A Study of Cultural Differences on the Supervisory Process in a Graduate School Program. Nancy Marie Gauvin, 2016: Applied Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Abraham S. Fischler College of Education. ERIC Descriptors: Speech-Language Pathology Databases, Speech-language Pathology, Supervisors, Supervision, Supervisory Training. This applied dissertation was designed to provide new knowledge that will add to the field of speech-language pathology in both practice and theory. Investigating the need for cultural competency training for Speech-language pathology (SLP) supervisors can offer future supervisors improved relationships with graduate students. Currently, no formal training exists to address cultural diversity sensitivity at the supervisory level. The data were gathered by utilizing an online survey to receive responses from SLP supervisors to ascertain their cultural diversity and sensitivity. The study results were determined by using a t-test and exploratory factor analysis to examine if a need for cultural diversity training existed in the SLP field for speech-language pathologists in the United States. The researcher used a survey targeting SLP supervisors regarding their experiences with working with culturally diverse graduate students. The survey utilized a 5-point Likert scale to ascertain the supervisory experiences of SLPs. The intent of the survey was to ascertain the thoughts and beliefs of SLP supervisors who have had experience with graduate students with diverse backgrounds. Results of the study revealed that SLP supervisors have limited experiences with cultural diversity training as it specifically pertains to supervision of culturally diverse graduate students.

