Abstract
Participation in intensive, immersive, service-learning study abroad programs with intentional intercultural activities embedded in the course curriculum has been shown to enhance cultural competence as measured via the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI®) (Krishnan, Masters, Holgate, Wang & Calahan, 2017; Krishnan, Lin & Benson, 2020). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relative impact of embedding intercultural learning activities on students’ intercultural competence when included in an on-campus course compared to a study abroad program. The intervention group consisted of 34 students enrolled in the on-campus course which incorporated intentional intercultural activities. Forty-one students who did not take the course comprised the control group. Comparison of the pre- and post-IDI® scores showed a significant increase in intercultural competence in the intervention group and no change in score in the control group participants. Qualitative data supported these findings. The increase in group mean score is slightly lower than group mean score increases in study-abroad students. Results indicate that incorporating intentional intercultural learning activities in an on-campus course can be an effective mechanism for students to enhance intercultural competence without travelling abroad.
Highlights
Cultural competence is an important skill in any healthcare profession to work successfully with individuals from diverse backgrounds
Pre- and post- developmental orientation (DO) scores were compared within and across groups to evaluate whether completion of the Massive open online courses (MOOCs) led to increases in participant intercultural competence
Results from this study showed that utilizing the MOOC on Understanding Diversity and Inclusion (Calahan, n.d.) as an intercultural learning (ICL) activity was an effective means of teaching intercultural competence and led to a significant increase in mean DO scores in the intervention group compared to the control group that did not participate in the MOOC
Summary
Cultural competence is an important skill in any healthcare profession to work successfully with individuals from diverse backgrounds. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) acknowledges this by requiring students in audiology and speech-language pathology (SLP) to receive instruction and demonstrate knowledge and skills in this area in order to meet the needs and demands of an increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse patient population (Council on Academic Accreditation; CAA, 2017). The ASHA Council for Clinical Certification (CFCC) mandates that individuals applying for clinical certification from ASHA demonstrate knowledge and skills to provide developmentally, linguistically and culturally appropriate services to individuals from diverse backgrounds (CFCC, 2018). The importance of training students in providing culturally sensitive care has been recognized across other healthcare professions such as nursing (e.g., Kelleher, 2013), medicine (e.g., Godkin & Savageau, 2001), pharmacy (e.g., Steeb et al, 2020), and physical therapy (e.g., Hayward & Li, 2014). Across disciplines, there are no consistent guidelines or clear evidence to differentiate between the various instructional approaches used to teach cultural competence (e.g., Kelleher, 2013)
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