ERIC Number: EJ1121684
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Nov-15
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2194-654X
EISSN: N/A
The Place of Social Science in Medical Education: A Case Study of Language and Culture in Experiential Learning in a Multilingual Society
Marcus, Tessa S.
Multicultural Learning and Teaching, v6 n2 Nov 2011
The ?"biopsychosocial model"? is the education paradigm of knowledge that is expected to inform medical practice. Yet in medical education, medical science is the gold standard. Social science barely features in the formal curriculum, and when it does, it is considered best done through experiential learning. This paper analyses "?the social?" through the issue of language and culture following medical and dental student exposure to experiential learning in a primary health care setting. Using qualitative accounts set out in student reflections, it explores the insights they gain from their experience and the implications these have for medical education and professional knowledge. The evidence suggests that when social issues are not grounded in social scientific theory (through formal education) they are incorporated idiosyncratically into learning and, more often than not, are relegated to the bottom of the medical knowledge value chain. This weak or absent grounding in social science carries major implications for the ability of medical education systems to create skilled clinicians capable of working with the biological, psychological and social complex that is individual and collective health in the contemporary world.
Descriptors: Social Sciences, Medical Education, Case Studies, Experiential Learning, Multilingualism, Dental Health, Primary Health Care, Qualitative Research, Undergraduate Students, Longitudinal Studies, Language Proficiency, Language Acquisition, Cultural Literacy, Cultural Awareness, Sensitivity Training, Student Attitudes, Group Discussion, Service Learning, Foreign Countries
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: N/A
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Africa
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A