Many organizations struggle to adapt to the increasing volatility, insecurity, complexity, and ambiguity of contemporary business environments. The implementation of agile practices within such organizations can facilitate their adaptation to change and can contribute to organizational continuity. Agility is defined as the continuous readiness to create, embrace, and learn from change. Therefore, the concept of agility is widely applied in practical team settings to address their increased complexity. However, prior literature on agility has primarily focused on software development and on agility in technical contexts. Analyzing the human elements of agility sheds light on the ways in which agile teams foster adaptability and promote innovation. Accordingly, the overall research objective of the present dissertation is to examine the concept of agility from a psychological perspective to determine the effect of agility on team innovation as well as the factors that moderate and mediate this relationship. To this end, next to the overall research objective this dissertation follows two sub-research objectives. Our first sub-research objective is to study agility in the context of cultural diversity. Globalization has significantly increased the prevalence and importance of culturally diverse teams. Within working environments, diversity is widely seen as a double-edged sword that intensifies interpersonal conflicts on the one hand and promotes creativity and innovation on the other. Therefore, a related research objective of this dissertation is to explore the potential mediating effect of agility on the relationship between cultural diversity and team innovation. The second sub-research objective is to analyze the relationships between agility and psychological empowerment and between agility and empowering leadership. The widespread use of agility in practical team settings has led to questions about how to properly implement agility. It is argued that the successful introduction of agility depends on the interpretation of agility as a working structure that promotes feelings of psychological empowerment. Psychological empowerment is a psychological state closely aligned with intrinsic motivation that incorporates a combination of experiences of meaning, self-determination, competence, and impact at work. Empowering leadership describes the behavior of a leader who uses encouragement and mentorship to support their team(s) in acting autonomously. In this vein, the final research objective of this dissertation is to analyze the mediating effect of psychological empowerment and the moderating effect of empowering leadership on the relationship between agility and innovation. To achieve the research objectives, we conducted three empirical studies. Study 1 contributes to the first research objective—to explore agility in the context of cultural diversity. The study is built on the ambiguous effects of team cultural diversity presented in the literature. A qualitative methodology was selected to analyze how culturally diverse teams work together and which factors promote collaboration. Our analysis identified team agility as a novel factor influencing the relationship between culturally diverse teams and performance. Study 1 thus laid the foundation for achieving our research goal and proved the relevance of agility for culturally diverse teams in the first place. Further investigating our first research objective, Study 2 used a quantitative design to examine culturally diverse teams and agility. This study, therefore, pursued a dual purpose. First, we investigated empowering leadership as a moderating condition for culturally diverse teams and its link to innovation. Second, we explored how psychological agility mediated the relationship between culturally diverse teams and innovation and if this relationship depends on the degree of empowering leadership displayed by the team manager. Our results showed tentative support for the claim that empowering leadership moderates the assumed relationship. However, we found that psychological agility mediated the relationship between perceived team cultural diversity and innovation, albeit to a small degree. Owing to the inconclusive findings of Study 2 on the relationship between agility and empowering leadership, in Study 3, we addressed this research objective in more depth, focusing on psychological empowerment. We investigated psychological empowerment as mediator of the effect of structural agility on organizational attractiveness and intention to apply. In addition, we investigated the moderating role of openness to experience. We assumed that organizations could attract potential applicants by implementing agility. The analysis yielded two findings. Referring to the personality hypothesis, our results found no support for openness to experience as a moderator of the relationship between structural agility and organizational attractiveness. However, our results showed that structural agility indirectly predicted organizational attractiveness and intention to apply through psychological empowerment. Taken together, the propositions and empirical results of this dissertation provide valuable first steps toward better understanding the effects of agility on team innovation and the factors that mediate and moderate this relationship. From a theoretical perspective, we introduced the categorization of agility in psychological and structural terms. This categorization allowed us to show the differing effects of various aspects of agility. Our findings illustrated the mediating effect of psychological agility on innovation as well as the importance of psychological empowerment in the implementation of structural agility. These insights constitute the foundation for future research aimed at understanding the complex interplay of agility and psychological empowerment within the context of cultural diversity. / Viele Organisationen kämpfen mit der Anpassung an die zunehmende Volatilität, Unsicherheit, Komplexität und Mehrdeutigkeit der heutigen Wirtschaftsumgebung. Die Implementierung agiler Praktiken in Organisationen kann die Anpassung an den Wandel erleichtern und zum organisatorischen Fortbestand beitragen. Agilität ist definiert als die kontinuierliche Bereitschaft, Veränderungen