ASSESSING CULTURAL OPENNESS Pouneh Eftekhari, Purdue University

Twila Ortiz, Purdue University

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE AND WHERE TO BEGIN

NAFSA Regions V & VI Conference | Indianapolis 2013

PRESENTER INTRODUCTIONSCOLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, PURDUE UNIVERSITY

Pouneh EftekhariInternational Undergraduate Student Experience Advisor

Twila OrtizUndergraduate Affairs Coordinator

LEARNING OUTCOMES

LEARNING OUTCOMES1. Articulate the importance of assessing cultural openness and

identify tools and strategies for assessment

2. Understand and use assessment results to enhance professional development opportunities

WHY DOES THIS MATTER?RATIONAL FOR STUDY

WHY DOES THIS MATTER?RATIONAL FOR STUDY

• Reason #1: Each year more and more international students choose to study at Purdue.

• Reason #2: Purdue has a goal to provide a common undergraduate student experience for all students.

• Reason #3: The College of Engineering wants to ensure that the staff who has the most direct contact with international students has the tools and abilities necessary for working with a diverse student population.

WHY DOES THIS MATTER?RATIONAL FOR STUDY

• College of Engineering’s Strategic Plan

provide opportunities for our staff to “… thrive in an environment that values diversity, a global perspective, and limitless ideas borne of the richness of multiple viewpoints”

• Mission statement of Academic Advising at Purdue

advisors must “…partner with students, faculty, staff, departments, and administration to empower students to develop and implement an individualized plan for academic success, personal and career development…”.

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERINGUNDERGRADUATE STUDENT DATA

COE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS DATAUNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (7,352 TOTAL)

COE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS DATAUNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (7,352 TOTAL)

COE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS DATA

Top 10 Nationalities Represented

China (760)India (434)

South Korea (117)Malaysia (62)Indonesia (35)

Kazakhstan (25)Saudi Arabia (24)

Taiwan (23)Thailand (21)

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (7,352 TOTAL)

PRE-SESSION ACTIVITYWHAT DID YOU WRITE?

What types of initiatives have been implemented on your campus to enhance the international

student experience?

HERE’S WHAT WE DIDTHE M-GUDS-S TOOL

HERE’S WHAT WE DIDTHE M-GUDS-S TOOL

• Which other tools/options were available to us?▪Sending staff abroad ▪Enrolling all staff in cultural sensitivity courses/training▪Using other tools

• Why did we select this tool?▪Free▪Well-known ▪Well-researched▪Allows for easier stakeholder buy-in (there are only 15

questions)

WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT THIS TOOL?THE M-GUDS-S TOOL

• Marie Miville (MA thesis)

• Developed to be a tool for counselors• This tool was originally created to assess the “…openness and comfort of

participants in counseling”. (Fuertes, 2000)

• Universality-Diversity Scale is:

"an attitude toward all other persons which is inclusive yet differentiating in that similarities and differences are both recognized and accepted; the shared experience of being human results in a sense of connection with people and is associated with a plurality or diversity of interactions with others”. (Fuertes, 2000)

• Scores on the M-GUDS have been found to predict students' help-seeking behavior in college, their attitudes toward diversity of people and programs in a college setting, and their academic self-confidence (Fuertes, Sedlacek, Roger, & Mohr, 2000).

WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT THIS TOOL?THE M-GUDS-S TOOL

• 15 questions on a Likert scale

• Consists of three subscales

• Relativistic Appreciation - relativistic appreciation of oneself and others (Cognitive)

• Diversity of Contact - seeking a diversity of contact with others (Behavioral)

• Comfort with Difference - a sense of connection with the larger society or humanity as a whole (Emotional)

WHO DID WE STUDY & HOW?DATA COLLECTION

Research Design• Assessment Format

▪Online survey (Qualtrics)

• Research Subjects▪CoE UG academic advisors▪International Student Advising Committee Members▪No faculty

• Anonymity▪Self-identification option▪Questions were made as broad as possible

WHAT DID WE LEARN?OUR FINDINGS

WHAT DID WE LEARN?M-GUDS-S Question Strongly

Disagree Disagree Disagree a Little Bit

Agree a Little Bit Agree Strongly

Agree

DIVERSITY OF CONTAC

T

1. I would like to join an organization that emphasizes getting to know people from different countries.

2 8 6 13 20 214. I would like to go to dances that feature music from other

countries.7. I often listen to music of other cultures.

