Toward a Cultural Competence Measure for Social Work with Specific Populations

Abstract

The notion that cultural competence is crucial to sound social work practice is widely accepted in the profession. However, there exists a gap between the achievement of the goal of developing culturally competent practitioners through social work education and the ability to measure such competence. A second gap exists between education and the providing of culturally appropriate services in everyday practice. These gaps are likely due to (1) the broad terms used to define cultural competence, (2) the slow evolution of instrumentation to measure cultural competence, and (3) the lack of culture-specific training and measurement techniques. This paper assesses the need for further refinement of the concept and suggests a new approach for the development of instruments to measure it. The authors provide an overview of the construct of cultural competence, analyze the conceptual and empirical foundations of four well-known measures, and provide a rationale forthe development of culture-Specific instruments.     

试论翻译工作坊审校环节的有效性——以英译汉为例

翻译工作坊是近年来较为流行的翻译教学模式，其审校环节的有效性是值得重视的问题。以英语专业高年级学生为对象，通过翻译日志、问卷调查和开放式访谈等方式考察翻译工作坊的审校环节，研究表明：教师意见对解决翻译难点起着关键作用，部分受试者对自身发现和解决翻译关键点和难点的能力表现出不自信；关注重点是术语统一与文本可读性，实验后期译文语言质量有可见的进步；语篇连贯和逻辑偏差获得的关注最少，部分受试者无法察觉译文逻辑瑕疵；改动量和译文质量提高幅度均有下降，后期机械性倾向有加强趋势。在今后的翻译教学中，需要在审校环节注重培养学生译者的核心判断力，避免其流于表面或被技术边缘化。     

台湾林务局自然教育中心人员专业知能与发展需求

本研究旨在探讨台湾林务局人员在自然教育中心方面应具备的专业知能及他们在这方面专业发展的需求。研究采用文献分析、群体讨论、专家审核、问卷调查等方式进行,整理归纳出四大面向的专业知能架构,即自然教育中心的整体性理念、自然教育中心的经营与管理、环境教育与解说方案之发展与推动、自然教育中心的场域资源与设施,共三十条细部内容。结果显示,经营与管理人员最需要"自然教育中心的整体性理念"及"自然教育中心的经营与管理"方面专业知能。教育与解说人员最需要具备"环境教育与解说方案之发展与推动"及"自然教育中心的整体性理念"。场域与设施人员最需认识"自然教育中心的整体性理念"、"自然教育中心的场域资源与设施"、"自然教育中心的经营与管理"。面临的挑战主要是缺乏工作以外的进修时间以及担心课程质量,因此期待的协助包括"建置数据库以提供适当的专业发展数据"、"提供具有层次与进阶性的专业发展课程"等。研究结果可供台湾林务局及其他自然资源管理单位,作为规划有关自然中心人员专业发展活动之参考。     

二语朗读认知体验模式实践研究

文章通过对比二语朗读的“读模式”、“听读模式”和“认知体验模式”三种不同教学模式对英语专业二年级学习者二语朗读熟练程度和听写、口语能力的影响，探讨适合不同水平学习者的二语朗读教学模式。研究表明，听读模式对提高学习者二语朗读准确性、连贯性和流畅性有积极的促进作用，认知体验模式对提高学习者二语朗读信息传递和交际能力作用显著。     

The practice and perceptions of RRI—A gender perspective

Little is known to date about the practice and perceptions of RRI among researchers in Europe as well as the integration of the gender dimension into everyday RRI practices. This lack was addressed by two large-scale surveys that were launched in the course of the EU-funded MoRRI project (Monitoring the evolution and benefits of RRI, Contract number RTD-B6-PP-00964-2013, Duration 09/2013–03/2018). The analysis shows that the institutional environment positively influences the degree of RRI activities and the general attitudes towards more responsible research and innovation: researchers working in an institutional environment that systematically supports the practice of RRI are more active in RRI practices than researchers who do not rely on such structures. For the gender equality dimension, this means that institutions with a gender equality plan (GEP) in place are more inclined to support female researchers than institutions without such institutional incentives. Furthermore, researchers with experiences in EU-funded projects are more likely to be engaged in RRI activities. Even if female researchers have a stronger inclination to engage with society than their male counterparts, gender competence proves to be the relevant distinguishing criterion. Gender competent researchers are more often involved in other RRI activities.     

