Cross-cultural Workers Research Articles

When signature pedagogies clash: Making way for the oral majority with connected learning

In McCloskey’s classic Make Way for Ducklings, two mallards attempt to raise their brood in busy Boston. The ducklings struggle with city life, and the family needs help navigating that environment to travel to a safer island home. Throughout the story, kind advocates stop traffic and make way for these vulnerable residents. Likewise, a large group of vulnerable adults finds the literate world less than inviting. Adults with limited formal education (ALFE, al-phee) or oral learners often need others to make way for them as well. Whether due to war, catastrophe, cultural beliefs, learning disabilities, or family circumstances, oral learners may lack educational opportunities and prefer non-textual ways of learning. Ranging from refugees to the average day laborer, billions participate in this shared identity and vastly outnumber highly literate adults. The ways ALFE learn differ significantly from that of cross-cultural workers who seek to share God’s Word with them. Global servants tend to learn by lecture and discussion, critical analysis, or tackling exegesis and preaching, signature pedagogies of western theological education. However, these familiar pedagogies are foreign to oral learners. What happens when two sets of signature pedagogies meet and clash? Do literates make way for oral learners, or are these adults forced into a reading mode? This article explores the foundational learning culture of ALFE and the signature pedagogies they prefer. Research-backed advice equips advocates to make way for ALFE and serves to inform the training of global workers to utilize connected learning pedagogies.

Racialized Experiences with Host Nationals: The Experiences of U.S. Religious Cross-cultural Workers of Color

Abstract Religious cross-cultural workers of color (RCCWC s) from the United States serve in international contexts with their own racialized dynamics. In order to explore how race shapes RCCWC s’ experiences with host nationals, sixteen qualitative interviews with RCCWC s were conducted. Three major findings emerged from the data: (1) sharing a similar racial or ethnic identity with host nationals results in perceived advantages and disadvantages, (2) racialized encounters prompted reflection on racial and ethnic identity, and (3) strategies developed to deal with racialized fatigue contributed to resilience. The findings of this study contribute to the academic literature on race in intercultural contexts and have practical implications for U.S. sending organizations and RCCWC s.

Perspectives of women and partners from migrant and refugee backgrounds accessing the Cross Cultural Worker Service in maternity and early childhood services—a survey study

BackgroundWomen from migrant and refugee backgrounds living in high-income countries have increased risk of adverse perinatal outcomes and report lower satisfaction with perinatal healthcare. In Sydney, Australia, a new service known as the Cross Cultural Workers (CCWs) in Maternity and Child and Family Health Service (the CCW Service) was implemented to support such women and families from pregnancy to the early parenting period. This study aimed to ascertain the experiences of women and their partners engaging with the CCW Service.MethodsA survey study was undertaken. Women accessing the CCW Service were recruited during pregnancy and were asked to complete surveys at three time points: in the third trimester of pregnancy, at 6 and 12 months postpartum. Their partners were invited to complete a survey at 6 months postpartum. Survey data were analysed to compare satisfaction, usefulness, number of CCW interactions, cultural sensitivity, and service improvement recommendations across all three survey timepoints.ResultsA total of 231 surveys were received: 113 during pregnancy, 50 at 6-months postpartum, 44 at 12-months postpartum, and 24 partner surveys. Participants in all surveys reported the CCW Service to be useful (84–94%), stating that it increased their understanding of pregnancy, birth and parenting (95–100%), and that they would recommend the CCW Service (92–98%). Participants experienced a high level of satisfaction (88–95%) irrespective of the number of CCW interactions (p = 0.42). Thoughts on becoming a mother or parent were more positive after meeting the CCW than before for both women (p = 0.01) and partners (p = 0.12). Suggestions for CCW Service improvement were to 1) increase the provision of information, specifically financial entitlements, postnatal depression, and support services, 2) increase involvement of partners in care, 3) increase the CCW workforce/or number of CCWs.ConclusionThe CCW Service was associated with positive experiences and high rates of satisfaction at all timepoints. This service has the potential to inform the implementation of similar models of care that improve accessibility, the perinatal experience, and respond to the unique needs of women and families from migrant and refugee backgrounds.

