IMPACT OF CULTURALLY INCLUSIVE PRACTICES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY OF CULTURALLY DIVERSE STUDENTS

As the process of globalisation has increased higher education, so has the culturally diverse student populations in many educational institutions across the world. While universities endorse inclusion through diversity policies and culturally inclusive practices, there is some uneven distribution of the psychological safety of culturally diverse students. Psychological safety, defined as the perception that one can express ideas, concerns or identity without fear of negative consequences, has been associated with academic engagement as well as collaboration and overall well-being. However, there has been little empirical research to consider the impact on psychological safety of specific culturally inclusive practices among culturally diverse students.This study examines the relationship between culturally inclusive practices and psychological safety in higher education institutions. Employing quantitative survey design, culturally diverse students from several institutions were included in this study. Correlation and regression analyses were performed with the help of the software package Statistician (SPSS) to establish the strength and the significance of the relationship.