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FRAGM. IOANN.COLLECTA, Suppl. 2005 – Proceedings of the International Conference
New Perspectives in Cognitive and Intercultural Learning: from Preschool Education to Information Society
, 26 – 29 June 2005, Svatý Jan pod Skalou & Praha, Czech Republic
471
Sociocultural competence and its evaluationSociokulturní kompetence a její hodnocení
Venla VARIS
Rouvinperä 15, 14770 EteläinenFinlande-mail: venla.varis@hamk.fi
Abstract
In an internationalized world a lot of research work is done and new key qualifications developedparticularly in the area of sociocultural expertise. It is not a question only of intelligence or know-howthat can be learned from books but it is “tacit know-how” or insightful knowledge learned throughreflection process with interaction in different cultural context.
There is increasing need to motivatepeople to transform themselves and learn off (wash out) behavior, which has been learned withoutreflection (Koli & Silander 2003). Transformation is transpersonal and its location is oneself. Self-management requires the ability to learn awareness and utilization and develop of personal strengths.Learners have their individual world view and prior knowledge, on their basis of which they perceive,interpret and organize the world and information around them. Awareness means gathering, processing,reflecting and utilizing information based on everything that has been acquired earlier. The learner’sawareness of his or her learning is essentials to the learning process. This awareness of one’s learningforms, and the ability to direct and enlarge it, is referred to as meta-cognitive skills (Koli & Silander2003, p. 11). Self-efficacy affects personal goal setting and goal commitment, evaluation of one’sbehaviour in relation of personal standards and cultural context and affective self-reaction. Self-regulation is also connected with self-efficiacy mechanism through thought, emotion and action(Ruohotie 2001,p. 62). The holistic cultural competence assessment –model has been created and testedin the Intercultural Learning in the Internet project. The tutors have guided learning and evaluationprocesses. Declarative evaluations have created to be a foundation for the students for control anddevelopment their activities. Portfolios displayed and review student’s socio-cultural learning andcompetencies in a relevant and holistic way. The world needs self-directed learners who can performcollaboratively and creatively with minimal amount of supervision and stress.Keywords:
competence, meta-cognition, transformative learning, portfolio, HCCA-model: holisticcultural competence assessment
Ve stále více mezinárodním/propojeném sv
ě
t
ě
se provádí
ř
ada výzkum
ů
a rozvíjejí se nové klí
č
ovéschopnosti zejména v oblasti sociokulturní odbornosti. Není to otázka pouze inteligence,
č
i know-how,které si lze nau
č
it z knih, ale jakési „implicitní know-how“,
č
i vhled do podstaty v
ě
cí získaný procesemreflexe spolu s interakcemi v r
ů
zných kulturních kontextech. Stále se zvyšuje pot
ř
eba motivovat lidik vlastní transformaci a k tomu, aby se odnau
č
ili chování, které si osvojili bez reflexe (Koli & Silander2003). Transformace je transpersonální a probíhá uvnit
ř
jednotlivce. Zvládání sebe sama vyžadujeschopnost nau
č
it se uv
ě
domovat si a používat a rozvíjet silné stránky vlastní osobnosti. Studující mají sv
ů
j pohled na sv
ě
t a p
ř
edchozí znalosti, na jejichž základ
ě
vnímají, interpretují a organizují sv
ě
t ainformace kolem sebe. Uv
ě
dom
ě
ní znamená shromaž
ď
ovat, zpracovávat, p
ř
emýšlet o a používatinformace na základ
ě
všeho, co si
č
lov
ě
k osvojil d
ř
íve. Uv
ě
dom
ě
ní si svého u
č
ení je zásadní pro procesu
č
ení se. Toto uv
ě
domování si vlastních forem u
č
ení a schopnost
ř
ídit a rozši
ř
ovat je se ozna
č
uje jakometakognitivní dovednosti (Koli & Silander 2003, p. 11). Sebe-efektivnost ovliv
ň
uje stanovení aoddanost vlastním cíl
ů
m, hodnocení vlastního chování ve vztahu k osobním normám a kulturnímukontextu a emo
č
ní reakci na sebe sama. Seberegulace je také spojena s mechanismem sebe-efektivnostiprost
ř
ednictvím myšlení, cit
ů
a chování (Ruohotie 2001, p. 62). Model holistického hodnocení kulturních kompetencí byl vytvo
ř
en a vyzkoušen v rámci projektu “Interkulturní vz
ě
lávání na Internetu”(IntCultNet). Tuto
ř
i byly pr
ů
vodci studujících v procesech u
č
ení a hodnocení. Bylo vytvo
ř
eno n
ě
kolikhodnotících dotazník
ů
