Interventions to promoting sense of coherence and transcultural competences in educational contexts

Abstract

During the past 30 years, salutogenesis and sense of coherence have been well researched in various disciplines, such as psychology, sociology and medical sciences. However, only a few studies have focused on transcultural and educational work contexts. A strong sense of coherence (SOC) is associated with a positive school performance, achievement, success, the ability to manage conflicts and transcultural competences and well-being. However, interventions on how to increase SOC and transcultural competences within the educational field have rarely been addressed. This article aims at contributing theoretically to the void in literature on didactic and educational interventions in educational and particularly school systems to promote SOC and transcultural competence. The team ombuds model, a didactic model, will be presented to promote mental health with special regard to SOC and transcultural competences within the formal educational system.

Introduction

During the past 30 years, salutogenesis and the sense of coherence (SOC) have been well researched within the positive health psychology. With regard to work-related fields, SOC has, for example, been researched strongly in psychology, sociology and management sciences (Mayer, 2011). Only a few studies have been conducted in educational contexts, addressing selected topics. Boness (2011) highlights the relationship of SOC and well-being of students in school settings. SOC has also been viewed as a protective factor of behaviour difficulties at school (Efrati-Virtzer & Margalit, 2009). SOC has been found to be related to individual as well as culture-specific schemes of health (Landrine & Klonoff, 1992), and research shows that cultural health disparities can be reduced through a positive reinforcement of SOC components in the educational system (Brach & Fraser, 2000). Since SOC has been found to correlate positively with the ability to manage conflicts constructively and with developing transcultural competences within organizational settings (Mayer, 2011), SOC is viewed as being an important resource to increase well-being, conflict management skills and transcultural competences in present educational contexts. However, recent publications highlight that the development of SOC is rarely promoted in educational settings and educational sciences (Lindström & Eriksson, 2011).

The purpose of this article is to review the literature on interventions to promote SOC in educational contexts and to present a didactic model which aims at promoting salutogenesis and SOC in this regard and to contribute theoretically to the void in the literature on didactic and educational interventions in education and particularly school systems to promote SOC and transcultural competence.

In the following, a short introduction to the German educational context, an overview on interventions for maintaining and promoting SOC and the team ombuds model (tOm) will be presented. Finally, a discussion and conclusion will be provided.

Contextualizing selected aspects in the German educational system

According to recent research on the German school system, it has been highlighted that a groundbreaking reform of the formal educational qualification system needs to be developed (Plünnecke & Stettes, 2006, p. 2). Many school reform ideas and their complexities have recently been discussed (Ertl, 2006; Rotte, 2006; Young et al., 2002), focusing on the following points:

• The reconstruction of the formal and institutionalized German school system to improve integration and decrease separation across cultures (Ertl, 2006),

• The changing of management processes (Coburn, 2003) particularly with regard to (early) selection processes (Ertl, 2006);

• The enhancement of school autonomy (Shaw, 2004);

• Improvement of health and well-being in children (Krause, 2006);

• The implementation of innovations in curriculum development (Ertl, 2006; Böttcher, 2004) didactic models (Terhart, 2003), teaching and learning strategies and classroom development (Thürmann, 2004);

• The improvement of teacher training (Rotte, 2006, p. 114) and teacher quality (Schneider et al., 2004);

• New education leadership and improvement of leadership skills (Davies, 2003; Dimmock & Walker, 2000, 2004).

It has been argued that structural changes of the entire formal educational system in Germany need political decisions at high levels to build the base for the effective, structured and strategic management of education management and education leadership in the country (Shaw, 2004). However, fundamental changes in the educational system have not yet been initiated from the top (Rotte & Rotte, 2007) and therefore need bottom-up approaches to manage educational change.

Health and well-being in educational contexts

In this article and with regard to the educational context, health can be defined as ‘the initiation and support of salutogenic processes in social systems and the assistance in establishing the structures for them’ (Freidl et al., 1995, p. 16). It is an empowerment approach that strengthens competence, responsibility and resourcefulness (Stark, 1996). It activates salutogenic resources, such as the social, living and working environment and individual characteristics (Noack, 1996a, 1996b). Health includes concepts of physical well-being (a positive body feeling, absence of complaints or signs of disease), psychological well-being (joy, happiness and life satisfaction), but also performance ability, self-realization and a sense of meaningfulness. In educational settings, health as well as transcultural competence need to be increased through educational concepts and didactic interventions (Boness, 2011).

