Evaluation of a training program on the prevention of violent radicalization for health and education professionals

This article presents a preliminary evaluation of training sessions promoting a systemic approach to violent radicalization (VR) offered to first-line health and education professionals in Quebec. We describe the rationale and content for the training program, its general principles and implementation modalities. The mixed-method evaluation indicated that the participants felt the training increased their level of confidence in dealing with VR in their work. It appeared that training also shifted participants' attitudes significantly on four items with decreases: (1) worry about the extent of VR of young people in Quebec; (2) belief that VR should automatically be reported to the police; (3) thinking that Islam favors VR; and (4) assumption that enhanced security measures would have a deterrent effect on VR. The conclusion discusses the challenges associated with violent radicalization training programs, emphasizing the delicate ethical and political questions related to the provision of training on this socially divisive topic.

Structural Competency of Pre-health Students: Can a Single Course Lead to Meaningful Change?

Scholars within the medical sciences recently have called on undergraduate educators to incorporate the social sciences in order to teach pre-health students structural competencies - or the ability to articulate how social structures produce racial, ethnic, gender, class, and other disparities - in order to better serve these populations medically. Authors used a semester-long course to assess how experiential learning focused on the topic of structural inequities improves structural competency. In Fall 2018, 27 students completed a hands-on, experiential, course focused on structural factors and health disparities. The authors conducted a mixed-methods, pre-/post-test design to solicit data on students' views on the reasons for high rates of obesity, gender pay disparities, and racial/ethnic housing segregation. Using systematic qualitative data analysis and statistical analysis of coded answers, the authors were able to detect pre-/post-test differences in the number of times students identified structural reasons for the disparities. Statistical analysis showed that students were able to identify an average of 4.63 structural reasons at pre-test, and that increased to 5.93 reasons at post-test (statically significant (p = 0.007)), indicating an increase in structural awareness after participation in the course. Qualitative analysis, using systematic methods of coding and a modified constant comparison method, demonstrated that students' ability to articulate structural reasons for inequality greatly improved. This experiential learning course, while relatively short, was found to increase students' ability to identify structural factors and articulate them with deeper understandings. Future curriculum development should consider incorporating experiential learning to promote structural competency, rather than a more traditional passive, content-delivery method of training.

Cultural humility in libraries

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the idea of cultural humility, distinguish it from cultural competence and explore how it fits within librarianship.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use an interdisciplinary exploration of the concept of humility to understand what cultural humility means and how it differs from cultural competence and other approaches to intercultural communication in libraries.

Findings

Despite some reservations with the term itself, the authors find that a practice of cultural humility is more appropriate to front-line interactions in library contexts than cultural competence models.

Practical implications

Libraries looking to address issues in intercultural communication and services to multicultural populations will find an approach that may be better suited to their contexts than prevailing models of cultural competency.

Social implications

Librarians need to commit to redressing the power imbalances and other structural issues that interfere with library service, for the benefit of the patrons, the library and librarians themselves.

Originality/value

While cultural humility is increasingly being used in librarianship, there has not been a systematic exploration of the concept and how it applies to library contexts.

International Education and Service Learning

The field of counseling psychology continues to see a perpetual underutilization of mental health resources by many cultural groups, including international populations. Underutilization of services is due, in part, to psychologists’ deficiency in cultural and international competency. International education—an experiential learning technique that involves cultural contact—has been proposed as an alternative method for training students to work effectively cross-culturally. The current article examines the effects of service learning embedded in a study abroad diversity course in Singapore. The course was designed for graduate counseling psychology students as an experiential vehicle for developing cultural competency and awareness of social justice issues through direct contact with diverse groups. Qualitative data are reviewed, and implications for training, such as integration of cross-cultural and social justice issues in counseling training programs, are discussed.

Results of Immersion Service Learning Activism With Peers

Despite the emphasis on multicultural counseling competence and social justice in counseling psychology, the mechanisms behind building skills related to effective work remain elusive. This qualitative study explored the experiences of student-participants during a service learning course based on social justice principles in Belize. The researchers sought to inform how a non-traditional teaching methodology—immersion service learning activism—might affect these students’ development. The researchers used Consensual Qualitative Research to analyze interviews and journals through a collaborative and reflective process. Eleven domains emerged from the analysis. Results confirmed past research related to immersion and service learning, including personal and professional development and changes in diversity attitudes. There were also unanticipated themes related to complex interpersonal and group dynamics. These findings demonstrate the influence of immersion, service learning, and group process in intra- as well as interpersonal development and skill building related to cultural competency and social justice activism.

Transformative learning through international immersion: building multicultural competence in family therapy and counseling

This study explores the experiences of graduate students who completed one of two international courses facilitated by family therapy faculty in a U.S. master's-level counseling psychology department. Participants reported that international courses were personally and professionally transformative. Spending time in a foreign country gave them opportunities to learn from cultural differences, ultimately increasing the social and global awareness required for multicultural sensitivity. Experiential learning, reflection, and dialogue resulted in raised critical consciousness among participants. In this article, we discuss the transformational learning processes embedded in international courses and the potential benefits of these experiences on the development of multicultural sensitivity in family therapists and counselors in training.