Week 11 - Issues with flexible learning - Cultural diversity

1. Listen to the recorded Elluminate presentation by Kate Timms from Otago Polytechnic's Educational Development Center - cultural diversity in educational institutions. Learn about the Polytechnic's policy for cultural inclusion and discuss thoughts and ideas on how to be more culturally sensitive in our work designing for flexible learning practices.
2. Write to your blog the following:

• any observations you have made of systemic cultural insensitivity in an educational organisation or institution and ideas on how you as an individual might address those problems through the development of flexible learning.
• You may wish to include some ideas for inclusiveness and cultural diversity in your flexible learning plan.

Kates korero was awesome..It was great to hear her wider brief of identifying the cultural diversity context of teaching and learning and i think that many educators here at OP could benefit from hearing this session as a way of expanding their understanding on how cultural perspectives impact on an individuals learning experience.

Exploring the sociological context of 'culture' and the New Zealand Nursing Councils Competency Cultural Safety is part of Bachelor of Nursing curricula so this aspect of our DFLP course and the relevance to my core teaching topics is highly relevant. NZNC definition of culture safety is: " The effective nursing practice of a person or family from another culture,and is determined by that person or family. Culture includes, but is not restricted to, age or generation; gender; sexual orientation; occupation and socioeconomic status; ethnic origin or migrant experience; religious or spiritual belief; and disability. (2005, pg 6)

The nurse delivering the nursing service will have undertaken a process of reflection on his or her own cultural identity and will recognise the impact that his or her personal culture has on his or her professional practice. Unsafe cultural practice comprises any action which
diminishes, demeans or disempowers the cultural identity and wellbeing of an individual.
Cultural Safety Education

The purpose of cultural safety in nursing education extends beyond the description of practices, beliefs and values of ethnic groups. Confining learning to rituals, customs and practices of a group assumes that by learning about one aspect gives insight into the complexity of human behaviours and social realities. This assumption that cultures aresimplistic in nature can lead to a checklist approach by service providers,which negates diversity and individual consideration. Cultural safety education is focused on the knowledge and understanding of the individual nurse, rather than on attempts to learn accessible aspects of different groups. A nurse who can understandhis or her own culture and the theory of power relations can be culturally safe in any context.

My musings on how we can improve our practice in teaching is explored by Linda Jeffs in her article "Teaching in a culturally safe way" (Nursing Praxis in New ZealandVol. 17 No.3 - November 2001) this identifies key strategies by which educators can role model culturally safe frameworks to learners.