10. I am interested in learning about the many cultures that have existed in this world.

13. I attend events where I might get to know people from different racial backgrounds.

RELATIVISTIC

APPRECIATIO

N

2. Persons with disabilities can teach me things I could not learn elsewhere.

0 0 5 12 32 215. I can best understand someone after I get to know how

he/she is both similar and different from me.8. Knowing how a person differs from me greatly enhances

our friendship.11. In getting to know someone, I like knowing both how

he/she differs from me and is similar to me.14. Knowing about the different experiences of other people

helps me understand my own problems better.COMFOR

T WIT

H DIFFERENCE

S

9. It's really hard for me to feel close to a person from another race.

24 27 8 6 4 1 6. I am only at ease with persons of my race.

12. It is very important to me that a friend agrees with me on most issues.

3. Getting to know someone of another race is generally an uncomfortable experience for me.

15. I often feel irritated by persons of a different race.

WHAT DID WE LEARN?DIVERSITY OF CONTACT (BEHAVIORAL)

WHAT DID WE LEARN?RELATIVISTIC APPRECIATION (COGNITIVE)

WHAT DID WE LEARN?COMFORT WITH DIFFERENCES (EMOTIONAL)

WHAT DID WE LEARN?M-GUDS-S Question Strongly

Disagree Disagree Disagree a Little Bit

Agree a Little Bit Agree Strongly

Agree

DIVERSITY OF CONTAC

T

1. I would like to join an organization that emphasizes getting to know people from different countries.

? 7+

4. I would like to go to dances that feature music from other countries.

0-37+ 7+

7. I often listen to music of other cultures. ?7+

0-34-7

0-37+

10. I am interested in learning about the many cultures that have existed in this world.

?

13. I attend events where I might get to know people from different racial backgrounds.

0-37+ 7+ (x2)

RELATIVISTIC

APPRECIATION

2. Persons with disabilities can teach me things I could not learn elsewhere.

5. I can best understand someone after I get to know how he/she is both similar and different from me.

8. Knowing how a person differs from me greatly enhances our friendship.

0-37+

11. In getting to know someone, I like knowing both how he/she differs from me and is similar to me.

?

14. Knowing about the different experiences of other people helps me understand my own problems better.

7+?

COMFOR

T WIT

H DIFFERENCE

S

9. It's really hard for me to feel close to a person from another race. ?7+

6. I am only at ease with persons of my race. ?

12. It is very important to me that a friend agrees with me on most issues.

0-37+ (x2) ?

3. Getting to know someone of another race is generally an uncomfortable experience for me.

7+ 0-3

15. I often feel irritated by persons of a different race. ?4-7

WHAT DID WE LEARN?WHAT DO OUR RESULTS TELL US ABOUT ADVISING IN COE & AT PURDUE?• The results of each individual question are not as telling as when we review the

outliers by category.• Would a larger sample size provide greater insight into individual question

responses?

• Outliers were mainly in the 0-3 or 7+ category• Is this because they are new to diverse settings or because they are tired of

working with diverse population?

• Length of Time Employed at Purdue• 0-3 = met daily with international students (4) and 2-3 times a week (1)• 4-7 = met daily with international students (2)• 7+ = met daily with international students (3) and 2-3 times a week (1)

• One individual did not identify how long they had worked at Purdue, but their answers appeared 9 times (out of 15) as an outlier.

WHAT’S NEXT?

IMPLEMENTATION @ YOUR INSTITUTION

WHAT DID WE LEARN?REACTION TO FINDINGS

Participants (who identified themselves) will receive a one-page Advisor Action Plan which explains:

• Individual Results - Description of what results mean and how it impacts advising • Advisors strengths• Interpreting student behavior and appropriate responses• Increasing cultural awareness

• Development Opportunities - List of tools and resources available online and at Purdue

• Webinars, conferences, workshops, etc.• Cultural learning partner• Staff exchange opportunity • Opportunity to develop new programming?

WHAT CAN YOU DO?IMPLEMENTATION @ YOUR INSTITUTION

• Research available tools and compare to your goals and available resources

• Obtain leadership buy-in

• Create opportunities for anonymous as well individualized result reporting

REFERENCESFuertes, J. (2000). Factor Structure and Short Form of the Miville-Guzman Universality-Diversity Scale. Measurement & Evaluation In Counseling & Development (American Counseling Association), 33(3), 157.

Fuertes, J. N., Sedlacek, W. E., Roger, P., & Mohr, J. (2000). Correlates of universal-diverse orientation among first-year university students. Journal of the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, 12, 45-59.