Self Assessment Questionnaire Developing Emotional and Cultural Intelligence A Framework for VET Practitioners
Introduction The Big Bang project identified that Vocational and Educational Training (VET) practitioners who work with young people from marginalised communities often struggle to bridge the cultural divide between the demands of employers and mainstream provision and the barriers and challenges that these young people face. Sometimes, this difficulty is linked to a lack of understanding of the cultural values and norms of young people s own communities and how these impact on the choices they make. Some of these values are linked to a street culture while others are linked specifically to their communities and their cultural heritage. Our project highlighted the importance of Emotional and Cultural Intelligence as tools for VET practitioners seeking to engage effectively with these young people and support them to move successfully into education or employment outcomes. This document sets out a template for practitioners to assess their current skills alongside the Big Bang toolkit developed as part of the programme. Contemporary research has identified multiple types of intelligence. These include: IQ - General mental ability EQ - Emotional Intelligence CQ- Cultural Intelligence Our research would suggest that most VET practitioners will rely on the knowledge and skills they have acquired through training and their inherent IQ when working with young people whilst failing to focus on their Emotional and Cultural Intelligence. There is a significant amount of literature and specialist information available online focusing on Emotional Intelligence. Mayer and Salovey 1997 define it as involving the ability to perceive accurately, appraise and express emotion; the ability to access and/or generate feelings when they facilitate thought; the ability to understand emotion and emotional knowledge; the ability to regulate emotions and to promote emotional and intellectual growth. The Cultural Intelligence Centre (CQC) 1 defines Cultural Intelligence as providing an individual with the capability to cope with multi-cultural situations, engage in cross-cultural interactions and perform more effectively in culturally diverse groups. Cultural Intelligence is an individual capability that can be enhanced and when fully developed adapts to the settings in which the practitioner operates. 2 www.culturalq.com
Within the context of Big Bang, Cultural Intelligence is important because it complements the general cognitive intelligence of the VET practitioner by focusing on the specific capabilities, attitudes and skills that are important for the practitioner to develop high quality relationships with young people and effectiveness in culturally diverse settings. This in turn impacts on their ability to connect successfully to the young person and establish a meaningful and productive relationship. The Cultural Intelligence Centre splits CQ into four key components: Motivational Cultural Intelligence Cognitive Cultural Intelligence Strategic Cultural Intelligence Behavioural Cultural Intelligence These sit alongside the four key components of Emotional Intelligence set out by Mayer and Salovey 1997 Perceiving Emotions Reasoning with Emotions Understanding Emotions Managing Emotions
Cultural and Emotional Intelligence Self Assessment Test for VET Practitioners Rate the following from 1-7 depending on how much you think the statement applies to you with 1 being the lowest and not fitting with you at all and 7 being the highest and being much like you. Please note this is not an academically validated test but is designed to help practitioners reflect informally on their own practice and their ability to engage effectively with young people in cross-cultural settings. Motivational I enjoy working with young people from a diverse range of cultures and backgrounds. I actively seek out opportunities to engage with young people from different cultures and understand their values and norms. I understand and respect the street culture of young people as a unique and relevant part of young people s lives. I take the time to watch programmes, read books and engage in conversations that help me gain a better understanding of the street culture and also of the cultural backgrounds of the young people I work with. When I begin working with a young person from another culture, I actively take steps to increase my knowledge and understanding of the young person s heritage and culture. I think its important young people from all cultures adapt to the mainstream cultural values and I do not think that the street culture is helpful. I work hard to ensure young people are integrated as soon as possible.
Knowledge I know the economic and employment systems of the cultures of young people I work with particularly those from migrant communities. I understand which sectors appeal to them and those that they are unlikely to wish to engage with for cultural or religious reasons. I know and understand the rules of the languages of street culture among young people (vocabulary, slang). I know and understand the rules for expressing non-verbal behaviours among young people which are relevant to street cultures. I know and understand some of the rules for expressing non-verbal behaviours among the cultures of young people I work with who are from migrant communities or other minority groups. Strategic I am conscious of the cultural knowledge I use when I interact with young people from other cultures or young people very involved in the street culture. I take steps to check the accuracy of my cultural knowledge with colleagues and with young people. I work with colleagues to ensure that our service and provision is cognisant of the cultural issues, norms and values of the young people we work with. As a service provider I am conscious of the cultural knowledge I apply when interacting with young people from different cultures and backgrounds.
When I meet young people from cultures that are unfamiliar to me as a service or individual, I take steps to adjust my cultural knowledge and practices. I take steps to ensure that employers understand the cultural values and norms of young people who I refer to them and how this may impact their performance in interviews and employment. Behavioural I change my verbal behaviour (e.g. accent, tone) when cross-cultural interactions with young people demand it. I vary my non-verbal (body) language when crosscultural interactions with young people demand it and when working with young people from a street culture background. I understand how to use body language, tone and accent to communicate my expectations of young people in a way that is not perceived as disrespectful or threatening to young people in cross-cultural settings. I am able to read and understand the body language and expressions of young people in cross-cultural settings and alter my behaviour to engage effectively. Emotional Intelligence: Perceiving, Reasoning, Understanding and Managing Emotions I understand the different ways in which young people in a cross-cultural setting are likely to express fear, low self-esteem and a lack of confidence.
I am able to adapt my ways of working to relate and engage effectively with young people who may be experiencing fear, low self-esteem and a lack of confidence in a way that respects their cultural values and norms while supporting them to develop. I am able to bridge the communication gap between the expectations of employers and higher educational institutions and young people in crosscultural settings. I generally take steps to understand how young people operating in a cross-cultural setting perceive me during my interactions with them and adapt my approach in order to achieve the best and most positive outcomes. I work hard to ensure that young people in crosscultural settings are inspired and encouraged by their interactions with me as a professional. I understand the importance of demonstrating empathy and understanding to the experiences of discrimination and prejudice young people have experienced even when I have no personal experience of these experiences. I can effectively persuade and encourage young people in cross-cultural settings to adapt a different approach to employment and training without coercing them. I am willing to accept that I may make mistakes in my interactions with young people and am willing to be open about this and apologise accordingly. I understand the importance of managing my own emotions and emotional baggage in dealing with young people who may come across as angry or uncooperative and I am able to remain calm and sensitive to the needs of the young person in all circumstances.
I take time to reflect quietly on my interactions with young people from cross-cultural settings and to learn from others around me. Do your scores follow the same pattern? If your scores generally follow a similar pattern i.e. generally high, low or medium, you should think about ways in which you can build on your strong areas and address those areas where you are not as strong. It is important you do this to ensure that you are able to optimise your interactions with young people from a wide range of cultural backgrounds. Do you have consistent low scores? If you scored 1 in any area then this signifies an area where you really need to do some work to improve your cultural and emotional intelligence if you are to help young people effectively bridge the cultural gap and move them effectively into sustainable employment and training. It may also be that you are rating yourself too low and being self-deprecating which is not particularly helpful in engaging with young people who also need to see you as being confident and sure of yourself. Consider what steps you can take to increase your confidence in this area of work. Do you have very high scores? If you scored 5 and above for many of these question then you obviously feel very confident about your capabilities in this area of work. This may mean you perform very effectively in diverse cross-cultural settings but it could also mean that you have a slightly inflated sense of your own ability in this area of work. This could make you complacent and could also mean young people may feel slightly patronised. It would be useful for you to reflect seriously on your approach and continue to work hard on those areas where you excel but also stay open to learning new capabilities and skills as you meet young people from more diverse backgrounds.