Our Experience : Evaluation of the VMC Cultural Competence Training
Evaluation of "Cultural Competence in Professional Practice" Training Program for Early Childhood Professionals 2011
In 2009 the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) engaged Office of Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship (OMAC) (previously the Victorian Multicultural Commission [VMC]) to design and deliver a series of training sessions and communication resources to enhance the cultural awareness of early childhood services professionals. The OMAC ‘Cultural Competence in Professional Practice’ - Training Program delivered 14 training sessions to Maternal and Child Health Nurses across Victoria during 2010 and 2011. The program focused on training that meets the specific needs of Maternal and Child Health Nurses especially in relation to the use of language services, improving cultural awareness and skills in cross-cultural communication.
During the implementation of the training program the VMC underwent a restructure and the newly formed Office of Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship (OMAC) took over responsibility for the project.
The purpose of the evaluation was to assess and report on:
- The extent to which the Training Program achieved its objectives and desired outcomes
- Improvements to future delivery of the Training Program
255 participants completed the training. An evaluation framework and instruments for obtaining participant feedback prior to and following the training were developed. This included:
- Pre-training data collection to establish baseline measures of understanding and skills in cultural competence.
- Post-training data collection to establish ‘self-reported’ improvement in culturally competent professional practice (at 3 and 6 months after training)
- Participants also provided feedback to the trainers at the end of each training session by completing a brief questionnaire
- Interviews were also conducted with members of the Project Reference Group and OMAC and DEECD personnel
A number of useful resources are being developed by VMC which can be accessed at: http://www.multicultural.vic.gov.au/