Abstract
As culturally responsive, social-emotional learning (SEL) competencies continue being essential skills in a 21st century workforce, both university and industry will continue placing greater focus on effective training for students and employees to strengthen workforce readiness. The following chapter introduces one example of how Polish Fulbright scholars prepared for a U.S. assignment through a digital training program, taken before participants departed their home country, as a way to support post arrival integration, safety, and success in the U.S. Compared to the control group, research findings from this phenomenological research study indicated that the four-week training program supported increases in self-awareness and self-management skills, social skills and cultural awareness, English communication skills, academic and professional readiness skills, and responsible decision-making skills in the treatment group. This study contributes one new strategy to strengthen internationalization efforts, global leadership skills, and cross-cultural relations.
TopIntroduction
Global markets are dependent upon an educated workforce equipped with cross-cultural and social emotional learning skills (SEL) to navigate in-person and digital interactions with people from diverse backgrounds. In the U.S., culturally-responsive SEL skills are competencies sought after by employers (Cunningham & Villasenor, 2016; Fitzgerald & Sigelman, 2018; Future of Jobs Report, 2020; Job Outlook, 2016; Maldonado, 2019; National Association of Colleges & Employers, 2019; Yoder, et al., 2020) and have been increasingly in demand over the last several decades (Deming, 2017). The five SEL competencies (Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, Responsible Decision-Making Skills), are acquired through a lifelong process to which all people learn and apply culturally responsive, “knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions” (CASEL, 2020).
While employers value all skill sets, there is a greater demand for socio-emotional skills and higher-order cognitive skills than for basic cognitive or technical skills. These results are robust across region, industry, occupation, and education level. Employers perceive that the greatest skills gaps are in socio-emotional and higher-order cognitive skills. (Cunningham & Villasenor, 2016, p. 1).
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (2019), there are eight competencies associated with career readiness (Critical Thinking/Problem Solving; Oral/Written Communication; Teamwork/Collaboration; Digital Technology; Leadership; Professionalism/Work Ethic; Career Management; Global/Intercultural Fluency), all of which require SEL skills. Universities in the U.S. and abroad act as a workforce pipeline, fostering these essential skills in its student body and through on-going professional development. By bridging university and industry collaboration, the partnership can better develop systems of innovative training that align current workforce needs with curriculum to ensure graduates develop skills that employers need in job candidates. One way that U.S. universities and industry can partner to foster these skills is through international professional development opportunities to visiting scholars. These cultural exchange programs provide academic and professional opportunities to strengthen global citizen skillsets that empower individuals to navigate indicate matrixes of human interactions.
Visiting international students and scholars have often encountered cross-cultural challenges and acculturation distress during U.S. work and study assignments. Although research demonstrates that cross-cultural training helps mitigate negative integration experiences (Deardorff, 2004; Kegel, 2009; Madden-Dent, 2014; Madden-Dent & Laden, 2016; Sherry, Bhat, Beaver, & Ling, 2004; Pitts, 2009), most U.S. institutions of higher education address these integration issues only after students and scholars arrive on campus via post arrival orientations (Madden-Dent, Wood, & Roskina, 2019). The post arrival time period is often too late to prepare international students and scholars with the knowledge and skills necessary for a safe and successful integration.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Cultural Sensitivity: The degree of an individual’s psychological ability to deal with cultural differences ( Medina-López-Portillo, 2004 ); and to value and respect these cultural differences ( Rew, Becker, Cookston, Khosropour, & Martinez, 2003 ).
Treatment Group: This study’s international participants who received the four-week online pre-departure academic and cultural integration preparation class treatment.
Cultural Competence: The multifaceted, evolving capacity to interact and communicate with others having different cultural backgrounds (Balcazar, Suarex-Balcazar, & Taylor-Ritzler, 2009 AU55: The in-text citation "Balcazar, Suarex-Balcazar, & Taylor-Ritzler, 2009" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ; IHEAC, 2008 AU56: The in-text citation "IHEAC, 2008" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ; Wehling, 2008 ).
Cultural Awareness: A means toward gradually increasing a person’s power, energy and freedom of choice in a multicultural world (Pederson, 1998 AU53: The in-text citation "Pederson, 1998" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ) by developing inner senses of the equality of cultures, increasing an understanding of the individual’s culture, other people’s cultures, and a positive interest in how cultures are similar, interconnected, and differ (Tomlinson, 2001 AU54: The in-text citation "Tomlinson, 2001" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ) through “increasing a person’s intentional and purposive decision making ability by accounting for the many ways that culture influences different perceptions of the same situation” ( Altay 2005 , p. 171).
Control Group: This study’s international participants who received no additional intervention other than Fulbright’s standard international student orientation and services.
Cultural Responsiveness: The process of developing awareness of the significance of our others’ backgrounds including cultural and historical contexts and then intentionally integrating their cultural orientations and values into systems (modified from Rose & Smith, 2020 ).
Cross-Cultural Competence: The ability to compare and contrast two cultural groups including culture-specific concepts.
Culture: Sets of socially transmitted ways of thinking, feeling, interacting, and communicating through shared value in traditions and customs distinguishing members of one organization from another (Hofstede, 1994 AU59: The in-text citation "Hofstede, 1994" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ; Kluckhohn, 1951 ; Lustig & Koester, 2003 ; Wohl, 2012 ).
Social Emotional Learning: A lifelong process through which all people acquire and effectively apply culturally responsive, “knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions” (CASEL, 2020 AU61: The in-text citation "CASEL, 2020" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ).
Cross-Cultural Adaptation: An acculturation process of dynamic unfolding of the natural human tendency to struggle for an internal equilibrium in the face of often adversarial environmental conditions impacted by multiple simultaneous forces influencing the communicative interface between the individual and the host environment impacting changes in behavioral, cognitive, and emotional norms and underlying assumptions ( Y. Y. Kim, 2001 ).
International Student: Anyone studying in the U.S. on a non-immigrant, temporary visa that allows for academic coursework. These students include both degree and non-degree students (IIE, 2013 AU60: The in-text citation "IIE, 2013" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ).
Acculturation: The process of changes over time to an individual’s behavior, values, knowledge, and cultural identity as a result of contact between cultural groups and experiencing a stress-adaptation-growth cycle as they adapt to a new culture ( Berry, 2003 , 2006 ; B.S.K. Kim & Abreu, 2001 ; & Y.Y. Kim, 2001 ).
Social, Emotional, Academic Development: Social, Emotional, and Academic Development (SEAD) is the interconnected relationship between academics and social emotional learning skills that reinforce equitable and human-centered educational environments ( Aspen Institute, 2019 ).
Cultural Knowledge: The awareness and sensitivity to existing cultural preferences, values, and behaviors interpreted by an individual that generates cross-cultural competencies aiming to decrease transitional emotional discomfort while increasing respect for other cultures (Hall, 1955, 1959, 1966, 1973 AU57: The in-text citation "Hall, 1955, 1959, 1966, 1973" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ; Hofstede, 1980 AU58: The in-text citation "Hofstede, 1980" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ; Pilhofer, 2010 ; Spradley, 1980 ; Trompenaars, 1993 ). For the purpose of this study, cultural knowledge will include participants’ understanding and interpretation of “culture” (see definition above).