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Cultural competence resides at the core of undergraduate and postgraduate medical and health professional education. The evolution of studies on cultural competence has resulted in the existence of multiple theoretical frameworks and models, each emphasising certain elements of culturally appropriate care, but generally lacking in providing a coherent and systematic approach to teaching this subject. Following a meta-ethnographic approach, a systematic search of five databases was undertaken to identify relevant articles published between 1990 and 2022. After citation searching and abstract and full article screening, a consensus was reached on 59 articles for final inclusion. Key constructs and concepts of cultural competence were synthesised and presented as themes, using the lens of critical theory. Three key themes were identified: competences; roles and identities; structural competency. Actionable concepts and themes were incorporated into a new transformative ACT cultural model that consists of three key domains: activate consciousness, connect relations, and transform to true cultural care. This critical review provides an up-to-date synthesis of studies that conceptualise cultural competence frameworks and models in international medical and healthcare settings. The ACT cultural model provides a set of guiding principles for culturally appropriate care, to support high-quality educational interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this Guide is to support teacher with the responsibility of designing, delivering and/or assessing diversity education. Although, the focus is on medical education, the guidance is relevant to all healthcare professionals. The Guide begins by providing an overview of the definitions used and the principles that underpin the teaching of diversity as advocated by Diversity and Medicine in Health (DIMAH). Following an outline of these principles we highlight the difference between equality and diversity education. The Guide then covers diversity education throughout the educational process from the philosophical stance of educators and how this influences the approaches used through to curriculum development, delivery and assessment. Appendices contain practical examples from across the UK, covering lesson plans and specific exercises to deliver teaching. Although, diversity education remains variable and fragmented there is now some momentum to ensure that the principles of good educational practice are applied to diversity education. The nature of this topic means that there are a range of different professions and medical disciplines involved which leads to a great necessity for greater collaboration and sharing of effective practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychology is a science–based discipline in which research is inextricablyembedded in teaching and learning activities. Educators use different methodsto help students in their learning of the nature of research and the practical skills required to conduct research, with students playing either a passiveor more active role in the learning process. This paper details the steps taken at a post–1992 university in the UK to involve finalyear psychology undergraduate students as researchers in a staff–led neuropsychology project. The theoretical frameworks underpinning this study were the teaching–research nexus and learning communities. The aims of the project were to engage students in active learning and to foster the development of higher order skills – evaluation, synthesis and reflection – through the development of a learning community. A thematic analysis of student questionnaires identified three overarching themes: Bringing theory alive, critical thinking and problem solving skills, and working in research communities. Staff reflections of working on the project are discussed together with future directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The successful operation of a school's policy on special educational needs depends on the quality of the judgements that teachers make about individual children. We predicted that school staff groups might find it useful to know whether individual teachers in the school had a consistent approach to making judgements about children's difficulties and whether the judgements made in the school were in line with those of teachers in other schools. This report analyses the ways in which feedback on such questions was used in a sample of 26 primary schools. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background. More boys than girls receive provision to meet special educational needs. It has been suggested that teachers' evaluations of children's difficulties in school may be subject to gender bias. But the evidence is inconsistent, and the methodology of some work that reported bias has been criticised because the type of rating task that was used may have encouraged stereotypic thinking (Langfeldt, 1993). Aims. This study investigated whether gender of child would still have an influence on teacher's judgments if a fuller context was provided for the stimulus and there was a more realistic rating task. Samples. The sample comprised 523 teachers in 79 primary schools in London, the home counties and the North-West of England. Methods. Participants completed questionnaires on what action might be required in their school for children with difficulties who were described in short vignettes. The children's gender was varied systematically. The construct of ‘seriousness’, which had generally been left vague in earlier research, was given a concrete definition. Results. It was found that, when the experimental task was contextualised in this way, the gender-of-child effect disappeared. Teacher characteristics such as gender did not influence the results. Conclusions. These findings should be treated with some caution as they relate to the small and restricted range of types of difficulty that were included in the study and to a sample of primary schools in one society. However, they give support to an emphasis on ‘realism’ in the method of investigation that is used for exploring teachers' judgments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]