Cultural competence of international humanitarian workers

Abstract

As global interaction and cultural diversity become prominent, cultural competence has received more attention. To understand nonprofit organizations’ (NPO’s) international workers’ learning process in terms of cultural competence, this study used a cultural competence attainment model as a theoretical framework, enlisted 10 Taiwanese international humanitarian workers, and explored how their expatriate experiences of local service influenced their cultural competence. This study identified three levels of influence, namely, the peripheral, cognitive, and reflective levels. Based on these findings, this study suggests the practice of designing related developmental activities in accordance with the three levels and more future research focusing on the process of acquiring cultural competence.