Increasingly, government and educational institutions are turning to study abroad programs as one of the primary means of providing students with important cross-cultural and linguistic skills. However, because of constraints on time and financial resources most students participate in short term programs lasting approximately two months. Additionally, research regarding students’ linguistic and cultural growth in study abroad shows that some students gain far more from their participation than others. The purpose of this study was to examine the cultural and linguistic learning that takes place in short-term programs and discover some of the factors that predict students’ growth while abroad. This study examined the relationship between important factors such as students’ level of cultural sensitivity, students’ relationship with their host family, motivation to learn the language, the amount of time students’ spent interacting with native speakers, as well as students’ oral language skills during a seven-week study abroad program. Surveys were used to measure each of the variables except for students’ oral language skills. To measure changes in oral skills, the researcher created an innovative instrument in which native speakers rated clips of student speech in the target language from before and after their time abroad. As found in previous research, students varied greatly in the amount of progress made in oral language skills and cultural sensitivity while abroad. However, students generally demonstrated small, but significant improvements in their oral language skills, despite the brief nature of their program. Further, the instrument created to measure growth in oral language skills showed high reliability. Interestingly, students’ level of cultural sensitivity prior to going abroad predicted changes in oral language skills. These results provide support for students’ participation in short-term study abroad programs since students generally experience noticeable improvements in language skills. They also suggest that students who are more culturally sensitive may have an advantage in language learning during study abroad programs. These results could be helpful for administrators in determining who may benefit most from such programs and may suggest that helping students gain cultural sensitivity could also aid students’ language learning. / text

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 29.1 million people in the United States have diabetes. Among those 29.1 million people, 21 million have been diagnosed, but 8.1 million have not. Changing demographics in the United States and the prevalence of diabetes are projected to be burdens on the health care system through 2050. Guided by the social cognitive theory, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand the importance of culturally appropriate patient-provider communication to the self-management of Type 2 diabetes by patients who are African immigrants. Culturally based health care has unique challenges when delivering culturally appropriate diabetes care, so a focus on cultural knowledge, intercultural patient-provider communication skills, and cultural assessment were key to this case study. One pilot study was conducted to test the focus group questions with 3 diabetes providers (i.e., certified nurse diabetes educator [CDE], registered nutritionist, and dietitian) who help patients to self-manage their diabetes. The second pilot study was conducted with 5 African immigrant patients who had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. The primary focus groups were conducted with 5 CDEs and 10 patients. The transcribed responses were analyzed and categorized to identify the 17 themes that emerged (9 from the CDEs and 8 from the patients). One implication for social change is that a patient-centered approach to patient-provider communication will mean better health outcomes. To ensure culturally appropriate patient-provider communication, a change in health care delivery is required to incorporate cultural constructs as part of diabetes care and education to accommodate various ethnic and racial groups.

The research describes the experience of a southern white teacher who lived and worked in a remote community in Canada's Far North.<p> The impact of physical relocation and culture shock are discussed, as well as problems encountered when conflicting views of education and life goals meet in a cross-cultural setting. The thesis explores some of the difficulties facing mainstream teachers of Indigenous students when issues of past colonialism and present injustices come into play.<p> Inuit community literacies (visual, kinesic and oral traditions) are explored and contrasted with traditional definitions of literacy, which center on the paramount importance of the printed word. Power issues are discussed, including the role played by literacy education in maintaining control in the hands of the dominant culture.<p> The research is qualitative and phenomenological in nature. The teaching experience is viewed through a critical lens, and attempts to better understand the writer's southern white middle-class background as it relates to differing worldviews. The author recounts the process of re-examining assumptions of her own culture, and describes her personal and professional journey of coming to grips with its impact on her teaching.<p>