jako základ pro kontrolu a rozvoj jejich
č
inností. Portfolia ukazují a revidují sociokulturní u
č
ení a kompetence studujících relevantním a holistickým zp
ů
sobem. Sv
ě
t pot
ř
ebuje sebe
FRAGM. IOANN.COLLECTA, SUPPL. 2005
472
ř
ízené studující, kte
ř
í jsou schopni pracovat tvo
ř
iv
ě
a ve spolupráci s ostatními s minimálním dohledem astresem.Klí
č
ová slova:
kompetence, meta-poznání, transformativní u
č
ení, portfolio, HCCA-model: holistické hodnocení kulturních kompetencí
Culture is a continuous interaction between ideas of our heads and behavior.
We do according to our beliefs what is “the right or normal” way to do (Lehtonen 2001).Vygotsky has proposed that all learning has two phases, first on a social and then on a psychologicallevel. The learner’s knowledge structures make ones pre-expectations and preconceptions which areoften partly false and are needed to get renewed, transformed or changed. This learner’s cultureuniqueness is determined in large part by the 'filters' that regulate our perception. While we can notchange our personality, we can choose the way we respond to situations. Doing many things fast doesnot mean for doing the right things. When we think ‘first things at first´ we are proactive and fulfil thefirst human needs; mental, physical, social and spiritual. Cultural competence does not mean onlyreceiving knowledge from different cultures and ability to adapt with them, it means also ability tointeract as a cultural actor and able to analyze cultural reform tendency and prevent cultural biases alsoown culture. According to the researcher Daniel Kealey success or failure on an internationalassignment depends on five dimensions: 1) How to deal with change and life long learning, 2) sociocultural collaboration, 3) personal presence, 4) position on authority, and 5) inner coherence andintegrity.
Sociocultural experts.
Cognitive processes are characterized by complexity of domain-specific knowledge structures and deep understanding of concepts (Pilla, 1998). Experts have theability to apply their knowledge and skills to new cultural situations. Experts are proactive and thyhave the ability to analyze they problems, create new innovations and take responsibility for theeffectiveness of their work practices. Thrishman’s research group (1993) found seven factors thatpromote higher level of thinking; open-heartedness and broadmindness, intellectual curiosity,inquisitiveness for connections and explanations, ability to anticipate outcomes and to make plans,ability to process information, ability to asses framework and reasons and ability to monitr ones’s ownthoughts (Ruohotie 2004, p. 172-173).These acquired competencies are posited as responsible for the development of the expertisethat is needed for exceptional achievement. A decisive prerequisite for reaching a high level of expertise is the maintenance of an active and aim-related learning process over of life long learning(Ruohotie 2004, p. 172-173).
1. Socioultural competence from the perspectives of different theories
Cultural competence is widely applicable, a real potential capacity of an individual belongingto the qualifications of special level. In an internationalized world a lot of research work is done andnew key qualifications developed particularly in the area of sociocultural expertise. Specialistsdisagree how much sociocultural skills can be developed by the methods of the traditional education.It is not a question only of intelligence or know-how that can be learned from books but it is “tacitknow-how” or insightful knowledge learned through reflection process with interaction in differentcultural context.Sociocultural competence is an important part of professional competence as job requirement neededin carrying out tasks successfully especially in multicultural fields and in international cooperation.The significance of cultural competence in working life cannot be overestimated in the differenteducation institutes and learning programmes. “None of us is as intelligent as we are all together”(Japanese proverb). The most common mentioned ability of international competence. 1) openness, 2)flexibility, 3) personal autonomy, 4) emotional strengths (inner purpose, focus of goals); resilience,coping, spirit of adventures, 5) perspectives (reflected awareness), 6) listening, 7) transparency, 8)cultural knowledge (valuing differences), 9) influencing (rapport, range styles, sensitivity to context(high context), 10) synergy (creating new alternatives).