Experienced Social Support and Cultural Humility for Faith-Based Cross-Cultural Workers During COVID-19

Employees of faith-based international organizations have been shown to be uniquely at risk for mental health symptoms, including depression and posttraumatic stress, while social support has been demonstrated to be an important protective factor. Cultural humility, which is understood as an openness to appreciate and learn from others, has also been shown to contribute to wellbeing for cross-cultural employees. Eighty-eight cross-cultural faith-based workers completed the Hopkins Symptom Checklist, Social Provisions Scale, and Cultural Humility Scale as a part of a larger needs assessment conducted in late 2020 during the global COVID-19 pandemic. It was hypothesized that social support would relate inversely to mental health symptoms, and that cultural humility would moderate the relationship between support and symptoms. Path analysis confirmed this hypothesis. When participants reported moderate to high levels of cultural humility, there was a strengthened relationship between social support and lower mental health symptoms. Thus, cultural humility appears to activate the relationship between social support and reduced mental health symptoms. International organizations can contribute to employee resilience in traumatic contexts by promoting both cultural humility and social support.

“You Hide Pieces of Yourself”: Navigating White Spaces as U.S. Missionaries of Color

While extensive research has been conducted on the experiences of racial and ethnic minorities in predominately white institutions (PWIs) in the United States, there has been little research that examines the experiences of U.S. racial and ethnic minorities that serve for religious reasons with PWIs in international settings. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand how race shapes the relationship of long-term U.S. missionaries of color with their missions organization and teammates. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with sixteen long-term U.S. missionaries of color serving internationally. The findings point to a number of ways that race shapes the experiences of these missionaries and have important implications for cross-cultural workers of diverse backgrounds as well as cross-cultural work teams and sending organizations. The results also point to the need for more research on diverse work teams in international settings.

African American missionaries serving overseas: A surprising numerical and demographic analysis of US-born Blacks in missions

A census of African American cross-cultural overseas missionaries was completed between 2020 and mid-2021, encompassing data gathered since 1998. Over 600 mission agencies listed in the North American Mission Handbook were canvassed for US-born Black missionaries, and comparisons made between data from the 21st and 22nd editions. A slight majority of the 179 African American foreign missionaries located were single, and 57% of marrieds were in inter-ethnic marriages. Almost half of these cross-cultural workers served in Africa. Not more than 10% were found in any one mission agency, and 21% of missionaries were salaried.

Cross Cultural Workers for women and families from migrant and refugee backgrounds: a mixed-methods study of service providers perceptions

BackgroundWomen from migrant and refugee backgrounds who live in high-income countries are at increased risk of adverse perinatal outcomes, including mental health issues, preterm birth and maternal and infant mortality. There is a need to implement and evaluate models of care to meet their specific needs in order to improve health outcomes, their experiences of care, and overcome barriers to access. In Sydney, Australia, a unique model of care was implemented to support women and families from migrant and refugee backgrounds to access health and community-based services through the continuum of pregnancy to the early parenting period. This model of care is known as the Cross Cultural Workers (CCWs) in Maternity and Child and Family Health Service (the CCW Service). The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of service providers regarding the CCW Service and identify recommendations for improvement.MethodsA mixed-methods study was conducted consisting of surveys and face to face semi-structured interviews. Service providers were recruited from hospital-based maternity and community-based services. Survey data were analysed descriptively. Interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis.ResultsSixty-nine service providers completed surveys and 19 were interviewed. The CCW Service was highly regarded by service providers who perceived it to be critical in improving care for women from migrant and refugee backgrounds. The overarching theme from the interviews was the ability of the CCW Service to act as a ‘bridge to health’ through the provision of culturally responsive care. There were three main categories; supporting access to health and community-based services, improving the healthcare experience, and organisational factors, including part-time hours, capacity, heavy workloads and confusion/lack of clarity regarding the CCW role, which affected CCWs’ capacity to optimally support service providers in providing culturally responsive care. These limitations meant CCWs were not able to meet demand, and fully operationalise the model.ConclusionService providers perceived the CCW model to be a culturally responsive model of care tailored to the needs of women and families from migrant and refugee backgrounds, that reduces barriers to access, and has the potential to improve perinatal outcomes, and women's experience and satisfaction with care.

