ…

11397

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to examine relationships between emotional intelligence and the four factor model of cultural intelligence – metacognitive CQ, cognitive CQ, motivational CQ, and behavioral CQ.

Design/methodology/approach

Confirmatory factor analyses and hierarchical regression analyses on data from 381 students in Korea are conducted.

Findings

The results support discriminant validity of the four factor model of cultural intelligence scale (CQS) in relation to the emotional intelligence (EQ) construct. This study also demonstrates that the EQ factors related to social competence (social awareness and relationship management) explain CQ over and beyond the EQ factors related to self‐competence (self‐awareness, and relationship management). Finally, the results present that specific factors of EQ are related to specific factors of CQ.

Originality/value

The findings of this study demonstrate how CQ and EQ are distinct, but related constructs, which has not been conducted by prior research.

Details

Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. 25 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-3946

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2008

Rani Srivastava

Although the need for cultural competence in clinical care has been well articulated for over four decades, the goal of integrating and addressing cultural issues in care remains…

604

Abstract

Although the need for cultural competence in clinical care has been well articulated for over four decades, the goal of integrating and addressing cultural issues in care remains elusive. The challenges can be attributed to a lack of clarity on definitions and a lack of understanding of what constitutes cultural competence. What to know and what to do are questions that are frequently raised in discussions of cultural competence. Previous literature has described cultural competence in terms of affective, behavioural, and cognitive domains. The purpose of this paper is to build on this discourse by discussing key attributes within each domain and extending the framework to highlight the dynamics of difference, clarify the goal of equity, and recognise the importance of practice environments in the development of cultural competence in clinical care.

Details

Ethnicity and Inequalities in Health and Social Care, vol. 1 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-0980

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 15 September 2016

Alan Wong and Cathy H. C. Hsu

Intercultural awareness and skills are important competencies for hospitality and tourism management program graduates due to the internationalization of the tourism industry…

Abstract

Intercultural awareness and skills are important competencies for hospitality and tourism management program graduates due to the internationalization of the tourism industry. Graduates will work with coworkers and serve customers from diverse cultural backgrounds. With the exponential growth of China’s tourism industry, an examination of intercultural awareness and skills education in China’s hospitality and tourism higher education is needed. This study employed a qualitative approach by interviewing 11 educators in Chinese mainland universities on their views of the current status of intercultural awareness education, their role in this learning process, and how their program offerings enhance students’ learning of cultural diversity. Implications for administrators and faculty members are discussed.

Details

Tourism and Hospitality Management
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-714-4

Keywords

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