The role of reflexive thought in the achievement of intercultural competence

ABSTRACT

Reflexivity refers to the capacity for individuals to understand the cultural system and manage their own position within it. Reflexivity is a key concept in the understanding of intercultural communication, particularly in recognising the ability for individuals to understand and adapt to new cultural contexts. However, the prevailing methods used in intercultural communication (namely that of intercultural competencies) do not place a great emphasis on the role of reflexivity in achieving cultural adaptation. In this paper, I argue for the central positioning of the concept of reflexivity in intercultural education as a mechanism which mediates between intercultural experiences and individual behaviour. I present evidence of the reflexive sequence (subject-object-subject) from the reflections of a cohort of students (n = 19). Finally, I suggest a pedagogical instrument (a heuristic) for empirically exploring reflexivity in intercultural communication.     

Self-care: There’s a badge for that

ABSTRACT

Social work education has embraced a major shift towards competency based education. A core component of competency based education is that students must actually demonstrate competence. The ability to define terms or even to explain principles of effective social work practice is no longer sufficient. In this vein, social work educators are tasked with providing students a means of demonstrating an ability to practice necessary social work skills. Digital badges are a recent trend in higher education that can facilitate the shift towards competency based education. With this shift in mind, this paper outlines the requirements and benefits of a self-care badge. Students who completed the self-care badge completed readings on self-care, completed self-assessments and worksheets, developed written self-care plans, enacted the plans, monitored progress and completed a final report on the self-care practices. Overall, students described the benefits of the badge and the focus on actually practicing self-care rather than simply increasing their knowledge about self-care.     

幼儿教师班级管理胜任力指标体系构建

综合运用文献法、行为事件访谈法、德尔菲法等3种方法,初步提炼了幼儿教师班级管理胜任力核心要素,并通过编制幼儿教师班级管理胜任力特征的问卷对核心要素加以验证,构建了幼儿教师班级管理胜任力三级指标体系。结果显示,幼儿教师班级管理胜任力包括动机、态度、能力和人际关系4个一级指标,以及其包含的10个二级指标和22个三级指标。     

基于胜任素质的行业特色研究型大学教师管理模式构建

我国行业特色研究型大学的快速发展对教师整体素质提升和有效管理提出了更高的要求。引入胜任素质相关理论和方法,并综合运用行为事件访谈和问卷调查等,可以建立包括基本素质、教学能力、行业素养、科研能力四个维度的行业特色研究型大学教师胜任素质模型。通过实证研究,分析行业特色研究型大学教师胜任素质与工作绩效的相关关系,探析工作满意度和学术氛围在教师胜任素质与工作绩效关系中的中间作用,结果表明：工作绩效与胜任素质整体水平和各维度之间均存在显著正相关,学术氛围和工作满意度起着中间作用。依据研究结论设计的行业特色研究型大学基于胜任素质模型的教师管理框架和思路,为行业特色研究型大学教师队伍的选拔、培训和职业生涯发展规划等管理模式提供了新的视角。     

English proficiency in Australia, 1981 to 2016

Using Australian census data, the paper examines the incidence of poor English competency in Australia from 1981 onwards. The paper examines English competency in relation to various characteristics such as sex, age, language spoken, visa type, citizenship, duration of residence and location. It finds that there was a sharp rise in the numbers of people not speaking English well between the 2011 and 2016 Censuses and special attention is given to this rise in the paper. Recently, the Australian Government unsuccessfully legislated for the introduction of a requirement of English competency at the level of IELTS 6 (the commonly used university entrance level) as a condition for the award of Australian citizenship. The paper argues that this test would have led to a very large number of disenfranchised Australian permanent residents and this would be a highly undesirable result. Nevertheless, employment and social participation are strongly influenced by English competency and residents with poor English are disadvantaged. The policy suggestion is made that participation in a course of English language training for those without functional English skills could be made a precondition of the award of permanent residence—without the application of a passing grade.     

民营企业人力资源经理胜任力理论模型构建

通过文献统计初步得到频数较高的人力资源经理胜任力资料，然后从人力资源经理角色、工作职责、民营企业与国有企业中人力资源经理胜任力的对比三个方面进行分析，并结合问卷调查初步建立了民营企业人力资源经理胜任力理论模型。     

Forensic Evaluation of Deaf Individuals: Challenges and Strategies

ABSTRACT

Forensic evaluation of deaf individuals presents unique challenges due to many examinees’ fund of information deficits, potential for language deprivation, and examiners’ frequent lack of creativity regarding communication methods. This article describes challenges most frequently encountered in competency to stand trial and criminal responsibility evaluations and offers strategies for overcoming them. The value of employing multiple communication methods, especially the use of illustrations, is emphasized. Suggestions also are offered regarding preparing evaluation reports and effectively communicating “key deaf fundamentals” to legal personnel. Encouragement is offered for qualified, sign-fluent professionals to engage in forensic work.     

Exploring Adoption-Specific Curricula in Undergraduate and Graduate Degree Programs

The systemic impact of adoption suggests the need to explore adoption-specific curricula in baccalaureate and graduate degree programs. Using a convenience sample, the present exploratory study collected data in two phases. Phase one included email requests for adoption syllabi to professional email lists and to identified faculty with adoption research and practice expertise. In phase two, 22 faculty members who responded by emailing syllabi were invited to participate in an online survey. Results only begin to unveil what we know about adoption-specific curricula in higher education. Suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Multi-ethnic school environment from the school leader’s perspective: challenges and approaches to improve multi-cultural competency among teachers in Malaysia

This study aims to identify the challenges and approaches to improve a multicultural competency among teachers in multi-ethnic schools environment based on school leaders’ perspective. Data collection method used in this study is qualitative method. A total of nine school leaders from the states of Kedah, Penang, and Perak were included in the interview session. The results of this study show that the challenges faced by teachers in practicing the multicultural competency are lack of experience toward cultural diversity. A late exposure to cultural diversity makes it difficult for teachers to accept and adapt in a multi-ethnic school environment. The approaches suggested by school leaders to improve the multicultural competency are as follows: (1) Courses on cultural diversity should be organized to enhance the knowledge about cultural diversity; (2) the development of more open and better policy for education system in Malaysia in order to prepare teachers with a higher multicultural competency for teaching students from diverse ethnic and cultural groups; (3) an early exposure to cultural diversity in order to increase the multicultural competency, especially during teaching practicum.     

Competency‐based Education: Evidence from Social Work Postgraduates from Five Universities in China

Social work education in China has undergone rapid development during last two decades. However, methods to define, measure, and evaluate social work students' competency remain largely unexplored. In this study, we evaluated competency in graduate social work students in China and examined factors that impacted competency, based on learning theory. Findings indicated that knowledge and skills learned in class, field placement, and social context all have effects on competency. How students think about individual development and the social work profession has the most significant effect. These findings carry implications for social work education in the Chinese context. The rapid development of social work education in China requires the effective measurement and evaluation of students' core competencies.