Australian Experience of Culturally Diverse University Classrooms

The burgeoning process of internationalization of higher education has greatly transformed university classrooms with the presence of innumerous nationalities. Thus it is imperative that professors are well equipped to teach in such culturally diverse context while sustaining the goals of internationalization. Although a culturally relevant pedagogy has been widely used in many educational settings, including higher education, there is a paucity of studies looking for its pertinence in an internationalized context. Then, based on Gloria Ladson-Billings’ (1995) theoretical framework, this critical phenomenological study depicts the extent to which that approach is also pertinent for informing post-secondary teachers’ work with international students in modern days. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten experienced professors across different faculties at a mid-sized Canadian university. Findings reveal that this pedagogy is highly appropriate to illuminate professors’ practices, but this relevance also points to fundamental and urgent aspects that must be taken into consideration when aiming at a democratic and true internationalized education.

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Factors influencing the physical activity levels of older people from culturally-diverse communities: an Australian experience

Ageing and Society ◽

10.1017/s0144686x09008617 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 29 (8) ◽

pp. 1275-1294 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

STEPHEN BIRD ◽

HARRIET RADERMACHER ◽

SUSAN FELDMAN ◽

JANE SIMS ◽

WILLIAM KUROWSKI ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Older People ◽

Culturally Diverse ◽

Health And Safety ◽

Physical Activity Behaviour ◽

Activity Levels ◽

Diverse Communities ◽

Specific Factors ◽

Australian Experience ◽

Barriers To Physical Activity

ABSTRACTInactivity has been identified as a major contributor to the burden of disease among older Australians, particularly those in culturally-diverse communities. This study assessed the facilitators and barriers to physical activity in older people from culturally-diverse communities, and investigated the predictors of physical activity participation by recruiting 333 older people from seven different communities in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. A survey questionnaire that recorded physical activity and the barriers to and facilitators of activity was interviewer-administered in the participants' preferred language. The data were analysed using bivariate and multivariate inferential statistical methods. Personal barriers to physical activity, such as poor health, lacking the energy to exercise, being too tired and low motivation, were highly prevalent in all groups. Specific factors, such as ‘being self-conscious about my looks’, were more prevalent among the Vietnamese, as were concerns about the weather among Macedonians and Croatians. Across all groups, perceptions of health and safety strongly influenced physical activity behaviour, more so than the external environment. Some of the barriers can be addressed with a common approach, but others in some communities will require particular strategies.

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Towards Effective Teaching of Culturally Diverse Health Science Classes in Universities: Application of Culturally Responsive Pedagogies

10.21203/rs.3.rs-136034/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Norman Rudhumbu

Keyword(s):

Classroom Management ◽

Effective Teaching ◽

Culturally Responsive ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Culturally Diverse ◽

Rank Correlation ◽

Sampling Strategy ◽

Cultural Knowledge ◽

Health Science ◽

University Classrooms

Abstract BackgroundThe level of cultural heterogeneity in today’s Health Science Education (HSE) university classrooms has become very high hence the need to effectively manage diversity to ensure effective teaching and learning through the use of culturally responsive pedagogies (CRPs). The study therefore investigated how CRPs are applied in HSE classes in universities in Zimbabwe as well as how significantly CRPs influence effective teaching of culturally diverse classes. MethodsThe study employed a quantitative approach that used a self-constructed structured questionnaire for data collection. A sample of 63 HSE lecturers was selected from five universities using a stratified random sampling strategy. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used for data purification. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, Spearman’s rank correlation, multiple regression analysis, and correlation analysis.ResultsResults showed that verbal and non-verbal communication, classroom management, cultural knowledge of HSE students, and student-teacher interaction significantly influenced how HSE lecturers applied CRPs in universities. The results further found that the application of CRPs in university classrooms had a significantly influence on the teaching of culturally diverse HSE students in universities. ConclusionsIt was concluded that the use of CRPs is critical for effective teaching of culturally diverse university HSE classroom as it ensures effective participation by all students as well as interaction between students and lecturers as well as between culturally diverse students themselves for effective learning.

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Factors affecting walking activity of older people from culturally diverse groups: An Australian experience

Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport ◽

10.1016/j.jsams.2009.07.002 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 417-423 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Stephen R. Bird ◽

Harriet Radermacher ◽

Jane Sims ◽

Susan Feldman ◽

Colette Browning ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older People ◽

Culturally Diverse ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Walking Activity ◽

Australian Experience ◽

Diverse Groups

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University Educators’ Experiences of Teaching Abroad: The Promotion of Cross-cultural Competence

The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning ◽

10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2019.3.9476 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Sonya Corbin Dwyer

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Cultural Competency ◽

Culturally Diverse ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Culturally Competent ◽

Development Activity ◽

Teaching Abroad ◽

Effective Professional Development ◽

Professional Development Activity ◽

University Classrooms

As university classrooms become increasingly culturally diverse, how can educators learn to meet the needs of all of their students? Teaching abroad is an immersion activity that creates spaces which promote growth-producing experiences for faculty. The participants in this qualitative study reflected on their experiences of teaching abroad and discussed how it can help foster the development of cultural competency. Within this meta-theme, four subthemes emerged. The participants in this study discussed the personal dispositions and skills they think promote becoming culturally competent—the capacity to (a) adapt, (b) be interested in students and treat them as individuals, (c) embrace challenges, and (d) be comfortable with feeling uncomfortable. Teaching abroad is an effective professional development activity, one that should be supported by universities.

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Multidisciplinary Evidence to Treat Bilingual Individuals with Aphasia

Perspectives on Communication Disorders and Sciences in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations ◽

10.1044/cds15.3.66 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 66-72 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

José G. Centeno

Keyword(s):

Stroke Rehabilitation ◽

Culturally Diverse ◽

Treatment Strategies ◽

The United States ◽

Intervention Strategies ◽

Steady Increase ◽

Clinical Procedures ◽

Bilingual Speakers ◽

Aphasic Clients

Abstract The steady increase in linguistic and cultural diversity in the country, including the number of bilingual speakers, has been predicted to continue. Minorities are expected to be the majority by 2042. Strokes, the third leading cause of death and the leading cause of long-term disability in the U.S., are quite prevalent in racial and ethnic minorities, so population estimates underscore the imperative need to develop valid clinical procedures to serve the predicted increase in linguistically and culturally diverse bilingual adults with aphasia in post-stroke rehabilitation. Bilingualism is a complex phenomenon that interconnects culture, cognition, and language; thus, as aphasia is a social phenomenon, treatment of bilingual aphasic persons would benefit from conceptual frameworks that exploit the culture-cognition-language interaction in ways that maximize both linguistic and communicative improvement leading to social re-adaptation. This paper discusses a multidisciplinary evidence-based approach to develop ecologically-valid treatment strategies for bilingual aphasic individuals. Content aims to spark practitioners' interest to explore conceptually broad intervention strategies beyond strictly linguistic domains that would facilitate linguistic gains, communicative interactions, and social functioning. This paper largely emphasizes Spanish-English individuals in the United States. Practitioners, however, are advised to adapt the proposed principles to the unique backgrounds of other bilingual aphasic clients.

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