Cross-Cultural Workers in maternity care in South-Eastern Sydney Local Health District: staff surveys and interviews

Cross-Cultural Workers in maternity care in South-Eastern Sydney Local Health District: staff surveys and interviews

Ministry in laïque France: Understanding history to confront present challenges

This article attempts to provide insight into the challenging and changing religious context for cross-cultural ministry in France in the 21st century. Many of these challenges exist due to the religious history of France, the marginalization of religion, and the unwelcome presence of foreign missionaries in secular France. French laïcité presents a specificity in origin, definition, and evolution which arises from a unique historical context leading to the Law of Separation of Churches and state in 1905. The law abrogated the 1801 Napoleonic Concordat with the Vatican, disestablished the Roman Catholic Church, ended centuries of religious turmoil, declared state neutrality in religious matters, and continues as a subject of debate and dissension 100 years later with the emergence of Islam as the second largest religion in France. Cross-cultural workers enter a ministry context where religion has been progressively removed from public space.

The Implications of Pre-Field Training, Negative Family-Related Events, and Negative Pre-Field Events for Resilience among Cross-Cultural Workers

Cross-cultural workers are often exposed to a host of environmental, interpersonal, and physical stressors. This exposure may lead to negative mental health outcomes such as PTSD, depression, anxiety, or sub-clinical psychological distress. This study sought to investigate risk and resilience factors, both broadly and in-depth, among a group of faith-based cross-cultural workers. An adapted Deployment Risk and Resilience Inventory, 2nd edition (DRRI-2) along with the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale (CD–RISC) were administered to N=268 missionaries and faith-based humanitarian aid workers. A comprehensive correlational analysis revealed significant relationships to risk and resilience in the areas of pre-field preparation, negative family events while on the field, and pre-field negative events. Implications for member care are discussed.

Defining culturally appropriate leadership

The development of Christian leaders is a key need in much of the Global South. Research has shown that churches that have a contextualized pattern of leadership are more likely to grow and less likely to be perceived as foreign. This article describes a process that missionaries can use with local leaders to define a God-honoring, culturally appropriate pattern of Christian leadership. It does this by drawing on research on Millet Christians’ perceptions of what makes a good leader as well as literature on cross-cultural variability in leadership. Three practical steps that cross-cultural workers can take to work with local leaders to define a contextualized pattern of leadership are outlined.

TERAPI KOGNITIF DALAM RESOLUSI KONFLIK UTUSAN LINTAS BUDAYA


 Di satu sisi, pelayanan lintas budaya dengan tim kerja utusan lintas budaya (ULB) kaya akan potensi, namun di sisi yang lain mereka rentan akan masalah komunikasi. Isu resolusi konflik di dalam tim lintas budaya adalah hal yang kerap terjadi dan tidak bisa diabaikan. Pendekatan hermeneutika Surat Filemon dan pendekatan terapi kognitif menawarkan pedoman yang baik dan praktis bagi pendampingan resolusi konflik antar ULB.

