Research Foundations of Cultural Competency Training

This chapter provides a review of Cultural Competency Training (CCT) that is relevant for trainers, students, (potential or actual) expatriates, and sojourners (notably employees of multinational corporations in preparation for overseas assignment). High-quality service delivery in CCT starts from an analysis of the psychological issues involved. The aim of this chapter is to provide the reader a review of the international CCT literature and to describe current models of CCT (e.g., major skills involved and views on effectiveness of CCT) so as to enable trainers to apply upto-date scientific insights in their training and to make expatriates and sojourners aware of and knowledgeable about the psychological perspectives on CCT.

The field of intercultural communication, to which CCT belongs, started as a separate discipline in the mid-1970s and early 1980s when the International Journal of Intercultural Relations was launched and the first handbooks on intercultural communication were published. In those days few theories and empirical studies could be found in the literature. The situation has changed considerably. Mainly building on work in communication research and intergroup relations, many models of intercultural communication have been developed, and there is a plethora of smaller and larger studies addressing many features of intercultural communication.