The Integration of Intercultural Competence in Innovative Pedagogical Methodology in Nursing Education.

Abstract

The global population is continuously emigrating and progressing due to the increased ability
to travel. This has resulted in upsurge escalation of cultural diversity in every country.
Immigration expansion, increasing globalization and the growth of minorities have resulted in
cultural diversity of students in the nursing education. This, therefore, calls for the need to
enhance the teaching strategies of nursing educators to meet the demands of diverse students.
This correlational study aims to measure the relationship between the integration of
intercultural competence on the use of innovative pedagogical methodology. Also, it aims to
measure the significant difference of years of teaching experience on the use of innovative
pedagogical methodology. Thirty (30) nurse educators were conveniently sampled from three
universities in Trinidad and Tobago. The study adopted and modified Cultural Diversity
Questionnaire for Nurse Educators (CDQN) to assess the intercultural competence of nurse
educators and a self-constructed questionnaire was used for the pedagogical methodology of
nurse educators. The statistical treatment used was Pearson Correlation and ANOVA. The
relationship between intercultural competence and the use of innovative pedagogical
methodology yielded a moderate significant positive relationship (r=0.387, p=0.008) at a
95% confidence interval. In examining the differences between years of teaching experience
the use of innovative pedagogical methodology, the study showed a non-significant
difference (p=1.35) on equal variance assumed, Therefore, this study concludes that in order
to enhance the quality of nursing education, nurse educators should pose intercultural
competence in order to provide innovative pedagogical methods that would enhance teaching
quality and facilitate cultural diversity in the classrooms. It is therefore critical for continuous
professional development for nursing educators to include the development of intercultural
competence and the use of innovative pedagogical methodology. Further research should
investigate using qualitative research design on the challenges that nurse educators face with
the increase of cultural diversity in nursing education.