Unit:
Department of NursingLibrary of the School of Health Sciences
Author:
Brokalaki Eurydice
Dissertation committee:
Καλοκαιρινού Αθηνά, Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Νοσηλευτικής, ΕΚΠΑ (Επιβλέπουσα)
Αλεβιζόπουλος Γεώργιος, Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Νοσηλευτικής, ΕΚΠΑ
Βελονάκη Βενετία-Σοφία, Επίκουρη Καθηγήτρια , Τμήμα Νοσηλευτικής, ΕΚΠΑ
Καïτελίδου Δάφνη, Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Νοσηλευτικής, ΕΚΠΑ
Μαυρικάκη Ευαγγελία, Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Παιδαγωγικού Δημοτικής Εκπαίδευσης, ΕΚΠΑ
Φώτος Νικόλαος, Επίκουρος Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Νοσηλευτικής, ΕΚΠΑ
Ξέστερνου Μαρία, Επίκουρη Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Φιλολογίας, Πανεπιστήμιο Πελοποννήσου
Original Title:
Η επίδραση της πολιτισμικής νοημοσύνης στο άγχος και την πολυπολιτισμική διδακτική ικανότητα των εκπαιδευτικών
Translated title:
The effect of cultural intelligence on teachers' anxiety and multicultural teaching competency
Summary:
Introduction: Modern teachers are called to adequate response to the special needs of the culturally heterogeneous pupils’ population and due to this fact suffer by increased anxiety during their teaching work, a fact that negatively affects their teaching competency. Teachers’ cultural intelligence contribute to their effective adaptability into the cultural diversity environment, reducing simultaneously their anxiety and improving their socio-mental health.
Aim: To investigate the effect of cultural intelligence and other socio-demographic and professional variables on teachers’ anxiety and multicultural teaching competency.
Material & Methods: Cross-sectional study of 532 primary and secondary school teachers. Data collection was conducted through the Greek versions of the following structured, self-completion questionnaires: a) The Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS),b) The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and c) The Multicultural Teaching Competency Scale for assessing the teachers’ cultural intelligence, anxiety, and multicultural teaching competency, respectively. Statistical analysis was performed with the IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 21.0, using the following methods: t-test, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, Spearman’s correlation coefficient and backward stepwise linear regression. The p-value of ≤ 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.
Results: Multivariate analysis showed that teachers with high cultural intelligence had significantly lower trait (p<0.001 for the metacognitive & p=0.033 for the motivational dimension) and state (p=0.03 for the cognitive & p=0.002 for the motivational dimension) anxiety levels. Additionally, teachers without children (p=0.029), coming from a rural area (p=0.01), without living abroad (p=0.009) and foreign languages knowledge (p=0.009), without attending of university courses on cultural diversity (p=0.004), with shorter experience on their current job (p<0.001) and with higher experience in a school environment (p=0.001) characterized by cultural diversity had higher state anxiety levels. On the other hand, parameters such as younger age (p=0.03), teaching in multicultural schools (p<0.001) and the absence of attending courses on cultural diversity during teachers’ university education (p<0.001) were strong independent predictors of higher trait anxiety levels. Finally, as independent factors of significantly higher multicultural teaching competency levels were found the following variables: foreign languages knowledge (p=0.003), older age (p<0.001), shorter experience on their current job (p<0.001) and in a school environment characterized by cultural diversity (p<0.001) and primary school setting (p=0.004).
Conclusions: The increased teachers’ cultural intelligence seems to protect them from increased anxiety levels during their work and simultaneously strengthens their multicultural teaching competency. Specific actions and policies that aims to educate and sensitize teachers on cultural diversity could contribute to both their cultural intelligence improvement and their anxiety reduction, making them more teaching competent. Further research with larger sample size, interventions and qualitative approach is needed.
Main subject category:
Health Sciences
Keywords:
Anxiety, Cultural diversity, Cultural intelligence, Multicultural teaching competency, Teachers
Number of references:
191
