| The purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of nursing program administrators and faculty regarding the relevance of cultural concepts in baccalaureate nursing school curricula and their inclusion in teaching universal health care as an integral part of such programs. A questionnaire, consisting of three sections, was designed to collect data from a selected group of administrators and faculty in all public National League for Nursing accredited baccalaureate programs in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. Two sections elicited data concerning characteristics of the sample, background data, and status of cultural concepts within respective curricula. The other section directly addressed the twofold purpose of the study.;Analysis of the data highlighted findings which were grouped into the following categories: description of the population, institutional and demographic data, and comparative analyses of faculty and administrator response. Comparative analyses of faculty by selected variables to 12 questionnaire items from Section II and all items in Section III were also included.;Certain characteristics of the population under study may have influenced perceptions. A majority of administrators and faculty were currently employed in Alabama institutions and a large proportion earned their highest degree in that state. Of the three states surveyed, Alabama had the largest percentage of faculty with highest degree earned in the state where currently employed.;The following conclusions were made concerning these respondents' perceptions of multiculturalism relative to nursing education. They generally agreed that cultural concepts were relevant to nursing education and were part of their respective nursing program curricula. They also reported that inclusion of such concepts in teaching universal health care should be an integral part of a baccalaureate nursing program. Although they supported the concept of multiculturalism and its importance in faculty development activities, they reported that it was not a substantive part of their faculty development programs. Faculty who earned their highest degree in Florida, or were employed in Florida, exhibited greater sensitivity to multicultural concepts than faculty in Alabama and, in some instances, Georgia. Faculty in community health were more strongly committed to multiculturalism than those in any other specialty. |
