Valuing Diversity
The world we all live in has become an increasingly multicultural environment. This means that we will all encounter individuals from many different backgrounds during our personal and professional lives. Such diversity can be a rewarding and enriching experience because it provides us with the opportunity to reflect on our own beliefs, values and customs as well as those of others from backgrounds that are different to our own. Developing cultural awareness is an important first step to achieving these outcomes. However, cultural awareness is a conscious learning process in which individuals become appreciative of and sensitive to the cultures of other people (Walton & Marriott, 2008, p.24). This section of the website is designed to help students and workplace supervisors think about the concept of culture and its application to learning and teaching in the clinical environment. Three areas that are key to this reflection are:
Click on these links (or use the drop down menu on the left) to explore and extend your understanding of these concepts and their application within the context of clinical teaching and learning.