Ability emotional intelligence and children’s behaviour in the playground

We explored whether emotion understanding promotes positive social functioning in childhood using the ability emotional intelligence (AEI) framework, which defines emotion understanding more broadly than is common in developmental science. The prospective study included children ages 9–11 years who completed a measure of AEI at the start of the school year, and whose playground interactions were observed for one full year. Findings showed that, among girls, low AEI was associated with higher levels of direct aggressive behaviour in the playground; boys and girls high or low in AEI were more likely than their peers to watch others during playground social interactions. Further, higher AEI was associated with indirect aggression in school, suggesting higher AEI during childhood may be associated with the developmental transition from direct to indirect forms of aggression. The implications of the findings for school practice in relation to the teaching of emotion understanding are discussed.     

The primary foundations of followership

The phenomenon of followership has been increasingly discussed in recent years, and is analyzed mainly through psychological theories. In this article followership is discussed from an evolutionary perspective. The main argument is that the origins of followership are rooted in evolutionary foundations and its visible manifestations result from responses to signals sensed as associated with these primary foundations. Two kinds of signals are the “building blocks” of followership: (1) universal signals, indicating competence and care; (2) symbolic signals, representing group culture. The implications of the suggested approach for a theory of followership are discussed.     

Secondary School Transition and the Use of Different Sources of Information for the Construction of the Academic Self‐concept

This study focuses on processes involved in students' academic self‐concept constructions before, during, and after secondary school transition. The study is based on a four‐wave longitudinal dataset (N = 1953). Structural equation modeling showed that during school transition, the impact of grades on students' academic self‐concepts in Math and English decreased whereas the effects of maternal competence perceptions increased. After the transition, the effects of grades increased, while the effects maternal competence beliefs decreased again. The results are interpreted in terms of differential emphasizing of sources of information for students' self‐concept construction. During school transition, elementary school grades lost informational value for self‐evaluations due to the changed frame of reference. To secure stable and valid self‐assessments, students emphasized other sources than grades; in this, case information obtained through parental competence appraisals. After transition, when valid grades were available for the students' constructions again, the temporarily heightened parental influence decreased again.     

An evaluation of undergraduate public administration programs at Turkish Universities: Reviewing the literature and proposing a model of cultural competence development

This study aims to identify the main predictors of cultural competence (CC). In the study, the cultural competence of the public administration students was analyzed. A total of 599 public administration students from twenty public and two foundation universities in eighteen different provinces of Turkey responded to a survey. The questionnaire survey was derived from a literature review; validated by exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The study proposes a CC evaluation model with five principal attributes: political awareness, civic action, belief in collective action, social justice attitudes, and ethical leadership. Accordingly, the model included 29 items that address all aspects of cultural competence. The model can be used to evaluate the CC level of public administration students. Besides, this model can also be applied in public organizations to evaluate their responsiveness to the public. Because public institutions today are supposed to be responsive to the cultural needs of citizens.     

The multifaceted nature of prosocial behavior in children: Links with attachment theory and research

Prosocial behavior involves attempting to improve others’ welfare and plays a central role in cooperative social relationships. Among the manifold processes that contribute to prosocial development is the quality of children's attachment to their caregivers. Often, researchers have investigated the link between secure attachment and broad indices of prosociality. Recent theory and research, however, suggest that children's prosocial behavior is multifaceted, with distinct correlates and developmental trajectories characterizing specific prosocial behaviors. We offer a theoretical model of the role of parent–child attachment in the development of prosocial behavior, first broadly, and then with regard to comforting, sharing, and helping, specifically. Further, we review the empirical work on this topic from infancy through adolescence. Overall, evidence supports an association between secure attachment and prosociality, broadly defined, but results vary across comforting, sharing, and helping. We discuss potential explanations for the findings and outline directions for future research examining the role of attachment in shaping the diversity of prosocial behaviors across development.