Journal of Education & Social Policy

Developing Graduate and Undergraduate Student Cultural Sensitivity and Emerging Competence Using the Intercultural Development Inventory
Dr. Dione B. Taylor

Abstract
The results of an assessment tool used to improve cultural competence, demonstrated its efficacy when used with graduate and undergraduate students from the Bachelor of Science nursing, school counseling credential and preliminary teacher credential programs. These candidates will be employed in settings requiring them to exemplify the skills of cultural competence as they engage in routine interactions with ethnically and culturally diverse clients. The development of cultural competence by university programs, though not a precatory obligation, is a prudent gesture, or stated more profoundly, is an ethical obligation, necessitating investment in the future requisite skills of its graduate candidates. Graduate programs are ideally structured to imbue the principles of cultural competence using pedagogically sound methods in this critical area. The results of this study postulate the need to engage candidates in the ongoing pursuit of cultural competence.

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