Browsing by Subject "Intercultural sensitivity"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Factors that contribute to the intercultural sensitivity of school counselors in international schools: a path analysis
    (2014-10) Steuernagel, Jeffrey Alan
    This study explored the intercultural sensitivity of 334 school counselors in international schools that were citizens of 39 nations and represented international schools in 74 countries. The purpose of the study was to identify personal and professional factors influencing intercultural sensitivity. The developmental model of intercultural sensitivity (DMIS), a six-stage progression model that depicts how individuals construe their experience with cultural difference, was the theoretical framework for the study. The study followed a quantitative, non-experimental design, and used the Intercultural Development Inventory®, version 3, a psychometrically valid instrument based on the DMIS, to measure intercultural sensitivity. A demographic questionnaire measured the personal and professional predictor variables. Multiple variable regression and path analysis were used to predict and posit a path diagram. Results from the IDI v3 revealed that school counselors in international schools are working from the minimization stage (N = 334, M = 99.5) a transitional placement that highlights cultural commonality that can mask deeper recognition of cultural differences. School counselors who had coursework in multicultural counseling, or professional development in intercultural competence or intercultural communication had statistically significant higher levels of intercultural sensitivity. School counselors aged 41-50 years had significantly higher mean IDI developmental orientation scores than those aged 22-30 years. The length of time school counselors studied abroad and the total years spent outside of the school counselor's passport country were significantly correlated with intercultural sensitivity. The results also indicated that the Intercultural Development Activity Index was significantly correlated with higher levels of intercultural sensitivity. Specifically, paying attention to cultural differences during travel, and frequency of personal interactions in which one tries to understand the cultural perspective of a culturally different person, were the most significantly correlated variables to intercultural sensitivity. The results of the regression to predict intercultural sensitivity indicated a combination of variables explained 14% of the variance depicting a statistically significant model with a small effect size. A path diagram shows the relationships of the personal and professional predictors of intercultural sensitivity development. Positive influences and challenges of school counselors' intercultural development and implications for practice are discussed.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Understanding the Development of the Intercultural Sensitivity of Personnel in the U.S. Armed Forces
    (2022-12) Arado, Maria Sheila
    Given the nature of recent and anticipated military engagements, there is growing interest in infusing more cultural learning into U.S. military training to prepare military personnel more effectively to respond to security challenges in international theaters of operation as part of increasingly diverse U.S. Armed Forces. Costly errors and painful lessons from U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq since the early 2000s amplified this need and convinced the Department of Defense that its military personnel must have the necessary knowledge, skills, and intercultural competence to meet the demands of frequent and challenging complex multicultural engagements. This study contributes significantly to the state of knowledge about the level of intercultural sensitivity of U.S. military personnel and the personal and professional factors underlying these orientations. A multimethod protocol involving the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), surveys, and in-depth interviews generated data on 64 service members, including enlisted personnel and officers, who studied at a military language school from 2006–2021. The research revealed that a majority of subjects has Minimization and Defense/Polarization orientations, which is consistent with other professionals, and that most significantly overestimated their intercultural sensitivity to a greater degree than subjects in other studies. Less than five percent scored in the lowest category, Denial. Less than five percent scored in the fourth-highest category, Acceptance, while none scored at the highest level, Adaptation. Personal and demographic factors contributing most to intercultural sensitivity were family upbringing, living in culturally diverse areas, intercultural encounters, foreign language proficiency, and ethnicity and race. The most influential professional factors were integrating culture into language training, ongoing cultural training, cultural knowledge, frequency of intercultural encounters in multiple contexts, and leadership attitudes. The findings provide valuable insights for scholars, policy makers, curriculum developers, military leaders, and others actively involved in working with and training U.S. military personnel.