Date of Conferral

2019

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Nursing

Advisor

Janice M. Long

Abstract

Nurses deal more effectively with cultural diversity when they have an ethnorelative orientation toward cultural difference and commonality on the Intercultural Development Continuum, which was the theoretical framework of this study. Scholarly literature shows limited knowledge on what fosters nurses' intercultural development. Thus, this quantitative, retrospective study was the first investigation in health care in Switzerland conducted on nursing students' orientation on the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) and the relationship to student demographic variables. The sample for this secondary data analysis consisted of the IDI results from nursing students enrolled between 2010 and 2016 at the largest nursing college in Switzerland (N = 3,410) where the systematic integration of the development of intercultural competence into the curriculum began in 2010. Descriptive statistical analysis indicated that the students' developmental orientation (DO) toward cultural difference and commonality represented a mindset of minimization (M = 86.3, SD = 13.7), whereas the orientation gap between the DO and the students' perceived orientation (PO) was high (M = 32.5), indicating that students believe they have higher intercultural competence than they have. Chi-square-tests revealed significant relationships between gender, age, and time living in another country and the students' PO and DO. The paired samples t test demonstrated a higher end of program DO (p = .01) compared to beginning DO scores, suggesting the program provided challenges that met the students' level of readiness for cultural development. The findings may affect positive social change by providing knowledge on contributors to development of intercultural competence that educators can use.

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