VARIS V.: SOCIOCULTURAL COMPETENCE AND ITS EVALUATION
473
From the perspective of constructive theories, peoples’ action, including learning actions take place ina specific cultural context, and they are conveyed by various symbol systems such as language andintercultural collaboration. Vygotsky has proposed that all learning has two phases, first on a socialand then on a psychological level. People need to connect to the place where they live or work, theyneed to collaborate with the people around then and feel a sense of belonging and confidence. Theyhave possibilities by learning and experience to find ways to transform themselves. They just need tolearn for example trust, sharing, participation and responsibility.Sociocultural competence belongs to the basic personal skills. Intra- and interpersonal skills are thepremises to success in private and working life. (Gardner 1998) Why not much more in multiculturalworking environment! Core or common skills include ability to renew and modify personal andprofessional skills in different context According to Rauste-von Wright (1991, p. 13) it means thelearner’s skill to seek relevant strategies for learning and for other actions through experimentation.Personal beliefs thoughts and understanding are all based on prior learning and interpretations andthey form construction of reality and interpretation of life experiences (Ruohotie & Nokelainen 2001,p. 62).Self-management requires the ability to learn awareness and utilization and develop of personalstrengths (Evers et al. 1998). Learners have their individual world view and prior knowledge, on theirbasis of which they perceive, interpret and organize the world and information around them.Awareness means gathering, processing, reflecting and utilizing information based on everything thathas been acquired earlier. The learner’s awareness of his or her learning is essentials to the learningprocess. This awareness of one’s learning forms, and the ability to direct and enlarge it, is referred toas meta-cognitive skills (Koli & Silander 2003, p. 11).Sociocultural competence can be called the most important powerful skills which have a broad field of applications and can be applied in various contexts and situations. By modifying Wiant’s (1987)suggests of main categories for the powerful skills include: 1) cognitive skills; learning, planning,reasoning, and problem solving, 2) communicative skills; reading, writing and listening, and 3) socialskills and interpersonal relations (Niemi & Ruohotie, p. 243-245; Clancey 1997) as well as proactiveinteraction skills.Self-reflection means, on the one hand, the ability to acquire knowledge of one’s internal processes,such as the skill to “see” what is understood and what is not understood and on the other hand, theability to control one’s own internal processes in order to achieve a personal goal (Ruohotie &Nokelainen 2001, p. 62-63). Self-regulation begins with self-evaluation and it leads to attributioninterpretations which can lead to proactive behaviour and promote the needed adaptation process.Important preconditions for self-regulation area) understanding role of self-beliefs in thinking processes, emotions, motivation andregulation of one’s own actions. b) awareness of one facilities for self-regulation and their utilizationin learning, and c) intrinsic understanding that the assignment and experiences are meaningful andrelevant (Ruohotie 2004, p. 168-169).Effective learning is not only depending on cognitive skills. The individual’s self confidence and otherpersonal traits also affect how the learner assumes personal responsibility, control and the intentionaluse of metakognitive skills. The mechanism of self-regulation operates through there sub-functions;self-monitoring of one’s behaviour Self-efficacy affects personal goal setting and goal commitment,evaluation of one’s behaviour in relation of personal standards and cultural context and affective self-reaction. Self-regulation is also connected with self-efficiacy mechanism through thought, emotionand action. (Ruohotie 2001, p. 62)
2. Sociocultural competence means ‘Life long Learning*2.1 Transformative learning
There is increasing need to motivate people to transform themselves and learn off (wash out)behavior, which has been learned without reflection (Koli & Silander 2003). Transformation istranspersonal and its location is oneself. The focus of transformation is beliefs, assumptions andattitudes, which are habitual sets of expectations.
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