Institutional Competencies
Diversity in the German Youth Service: Effects of Diversity on Colleagues and Clients
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Timo Schreiner
Youth service is part of Germany's welfare system and has a monitoring and counseling function. Within this current research, youth service is seen as an organisation with its own culture and rituals. Using organisational pedagogy, how diversity is defined and handled shall be analysed. The case study is based on the Grounded Theory and designed as a mixed method research. Interviews on all levels of the organisation were implemented. No fixed term of "diversity" was set, so the definition of diversity comes from members of the organisation itself. All employees of the organisation were asked with a questionnaire about their (social-)demographic data (age, gender, migration, etc.). The data were combined and first results shown. Migration Background e.g. is seen as a strategy to get into contact with the clients but the rate of migration within the organisation is very low, far beneath the communal average. Furthermore, diversity is seen as very positive and indicated as a factor for a good work climate, but there is also a very high identification with the own department and a high demarcation to the rest of the organisation. These results show that the effects of diversity were occasionally seen and interpreted contradictorially.
Connected Learning: Opportunities and Obstacles for Negotiating Intercultural Competency
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Terra Gargano
Through a lens grounded in the six foundational characteristics of connected learning (interest-powered, production centered, peer supported, shared purpose, academically oriented, and openly-networked) this study will identify how online mediated learning through networked sites, in combination with professional training and personal experiences, influence the development of intercultural competency in graduate students. Questionnaires and interviews illuminate insights into how groups, platforms, resources, support structures, and relationships influence the negotiation of intercultural competency and cultural empathy. This research lies at the intersection of higher education, intercultural competency, and connected learning by examining why students participate and persist in the development of intercultural competency, what challenges students face along the way, how students reconcile conflict and create opportunities, and how students define salient learning outcomes.
Using Evidence to Increase Cultural Competence during a Disaster Cycle: Educational Initiative for Healthcare Providers
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Stephanie Pierce
This program was developed at the Center for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response at a school of Nursing. The importance of training and educating health care providers in emergency preparedness and disaster response, and the need for cultural sensitivity in disasters has been well documented in the literature. The strengthening of the current state of emergency preparedness among health care professionals in Louisiana is still necessary twelve years after Hurricane Katrina. The training programs provide leadership, management skills, and policy development focused specifically on culturally competent nursing care during emergencies and disasters. The training programs are designed using various online and distance learning modalities as well as face-to-face educational programs for undergraduate and graduate student nurses and practicing registered nurses. Three core courses and ten specialty courses focus on increasing knowledge, understanding, and judgment to minimize health hazards and life-threatening damage to vulnerable populations during disasters. Courses offered online use materials to disseminate best practices on emergency preparedness and disaster management with the outcome of developing leaders that can create work environments that are educated on culturally competent interventions using a all hazards approach. Participation in the programs prepare nurses to lead and transform the health care delivery system through training, research, and utilization of resources and technology. The project directly impacts the Preparedness objective outlined in Healthy People 2020.
