Date
4-26-2024
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Chair
Jeffery Savage
Keywords
Cocurricular activities, Intercultural Competence, Cultural competence, Allied health students, nursing
Disciplines
Educational Administration and Supervision | Higher Education
Recommended Citation
Lewis, Tanya, "Cocurricular Activities as Contributors to the Development of Intercultural Competence in Undergraduate Non-Nursing Allied Health Students: A Causal-Comparative Study" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 5407.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5407
Abstract
This quantitative, causal-comparative study aimed to explore the difference between the intercultural development scores of physical therapy assistants, radiological technology, sonography, and surgical technology undergraduate health science students based on their participation in a diversity module. Interculturally competent allied health students transitioning into practice support a more diverse, culturally competent workforce of healthcare workers challenged to care for an increasingly diverse patient population. There is scant research in higher education literature on the intercultural development of undergraduate non-nursing health science students. There is a gap in the literature on whether higher education systems should develop a standardized curriculum that supports intercultural development among allied health students. This study used a casual-comparative design to determine the impact of a diversity module identified as the cocurricular activity and independent variable on specialized groups of allied health science students at a private Michigan college. The study used a convenience sample of 500 undergraduate non-nursing health science students. Participants were surveyed using the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS) to measure dimensions related to intercultural development. In addition, the researcher utilized the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) for data analysis. The data showed no statistical significance on the total scores of the ISS among the groups. However, the results provided insight into differences in intercultural development among the participant groups related to the cocurricular activity. It is recommended that future research be conducted by replicating this study and exploring the five subscales of the ISS.