Within the educational context, SOC can support students, teachers and parents to cope with daily challenges and remain healthy (Adelman & Taylor, 1998; Coll & Magnuson, 2000). By developing a strong SOC as a basis for a positive well-being, individuals gain fundamental confidence in managing challenges in a positive way (Antonovsky, 1990). A strong SOC is associated with low body complaints, somatoform symptoms and a decrease in health-related problems (Schumacher et al., 2000). SOC determines health perceptions, particularly in mental health (Eriksson & Lindström, 2006). Individuals with a strong SOC tend to react flexibly, adjust to changing situations, have increased life quality and coping strategies (Bengtsson-Tops & Hansson, 2001) and are generally confident, which can help understanding and managing transcultural interactions.

Recent research studies indicate that SOC relates to school performance and achievements (e.g. Bowen et al., 1998; Kristensson & Öhlund, 2005) SOC correlates significantly and positively with school marks, school performance, achievement and success (Kristensson & Öhlund, 2005). Research has also shown a significant influence of the family's educational background and school performance (e.g. Currie & Thomas, 1999; Fertig & Schmidt, 2002; Miller et al., 1997) on the individual learner and his/her school performance, health and well-being. The family SOC and its importance have been demonstrated in the context of school success and career orientation (Feldt et al., 2005). Other authors (e.g. Resnick et al., 1993) emphasize that caring and protection, spirituality, low family stress, connectedness and belonging to the family and the school itself function as protective health factors. A strong SOC has also been related to an increased transcultural competence. However, further research has to be carried out to view how SOC and transcultural competence are exactly interlinked (Mayer, 2011).

Promoting and maintaining SOC through interventions

Since SOC is strongly developed in childhood and youth (Antonovsky, 1987), it is highly important to promote SOC in educational contexts. The formal school system provides good opportunities to develop SOC in children across gender, age groups, social strata and cultural belonging. Since recent research has shown that SOC is influenced by certain interventions (e.g. Bahrs & Matthiessen, 2007), training modules have been published to promote SOC (e.g. Franke & Witte, 2009).

It has been suggested (Nilsson et al., 2003; Schnyder et al., 2000) that therapies, consultancy and counselling should focus on assets such as SOC to ensure and strengthen an individual's ability to respond to subsequent life challenges, such as moving, changes in schools, pressure to perform at school. Antonovsky (1987) stresses the importance of therapeutic interventions to assist people during critical life situations, thereby allowing them to maintain or even increase their SOC over time. Bahrs and Matthiessen (2007) emphasize that developing SOC is a lifelong process that can best be enhanced by professionals.

Educational contexts can play a key role in creating consistency and a safe and respectful learning environment that promotes social support and enhances SOC. However, Krause and Lorenz (2009, p. 177) promote the idea that not only professionals, but people in daily interaction, such as teachers, can improve SOC. The authors (Krause & Lorenz, 2009) assert that SOC improves by comprehending, encouraging, accepting and acknowledging the individual in daily life interactions. To value and respect others, as well as to transfer responsibility and independence, supports SOC in inter-personal interactions. In work and learning interactions, SOC is maintained and improved by transparent communication, appreciation in achievements, recognition of actions of employees, as well as values such as friendliness, justice, humour and tolerance (Mayer, 2011).

In a few studies it has been proven that SOC can be influenced by physical interventions, such as body awareness therapy, the Feldenkrais method and conventional physiotherapy (Malmgren-Olsson & Branholm, 2002), cognitive intervention practices, including mind–body medicine interventions (such as Die Heldenreise), physical interventions (such as progressive adaptation therapy and the McKenzie method), and both combined to cognitive–physical therapies (e.g. multimodal therapies) (Galert, 2007). However, the impact of these interventions on SOC needs further research (Galert, 2007, p. 43).

In a psychological setting, SOC is strengthened through health promoting seminars, training and educational workshops (Ravesloot et al., 1998). These seminars include practices of goal setting, problem-solving, healthy communication, coping with depression and sadness, information seeking, managing health, increasing physical activity, healthy nutrition, advocacy and maintenance.

Weissbecker et al. (2002) describe an eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction programme which significantly increased participants’ SOC and correlated negatively with measures of perceived stress and depression. This programme includes meditation practices.

