Understanding the Cognitive and Social Aspects of Intercultural Competence.

Abstract

Ted and Clifford are in their mid-20s. Separated in age by only 15 months, they grew up in the same intact family in a Toronto, Canada, suburb. Their father is a successful insurance agent, and their mother was and still is a caring and devoted "stay-at-home Morn". Both have Scottish-Welsh heritage. The family can be described as "typical," and their neighborhood has for years been moderately multiethnic. Any ethnic or racial prejudice in their community, if it ever existed, was well hidden. A friendly Asian family lives across the street and their next-door neighbors, a family of five from Montreal, speak as much French as they do English. The deputy mayor is Black. In recent years there has been a striking influx of immigrant families in the broader community. Consequently, the local schools have become increasingly multiethnic. The local high school has a significant number of Asian and Middle Eastern students enrolled.Considering this generally positive background and the many commonalities in their formative years, Ted and Clifford are quite a contrast. All of his life Ted showed an affinity for people who are "different" in such things as skin color, language, type of family, and overall cultural characteristics. He 89

Culturally competent school assessment: Performance measures of personality

“…Cultural competency rests upon a set of individual demographic, social class, and ethnic/ cultural attributes acquired during early socialization and supplemented by professional socialization. Cultural competency results from intercultural-interpersonal intelligence, a blend of contextual intelligence, social intelligence, emotional intelligence, and acculturation (Lonner & Hayes, 2004).…”

Intercultural competence in the international business arena

“…While settling on a universally agreed definition of intercultural competence has proven somewhat elusive, seeking to further explicate it may be defended as worthy academic pursuit, given its importance in the globalised world in which we live. As Lonner and Hayes (2004, p. 107) suggest:Like nearly everything else in psychology, the concept of cultural or intercultural competence is easy to grasp as a worthwhile human attribute. However, the exact nature of its component parts seems to be rather ephemeral and multifaceted.…”

Cultural Exchange: Evaluating an Alternative Model in Higher Education

“…Teachers in this context serve primarily as guides and facilitators and should provide for and encourage multiple perspectives. Respect is at the core of cultural competency, according to Lonner and Hayes (2004). By giving others the same genuine esteem and regard that one personally wants and by acting on that respect in all interactions with others, one will have moved toward cultural competence.…”