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Importance of Cultural Competence (Active Listening (Actively listening to…
Importance of Cultural Competence
Demographic shifts and an increasingly diverse population
The United States has always had an ethnically diverse population. In recent years, our country has undergone dramatic shifts in its population, particularly as rapid migration has changed its landscape.
We have always lived in an ethnically diverse society, we are all operating in an increasingly culturally diverse environment
Societies are increasingly becoming globalized
Today’s world is diverse and global.
Many industries currently have a significant amount of international collaboration, and careers in many fields
Industries and professional organizations
RAND Corporation
National Education Association
Persistence of issues around cross-cultural contact, discrimination, and related challenges
Despite the fact that societies are becoming more culturally diverse and globalized, issues surrounding inequality, bias, and breakdowns in intercultural communications persist.
Discrimination and bias in various forms are hurtful all around
Discrimination and bias have serious consequences
Negative effects are evident not just for the victims of biases
holding biases and prejudice also negatively affects the very persons holding those stereotyped beliefs.
Increasing cultural and global knowledge
Learning more about other cultures and being aware of current events is often key in learning about various cultural groups’ points of view.
Conflicts that emerge between groups are often rooted in issues that may have deep historical origins.
Finally, beyond history, numerous events and policies continue to impact the individuals, families, and cultural groups with which you are interacting.
Self-assessment
Reflecting critically on our own biases and prejudices helps to develop the skills necessary to effectively interact and engage with individuals whose cultural background is different than our own.
The problem is when we deny or fail to acknowledge our biases
Acknowledging that we all have biases and that we all hold stereotypes is the first step in cultural competence.
Going beyond tolerance: Building skills and putting them in action
Tolerating different cultural backgrounds is a step in the right direction.
Overall, cultural competence has three important components: active listening, demonstrating empathy, and effective engagement. .
Active Listening
Actively listening to an individual allows you to learn about that person’s culture and experiences.
Active listening entails thinking about the feeling behind the content or the emotion involved.
In addition to listening for total meaning, you should also avoid mental distractions when building cultural competency through active listening.
Lastly, once you have listened for true meaning, the other person feels understood, and you both have limited mental distractions, you will want to make sure you ask more questions of the other person than offer solutions.
Empathy
It is the art of seeing and feeling the situation of another, walking in another person’s shoes, or seeing the world as that person sees it.
Empathy involves understanding that person’s perceptions and the conclusions that person draws about his or her life experiences
The second component of cultural competency is demonstrating empathy.
Engagement
Engagement should be mutually beneficial and a reciprocal learning experience in which you learn from one another.
If the focus of the conversation or interaction is about a tradition or belief, keep the feedback within the context of that tradition or belief.
Сonsequences
Displaying the cultural competence behaviors of active listening, demonstrating empathy, and effective engagement is important when moving beyond tolerance.
These three components will help us to create a welcoming environment and establish the appreciation of similarities and differences among cultures.