Suggested guidelines for the inclusion of Indigenous content across courses (word.doc) Developed by Ranzijn, R., McConnochie, K., & Nolan, W. (2007)
Combining the six steps below with the six stages of Wells's (2000) cultural competence continuum produces a matrix which can be used to guide the development of cultural competence. The matrix encompasses many levels of experience, from beginning higher education studies through to practitioners who may have been working in the field for many years. The model outlines a process or journey which commonly (but not necessarily, depending on experience) begins at the bottom left hand corner (in the case of people who are culturally incompetent), and progresses towards the upper right hand corner (however, note the earlier comments about the need to re-visit the basics).
Any particular person could be located at any point in the matrix, or indeed at a number of points simultaneously, not necessarily on the arrow. In fact, it is unlikely that someone would be located right on the arrow, since people are likely to be at different levels of cultural competence depending on which content area they are proficient in. For instance, someone may be high on cultural proficiency in their generic understanding of culture while at the same time being culturally incompetent in the area of critically examining their profession.
This model has some important implications:
- The process is sequential and cumulative – each stage builds on the previous stage as individuals move through this sequence. Developing cultural competence needs to build on a solid foundation of knowledge and understanding of culture, including one's own culture, and this then provides the framework for understanding Indigenous cultures.
- This sequence is unlikely to be a single straight line for any particular individual, since everyone is likely to be at a different stage in knowledge, understanding and skills.
- One-off case studies or lectures are unlikely to cover this range of understandings and skills. The process necessarily needs to extend over time, both in order to cover the range of understandings needed, but also to allow time for individual reflection and review.