zu schaffen, anzunehmen und daraus zu lernen. Daher wird das Konzept der Agilität häufig in Teams angewendet, um mit der erhöhten Komplexität umzugehen. Die bisherige Literatur zu Agilität hat sich jedoch hauptsächlich auf die Softwareentwicklung und auf Agilität in technischen Kontexten konzentriert. Wie agile Teams die Anpassungsfähigkeit fördern und Innovationen vorantreiben, kann jedoch nur durch die Analyse der menschlichen Elemente von Agilität beleuchtet werden. Dementsprechend ist das übergeordnete Forschungsziel der vorliegenden Dissertation das Konzept der Agilität aus psychologischer Perspektive zu untersuchen. Ziel ist den Effekt von Agilität auf Teaminnovation sowie die Faktoren, die diese Beziehung moderieren und vermitteln, zu bestimmen. Neben diesem übergeordneten Ziel verfolgt die Dissertation zwei untergeordnete Forschungsziele. Das erste untergeordnete Forschungsziel lautet Agilität im Kontext kultureller Vielfalt zu untersuchen. Durch die Globalisierung ist die Prävalenz und Bedeutung von kulturell vielfältigen Teams deutlich erhöht. In Arbeitskontext wird Diversität jedoch weithin als zweischneidiges Schwert gesehen, das einerseits zwischenmenschliche Konflikte verschärft und andererseits Kreativität und Innovation fördert. Daher ist es ein Ziel dieser Dissertation den potenziell vermittelnden Effekt von Agilität auf die Beziehung zwischen kultureller Vielfalt und Teaminnovation zu untersuchen. Das zweite untergeordnete Forschungsziel ist die Analyse der Beziehungen zwischen Agilität und psychologischem Empowerment und zwischen Agilität und befähigender Führung. Der weit verbreitete Wunsch nach mehr Agilität in der Praxis wirft die Fragen auf, wie Agilität am besten implementiert werden kann. Es wird argumentiert, dass die erfolgreiche Einführung von Agilität unter anderem davon abhängt, inwiefern Agilität als Arbeitsstruktur interpretiert wird, die Gefühle von psychologischem Empowerment auslöst. Psychologisches Empowerment ist ein psychologischer Zustand, der eng mit intrinsischer Motivation verbunden ist und eine Kombination aus Sinnerfahrungen, Selbstbestimmung, Kompetenz und Wirksamkeit bei der Arbeit beinhaltet. Befähigende Führung beschreibt das Verhalten einer Führungskraft, die ihr(e) Team(s) durch Ermutigung und Anleitung darin unterstützt, eigenverantwortlich zu handeln. In diesem Sinne ist das letzte Forschungsziel dieser Dissertation, den vermittelnden Effekt von psychologischem Empowerment und den moderierenden Effekt von befähigender Führung auf die Beziehung zwischen Agilität und Innovation zu analysieren. Um die Forschungsziele zu erreichen, haben wir drei empirische Studien durchgeführt. Studie 1 trägt zum ersten Forschungsziel bei Agilität im Kontext von kultureller Vielfalt zu untersuchen. Die Studie baut auf den in der Literatur dargestellten mehrdeutigen Effekten von kultureller Diversität in Teams auf. Es wurde eine qualitative Methodik gewählt, um zu analysieren, wie kulturell vielfältige Teams zusammenarbeiten und welche Faktoren die Zusammenarbeit fördern. Unsere Analyse identifizierte Teamagilität als einen bisher nicht beachteten Faktor, der die Beziehung zwischen kulturell vielfältigen Teams und Innovation beeinflusst. Studie 1 legte damit den Grundstein unser Forschungsziel zu erreichen und zeigte die Relevanz von Agilität für kulturell vielfältige Teams überhaupt erst auf. Um unser erstes Forschungsziel zu erreichen, verwendete Studie 2 ein quantitatives Design, um den Zusammenhang zwischen kulturell vielfältigen Teams und Agilität tiefgehender zu analysieren. Die Studie verfolgte dabei zwei Ziele. Erstens untersuchten wir befähigende Führung als moderierende Bedingung für kulturell vielfältige Teams und ihre Verbindung zu erhöhter Innovation. Zweitens untersuchten wir, wie psychologische Agilität die Beziehung zwischen kulturell vielfältigen Teams und Innovation vermittelt und ob diese Beziehung von der Ausprägung der befähigenden Führung durch den Teammanager abhängt. Unsere Ergebnisse zeigten eine vorsichtige Tendenz der Annahme, dass befähigende Führung die angenommene Beziehung moderiert. Vor allen Dingen konnten wir aber zeigen, dass psychologische Agilität den Zusammenhang zwischen wahrgenommener kultureller Diversität im Team und Innovation mediiert, wenn auch in geringem Maße. Aufgrund der mit Vorsicht zu interpretierenden Ergebnissen von Studie 2 zum Zusammenhang zwischen Agilität und befähigender Führung haben wir in Studie 3 die Analyse dieses Zusammenhangs vertieft und uns auf die Rolle des psychologischen Empowerments fokussiert. Wir untersuchten psychologisches Empowerment als Mediator des Effekts von struktureller Agilität auf die Organisationsattraktivität und die Bewerbungsabsicht. Darüber hinaus untersuchten wir die moderierende Rolle von Offenheit für Erfahrungen. Wir nahmen an, dass Organisationen durch die Implementierung von Agilität potenzielle Bewerber anziehen können. Die Analyse lieferte zwei zentrale Ergebnisse. Bezogen auf die Persönlichkeitshypothese fanden unsere Ergebnisse keine Unterstützung für Offenheit für Erfahrungen als Moderator der Beziehung zwischen struktureller Agilität und organisatorischer Attraktivität. Als Beitrag zu unserem Forschungsziel zeigten unsere Ergebnisse jedoch, dass strukturelle Agilität indirekt die organisatorische Attraktivität und die Bewerbungsabsicht durch psychologisches Empowerment vorhersagte. Zusammengenommen liefern die theoretischen Beiträge und empirischen Ergebnisse dieser Dissertation wichtige erste Schritte zum besseren Verständnis der Auswirkungen von Agilität auf Teaminnovation und der Faktoren, die diese Beziehung vermitteln und moderieren. Aus einer theoretischen Perspektive haben wir die Kategorisierung von Agilität in psychologische und strukturelle Begriffe eingeführt. Diese Kategorisierung ermöglichte es uns, die unterschiedlichen Effekte verschiedener Aspekte von Agilität aufzuzeigen. Unsere Ergebnisse veranschaulichen den vermittelnden Effekt von psychologischer Agilität auf Innovation sowie die Bedeutung von psychologischem Empowerment bei der Umsetzung von struktureller Agilität. Diese Erkenntnisse bilden die Grundlage für zukünftige Forschung zum Verständnis des komplexen Zusammenspiels von Agilität und psychologischem Empowerment im Kontext kultureller Diversität.

