Cultural Competency for Emergency and Crisis Management: Concepts, Theories and Case Studies

Disasters are complex and dynamic events that test emergency and crisis professionals and leaders – even the most ethical ones. Within all phases of emergency management, disasters highlight social vulnerabilities that require culturally competent practices. The lack of culturally respectable responses to diverse populations underscores the critical need for cultural competency education and training in higher education and practice. Using a case study approach that is both adaptable and practical, this textbook is an accessible and essential guide on what makes teaching effective in emergency and crisis management.

Key Features

• An in-depth understanding of cultural competence makes it well suited for teaching effectively in emergency preparedness
• Expert guidance from leading authorities ensures a fresh perspective in various aspects of emergency and crisis management
• National and international emergency and crisis management case studies containing ground rules, a scenario, roles/actors, guiding questions, facilitator questions, and resources
• Pedagogy and andragogy theories that drive design and implementation
• Pre- and post-tests for each case study allow faculty and trainers to empirically measure the participants’ learning outcomes
• Short case study structure can be easily implemented in a course as a group discussion, group assignment, or individual assignment

With unparalleled resources to reach every participant and facilitator, Cultural Competency for Emergency and Crisis Management offers educators a roadmap for successfully engaging participants in various aspects of cultural competency knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Claire Connolly Knox, Ph.D., is an associate professor and the director of the Master of Emergency and Crisis Management program in the School of Public Administration at the University of Central Florida. Her research interests include environmental vulnerability and disaster response, environmental policy and management, Habermas Critical Theory, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. She has published in multiple journals, including Public Administration Review, Coastal Management Journal, Disaster Prevention and Management, Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning, Environmental Politics, Administration & Society, Journal of Emergency Management, and Journal of Public Affairs Education. She is chair of ASPA’s Section on Emergency and Crisis Management, associate editor for Emergency Management for Public Administration Review, and editorial board member for the International Journal of Security, Preparedness and Resilience Education, and she is the past chair for FEMA’s Scholarship of Teaching and Learning special interest group. She has won multiple awards for her research and teaching, including the 2015 Florida Emergency Preparedness Association’s Gary Arnold for her dedication to improving Florida’s emergency management community through higher education.

Brittany “Brie” Haupt, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her previous educational achievements contributed to developing her passion for increasing her cultural competency and becoming trained in diversity education and multiculturalism, as well as intercultural dialogue and community development. Her research interests include cultural competency, emergency management communication, community resilience, and competency-based education. She has published in Public Administration Review; Journal of Public Affairs Education; Disaster Prevention and Management; Risk, Hazards, & Crisis in Public Policy; Journal of Emergency Management; and the Frontiers in Communication section on disaster communications. In addition, she has presented at the American Society for Public Administration, the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, Public Administration Research conferences, as well as presented for the Federal Emergency Management Agency on a case study created for diversity education–related training. Her professional efforts were acknowledged through selection as the American Society for Public Administration’s Founders Fellow in 2017, as well as an International Scholar Workshop participant in Chennai, India.