Cross cultural workers in maternity and child & family health services

In the United States, 45% of pregnancies continue to be unintended. Although many previous studies have focused on external barriers to contraceptive use such as cost or access, fewer studies have evaluated internal barriers such as individual characteristics. We hypothesize that high self-efficacy for contraception will be associated with use of more effective contraceptive methods.The analytic sample is 861 privately insured Pennsylvania women aged 18 to 40 years not intending pregnancy for 12 months at enrollment. Contraceptive self-efficacy (high vs. low) was measured using an eight-item scale. The association of self-efficacy with prescription contraceptive use was determined using multivariable logistic regression adjusting for future pregnancy intention, history of unintended pregnancy, number of live births, non-White race, frequency of sexual intercourse, marital status, and age group.Prescription contraceptive use was higher among those with high self-efficacy (adjusted odds ratio, 1.75; 95% confidence interval, 1.29–2.37).Women with high self-efficacy for contraception had an increased use of prescription contraceptive methods compared with nonprescription methods. Strategies for encouraging effective contraceptive choices in women with low contraceptive self-efficacy should be further studied.

Language capacity is not enough: Be intentional about growing culture and worldview understanding

Understanding a community’s culture and worldview and having capacity in their first language are considered essential elements for engaging in contextual cross-cultural ministry. Many sending organizations provide training, time, resources and programs to help cross-cultural workers grow their language capacity. The same provisions, however, are not often made for gaining culture and worldview understanding. The reasons for this are varied, but include: a tacit belief that adequate culture and worldview understanding occurs naturally with the gaining of language capacity; a belief that workers come equipped for gaining culture and worldview understanding; a lack of suitable culture and worldview inquiry programs, as well as a lack of trained personnel to facilitate them. An Australian cross-cultural ministry sending organization is seeking to address this imbalance structurally in their organization by developing and providing cross-cultural workers with a culture and worldview inquiry program, the facilitation of each cross-cultural worker’s culture and language program, and by training cross-cultural workers in culture and worldview inquiry methods. The results of this are that individuals and teams are growing their language capacities and their understanding of their host communities’ cultures and worldviews, and are applying this knowledge to their engagement with the communities with whom they work.

A theology of diversity with special reference to translation issues in Central Asia

Cross-cultural ministry to Muslims raises questions about communication and the legitimacy of presenting biblical truth in different forms. This paper seeks to address some of those questions through a survey of the biblical storyline by focusing on the development of diverse cultures, languages, and communities in Scripture. After establishing an endorsement of cultural diversity in the Scriptures, the article moves to applying those principles to the task of translation in light of one prevailing theory of communication, namely Relevance Theory (RT). Translation practices offer both risks and opportunities to the church and established theology. The article argues that in engaging other cultures and language, cross-cultural workers should take a posture of risk and experimentation. They should bias their efforts towards the receptor cultures’ understanding even when the existing church may fear a loss of valued theological principles. This applies to the initial questions raised in the article by endorsing creative ways of presenting biblical truth, including ways that co-opt other religious structures.

Cultural competence and cultural humility: A critical reflection on key cultural diversity concepts

Summary Cultural competence has commanded respectable attention since its introduction in cross-cultural discourse. Cultural competence has been presented as a framework capable of promoting culturally sensitive practice and for training cross-cultural workers. However, a smorgasbord of definitions and conceptualizations has generated intense controversy around the construct, with many questioning its relevance or ability to address structural problems. Disenchantment has led to calls to jettison and replace cultural competence with cultural humility. This paper presents a critical reflection on cultural competence and cultural humility, including critiquing the critiques of cultural competence. Findings A critically reflective analysis suggests that semantic appeal does not necessarily give cultural humility a utilitarian edge over the construct it seeks to supplant. Cultural humility appears not to add more value to social work practice than cultural competence. From a social work perspective, cultural humility is essentially a repackaging of anti-oppressive practice; the fundamental ideas underpinning cultural humility have previously been developed and are foundational principles of anti-oppressive social work practice and education. Critical analysis also reveals that many of the critiques of cultural competence lack analytical rigour. Applications Deep-level theoretical analyses can lead to innovative perspectives that allow for critical re-examination of extant methodological approaches and promote culturally empowering social work practices in our super-diverse, postmodern world. Rather than dismissing long-standing, potentially effective theoretical and practice tools with happy abandon, adapting them in light of current developments would help move social work to a new, enlightened level of relevance in working with diversity and difference.

