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Cultural Fluency Training for the Twenty-First-Century Public Servant

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The Palgrave Handbook of the Public Servant

Abstract

This chapter explores evolution in cultural fluency training for public servants in the modern environment. It explores contextual forces propelling contemporary public services towards cultural fluency education and the wide variety of concepts and definitions associated with the movement. It critiques assumptions being made regarding the purpose and efficacy of such education and uniquely reviews the influence of pertinent anthropological, sociological, and psychological frameworks such as that of cross-cultural competence, grid-group theory, and cultural intelligence. Finally, the chapter uses a case study of Indigenous cultural competency training as a means of addressing the key question: What are the benefits of cultural competency training to contemporary public servants and what barriers are currently stifling its uptake to progress public service transformation for the betterment of society?

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ANZSOG and University of New South Wales, Canberra, Australia

    Catherine Althaus

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  1. Catherine Althaus
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Correspondence to Catherine Althaus .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, Australia

    Helen Sullivan

  2. UNSW Australia, Campbell, ACT, Australia

    Helen Dickinson

  3. College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

    Hayley Henderson

Section Editor information

  1. National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Zeger van der Wal

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Althaus, C. (2020). Cultural Fluency Training for the Twenty-First-Century Public Servant. In: Sullivan, H., Dickinson, H., Henderson, H. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of the Public Servant. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03008-7_37-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03008-7_37-1

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