Thesis (M.A.T.) -- School for International Training, 2006. / Advisor -- Patrick Moran Includes bibliographical references (leaves 45).

This paper highlights the methodology that has been used at Rhodes University and other South African universities in implementing vocation-specific African language learning programmes. Essentially, the paper links the curriculum design to the theoretical paradigm of intercultural communication. Intercultural theory is used as a basis to develop vocation-specific courses where language and culture are taught, for example, to second language learners of isiXhosa at Rhodes University. These courses include courses for Pharmacy and Law students. This paper offers a new theoretical paradigm for intercultural language teaching. Furthermore, examples from specific courses are provided in order to illustrate how this theoretical paradigm can be implemented in a practical way. The impact of multilingualism and intercultural communication in the wider legal and healthcare work environment in South Africa is also discussed.

abstract: Drawing on previous empirical works in the field of Intercultural Competence (ICC) and telecollaboration (Chun, 2011; Elola & Oskoz, 2008; Furstenberg, 2004; Schulz, 2007), this study investigates how a completion of Cultura Project tasks in L1 and L2 helped to determine students' cultural values and behaviors, find out how their mental lexicons are structured, and assess a state of their critical cultural awareness. The theoretical framework for this study is based on Byram's (1997) work on ICC. As a part of their course work, Spanish language learners from a lower-division class participate in three Cultura Project tasks and provided their comments afterwards. The findings revealed cultural values and believes of the participants, as well as the organization of their mental lexicons. Moreover, the findings illustrated how the level of critical cultural awareness, as one of the components of ICC, could be assessed using the rubrics developed based on Byram's (1997) work on ICC and Bloom's (1990) revised taxonomy of learning skills. The results of the study contributed to the field of SLA on what is known about the roles of culturally-based questionnaires in critical cultural awareness assessment and the structure of mental lexicons of L2 learners. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Spanish 2015

Problem: The number of MNCs in the world are expanding and there is an ever-growing interest in how knowledge is shared since it is said to improve the organization's competitive advantage. It is further argued in existing literature that leadership, and more specifically the leadership behaviors, play a role in how knowledge is shared within multinational corporations. However, few examples from the international setting exist, which led the authors of this thesis to further explore this area of research. Purpose: The purpose of this research paper is to explore what types of leadership behaviors influence knowledge sharing in a multinational corporation, and how these behaviors impact how leaders share knowledge. Methodology: In order to fulfill the purpose of this thesis and to properly answer the research question a qualitative approach was chosen. The empirical data was collected through a single case study of a Swedish MNC, Alpha, with subsidiaries abroad. The sample consisted of six participants who hold leadership positions within Alpha, and who continuously travel abroad to the subsidiaries in their work assignments. Findings: The authors of this thesis found evidence that leaders working in an international setting, such as an MNC, need to possess certain behaviors found in the description of both transactional and transformational leaders. However, the empirical data contribute to the current body of research by showing that these leaders also need to possess the behavior of cultural awareness, to have a deeper understanding of how the different cultures are represented within an organization.

abstract: The purpose of this mixed methods research study was to assess the impact and influence of a pre-international experience course on Arizona State University (ASU) students before they study or intern abroad. Currently, the study abroad pre-departure orientation for ASU participants consists of online modules and a two-hour face-to-face orientation. In this action research study, the practitioner-researcher re-designed an ASU School of Politics and Global Studies (SPGS), one-credit course that focused exclusively on cross-cultural awareness and sensitivity. A needs assessment was distributed to a sample of 800 returning study abroad participants and was used to influence the study, along with an extensive literature review and two cycles of action research. The dissertation research and study was conducted during the ASU fall 2013 semester. Quantitative data and qualitative data were collected using eight different measures. To better understand the impact of a pre-international experience curriculum for ASU study abroad and international internship participants before they go abroad, this research study investigated the following research questions: (1) What cultural impact does a pre-international experience course have on students who complete the course before studying or interning abroad? (2) What specific cultural competencies are gained by the participants after participating in the pre-international experience course? (3) How has developing the curriculum, teaching the curriculum and implementing the innovation influenced and informed my practice as an international educator and the Assistant Director of the Arizona State Study Abroad Office? The following five assertions were identified within the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the collected data to answer the three research questions: (1) Students are more confident in their abilities to cross cultures after successfully completing taking the new course; (2) Students are more aware of other cultures and their own culture after successfully completing taking the new course; (3) Students gained important knowledge about understanding others' worldviews after successfully completing taking the new course; (4) Students gained general openness toward intercultural learning and to people from cultures different from their own after successfully completing the new course; (5) Developing and implementing a pre-international experience course changed me as a leader, instructor and researcher. Implications for future implementation and research are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2014

M.Ed. / The end of apartheid also marked the end of a segregated schooling system in South Africa and the new challenge of orientating learners to interact across cultural barriers, in keeping with the Constitution’s promotion of respect for diverse cultures. The Learning Area of Life Orientation, introduced to schools under the new dispensation, provides a real opportunity for them to promote cultural diversity within the classroom. In this investigation, the researcher used qualitative research methods to explore how learners at a primary school perceived cultural diversity. Interviews were conducted to explore their views on interactions across cultural groups and the way cultural diversity could be promoted in the classroom through Life Orientation as a Learning Area. Learners were also observed in the classroom and on the playground. The findings indicate that ethnicity is still a defining factor in schools and that learners often confused race and culture. Learners demonstrated an awareness of difference within their school, which they grouped according to race rather than culture. They indicated that their interactions with different groups resulted in both negative and positive experiences, with differences in languages emerging as the most commonly recognised. They also believed that the majority of their teachers were actively promoting a respect for cultural diversity. However, observations of learners revealed that they preferred to group themselves according to gender rather than culture or race, and while most groups were exclusively male or exclusively female all but three contained a mixture of cultural groups. Learners also proposed a variety of suggestions as to how cultural diversity could be promoted in the Life Orientation class room. From the findings it is clear that the Life Orientation Learning Area offers a realistic opportunity to promote cultural diversity in schools. There also appears to be a need to create an awareness of the difference between race and culture, so that learners can move beyond the narrow confines of apartheid classifications. If learners and teachers are encouraged to promote a respect for cultural diversity at school level, it must eventually permeate societal thinking.

