Revised Ethnocentrism Scale for University Instructors
Tool Objectives:
- To raise awareness of university instructors implicit bias and/or ethnocentrism related to teaching.
- To identify how closed or open university instructors are in accepting other cultural identities and/or behaviors in their classroom.
Tool Description:
This tool is revised from the original ethnocentrism scale to specifically apply to the perspective of the university instructor. The original tool located at the bottom of the toolkit is a version that can be given to university students enrolled in your class. (Note: This revised scale has not been validated.)
Tool Procedures:
- Instructors should take the assessment below and tally their score.
Below are items that relate teaching practice and efficacy to the cultures of different parts of the world. Work quickly and record your first reaction to each item. There are no right or wrong answers. Please indicate the degree to which you agree or disagree with each item using the following five-point scale:
Strongly Disagree = 1; Disagree = 1; Neutral = 3; Agree = 4; Strongly Agree = 5;
_____1. The ways in which instructors from other cultures teach are backward compared to my culture.
_____2. The instruction practice of my culture should be the role model for other cultures.
_____3. Students from other cultural backgrounds act strange in my classroom.
_____4. Learning styles in other cultures are just as valid as those in my culture.
_____5. In classroom settings, other cultures should try to be more like my culture.
_____6. The values and customs of other cultures do not apply to my classroom setting.
_____7. People in my culture could learn a lot from people in other cultures.
_____8. Most people from other cultures just don’t know that the way I teach is what is best from them.
_____9. I respect the values and customs of other cultures in my classroom.
_____10. Other cultures are smart to incorporate my culture’s instructional practice.
_____11. Most students would be happier if they learned exactly like students in my culture.
_____12. I socialize frequently with instructors from different cultures.
_____13. Students in my culture have just about the best learning opportunities of anywhere.
_____14. Learning styles in other cultures are not as valid as those in my culture.
_____15. I am very interested in the values and customs of other cultures in my classroom.
_____16. I apply my values when judging instructors or students who are different.
_____17. I see instructors or students who are similar to me as virtuous.
_____18. I do not collaborate with instructors who are different.
_____19. Most students in my culture just don’t know what instructional practices are good for them.
_____20. I do not trust instructors or students who are different.
_____21. I dislike interacting with instructors or students from different cultures.
_____22. I have little respect for the values and customs of other cultures in my classroom.
Recode questions 4, 7, & 9 with the following format:
1=5
2=4
3=3
4=2
5=1
Drop questions 3, 6, 12, 15, 16, 17, 19
After you have recoded the previous questions, add all of the responses to the remaining 15 items together to get your composite ethnocentrism score.
- Reflect on your composite score. A higher score indicates that you are more ethnocentric in your instructional practice and university collegiality. How can increased interaction with instructors from other cultures help you to learn about learning styles of students from other cultures?
- Review your course materials and identify ways in which you can be less ethnocentric when teaching.
Tool Time Requirement: (30 minutes)
Tool Author:
Dr. Allison J. Bailey
Original Generalized Ethnocentrism Scale
This is the Revised Ethnocentrism Scale. Of the 22 items, 15 are scored. The other seven are included to balance the number of positively and negatively worded items. You can expect an alpha reliability estimate in the range of .80 and .90 in most cases. For validity information on this scale see: Neuliep, J. W. (2002). Assessing the Reliability and Validity of the Generalized Ethnocentrism Scale, Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 31, 201-215.
Below are items that relate to the cultures of different parts of the world. Work quickly and record your first reaction to each item. There are no right or wrong answers. Please indicate the degree to which you agree or disagree with each item using the following five-point scale:
Strongly Disagree = 1; Disagree = 1; Neutral = 3; Agree = 4; Strongly Agree = 5;
_____1. Most other cultures are backward compared to my culture.
_____2. My culture should be the role model for other cultures.
_____3. People from other cultures act strange when they come to my culture.
_____4. Lifestyles in other cultures are just as valid as those in my culture.
_____5. Other cultures should try to be more like my culture.
_____6. I am not interested in the values and customs of other cultures.
_____7. People in my culture could learn a lot from people in other cultures.
_____8. Most people from other cultures just don’t know what’s good for them.
_____9. I respect the values and customs of other cultures.
_____10. Other cultures are smart to look up to our culture.
_____11. Most people would be happier if they lived like people in my culture.
_____12. I have many friends from different cultures.
_____13. People in my culture have just about the best lifestyles of anywhere.
_____14. Lifestyles in other cultures are not as valid as those in my culture.
_____15. I am very interested in the values and customs of other cultures.
_____16. I apply my values when judging people who are different.
_____17. I see people who are similar to me as virtuous.
_____18. I do not cooperate with people who are different.
_____19. Most people in my culture just don’t know what is good for them.
_____20. I do not trust people who are different.
_____21. I dislike interacting with people from different cultures.
_____22. I have little respect for the values and customs of other cultures.
Recode questions 4, 7, & 9 with the following format:
1=5
2=4
3=3
4=2
5=1
Drop questions 3, 6, 12, 15, 16, 17, 19
After you have recoded the previous questions, add all of the responses to the remaining 15 items together to get your composite ethnocentrism score.
Source of original scale: Neuliep, J. W., & McCroskey, J. C.(1997).The development of a U. S. and generalized ethnocentrism scale. Communication Research Reports, 14, 385-398.