Various studies demonstrate that the SOC improves through psycho-therapeutic interventions (Lazar et al., 2006; Sack et al., 1997; Wiesmann et al., 2006). Sack et al. (1997) use psychodynamic therapies, whilst Wiesmann et al. (2006) use behavioural therapies and psycho-educational programmes. Broda et al. (1996), however, indicate that SOC could not be changed through inpatient behavioural treatment therapies which aim at a resource-orientated strengthening of self-attributed interactions. Mittermair (2003) and Mittermair and Singer (2008) highlight the effectiveness of psychological and therapeutic interventions for personal development through a therapy-based ‘Heldenreise’ [The hero of the Journey] – a five-day intervention for self-development (Rebillot, 1997) – which substantially impacted positively on the salutogenic components of participants and the general health and well-being (Mittermair, 2003). Other authors (Nilsson et al., 2003; Schnyder et al., 2000) advise the use of therapies and counselling for improving SOC. Sarnow-Wlassack (2004) assumes that psycho-therapeutical interventions need to reveal health resources by recognizing the person as a whole, including the life-story as well as the socio-cultural environments and the individual life system.

Recently, salutogenic training programmes have been published in the German context (Franke & Witte, 2009; Krause & Mayer, forthcoming; Petzold, 2011). The HEDE programme (Franke & Witte, 2009) generally aims at increasing the SOC, and therefore impacts positively on psychological and physical health and well-being (Franke & Witte, 2009, p. 15). The target group for this training manual were (middle-aged) adults with chronic diseases and/or disabilities. Petzold (2011) has published a self-learning practical book on increasing SOC through self-management. Krause and Mayer (forthcoming) focus particularly on the educational context to promote SOC in pedagogues, educators and other professionals working in the educational context.

Transcultural competences

Transcultural awareness – the ability to understand and manage diverse contexts and give meaning to the individual's life – contributes to the well-being of professionals, such as teachers, school psychologists and school social workers, as well as students, in the school system. Transculturality has been defined for the German-speaking context by Welsch (2011). With regard to this article, the aspects of transculturality according to Lloyd and Härtel (2003) will be presented. The general ability to cope with transcultural encounters, to interpret transcultural conflictual situations (Ross, 1993) and to code and decode messages (Gudykunst, 2005; Gudykunst & Kim, 1997) is of critical importance to professionals and learners in educational contexts to develop transcultural competences (Lloyd & Härtel, 2003) and feel well.

Transcultural competence increases the realization of potential synergies available from cultural diversity. The following aspects are considered important within this regard (Lloyd & Härtel, 2003):

• Dissimilarity openness is required to appreciate cultural differences (e.g. Härtel & Fujimoto, 2000) and to being open to resolve conflicts across cultures (Ayoko & Härtel, 2000).

• Emotion management skills are needed as managed effectively, individuals are able to refocus their own and others’ attentions on problems (Ayoko & Härtel, 2000). Emotionally competent individuals deal with stress in a calmer way and avoid counterproductive activities (Jordan et al., 2002). Managing transcultural interactions requires emotional competence to understand the situation (Mayer & Salovey, 1994). Negatively perceived emotions impact negatively on health and well-being (Cobb, 2003).

• Transcultural communication competence is critical for transcultural competence since cultural knowledge, language, verbal and non-verbal communication are highly important to both managing difference (Iles, 1995) and coding and decoding transcultural messages (Samovar et al., 1981).

• Tolerance for ambiguity supports individuals in managing ambiguous situations without requiring additional (objective) information. It further assists in being receptive to new information about the self and others (Gudykunst & Kim, 1997). The higher one's tolerance for ambiguity, the more comfortable individuals feel in unfamiliar situations (Lloyd & Härtel, 2003).

• Cultural understanding supports trust-building and strengthens communication effectiveness between members of cultural groups (Johnson et al., 1996). It is a key component for communicating effectively transculturally (Abe & Wiseman, 1983).

• Information processing skills are important, since individuals with a higher cognitive complexity form more extensive and differentiated impressions of others, better represent the behavioural variability of others, and seek out unique features of the environment more than individuals with lower cognitive complexity. These individuals have a greater capacity to develop an understanding of different cultural systems (Yum, 1982).

• Conflict management skills are particularly important to resolving transcultural conflict and are highly relevant to the success of culturally heterogeneous organizations (Leiba-O'Sullivan, 1999).

• Self management skills are likely to improve transcultural interactions, by increasing flexibility, being capable of sharing information, enhancing performance (Lloyd & Härtel, 2003), and negating stereotypic images others may have of them (Flynn et al., 2001).

All these competences aim at increasing understanding, manageability and meaningfulness within individuals and thereby contribute to developing and increasing SOC in individuals.

In the following, the tOm will be presented as an educational model to strengthen SOC and transcultural competences in school settings.

The team ombuds model

The team ombuds model is a new educational model that aims at promoting transcultural competences and well-being in students and educational professionals.