Discerning worldviews: Pedagogical models for conceptualizing worldview distances

As in all disciplines, missiology employs models to describe various complex phenomena such as Winter’s E-Scale and P-Scale of cultural distance, Engel’s model of the “spiritual-decision processes,” the C1 to C6 spectrum of contextualization among Muslims, and Bevans’s models of contextualization laid out on a spectrum. Each of the models has value in facilitating discussion and understanding of a highly complex process and system. Similarly, worldview heuristic models can be used to discern and compare broad areas of reality between diverse peoples. One method of using these pedagogical models to discern worldviews is by investigating three primary components of a worldview, the spiritual realm, the physical realm and the interaction between the spiritual and physical realms. These models also identify five core perceptions of reality to compare between differing worldviews. Utilizing models assists in discussing and discerning differences in core perceptions of reality and provides a means to develop a scale of worldview distance between a Christian worldview and another worldview. Such models are what Paul Hiebert refers to as the “synchronic model of worldviews,” which helps a person to understand how people view the structure of the world or what Clifford Geertz refers to as a “model of reality” to make complex structures comprehensible. The models in this article are pedagogically helpful in assisting cross-cultural workers in discussing and exploring the significance of worldview distances in various cultures with similar or dissimilar core perceptions of reality. The differences in these perceptions have an impact on the contextualization process missionaries face and the worldview distances they need to bridge.

Negotiating identity: Extending and applying Alan Tippett’s model of conversion to believers from Muslim and Hindu backgrounds

This article begins by analysing how the model of conversion developed by Alan Tippett corrects some missionary blind spots. It explores the issue of identity negotiation in conversion and proposes an extension of Tippett’s model that addresses this issue. Challenges that Muslims and Hindus coming to faith in Christ face and pathways of response that they take in negotiating their new identity in Christ are then examined. These challenges and responses are illustrated by case studies from the Middle East, West Africa, Bangladesh, and India. Finally, implications of identity negotiation and of an extended version of Tippett’s model for cross-cultural workers serving new believers from Muslim and Hindu backgrounds are outlined.

타문화권 사역을 위한 통합 영어 훈련 시스템을 위한 예비 연구

Today, there are more than 25000 Korean cross-cultural missionaries serving in more than 170 countries. Communicating in English is increasingly important for comtemporary Christian cross-cultural workers and this poses a challenge for Korean missionaries because of their monolingual background. And this is a concern which has not been appropriately dealt so far and which this study seeks to address. This is a preliminary study on the integrative English training system for Korean missionary candidates for cross-cultural ministry. For this, I look at the role of English as the global language in the modern world and the meaning of it in the Christian cross-cultural ministry. They are followed by the study of existing English training methods and their limitations. Then, I study the principles of the Japanese proficiency test and the ACTFL proficiency guidelines from which the integrative English training system may adopt. Lastly, I suggest the principles of the integrative English training system for Korean missionary candidates for cross-cultural ministry and expected results of it. However, the detailed curriculum and content of the integrative English training system is not included for the nature of this study.

God's Word Became Our Poetry and Sang within Us: Facilitating Contextualisation through Indigenous Poetry

Many cultures around the world esteem poetry as a medium for communicating truth and preserving traditions, and which can impact peoples’ cognitive, affective and volitional dimensions of life. This exploratory project discusses the necessity of effectively contextualising theology for indigenous churches, and the inherently beneficial nature of poetry to help achieve this process. Research includes the study of relevant missiological literature and material acquired by questionnaire. This questionnaire was completed by linguistic field workers involved in Bible translation and by their professional colleagues. The findings of this research indicate that indigenous poetry is inherently valued in a variety of cultures and can be appropriately applied by both indigenous poets and cross-cultural workers to facilitate the contextualisation of Bible translation.