The research describes the experience of a southern white teacher who lived and worked in a remote community in Canada's Far North.<p> The impact of physical relocation and culture shock are discussed, as well as problems encountered when conflicting views of education and life goals meet in a cross-cultural setting. The thesis explores some of the difficulties facing mainstream teachers of Indigenous students when issues of past colonialism and present injustices come into play.<p> Inuit community literacies (visual, kinesic and oral traditions) are explored and contrasted with traditional definitions of literacy, which center on the paramount importance of the printed word. Power issues are discussed, including the role played by literacy education in maintaining control in the hands of the dominant culture.<p> The research is qualitative and phenomenological in nature. The teaching experience is viewed through a critical lens, and attempts to better understand the writer's southern white middle-class background as it relates to differing worldviews. The author recounts the process of re-examining assumptions of her own culture, and describes her personal and professional journey of coming to grips with its impact on her teaching.<p>

AFRIKAANS : ‘n Intra-vergelykende verkenning is onderneem van die gebruik van simboliese materiaal in projeksieplate met kinders. Ondersoek is ingestel na die appèlwaarde en stimuluspotensiaal van projeksieplate met simboliese materiaal. ‘n Meervoudige gevallestudie-model met vier deelnemers is gevolg. ‘n Postmoderne, kwalitatiewe navorsingsontwerp met die sosiaal-konstruktivistiese perspektief as grondslag, het as raamwerk vir hierdie studie gedien. Die response op die projeksieplate met simboliese materiaal is intra-vergelykend geweeg teen die response op die TAT-plate. Die wyse waarop kinders se response beïnvloed is deur die gebruik van simboliese materiaal in projeksieplate, hoe projektief betekenisvol die response was en die duidinge wat volgens die projeksie-, struktuur- en meta-analise na vore gekom het, is verken. Hoofbevindinge dui op geval-unieke response wat deur die projeksieplate met simboliese materiaal ontlok is. Alhoewel hoë appèlwaarde bevind is, het meer assosiasies eerder as projeksies voorgekom. Relevante projeksie-inhoud is egter wel deur die projeksieplate met simboliese materiaal ontlok, alhoewel die projeksie-inhoud minder eksplisiet voorgekom het. ENGLISH : An intra- comparative exploration of the utility of symbolic material in projection plates for assessment purposes with children was undertaken. Investigation was specifically centred on the appeal value and stimulus potential of projection plate content with symbolic material depictions. A Postmodern, qualitative research approach was maintained and the social-constructivist paradigm functioned as a framework for the study. Within this overarching design framework, a multiple case study design was used and four children acted as case participants. The responses of each child participant to the projection plates with symbolic material illustrations were compared with his/her responses to Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) projection plates. In particular, the manner in which the children’s responses were influenced by the use of symbolic material in projection plates, how qualitatively meaningful their responses were and the indicators that came to the fore in the projection, structure and meta analyses were explored. The study’s main findings indicate case-specific responses that were elicited by the projection plates with symbolic material. Although the symbolic material projection plates were found to have heightened appeal value for the participants in this study, more associations rather than actual projections were apparent. Relevant projection content was thus found although it was not so explicit as in the case of the projection content found in the TAT responses. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

The study examined the typical development of early literacy in a group of typically developing preschool Sepedi first language children residing in Atteridgeville, by determining their performance on a protocol of early literacy tasks. The following aspects were included: written language awareness, narrative abilities, phonological awareness, letter name knowledge, grapheme-phoneme correspondence and literacy motivation. The performance of the participants on the various tasks was used to describe the early literacy development of the target population and to identify relevant risk criteria that may indicate delayed early literacy development in the target population. The performance of participants on these tasks differed from those of other participants in local and international studies, which underscores the necessity of culturally sensitive procedures for identifying delays in the early literacy development of children. The influence of factors such as the mother’s level of education, gender, participants’ level of engagement in literacy activities and participants' current academic performance on the development of early literacy skills were also investigated. Based on the results as well as other indications from the literature, possible risk factors for delayed early literacy development for this group are listed. / Dissertation (M (Communication Pathology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology / unrestricted