Educational systems are currently facing new global and transcultural challenges. They respond appropriately to the increase in diversity and heterogeneity through the ‘inclusive environment’ (Dietz, 2007, p. 14). Managing diversity in the educational context has become a key issue and has been reflected in various attempts to create theories of intercultural education (Auernheimer, 2003; Gogolin & Krüger-Potratz., 2006), intercultural didactics (Weber, 2005), and practical teacher performance. Recent studies show that teachers consider new educational approaches, such as concepts of intercultural communication, as enriching and stimulating, since they strengthen self-consciousness, self-worth and SOC (Pallasch & Hameyer, 2008).

tOm has already been discussed in the recent literature (Boness, 2005; Boness et al., 2003; Koch et al., forthcoming; Krause & Mayer, 2010) and has since been reviewed and developed through theoretical discussions and empirical evaluations which show tOm's contribution to develop competences and well-being in students. tOm increases school performance and motivation in students (Krause & Mayer, 2010).

tOm aims at strengthening the general resistance resources of learners and teachers as well as at ameliorating the three SOC components: comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness. tOm is based on a flat, horizontal and vertical hierarchy of interacting social units. Learners create teams, which are the basis of the educational process. Ombuds are those students in a position of trust. They cooperate closely with the teachers in resolving conflicts or improving communication between teachers and learners. The postmaster also contributes to communication between teachers, learners and teams through virtual systems. Networking is one basic aspect to improve learning processes in the educational context.

Janik and Kröger (2007) stress that tOm leads to an increase in team competence and to the appreciation of learning processes within a team in 15, 16, 17 and 18 years. Students enjoy learning in team structures which support learning processes and cooperation. Ombuds particularly take responsibility for individuals and team processes (Janik & Kröger, 2007, pp. 12–13). Students enjoy improving their individual performance through the credit point system (Janik & Kröger, 2007, p. 15): through holding presentations, students can gain credits and thereby influence their marks. At the same time, students feel less anxious to present data in front of other students than students in the regular system: tOm students in 15 years are still stressed by presentations whilst students in 18 years are not stressed any more by presentations (Janik & Kröger, 2007, p. 17). With regard to assessments, students view tOm's assessment procedures as being transparent and structured. They enjoy the team assessment procedures which include a talk between the teacher, the student and the ombud (Janik & Kröger, 2007:21). tOm also increases the joy of learning in students, having fun at school, being satisfied with grades and performance. Feelings such as anxiety, dissatisfaction and uncertainty are decreased at the same time (Janik & Kröger, 2007, p. 22).

With regard to salutogenesis and SOC, tOm aims at activating (general resistance) resources. Students are trained to comprehend their learning processes, to learn how to learn, and to understand topics in their complexity through presenting various perspectives. These aspects also contribute to an increase in manageability as well as in meaningfulness of learning processes within the educational systems and the individual learner. With regard to the promotion of comprehensibility through tOm, leniency teams increase feelings of freedom of learning as well as team-autonomy. Within the curricular frame provided by the government, teams are relatively free to choose the topics of team interests. Teams are provided with a defined time frame for certain tasks and learn how to understand tasks and how to manage them within a certain time frame by making team decisions and working towards a common goal. This goal-orientation also creates meaning within a team and collective learning processes which are based on cooperation rather than on competition contribute to individual and collective meaningfulness.

In the case of weak performance of students, ombuds are requested to represent the interests of their team members and support them through improving learning processes, individual reflections on the problems and supporting team internal communication by organizing sharing of information, setting up meetings and distributing papers. By supporting planning processes within teams, ombuds contribute to managing challenging situations and creating meaning within the team.

tOm provides students with highly transparent assessment structures which are easy to understand. The assessment of each individual team member is discussed by the teacher, the particular team, the ombuds and the postmaster in a sense of cooperation and trustfulness. These procedures strengthen the influence of students in assessments and grades and thereby increase the student's comprehensibility and manageability in assessment procedures. Communication between students and teachers is equalized and thereby improves the feeling of well-being in students. Through these cooperative assessment structures comprehensibility and manageability are strengthened, stress is reduced and mental well-being is created.

In case of conflicts within teams or classes, ombuds are actively involved to resolve any conflicts occurring between students and/or students and teachers through conflict management techniques and/or mediation processes. These mediation processes strengthen communicative performance in students and ombuds. They support them in managing team-work and individual interests at the same time. Ombuds work on improving their emotion management und conflict management skills. Additionally they attend meetings to resolve problems in educational processes, such as extending deadlines, decision-making, internal team conflicts. They thereby contribute to the sense of manageability and meaningfulness in the educational context. Through these processes, manageability particularly is increased. However, at the same time, students develop a deeper understanding of (team) conflicts and their own needs. They also train to change perspectives and empathy. All these aspects are related to increasing comprehensibility as well as transcultural competences.

tOm's credit system is a reward system which is highly valued by students. The credit point system motivates them to create presentations on topics of individual interest and thereby strengthens the understanding of certain topics as well as managing presentations. It also contributes to the individual meaningfulness of learning processes.

