Flerkulturalitet i opplæring av helsefagarbeidere

Abstract

This study will focus on multicultural competence as a topic in vocational training of health care workers in upper secondary school in Norway. The research question is: How do vocational teachers practice multiculturalism in health care worker vocational education? According to OECD, multiculturalism is one of the core competencies of the 21st century. The need of healthcare professionals with expertise in multicultural sensitivity and health-communication will increase in the years ahead because this competence is essential for a good and caring professional health care. The theoretical perspective is related to a theoretical conceptual understanding of multicultural competence and to vocational didactic perspectives on health care worker vocational training. The data collection is based on semi-structured interviews with vocational teachers. The key findings show that multicultural issues are rarely highlighted in education and that multicultural topics are rarely linked to vocationally relevant professional tasks. Topics as health-communication and diet were poorly elucidated from a multicultural perspective. There will be a need to implement various occupationally relevant multicultural issues in health worker vocational training to prepared for the multicultural professional life.