In the United States, asthma remains a major cause of frequent urgent care visits, hospitalizations, and preventable deaths among children. Nationwide, the chronic disease continues to fall disproportionately on minorities, mostly residing in urban localities. When a child is diagnosed with asthma, the parents are typically tasked with managing the child's condition. Establishing a collaborative partnership between parents and their child's primary physician is significant for improving asthma self-management among youth. Using the theory of reasoned action as a theoretical framework, this mixed-methods study examined whether a relationship exists between parental perceptions of physician cultural sensitivity and parental care in asthma treatment adherence. Phenomenology was used to explore the real-world experiences of study five ethnic minority parents and one guardian grandparent of asthmatic children aged 0–17 who shared similar perspectives. Descriptive surveys were used in combination with in-depth interviews to develop an understanding of parental perceptions on physician cultural sensitivity related to asthma treatment adherence. Overall, 108 minority parents were eligible to complete the survey. The study findings revealed that parents who feel recognized, valued, and respected by their child's physician were more likely to be engaged in shared decision-making about treatment. The findings support the potential for positive social change in terms of modifying the health care behaviors of minority parents with asthmatic children, increasing parental self-efficacy in managing their child's asthma, and improving the cultural sensitivity of physicians who serve the needs of diverse minority families.

Modern technology has provided foreign language teachers with several methods of connecting their classes and students to native speakers of target languages. Much of the existing research about these online conversations is focused on changes in students' proficiency or cultural sensitivity. Although valuable, the research is lacking in understanding students' experience online including positive and negative feelings, challenges, and students' overall opinion of the exchanges' usefulness. This study was conducted in an effort to better understand students' experience communicating online with native speakers. A third semester Spanish class at Brigham Young University consisting of 18 students was selected as a sample. These students were required to speak online with native Spanish speakers for at least 20 minutes in Spanish each week. Students completed weekly surveys, a final survey, and three students were selected for a semi-structured interview. This study was conducted using a mixed-methods approach, involving both quantitative and qualitative data. The data revealed common struggles that students faced during online exchanges, methods students used for coping with these difficulties, areas of perceived growth as a result of the exchanges, and social factors that had significant impact on students' experience. The study concludes with recommendations of what foreign language educators can do to support their own classes in similar online exchanges. Areas of further investigation regarding online exchanges with native speakers are also recommended.

Background: The society is rapidly changing in a demographic matter. As a result of this nurses are required to be equipped with the right skills and knowledge to approach a more diverse patient group. Hence, the health care is dependent on cultural competent nurses, without them the health care is vulnerable. Previous studies show that nurses are faced with great challenges when it comes to encounters with patients from different cultural backgrounds and that they lack the essential cultural knowledge which effects the quality and standard of care. This means high demands on the nursing curricula to integrate guidelines for cultural competence and educate future nurses in order to make them more prepared for their future profession. Aim: To explore nursing students experiences of practicing cultural competence in care of patients from diverse cultural backgrounds, a qualitative study in Gauteng province, South Africa.  Method: The chosen method was qualitative. Eight individual semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed with inspiration from Burnard’s (1996) four-step content analysis. Findings: The findings showed the main-category: beneficial components in cultural competent care, with three sub-categories: positive attitudes and adapting of care, gaining knowledge from cultural encounters with patients and existing contextual insights of own culture and other cultures. The beneficial components included the positive attitudes of the participants and their ability to adapt the care around cultural challenges. Gaining knowledge from cultural encounters with patients and having existing contextual insights of own culture facilitated the encounters with patients. Findings also showed the main-category: barriers in providing a cultural competent care with three sub-categories: disrupted communication, limited levels of cultural knowledge and lack of trust. Disrupted communication was mostly due to the language barrier, a huge problem as important information was left out and the system of getting interpreters faulted. The limited levels of cultural knowledge were based on limited knowledge about different cultures. Lack of trust originated from patients’ strong cultural belief while disbelieving in the westernized health care which resulted in a non-trusting relationship between health care personnel and patients.  Conclusion: There were several barriers as well as facilitators, though the barriers were more dominating in character. Therefore, more education is needed so nursing students feel empowered and more secure when encountering patients from different cultures. Continuing education is also needed for registered nurses as well as prospective and further research is required in order to obtain the best resources for implementation of cultural competence.

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