With the rising societal awareness of inclusivity and accurate representation in films and other forms of media, it has become increasingly important that cultural and sexual diversity are not neglected in the material used in education, especially in English Language Teaching (ELT) where the chosen material is supposed to represent the whole English-speaking world. Previous research often focuses on the difference between national and international textbooks and compares the results between them. While some studies have focused on either cultural or sexual diversity, none have included both and there are not many studies that focus on Swedish ELT. Four textbooks were analysed in this study; Short Cuts to English 1 (2001), Streams 1 (2004), Pick & Mix 1 (2013), and Blueprint A (2017). Inclusivity and representation of cultural and sexual diversity were analysed using three models. Analytical methods focused on the aesthetic and sociological senses of culture, the circles of countries, and the levels of heteronormativity in the textbooks. Ourfindings show that there is a lack of inclusivity and representation of sexualities other than heterosexuality, and that even for culture there is a lack of inclusivity outside of English-speaking countries. Results indicate that the four textbooks used in this study did not display a high level of inclusivity regarding sexual diversity. Although still small, levels of inclusivity and representation of different cultures were greater.

Today’s world is vastly impacted by the effects of immigration and globalization. The cultural diversity in the student population in the United States continues to grow steadily along with the immigrant population. Although there is a large body of research that is concerned with culturally responsive teaching in music education, preservice teacher preparation to address and serve diverse communities, as well as issues of recruitment of diverse educators, there is a gap in the literature when it comes to the perspectives of international music educators in the United States. Researchers have provided information on diverse student populations and resources for music educators of non-diverse backgrounds, but the voices of international music teachers have not yet been heard. International music teachers could possess unique insights, and might be able to relate to students in a way that most music teachers cannot. They are also equipped with different experiences due to their own diverse backgrounds. In this study, interviews of international music teachers provide a conduit to gain understanding of their experiences, reflections and suggestions in order to provide an unexplored perspective for the field of music education.

Parents have been involved in the education of their children since the early days of our nation. Their roles have evolved from teaching the basics of reading writing and arithmetic in Colonial times to overseeing the selection of teachers and designing the curriculum during the early 1800s to providing academic support in the home up through the present time. Although educators are generally viewed as professionals and in charge of their students' education, the importance of parental involvement is readily acknowledged. Confusing to both parents and educators is what constitutes parental involvement. The research revealed numerous definitions for the term, but none that were universally agreed upon. This lack of a clear delineation of roles has both parties struggling to make sense of their separate and joint responsibilities. Add to this confusion the complex issues surrounding linguistic and cultural diversity and both sides become mired in their differences rather than building upon their commonalities. Barriers to parental involvement can come from the family as well as the school. The purpose of this study was to examine those barriers from the perspective of educators as well as parents. A convenience sample was taken from the population of elementary schools in a Central Florida county. Parents of students from ethnic minorities were asked to complete a survey questionnaire regarding their experiences with the classroom teacher as well as involvement in their child's education. Elementary school teachers from the same county were given the opportunity to respond to an online survey questionnaire regarding their attitudes about cultural and language diversity and parental engagement at school and with learning. Five hundred and fifty parent surveys and one hundred sixty-six teacher surveys were completed. The data analysis will show which factors influence parent involvement and how similarly parents and teachers feel about parent involvement.

Culturally diverse clients often face barriers to accessing and using health and education services, which may affect the clients’ performance outcomes and impact the quality of services. These barriers include practitioners’ insufficient cultural competence and humility and an ineffective health care system. The Cultural Humility program aims to train and educate occupational therapy practitioners to gain confidence and improve their cultural humility and practical communication skills to maintain, establish, and manage therapeutic relationships. The program duration will be twelve 2-hour biweekly sessions over 6 months, in person at clinical settings or on a virtual platform. The program includes learning modules, such as lectures, simulation or video modeling, and discussion sessions with brain-based learning for occupational therapy practitioners. The program will provide meaningful opportunities for practitioners to reflect on their practice attitudes, gain confidence, change their mindsets, and learn practical communication skills for use with clients from various cultural backgrounds. The aim of the Cultural Humility program is to apply these practical techniques related to cultural humility, bringing synergy and authenticity to practitioners’ daily practice, and improving their clients’ performance and outcomes.

This study investigates the ways in which mathematics teacher educators (MTEs) influence future mathematics teachers' (FMT) understanding of learners’ cultural diversity. The rationale for cultural diversity is grounded in theories of culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP). The context of the study is similar to the use of differentiated instruction, where learners from different academic levels are offered varied strategies to access mathematics content. In a similar manner, this study investigates the recognition and consideration of learners’ diverse cultural backgrounds to develop teaching strategies. Ultimately, this research aims to contribute to the development of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in teaching. A key way to develop PCK is by empowering individual learners to embrace their cultural identity and develop their professional identity. The study also points out the need to examine cultural identity when developing teaching strategies because of the diverse student and FMT population. With the changing classroom composition alongside progress in understanding cultural diversity, there is a need to explore the ways MTEs influence and model understandings of culture to FMTs for the development of PCK. From this premise, culturally competent teachers create instruction that can improve student academic achievement by incorporating aspects of and giving value to learners’ cultural diversity. Creating this type of instruction means recognizing students' cultural upbringing and fostering it to develop strong relationships between school and community. The benefits of doing so advance social goals and create culturally responsive learning environments. Findings reveal that MTEs are less interested in familiarising themselves with their student teachers' cultural identity, and getting to know the FMTs' academic level is the extent of information required to initiate academic self-efficacy. More research on CRP in teacher education is warranted to influence and build a new generation of creative and innovative teachers in culturally diverse classrooms.

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