It supports students of various backgrounds who might be used to different learning systems. Through presentations particularly, these learners can gain credits, due to the fact that they can prepare themselves with regard to language and special issues which they would like to contribute. Culture-specific perspectives particularly can be discussed in these presentations and transcultural perspectives can be reflected and understood from various points of view. Through these presentations, transcultural experiences can be reflected and discussed and transcultural awareness is built across teams. Transcultural communication situations develop along the presented topics and students learn how to communicate across cultures effectively and sensitively. Various communication styles are experienced, reflected and (sometimes) revised. Presentations can either be held in German or in English which also contributes to increasing language competences. Students with transcultural backgrounds are invited to talk about their cultural experiences. Thereby, transcultural knowledge is extended (comprehensibility), flexibility to react to, for example, culture-specific greeting and the ability to manage unknown situations, is increased (manageability), and the reflection on meaningfulness across cultures is discussed (meaningfulness). These processes support the strengthening of transcultural awareness and competences.

Discussion

Research shows that the German school system needs urgent reforms. tOm, as an intervention model that increases SOC and transcultural competences, perfectly fits into the requirements of new didactic models (Terhart, 2003), the improvement of leadership skills in teachers and students (Davies, 2003) and health within schools (Krause, 2006). It also contributes to the aim to improve the integration of students with various cultural backgrounds (Ertl, 2006). tOm could lead to the required ‘radical change’ (Rotte & Rotte, 2007) as a bottom-up approach.

The way tOm is structured as a didactic model, including its long-term-orientation and its aims of promoting SOC and transcultural competences, tOm is viewed as an effective intervention model to increase SOC in students and teachers. tOm is not a therapeutic intervention to increase SOC in students, as required by Antonovsky (1987); however tOm includes various aspects of counselling and consultancy, as highlighted (Nilsson et al., 2003; Schnyder et al., 2000).

SOC is promoted through transparent communication, appreciation in achievements, recognition of actions of employees, friendliness, justice, humour and tolerance (Mayer, 2011). tOm includes all of these aspects and values in communication and is based on them by emphasizing health and well-being of all people working in the educational context. tOm is a long-term intervention model throughout all school years and thereby succeeds in promoting SOC as a long-term educational goal.

tOm promotes SOC (Antonovsky, 1979) particularly with regard to the following aspects:

• Comprehensibility. The learning input is acquired during team-work and group processes. This contributes to the aim that all students understand the contents in-depth.

• Manageability. tOm strengthens team work, team building processes, time management and the ability to take responsibility and work autonomously.

• Meaningfulness. Students learn from the beginning onwards how to learn and how to set priorities according to their personal interests and needs. Therefore, tOm focuses on the individual and the team needs, and learning becomes meaningful to each and every student.

With regard to promoting transcultural competences, the following can be stated.

tOm promotes dissimilarity openness (Härtel & Fujimoto, 2000): every student learns to be open and work together with other team members and resolve conflicts across cultures and perceived differences.

tOm also increases emotion management skills (Ayoko & Härtel, 2000) through group work and the support of the ombud. If a team experiences conflict and is not able to resolve it, the ombud supports the team to resolve the conflict through applying ‘non-violent communication’, focusing on the feelings and needs of the individual and the group. By undergoing these processes, students learn how to understand themselves and others with regard to emotions as well as with regard to communication processes across cultures (Iles, 1995): they learn how to manage differences and code and decode transcultural messages (Samovar et al., 1981) in a way that the other team members can develop a common understanding. The didactic interventions of tOm thereby increase tolerance for ambiguity (Gudykunst & Kim, 1997) and cultural understanding (Johanson et al., 1996).

In tOm, students with higher and lower cognitive complexity (Yum, 1982) work together and build a common understanding of this complexity which might be difficult to understand, particularly across cultures. At the same time, information processing skills are trained in tOm, together with the skills of managing occurring conflict (Leiba-O'Sullivan, 1999) within the teams and with other teams and managing oneself and the individual and collectivistic learning processes within the team and group processes (Lloyd & Härtel, 2003).

Conclusion

tOm is one new and encouraging model for increasing transcultural competences as well as improving comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness within students in transcultural learning environments.

However, further empirical research is needed to understand the complexities of the model and its impacts on transculturality and salutogenesis in educational work contexts in depth.

Declaration of interest:

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.