This study examined differences in cultural competency levels between undergraduate and graduate nursing students (age, ethnicity, gender, language at home, education level, program standing, program track, diversity encounters, and previous diversity training). Participants were 83% women, aged 20 to 62; 50% Hispanic/Latino; with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (n = 82) and a Master of Science in Nursing (n = 62). Degrees included high school diplomas, associate/diplomas, bachelors’ degrees in or out of nursing, and medical doctorate degrees from outside the United States. Students spoke English (n = 82) or Spanish (n = 54). The study used a cross-sectional design guided by the three-dimensional cultural competency model. The Cultural Competency Assessment (CCA) tool is composed of two subscales: Cultural Awareness and Sensitivity (CAS) and Culturally Competent Behaviors (CCB). Multiple regressions, Pearson’s correlations, and ANOVAs determined relationships and differences among undergraduate and graduate students. Findings showed significant differences between undergraduate and graduate nursing students in CAS, p <.016. Students of Hispanic/White/European ethnicity scored higher on the CAS, while White/non-Hispanic students scored lower on the CAS, p < .05. One-way ANOVAs revealed cultural competency differences by program standing (grade-point averages), and by program tracks, between Master of Science in Nursing Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners and both Traditional Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Registered Nurse-Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Univariate analysis revealed that higher cultural competency was associated with having previous diversity training and participation in diversity training as continuing education. After controlling for all predictors, multiple regression analysis found program level, program standing, and diversity training explained a significant amount of variance in overall cultural competency (p = .027; R2 = .18). Continuing education is crucial in achieving students’ cultural competency. Previous diversity training, graduate education, and higher grade-point average were correlated with higher cultural competency levels. However, increased diversity encounters were not associated with higher cultural competency levels.

Nunavut Inuit youths exhibit cultural resilience and leadership. However, researchers frequently neglect such assets and instead emphasize these youths’ challenges or perceived inadequacies. I conducted an intrinsic case study regarding Nunavut Inuit youths’ experiences with an experiential learning program, Northern Youth Abroad (NYA), in order to investigate participants’ growth in cross-cultural awareness, individual career goals, leadership, and global citizenship. Drawing on post-colonial theory, semi-structured interviews, archival research, and participant observation, I argue that NYA’s Nunavut Inuit participants reported significant personal growth in these four objectives. I also provide an in-depth analysis of how NYA’s Nunavut Inuit participants described and developed distinct and rich leadership styles that draw on Inuit and Euro-Canadian influences.

Strategies for Improving Instruction for English Language Learners and Culturally Diverse Student Populations. Turanza D. Jackson, 2014: Applied Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Abraham S. Fischler School of Education. ERIC Descriptors: English (Second Language), Multicultural Education, Cultural Awareness, English Language Learners This applied dissertation was designed to determine effective strategies that promote academic success for high school students of diverse cultural populations, particularly students learning English. Many ineffective strategies used by teachers in English-language classrooms also lack the culturally accepting element. Students from various sociocultural and linguistically diverse backgrounds are experiencing limited academic engagement because of educators’ deficiency in cultural perspectives. The problem addressed was the need to improve educational opportunities and academic engagement for English language learner (ELL) students and the diverse needs of students from various cultural backgrounds. A qualitative research design was conducted by examining the instructional methods and leadership practices of participating faculty and staff at a high school servicing ELL students and culturally diverse student populations. This research design focused on understanding strategies for improved performance of ELL students and diverse student populations in the teaching and learning environment with particular interest on how faculty were engaged in using specific strategies. Through the collection of interview, documentation, and observational data, detailed conceptual theory was developed. A constant comparative analysis of the data revealed 5 themes that support existing theories in the literature: student engagement, classroom strategies, environmental conditions, teacher–student relationships, and challenges that impede performance. This study resulted in 3 main conclusions. First, a strong relationship exists between students’ increased classroom engagement and improved student performance. Next, student engagement is influenced by 4 main practices selected by teachers: grouping, relevant topics, collaboration, and differentiation. Finally, 3 factors that greatly affect student performance are relationship dynamics, cultural perceptions, and external challenges.

Since family therapy was brought only recently to Saudi Arabia, studies exploring the field in this context are few. This dissertation will be the first to focus on the self of the Saudi Arabian family therapist (SAFT). In particular, it will be the first to pay close attention to SAFTs’ ways of dealing with the differing and, perhaps, incompatible epistemologies of Saudi culture and religion on one side, and systemic thinking and family therapy on the other. This study seeks to shed a phenomenological light on what informs SAFTs and what influences their work. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), I interviewed seven SAFTs, identifying the challenges they encounter as they undertake their practice, and clarifying how these therapists are adapting Western knowledge vis-à-vis the Saudi culture. An old saying in Arabic conveys the self-reflective challenge of examining epistemological assumptions. We say “a camel can’t look at its own hump.” This dissertation is an attempt to at least steal a glance at it.