Contexts and Circumstances: The Cultural Preparation Process Model as a Template for Intervention Development

Contributing Author: Gideon Arulmani

Intervention research has consistently shown that outcomes are poor when universal principles are applied without adapting them to the particular characteristics of a culture (e.g., Reese & Vera, 2007; Arulmani, 2019). Conversely, the effectiveness of an intervention could be greater when the ideas and concepts that lie behind an intervention cohere with the history, values, and beliefs of a particular community (Arulmani, 2011; Griffin & Miller, 2007). A salient application of the cultural preparedness model, therefore, is to facilitate intervention development such that it is grounded in the local culture. Four salient conceptual guidelines based on the cultural preparedness framework that can guide such a process are outlined below.

Recognise cultural leadership

The role of external agents such as specialists, theories or models can only be secondary to the already present leadership structure within a cultural system. The group’s elders and leaders must be acknowledged as the culturally sanctioned mediators of cultural learning. Their experiences, ideas, and views must be acknowledged and inform intervention development. For example, these individuals could participate firstly in developing and then in vetting the activities, tools, and methods of the intervention.

Identify and accommodate ways of living. As per the cultural preparedness model’s principle of equilibrium, cultural learning and enculturation have led to an equipoise in the manner in which a culture engages with the world around. For example, the freedom to exercise personal volition to make a decision varies along the individualism-collectivism spectrum. In some contexts the individual’s decisions are expected to align with the values of the group. An intervention that countermands the adult or group role could be ineffective or even destructive of the wider cohesion already characterising that social fabric. At the same time, it may be that the adult view (e.g., the teacher, the teacher trainer, the supervisors) is out of date, out of keeping with the realities of the times or even counterproductive. The intervention development target here would be to create an environment where the teacher, child and the family have the opportunity to together create a new pathway. The objective, once again, is to facilitate the emergence of a new equilibrium while preserving and accommodating prevailing ways of living.

Identify, valorise and integrate cultural symbols. As discussed above, culturally anchored symbols are manifested in traditions, rituals, language and convention. An intervention that identifies these elements and integrates them into its methods and techniques would valorise them and thereby become more strongly aligned to the cultural preparedness of the community for which the intervention is being prepared.

A cultural artefact that is almost ubiquitous in its presence in almost all societies is the story. Legends, folktales, fables, parables, fairytales, and myths are receptacles and transmitters of culture and values. They create connections across generations, they are illuminative, and they offer guidelines for everyday life. Every story has its culture-specific dimension, whereby meaning emerges from the manner in which a story is interpreted and this could vary from one context to another. As Ramachandran and Arulmani (2014) point out, by using the story as a tool for development, we are drawing upon one of the oldest forms of the teaching-learning interaction, one that offers the possibility of interpreting universal themes into local contexts and at the same time of extending culture-specific themes to broader contexts.

Make interventions culturally resonant

When an intervention is acultural, culturally apathetic or culturally alien it not only runs the risk of being ineffective but also of debilitating or negating existing frameworks and ways of living. The cultural preparedness paradigm asks researchers and practitioners regardless of their cultural backgrounds to appreciate that culture, through a complex and enduring process, prepares individuals and groups to engage with the world in a particular manner.

Finally, more often than not, models and interventions are imported from other cultural locations. This can lead to the imposition of definitions onto contexts where such a definition may be culturally alien. If an intervention is to be culturally resonant, it is vital that contexts and circumstances are allowed to define and shape the intervention.

Compiled from:

Arulmani, G. (2014). The cultural preparation process model and career development. In G. Arulmani, A. J. Bakshi, F.T.L. Leong & A. G. Watts (Eds.), Handbook of career development: International perspectives (pp. 81-104). New York, USA: Springer International.

Arulmani, G., Kumar, S., Shrestha, S., Viray, M., Aravind, S. (2020). The Cultural Preparedness Perspective of Career Development. In P.J. Robertson, T. Hooley & P. McCash (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Career Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

References

Arulmani, G. (2011). Striking the right note: The cultural preparedness approach to developing resonant career guidance programmes. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, 11(2), 79-93.

Arulmani, G. (2019). The cultural preparedness framework: Equilibrium and its alteration. In N. Arthur. & M. McMahon. (Eds.), Contemporary theories of career development (pp. 195-208). New York, NY: Routledge.

Griffin, J. P., & Miller, E. (2007). A research practitioner's perspective on culturally relevant prevention: Scientific and practical considerations for community-based programs. The Counseling Psychologist, 35(6), 850-859.

Reese, L. E., & Vera, E. M. (2007). Culturally relevant prevention: The scientific and practical considerations of community-based programs. The Counseling Psychologist, 35(6), 763-778.